Drive.ai self-driving tests with passengers in Frisco, Texas

Drive.ai is using self-driving vans to carry passengers on a near two-mile route in Frisco, Texas. According to a report by CBS News, the company is the first to launch such a test since an Uber vehicle driving in autonomous mode killed a pedestrian in Arizona. These vans will operate over the next six months, with a safety driver on board, and will travel between an office park and a nearby dining area and entertainment complex. Conway Chen, vice president at Drive.ai, says the service has been desi
July 31, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Drive.ai is using self-driving vans to carry passengers on a near two-mile route in Frisco, Texas. According to a report by %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external CBS News false https://www.cbsnews.com/news/self-driving-passenger-vans-hit-the-road-in-texas-city/ false false%>, the company is the first to launch such a test since an 8336 Uber vehicle driving in autonomous mode killed a pedestrian in %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 35413 0 link-external Arizona false /categories/utc/news/uber-ends-self-driving-programme-in-arizona/ false false%>.


These vans will operate over the next six months, with a safety driver on board, and will travel between an office park and a nearby dining area and entertainment complex.

Conway Chen, vice president at Drive.ai, says the service has been designed around the Uber incident.

"It is something that we have absolutely designed around, and we are taking every precaution that we can to make sure that type of incident doesn't happen,” Chen adds.

These vans come with radar on the grill, infrared Lidar sensors and ten cameras on the roof to provide a 360-degree view of the road. The vehicles also feature screens on their sides, front and rear to alert pedestrians and drivers of their movements.

Drive.ai intends to add more destinations over the next six months and phase out the safety driver.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Pedal power for parking attendants with ScanBike
    March 21, 2018
    A Tour de France winner it may not be but the ScanBike is a tour de force for parking attendants. Essentially, the ScanBike is a small plastic box weighing 14kg that can be attached onto the rear carrier of any heavy-duty bicycle and scooter. It is self-contained, working independently from the vehicle thanks to its own battery that operates the equipment for 3-5 hours. This gives operators high freedom of choice of the vehicle, explains Coen Borren, head of marketing for Scanacar, makers of the ScanB
    Read More
  • C-roads will soon be ‘a reality’
    March 9, 2018
    Cross-border C-ITS-enabled roads (C-roads) will start becoming a reality in 2019, with safety as the driver, according to AustriaTech/ITS Austria's Martin Bohm. He made the comment during a recent Brussels workshop run by the European ITS and C-roads platforms to assess results of road corridor pilots. The latter is a joint initiative by EU member states and road operators to test and implement C-ITS services for universal harmonisation and interoperability. We can, he continued, deploy systems
    Read More
  • Grab sponsorship with CARTES Daily News and e-newsletters
    July 9, 2014
    Let us help you find more customers at CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014. Join the other movers and shakers in the secure connections industry and advertise with us in the CARTES Daily News, a journal which will be published on each of the three days of the event. Inside each day’s paper there will be exclusive interviews with the key players, a round-up of what’s going on at the show that day, and an inside look at the technology on display. It is the must-read publication of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014, ke
    Read More
  • Irdeto opens C/AV office in Michigan to boost OEM collaboration
    October 15, 2018
    Irdeto has opened an office in Pontiac, Michigan, to encourage collaboration with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), automotive suppliers and fleet operators on improving security for connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs). Niels Haverkorn, general manager, connected transport, Irdeto, says: “The key challenge is to identify a comprehensive security solution that is able to protect the vehicle itself and safely implement innovative business models.” The move follows a previous initiative where
    Read More

Highlighted Content