Singapore launches public trial for autonomous shuttle

The public trial for Singapore’s autonomous shuttle was launched at Sentosa today, more than a year after on-road testing began in June 2018.

ST Engineering, which operates the on-demand service, said in a statement that the trial would run from August 26 to November 15.

Photo credit: ST Engineering

People visiting Sentosa will be able to hail an autonomous shuttle via the Ride Now Sentosa mobile app or at kiosks along a 5.7 kilometer route to bring them to selected destinations on the island, such as Siloso Point, Beach Station, Palawan Beach, Tanjong Beach, and Sentosa Golf Club, the company said.

The trial is supported by a system that analyzes passenger demand and optimizes route management for ride-sharing.

Lee Shiang Long, president for land systems at ST Engineering, said that it has leveraged Singapore’s R&D ecosystem to build up its autonomous capabilities, with its vehicles able to navigate roundabouts and operate in different traffic and rain conditions.

The trial, done in partnership with Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and Sentosa Development Corporation, will deploy four autonomous vehicles: two minibuses and two smaller shuttles.

The AVs come equipped with various technologies such as radar, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), GPS, odometry, and computer vision to help them sense their environment and identify appropriate navigation paths, obstacles, and signage.

“Each trial AV has undergone a rigorous safety assessment… to demonstrate its ability to handle basic maneuvers and stop safely upon detecting an obstacle,” claimed ST Engineering.

Loh Ngai Seng, permanent secretary for transport and chairman of the Committee on Autonomous Road Transport for Singapore, believes that the trial will generate important insights into commuter experience and the interaction of AVs with other road users.

Provided free of charge, the service will operate four hours on weekdays (excluding public holidays) – from 10 am to noon, and from 2 pm to 4 pm.