World's first autonomous taxi rolls out in Singapore

[Courtesy of Nutonomy YouTube Channel]

An autonomous taxi service has been test-launched in Singapore for the first time in the world. Nutonomy, an MIT spin-off technology company that makes software to build autonomous cars and autonomous robots, started the trial run of free taxi rides for Singaporeans last week.

The service is not yet a full operation, but it's a series of test-runs and controlled experiment done in a limited service area with an assisting driver behind the wheel. It's all about collecting technical data and customer patterns, said Nutonomy CEO Karl Iagnemma.

Iagnemma said: "The pilot is going to allow us to collect technical data, but equally importantly, it’s going to allow us to find out if people enjoy riding in driverless cars. When people get into the car, some will love it, some will be indifferent and some won’t like it. But how many won’t like it -- 3% of the ridership, or 30%? We want to know that number. And Uber wants to know that number, too."

The company's self-driving taxi is picking up customers in a Singapore business park. The customers use Nutonomy's app to summon a Mitsubishi i-Miev or a Renault Zoe, both fully electric. Nutonomy is to add more taxi models in the coming months.

Autonomous cars or self-driving vehicles have become a hot topic in recent years and the MIT startup is the first to provide public with autonomous taxi service, beating Uber, the world's largest taxi hailing app company. Uber has promised to provide autonomous taxi service sin Pittsburg by the end of August.

Along with Uber and Nutonomy, Google is one of many companies currently in development of autonomous cars. The tech giant has carried out on-road experiments and became a center of controversy in March after its self-driving SUV crashed into a bus in California.

Ajunews Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

World's first autonomous taxi rolls out in Singapore

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