It heralds a new dawn in transportation – the world’s first self-driving taxis have begun picking up passengers. Members of the public in Singapore are able to hail the autonomous vehicles using their smartphones.
The service is being provided by start-up nuTonomy, which has pipped car makers like Ford and Volvo along with internet giant Google and ride-hailing service Uber to provide the robotic cars.
Google has been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years but they are not available to the public while Uber has promised to begin offering rides in autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh in a few weeks.
To begin with, nuTonomy is offering the service with just six Modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi iMiEV electric cars. Each will have a driver in front who is prepared to take the wheel should they need to.
A researcher will also sit in the back watching the car’s computer. It means there is not much space left for passengers, but those who can squeeze in can enjoy the ride for free.
The company hopes, if the tests are successful, to expand its self-driving fleet by 2018 to help cut the number of cars on Singapore’s congested roads.
Doug Parker, nuTonomy’s chief operating officer, said autonomous taxis could ultimately reduce the number of cars on Singapore’s roads from 900,000 to 300,000.
‘When you are able to take that many cars off the road, it creates a lot of possibilities. You can create smaller roads, you can create much smaller car parks.
‘I think it will change how people interact with the city going forward.’
The taxis are being used in a 2.5 square mile business and residential district called ‘one north’
Pick-ups and drop offs are being limited to specific locations to begin with and users must be invited by nuTonomy to use the service.
The company says dozens have signed up for the launch, and it plans to expand that list to thousands of people within a few months. It hopes to eventually extend the service to other cities around the world.
Each car is fitted with six sets of Lidar – a detection system that uses lasers to operate like radar – including one that constantly spins on the roof.
There are also two cameras on the dashboard to scan for obstacles and detect changes in traffic lights.
Singapore’s government gave nuTonomy approval to test the self-driving cars earlier this year and the company has teamed up with the Land Transport Authority in the country to conduct research on the vehicles.
Singapore is considered to be a good place to test self-driving vehicles because of its good weather, infrastructure and drivers who tend to obey traffic rules.
The government also believes self-driving vehicles could help the country’s economy grow.
‘We face constraints in land and manpower. We want to take advantage of self-driving technology to overcome such constraints,’ said Pang Kin Keong, Singapore’s Permanent Secretary for Transport and the chairman of its committee on autonomous driving.
Olivia Seow, 25, works in startup partnerships in one-north and is one of the first people to use the nuTonomy service for a mile long journey.
She said she was nervous when she got into the car, and then surprised as she watched the steering wheel turn by itself.
‘It felt like there was a ghost or something,’ she said.
But she added that the ride was smooth and controlled as the vehicle even small obstacles like birds and motorcycles parked in the distance.
‘I couldn’t see them with my human eye, but the car could, so I knew that I could trust the car,’ she said.
One reporter taking a ride yesterday saw the safety driver step on the brakes once when another car was obstructing the lane and a third vehicle that appeared to be parked suddenly began moving in the oncoming lane.
Karl Iagnemma, chief executive of nuTonomy, said the company was already getting interest from transport companies and technology firms about its software.
‘What we’re finding is the number of interested parties is really overwhelming,’ he said.
UM– USEKE.RW
