Singapore trials first driverless EV

Singapore’s first driverless electric vehicle, developed by the country’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has taken to the streets in a test carried out along a two kilometre route. The vehicle can accommodate eight passengers and is able to travel at 20 kilometres per hour. The two-year test project, being carried out jointly by NTU, JTC and Induct Technologies, is the first of its kind in Singapore and aims to develop a vehicle that will replace shuttle buses in the country.
August 20, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Singapore’s first driverless electric vehicle, developed by the country’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has taken to the streets in a test carried out along a two kilometre route. The vehicle can accommodate eight passengers and is able to travel at 20 kilometres per hour.

The two-year test project, being carried out jointly by NTU, JTC and 7149 Induct Technologies, is the first of its kind in Singapore and aims to develop a vehicle that will replace shuttle buses in the country.

The vehicle will be able to safely interact with traffic in Singapore, the developers claim. Software and intelligence systems will be programmed into the vehicle to enable it operate on pre-defined routes. They expect that the new vehicle would be about 30 per cent to 50 per cent less expensive to operate than a normal vehicle.

The joint research team will also oversee the development and testing of various new charging technologies, such as wireless induction and new super capacitors for electric vehicles.

Related Content

  • June 29, 2018
    Avoiding the call of the wild
    Hitting an animal on a rural road can be fatal for all parties involved – but detecting and avoiding them requires clever technology. Andrew Williams carefully scans the horizon for details. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are an ever-present threat in rural areas around the world, and there is certainly nothing funny about suddenly finding an angry moose in your headlights on a sharp bend. A variety of detection and avoidance systems are currently in use or under development to help prevent your vehicle being
    Read More
  • January 18, 2013
    Programming a smoother commute
    Work being carried out by the University of Toronto’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Centre could have a beneficial effect on the city’s congestion problems. Says Professor Baher Abdulhai of the Centre, "Everybody realises that we have a big congestion problem in Toronto and the scarier part is that it's getting worse, exponentially." One of the solutions he's working on is smarter traffic lights using artificial intelligence to control the flow of traffic. "Each traffic light would learn how to time i
    Read More
  • February 2, 2012
    Carbon finance delivers critical support to mass transit schemes
    David Crawford investigates carbon finance in transport. World Bank carbon finance grants are delivering critical support to major mass transit deployments in emerging and developing economies. Only recently operative in the transport sector, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM, see panel) is designed to generate additional income streams and improve internal rates of return on projects funded from public- and private-sector sources.
    Read More
  • January 20, 2012
    Adaptive control reduces travel time, cuts congestion
    Situated in San Diego County, California, the growing city of San Marcos has seen its population increase by 53.5 per cent since the turn of the century. Although this dramatic population increase has spurred economic growth bringing new business, homes and opportunities to the city, it has also increased traffic congestion along its central corridor, San Marcos Boulevard. This became the most congested arterial in the city, and, by 2006, the second-most travelled corridor in San Diego County.
    Read More

Highlighted Content