The programme of testing is being coordinated by the LTA and will take place in an urban, point-to- point, low-speed, autonomous, mobility-on-demand service area in One-North, Singapore’s R&D cluster. It will feature a fleet of self-driving vehicles (SDVs) from Delphi and locally-based autonomous operator nuTonomy. Delphi will also develop a cloud-based mobility-on-demand software (AMoD) suite.
Delphi’s AMoD development programme and autonomous vehicle demonstration is part of the Singapore Autonomous Vehicle Initiative (SAVI), which was formed in 2014 to oversee and manage autonomous vehicle (AV) research, test-bedding, and the development of applications and solutions by industry partners and stakeholders.
Of particular interest to the Singapore LTA is the potential for automated driving solutions to make it easier for commuters transiting the “first mile” and “last mile” between a mass transit station and their home or work place. By addressing this need, the usage of the mass transit systems could increase; reducing overall traffic congestion and vehicle emissions.
“LTA has been facilitating self-driving vehicle trials with single vehicle prototypes in one-north since 2014,” said Chew Men Leong, LTA’s chief executive.
During trials in the US last year, an Audi SQ5 prototype using Delphi technology completed a coast-tocoast drive from San Francisco to New York with 99 per cent autonomy.
In Singapore, Delphi will provide five SDVs initially, with the potential to scale up the operation to include self-driving shuttle services that can serve an entire town. According to the automotive giant, its autonomous solution is vehicle agnostic and can be applied in passenger cars, buses, commercial vehicles, purpose-built mobility pods and electric vehicles.
According to a report by McKinsey & Co, full automation (Level 4) could reduce up to 90 percent of US motor vehicle crashes caused by driver error. The company is using its participation in SAVI to develop new products and capabilities to serve its global customers.
The Singapore LTA pilot programme will last for three years with plans to transition into an operational service by 2022 time frame.
APMEN Sept 2016, News
