Local co.’s self-driving cabs hit Singapore
NuTonomy first to open service to public
Cambridge startup nuTonomy has begun offering a self-driving taxi service in Singapore, the first time driverless cars have been open to the public.
“It's a similar experience to taking a taxi, but there's no taxi driver,” said Karl Iagnemma, chief executive of nuTonomy. “There's very few teams worldwide that have reached a level of maturity and have enough confidence in their software to actually put it in front of the public.” The pilot program, which is already underway, includes half a dozen autonomous Renault Zeo and Mitsubishi electric cars that the company has outfitted with its self-driving car hardware and software. In part, the pilot doubles as market research. “One of the big benefits is getting real data from real customers about what they think about autonomous cars,” Iagnemma said. He said it is impossible to know how real people will feel riding in a car without a human pilot until they ride in one. The service is in Singapore, Iagnemma said, because the city has been welcoming and encouraging. The city's economic development arm has also invested in nuTonomy. Much of the company's testing has been in Singapore, including driving on public streets in one part of the city. NuTonomy has not had any accidents, Iagnemma said. The company aims to have a full fleet of self-driving taxis by 2018.
Bob Davis, a partner with Highland Capital Partners, a nuTonomy investor, said being first will give the company a leg up on its competition.
Earlier this month, Uber said it would begin testing a self-driving car service in Pittsburgh, but has not begun picking up passengers, a company spokeswoman said yesterday.
Nearly every major car company has begun self-driving car programs, along with tech giants including Google and Apple.
“There's no doubt the race is on,” said John Leonard, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and autonomous vehicle researcher. “The news items are coming fast and furious, but what remains to be seen is can the technology catch up.”