nuTonomy has partnered with Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) to launch trials of its on-demand driverless taxi service, according to a new press release issued by the company. The partnership is set to push the company’s development efforts forward in Singapore as it gears up to launch its commercial driverless taxi service in 2018.
Since April, nuTonomy has conducted government-approved autonomous vehicle tests in Singapore’s one-north district. With the new partnership between LTA, nuTonomy will test its autonomous vehicles like the real deal, allowing residents of Singapore to request and ride driverless taxis. However, the program will be under nuTonomy’s supervision as they test the newfangled transportation technology.
nuTonomy’s CEO, Karl Iagnemma, said “nuTonomy is honored to partner with LTA and we applaud the Singaporean government for its forward thinking and planning. We are committed to Singapore, as demonstrated by the growing team we have here as well as our AV testing program in one-north. This innovative collaboration with LTA will accelerate the pace of change we are bringing to the fundamentals of human transportation by enhancing our ability to deploy a fleet of self-driving vehicles to serve the people of Singapore.”
The research and development-centric partnership between is slated to advance nuTonomy’s trial program, expand its driverless taxi fleet, and improve user experience before commercial launch. In addition, LTA is hoping to gather information on how to best implement services like nuTonomy’s in Singapore.
nuTonomy Chief Technology Officer, Emilio Frazzoli, stated, “This strategic partnership with LTA will enable nuTonomy to expand our ongoing testing program on public roads. The feedback we will gather through more extensive trials will be of great value as we continue to develop our AV software system and ready our mobility-on-demand service for deployment across Singapore. Our team in Singapore enjoys a very productive working relationship with the government, and we’re confident that this will extend to our promising new partnership with LTA.”
The company hopes to bring 100 jobs to Singapore as it prepares for commercial launch in 2018. nuTonomy raised a hefty $16 million Series A led by Highland Capital Partners earlier this year. Like many other companies hoping to cash in on autonomous vehicles, nuTonomy is testing its vehicles in Michigan. The company also conducts tests in the United Kingdom where it’s developing software in partnership with Jaguar.
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