NuTonomy Introduces Self-Driving Taxi Service in Singapore

We have been anticipating a time when vehicles will be self-driven for decades and it is now possible.
A US-based autonomous vehicle software startup, nuTonomy has launched the first public trial of self-driving taxi service which consists of six cars in Singapore. Reaching this milestone is very impressive for the three year old company. Top automakers including Volvo and Ford have been testing self-driving cars for many years. Google has been working on this same project for seven years, Uber also announced plans to unveil autonomous cars in few weeks time. Only pre-selected customers are eligible for the trial.
The service can be accessed via the nuTonomy’s app and the taxis run in a 2.5-square-mile area known as one-north. An engineer assigned to each taxi will “observe system performance and assume control if needed to ensure passenger comfort and safety,” as stated by the company. Data obtained during the public trial will be used to improve overall user experience before the service is commercially launched in 2018. In a released statement, nuTonomy CEO and co-founder Karl Iagnemma explains:

NuTonomy’s first-in-the-world public trial is a direct reflection of the level of maturity that we have achieved with our AV software system. The trial represents an extraordinary opportunity to collect feedback from riders in a real-world setting, and this feedback will give nuTonomy a unique advantage as we work toward deployment of a self-driving vehicle fleet in 2018.

With support from authorities, nuTonomy has been privately testing self-driving cars in Singapore since April and trials are ongoing in London and Michigan. It is also working with major automakers to assist them in the development of autonomous cars.