In what may seem like a frenzy of sorts especially with so many reports either suggesting an inception or development of autonomous technology, Singapore has made its mark.
Singapore’s nuTonomy, founded by two researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have begun the testing of a free taxi-hailing service in a small district of Singapore on Thursday. Select members of the public can hail a free ride through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy.
NuTonomy is starting small — six cars now, growing to a dozen by the end of the year. The ultimate goal, company executives say, 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.
For now, the taxis only run in a 2.5-square-mile (6.5 square kilometer) 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 says 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 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.
Eventually, riders may start paying for the service, and more pick-up and drop-off points will be added. NuTonomy also is working on testing similar taxi services in other Asian cities, the U.S. and Europe, but he wouldn't say when.
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," Parker said. "I think it will change how people interact with the city going forward."
