BY KEVIN SAWYER – Early next year, Singapore will introduce a small fleet of Delphi Automotive self driving taxis and become the first place in the world to do so. Both the island city state of Singapore and Delphi Automotive said it will be a small fleet that will be a test to see how practical and efficient the new self driving cabs will be. The taxis will be hauling passengers around a large office and industrial park.
This will be an important step to see if the investment is a viable one. Many companies around the world are investing heavily in the new self driving car technology and the Singapore test will hopefully prove its potential viability. Currently, in urban areas, a cab ride could cost around $4 per mile. The new Delphi driver-less cab will, hopefully, get the cost down to about 90 cents per mile.
The initial test phase will have drivers sitting in the driver’s seat just in case something goes wrong or there is a mechanical malfunction. By 2019, though, the company looks for the vehicles to be totally self driving. By 2020, Delphi hopes to be operating many fleets of their self driving taxis all over the world including in the United States and Europe.
Passengers will make contact with the taxis through a specially designed software system. The company is currently working with a technology company in Israel to develop extremely sensitive sensors that will enable the driving system to react as if it were being driven by a human driver. Singapore has high hopes for the experiment as, like major cities everywhere, its streets are just so jammed and congested with traffic.
Glen De Vos, vice president with Delphi said that, ” We are starting in a fairly small and controlled manner but the expectation is we will continue to build. Starting with a small pilot and then moving to an operational fleet of 30, 40, or even 50 vehicles with that continuing to expand. It will get a lot of attention and that is good because it helps socialize the technology.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Delphi Automotive