Technology

Self-driving shuttle bus service to go on trial in NUS

November 19, 2018
2 min read

In March next year, ComfortDelGro will be testing out a self-driving shuttle bus service at the National University of Singapore. This autonomous vehicle will not be carrying any passengers in the initial stages while it collects data. The shuttle will be operated with electricity and runs on autonomous vehicle (AV) technology that has been successfully deployed on similar road conditions in other countries.

Read the full article on Channel NewsAsia: ComfortDelGro to trial self-driving shuttle bus at NUS from March 2019

Analysis:

The deployment of technology in transport system can aid in improving efficiency. Sensors would be able to better match demand and supply by adding on more vehicles when there are more passengers waiting at the stops. Technology can enable more flexibility and responsiveness, making it easier to add and drop vehicles without having to activate drivers.

The safety of these driverless technology is still in the works. Earlier this year, a self-driving Uber car killed a pedestrian. Recently, Uber released safety reports that details what had gone wrong and the efforts taken to address them. These machines need to learn the complexities of road conditions and acquire the intelligence to react when something unexpected happens that could endanger any passenger or pedestrian involved.

While mistakes are costly, such learning and progress in technology need to be embraced for further improvements in our systems. The future of Singapore’s transport system is also in technological advancements such as hands-free fare gates and autonomous guided vehicles for cargo transport.

Questions for further personal evaluation:

  1. Do you believe that artificial intelligence can learn to avoid mistakes that humans make on the road?

  2. To what extent are you looking forward to seeing self-driving cars on the road?

Useful vocabulary:

  1. ‘autonomous’: having the freedom to act independently

  2. ‘deployed’: bring into effective action

  3. ‘foray’: a brief but spirited attempt to become involved in a new activity

  4. ‘contrition’: the state of feeling remorseful and penitent

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/142730769@N05/29547970117/