Skip to main content

nuTonomy to test self-driving cars on public roads in Boston

US self-driving car startup nuTonomy is to begin testing its growing fleet of self-driving cars on specific public streets in a designated area of Boston. The company, which launched a self-driving car trial in Singapore in September, has been given permission to operate its vehicles in the city’s Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. nuTonomy equips its vehicles with a software system which has been integrated with high-performance sensing and computing components, to enable safe operation without a driver.
November 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
US self-driving car startup nuTonomy is to begin testing its growing fleet of self-driving cars on specific public streets in a designated area of Boston. The company, which launched a self-driving car trial in Singapore in September, has been given permission to operate its vehicles in the city’s Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park.

nuTonomy equips its vehicles with a software system which has been integrated with high-performance sensing and computing components, to enable safe operation without a driver.

The company’s technology system out of research conducted in Massachusetts Institute of Technology labs run by nuTonomy co-founders Karl Iagnemma and Emilio Frazzoli.

During the Boston road tests, nuTonomy’s software system will learn local signage and road markings while gaining a deeper understanding of pedestrian, cyclist, and driver behaviour and interaction across a complex urban driving environment. nuTonomy plans to work with government officials to expand the testing area to other parts of the city in the near future.

The testing in Boston will enable nuTonomy to build on the knowledge it has gained from the public road tests and public trials it has been conducting in Singapore, where it plans to launch its self-driving mobility-on-demand service in 2018.

Related Content

  • Georgia DoT showcases its connectivity
    March 3, 2020
    Georgia DoT’s regional connected vehicle programme could be a model for the rest of the US. Adam Hill speaks to two men involved in making it a reality – and takes a look at the state’s first-ever Tech Showcase
  • Glasgow’s new Operations Centre has a key role in city’s future
    June 6, 2014
    David Crawford investigates a control centre with a future. Destined to play a central role in keeping the city and its transport running smoothly during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in July, the new Glasgow Operations Centre in Scotland’s largest urban centre formally went live earlier this year. The aim was to dry run its far-reaching integration of previously distinct core systems and familiarise the public with the initial phase of what will be a long-term post-event legacy. The centre brings together, i
  • Big data and self-driving cars: New studies from ITF
    May 29, 2015
    Two new reports launched by the International Transport Forum (ITF) during the Annual Summit of Transport Ministers in Leipzig, Germany, highlight issues for the transport sector: the use of big data and the trend towards automated cars. The ITF claims that failing to ensure strong privacy protection in the collection and processing of location data may result in a regulatory backlash against the technology, which could hamper innovation and limit the social and economic benefits the use of such data delive
  • US regulator ‘paves the way for Google’s self-driving car’
    February 11, 2016
    A letter to Google, the US federal transport regulator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), appears to pave the way for self-driving cars, but adds the proviso that the rule-making could take some time. Google had requested clarification of a number of provisions in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) as they apply to Google’s described design for self-driving vehicles (SDVs). “If no human occupant of the vehicle can actually drive the vehicle, it is more reasonable