Fri, Aug 26, 2016 page10

• Self-driving taxis debut in Singapore

  WORLD’S FIRST: 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

  • AP, SINGAPORE
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  The world’s first self-driving taxis yesterday began picking up passengers in Singapore.

  Select members of the public can hail a free ride through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy Asia, an autonomous vehicle software startup.

  While multiple companies, including Google and Volvo Cars, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years, nuTonomy said it is the first to offer rides to the public.

  

  An autonomous vehicle drives through Singapore on Wednesday.

  Photo: AP

  Its launch in Singapore is beating ride-hailing service Uber, which plans to offer rides in autonomous cars in Pittsburgh, by a few weeks.

  NuTonomy is starting small — six cars now, growing to a dozen by the end of the year.

  The ultimate goal, company executives said, is to have a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018, to help cut the number of cars on Singapore’s congested roads.

  Eventually, the model could be adopted in cities around the world, nuTonomy said.

  For now, the taxis only run in a 6.5km2 business and residential district called “one-north,” and pick-ups and drop-offs are limited to specified locations. Riders must have an invitation from nuTonomy to use the service.

  The company said dozens have signed up for the launch, and it plans to expand that list to thousands of people within a few months.

  The cars — modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV electrics — have a driver in front who is prepared to take back the wheel and a researcher in the back who watches the car’s computers. 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.

  The testing time-frame is open-ended, nuTonomy chief executive officer Karl Iagnemma said, adding that eventually, riders might start paying for the service, and more pick-up and drop-off points would be added.

  NuTonomy is also working on testing similar taxi services in other Asian cities, the US and Europe, he said.

  “I don’t expect there to be a time where we say, ‘we’ve learned enough,’” Iagnemma said.

  Autonomous taxis could ultimately reduce the number of cars on Singapore’s roads from 900,000 to 300,000, nuTonomy chief operating officer Doug Parker said.

  “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,” Parker said. “I think it will change how people interact with the city going forward.”

  NuTonomy, a 50-person company with offices in Massachusetts and Singapore, was formed in 2013 by Iagnemma and Emilio Frazzoli, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers who were studying robotics and developing autonomous vehicles for the US Department of Defense. Earlier this year, the company was the first to win approval from the Singaporean government to test self-driving cars in one-north.

  The company hopes its head start in autonomous driving will eventually lead to partnerships with automakers, tech companies, logistics companies and others.

  “What we’re finding is the number of interested parties is really overwhelming,” he said.
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