The world’s first driverless taxis went into operation in Singapore in a limited public trial.
The six taxis — Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicles — will operate in a 2.5 square mile (4.0 square kilometre) area, with set pick-up and drop-off points. Trips have to be booked through the company’s smartphone app.
The “robo-taxi service” is being tested at a small research campus well away from the thrum of the Asian business hub.
The trial represents an extraordinary opportunity to collect feedback from riders in a real-world setting.
Although the high-tech cars will drive themselves, each journey will be accompanied by a nuTonomy engineer, who will observe how the machine performs, and be ready to take over in the event of a problem.