Look mum, no hands? Singapore looks into driverless vehicles
PUBLISHED ON AUG 27, 2014 10:46 AM
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BY LEE JIAN XUAN
SINGAPORE - Imagine a Singapore where cars and buses zip on the roads without drivers.
Commuters can hop from one town to the next on board shared vehicles steered by autopilot.
This was the bold vision outlined by a new government committee set up to oversee research
into driverless technology.
"(This) technology has the potential to transform our lives... For example, instead of driving
to work in the morning and being stuck in peak hour traffic, you could get a head-start on
your emails," said Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance Josephine Teo,
speaking at the committee's launch on Wednesday.
To do this, the committee has roped in international experts, academics, industry members
and government agencies such as the Land Transport Authority and Agency for Science,
Technology and Research.
Some areas that they are looking at include driverless buses to operate on fixed routes and
timings and deploying shared vehicles for intra-town travel to reduce dependence on cars.
Trials on driverless vehicles, which are already ongoing in local universities, will also start on
public roads in the one-North area next January.
A driverless electric vehicle at NTU. A bold vision has been outlined by a new government committee set up to oversee
research into driverless technology. -- PHOTO: NTU
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Five facts about driverless cars, which may soon be plying Singapore's roads
PUBLISHED ON AUG 27, 2014 4:00 PM
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Singapore may soon see driverless buses and cars on the roads with a government committee
already set up to oversee research into such technology. Here are five facts about driverless
vehicles:
1. Driverless - or autonomous - vehicles “drive themselves” with the help of artificial
intelligence
Sensory equipment such as cameras, radar and lasers help such vehicles "see" the road ahead,
detecting objects and how fast they are moving, and allowing the vehicle to mimic the
decisions a human driver would make in any given situation.
Global Positioning System, or GPS, helps the vehicle pinpoint its location.
Singapore’s first driverless shuttle transportation system - Navia - carries passengers on a pre-programmed route between
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the CleanTech Park of JTC Corporation. It can carry eight passengers and has
a maximum speed of 20.1kmh. -- PHOTO: NTU
2. Trials here have already begun
Singapore’s first driverless shuttle transportation system - named Navia - carries passengers
on a pre-programmed route between Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the
CleanTech Park of JTC Corporation.
Navia is manufactured by Induct Technologies, in partnership with NTU and JTC and with
the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board. It can carry eight passengers and
has a maximum speed of 20.1kmh.
A two-year collaboration will see the Energy Research Institute@NTU test and optimise
Navia and enable it to intermingle safely with traffic in Singapore, as well as improving
electric vehicle battery reliability and charging speeds.
3. NUS has one too
Its Singapore-made driverless vehicle is called the Shared Computer Operated Transport, or
Scot, was launched in January 2014 by the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and
Technology (Smart) and the National University of Singapore.
Starting with a Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car, researchers retrofitted it at a cost of $30,000
so it would drive programmed routes.
The car, which seats four and has a top speed of 130kmh, uses laser sensors with a 30m range
to detect and avoid obstacles in its path. It also uses remote sensing technology that allows it
to function without relying on the Global Positioning System. The researchers also wrote the
maps used by the Scot to get from place to place.
4. Google is onboard too
Of all the companies developing driverless vehicle technologies, perhaps the most oddball is
Google. On reflection however, the search engine company has related technologies it can
put to good use in a driverless vehicle in Google maps and Street View.
The company launched 100 vehicles at its California headquarters on May 27. The cute little
two-seater has only a panic button and a start button, no steering wheel or pedals. Its top
speed is limited to 25mph (40kmph).
Watch a video of the car going on a test drive with people on YouTube.
5. Such cars are being tested in a number of places, including Britain and the US
Three cities across Britain will be selected to host driverless car trials from next year, with
each test to last between 18 and 36 months starting in January 2015.
A £10 million (S$21 million) fund has been created to cover the costs and will be divided
among the three successful cities.
The testing of driverless cars has already been approved in California, Nevada and Florida, in
the United States.
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