Imagine hailing a taxi and getting in, only to discover there's no driver!
This is what some Singaporeans experienced last week. With the approval of the Singapore government, a company called nuTonomy has become the first-ever to test self-driving cars with the public.
Interested people could sign up for a free trial run at no cost. When they received an invite from the company, they could book a ride on the robot-taxi service from their smartphones.
Not surprisingly, the rides proved very popular, with dozens of customers eagerly trying out the cars each day. The age of driverless cars is indeed here!
Concept Behind Autonomous Driving
Can you imagine a world without cars or vehicles? While they are extremely convenient to get from place to place, driverless cars are a great option for those who do not know how to drive and for those who do not enjoy driving.
Some researchers even believe that such cars can make road travel safer, by reducing 'human error', that is our mistakes. But since driving requires so many of our senses to be on alert, replacing that with machines is easier said than done.
The environment in which cars operate is constantly changing - from the roads, pedestrians to co-travelers. A driverless car needs special equipment to analyze its surroundings. Then, it must translate that information into a practical route and safe travel. To be truly autonomous, a car has to do this independently without human input.
Today, quite some cars have a certain degree of autonomous functions such as cruise control or lane-keeping monitors. But even completely automated vehicles still require a driver to take back control under uncertain conditions.
Globally, many companies are actively involved in driverless technology. That includes traditional manufacturers such as Volvo, Daimler, and Ford, as well as companies like Google which has carried out extensive tests in California.
Even Tesla is trying to integrate autonomous technology with its electric cars. There's a lot of buzz about Apple's electric car, although the company is yet to reveal any news. Apparently, Uber will also be launching a service like nuTonomy in Pittsburgh within a few weeks.
Testing In Singapore
The island city-state is well known for its excellent infrastructure and drivers who abide by the rules. This made it ideal for real-world testing and feedback. The government has encouraged research in autonomous vehicles since it can improve safety and potentially decongest roads as well.
NuTonomy collaborated with Singapore's Land Transport Authority to test their cars in 'One-north'. This is a 2.5 square mile area in Singapore's business district with fixed pick-up and drop locations. NuTonomy's current fleet has 6 cars in 2 models - the Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV. These cars have been modified for autonomous driving with sensors and software that feed data into the central system.
During the trials, each car had a nuTonomy employee to collect feedback on the entire booking process and the ride. They hope to double their cars by the end of the year - and perhaps develop a complete fleet across the city by 2018.
Have you seen an autonomous vehicle? Would you like to have a ride in one of them too?
