Skip to main content

Western Australia to trial autonomous vehicle

Western Australia is to trial a driverless and fully electric shuttle bus later this year. Developed by NAVYA SAS, a French company specialising in intelligent transport systems, the shuttle bus can transport up to 15 passengers and has a maximum speed of 45kmh with an average speed of 25kmh Announcing the trial, Transport Minister Dean Nalder said the Department of Transport was working closely with the RAC to ensure compliance with road and vehicle safety standards while they trialled an autonomous sh
February 11, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Western Australia is to trial a driverless and fully electric shuttle bus later this year. Developed by NAVYA SAS, a French company specialising in intelligent transport systems, the shuttle bus can transport up to 15 passengers and has a maximum speed of 45kmh with an average speed of 25kmh
 
Announcing the trial, Transport Minister Dean Nalder said the Department of Transport was working closely with the RAC to ensure compliance with road and vehicle safety standards while they trialled an autonomous shuttle bus.
 
"It is not a matter of if this technology will come to WA, but when it will, and that time is fast approaching.  Initially, the trials will be conducted at RAC's driving centre, but eventually the shuttle will take to Perth roads," Mr Nalder said.
 
The Minister said the Department of Transport was working with the RAC to identify the routes on Perth roads where the trials would take place. These types of vehicles are being tested and trialled in other countries and have autonomous features such as radar cruise control and lane detection warning systems. They also have multi-sensor technology, providing 3D perception that allows it to map the environment, detect obstacles on the road and interpret traffic signs
 
"To ensure we are working towards providing the best integrated and intelligent transport services and solutions for the State, it is important to trial new innovative modes of transport, and this is one of those modes," Nalder said.

Related Content

  • January 5, 2023
    CES 2023: Beep, beep! It's ZF's AV
    Driverless shuttle deployed in US to create 'single-source autonomous mobility solution'
  • November 25, 2015
    Arizona DOT to test prototype wrong-way vehicle detection system
    After a comprehensive study of wrong-way driving crashes on state highways and how technology may help reduce the threat, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is planning a prototype project to use existing highway sensors to detect wrong-way vehicles and alert authorities and other motorists. ADOT director John Halikowski said the study sets the stage for the agency to develop and test a unique and innovative system to detect and track wrong-way drivers, improving opportunities for law enforceme
  • February 3, 2012
    Detection analysis technology successfully predicts traffic flows
    David Crawford investigates new detection analysis technology from IBM. Locations on both the East and West Coasts of the US are scheduled for early deployments of IBM's new Traffic Prediction Tool (TPT) statistical analysis model for the fine-time resolution and near-term prediction of road flow conditions. Developed by IBM's Watson Research Laboratories, TPT is designed to analyse data from the the key detection indicators - average vehicle volumes and speeds passing a location in a given time interval -
  • October 13, 2015
    Transport in the round
    The ITF’s Mary Crass tells Colin Sowman why future transport demands will require governments to overcome the silo effect of individual single-modal authorities. The only global multimodal transport policy organisation,” is how Mary Crass describes the International Transport Forum (ITF), which is housed at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). As head of policy and summit preparation at the ITF she says: “All other organisations are either regional or have a modal focus, we cove