Driverless taxi firm eyes operations in 10 cities by 2020

August 29, 2016 by Martin Abbugao
Doug Parker, COO of nuTonomy, the developer of
the software for driverless taxis, pictured
alongside one of the vehicles during an interview
with AFP reporter in Singapore on August 29,
2016
A US software firm which chose Singapore for
the world's first public trial of driverless taxis
hopes to be operating in 10 Asian and US cities
by 2020, an executive said Monday.
Doug Parker, nuTonomy's chief operating officer ,
said the firm is eyeing tests by early next year in
three other Asian countries which he declined to
name.
He said an announcement of the test venues
would be made within the next month or so.
The company last week kicked off the world's
first driverless taxi service in a limited trial for
invited people in a Singapore research campus.
Parker, 41, said nuTonomy was also considering
trials in the Middle East, the United States and
Britain.
More than a dozen people in Singapore have
already experienced a ride in the "robo-taxi"
within the confines of one-north, an enclave of
technology and science research institutes
outside the central business district.
'Pretty excited'
"I think people are pretty excited that the car is
driving itself. I would say they start apprehensive
and scared but by the second block they start to
enjoy it," Parker said.
The current test car—a modified Mitsubishi i-
MiEV electric vehicle—plies a 2.5 square mile
(4.0 square km) area with set pick-up and drop
off points. Trips must be booked through the
company's smartphone app and are currently by
invitation only.
Data from an experiment with driverless taxis in
Singapore will feed into the roll-out of the
vehicles across the city-state in 2018, said US-
based tech start-up nuTonomy
Five other test cars—Renault Zoes—will be added
to the fleet next month.
Data from the experiment will feed into the
rollout of driverless taxis across Singapore in
2018, said Parker, adding that by 2020 "we
would like to be in 10 cities in Asia, the United
States and maybe Europe".
He also said a number of real-estate developers
from Asia and the United States have contacted
the company "about how they can use
autonomous cars in their eco-friendly
communities".
Parker said the vehicle, equipped with
sophisticated laser, radar and cameras, has so
far experienced navigating among buses, slowing
down at pedestrian lanes and adjusting to
unplanned street scenes.
"One day we pulled out of here and literally five
buses of schoolchildren pulled up on this very
narrow street. And the buses were trading
positions," he said
"We've seen forklifts, we've seen people with
wheelbarrows just right here on this one street."
Parker said nuTonomy chose Singapore for the
public tests rather than Silicon Valley because of
the presence of a "loyal technical talent"—
including people with doctorates in robotics—
whom it does not have to share with other
companies like Ford and Apple.
The company also has the full support of the
Singapore government and the city-state's flat
terrain, well-marked roads and disciplined drivers
make it well suited for driverless cars, Parker
said.