World’s first driverless taxis kick off public trial in Singapore

This electric, self-driving Renault is one of the cars now taking passengers in Singapore. Photo credit: NuTonomy.

NuTonomy’s self-driving taxis, said to be the first in the world, have today begun picking up passengers as part of a public trial in Singapore.

Here’s the startup’s promo video for the launch:

Bloomberg reports:

The world’s first self-driving taxis will be picking up passengers in Singapore starting Thursday.

Select members of the public will be able to hail a free ride through their smartphones in taxis operated by NuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup. While multiple companies, including Google and Volvo, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years, NuTonomy says it will be the first to offer rides to the public. It will beat ride-hailing service Uber, which plans to offer rides in autonomous cars in Pittsburgh, by a few weeks.

The service will start small — six cars now, growing to a dozen by the end of the year. The ultimate goal, say NuTonomy officials, is to have a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018, which will help sharply cut the number of cars on Singapore’s congested roads. Eventually, the model could be adopted in cities around the world, NuTonomy says.

The rides – in modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV electrics – will be confined within the One North business district and passengers must be invited to use the service. An engineer from NuTonomy will be in the car to watch the system and assume control if needed.

Photo credit: NuTonomy’s Twitter.

Throughout the trial, the company will collect and evaluate data related to the software’s performance, the booking process, vehicle routing, and the overall passenger experience. This data will allow it to refine everything in preparation for the commercial launch in 2018.

NuTonomy is backed by VC firm Highland Capital Partners, Samsung Ventures, and EDBI, the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board. Other investors include Fontinalis Partners – co-founded by Ford Motor chairman Bill Ford – and Signal Ventures.