Singapore is on track to begin testing autonomous taxis from Delphi. The automobile group has entered into an agreement with the country that will allow it to test the vehicles along three fixed routes that cover about 8 kilometres.
The pilot programme is part of Singapore’s Land Transport Authority’s initiative to advance autonomous vehicle research. While this would be notable on its own, Delphi is not the only group looking to test driverless cars in the city-state. NuTonomy, a group from the illustrious MIT, had earlier announced plans to put driverless cars on Singapore’s streets.
Delphi’s deal includes a three year plan, with the fleet of vehicles only being deployed in the second year. These driverless cars will initially have a person in the driver’s seat to act as a failsafe in the event something goes wrong. However, the ultimate goal is to be able to remove the steering wheel altogether.
Driverless cars are not new to Delphi, as the corporation is already testing autonomous cars in Silicon Valley and has completed a cross-country drive without human interference. There are also plans to set up more testing sites in America and across Europe.
Singapore is expected to see the full deployment of the autonomous taxis by the end of the three year test.
[Source: The Verge]
