World's First Driverless Taxi Starts Road Trials In Singapore

Singapore recently received its first driverless taxi developed by nuTonomy, The autonomous taxi began its test ride on Thursday in a limited public trial on the streets of Singapore.

By Carandbike Team

1 mins read

Published on August 26, 2016

Highlights

World's first functional driverless taxi has been developed by nuTonomy
nuTonomy plans to launch its driverless service in Singapore in 2018
Alphabet's Google and Uber are also working on driverless taxi service

In the midst of all the ongoing research and testing on autonomous cars and autonomous technology, Singapore recently received its first driverless taxi. Developed by nuTonomy, a technology company founded by two researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the autonomous taxi began its test ride on Thursday in a limited public trial on the streets of Singapore. nuTonomy invited a select group of audience to test out their driverless taxi, free of cost, in a hi-tech business district in western Singapore. Officially, nuTonomy plans to launch its driverless "robo-taxi" service in 2018. nuTonomy Driverless Taxi The main reason for organising this trial ride was to get enough first-hand feedback from the public before the robo-taxi officially hits the road. Doug Parker, the Chief Operating Officer of nuTonomy said, "This is really a moment in history that's going to change how cities are built, how we really look at our surroundings." Adding more, Parker said, "Quite frankly I think Uber is the Goliath and we need to show that our technology is working and getting to a level of maturity that is viable for the marketplace. We're in a technology race here and I think there are going to be a handful of winners." That said, the company has revealed that these trial rides are still on an ongoing basis and follows private testing that began early this year, in April 2016. For this project, Parker's company nuTonomy has entered into a special partnership with the Singapore government, which has long sought to turn the city-state into a hub for disruptive technology through generous financial assistance programs and research partnerships with firms like nuTonomy. Parker even announced that he is hoping to have at least 100 commercially working driverless taxi in the South-East Asian city-state by 2018. nuTonomy Driverless Taxi Technology Coming to the vehicle itself, nuTonomy's test vehicles include a Renault Zoe and Mitshibushi i-MiEv electric vehicle, which come fitted with their autonomous technology. For this special driverless taxi trial ride, nuTonomy used the Mitsubishi EV. During the whole course of the trial ride, an engineer was sitting behind the steering wheel to monitor the system and take control if necessary. nuTonomy Driverless Taxi Cabin nuTonomy is one of the several companies racing to launch self-driving vehicles, with automakers and technology firms striking new alliances. Swedish automaker Volvo AB said last week it had agreed to a $300 million alliance with ride-hailing service Uber to develop a driverless vehicle. Israeli driving assistant software maker Mobileye NV said its vehicle, developed with Delphi Automotive Plc, would be ready for production by 2019, while Ford Motor Co said its self-driving car was slated for 2021. Other firms, most notably Alphabet's Google, have already clocked millions of miles on public roads with their autonomous vehicles.