testing autonomous Chrysler Pacifica mini- vans – without a driver at the helm – around the streets of Phoenix, Arizona. This year, if all goes well, Waymo will become the world’s first driverless ride-hailing service. Uber Technologies Inc is hot on Waymo’s


heels, though. Under its newly appointed CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, it is investing in


taxi companies. Uber has been testing the cars (albeit with a human supervisor at the wheel) in Pittsburgh – although one was involved in a collision earlier this year, it was reportedly because the driver of a traditional car would not yield to the automated car when they should have done. Meanwhile, in Singapore, in summer


“It decides for itself on the route to take, and how to interact with other road users”


a fleet of 24,000 Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicles scheduled to be delivered between 2019 and 2021. The vehicles will be custom- ised with sensors for automated operation – drivers are, after all, the biggest cost for


BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


2016, MIT start-up Nutonomy brought a driverless taxi to a small area outside the city centre, as part of a test phase in which a select group of people was allowed to request rides via an app. This year, the fleet


will expand to 75 vehicles. Nutonomy has also been trialling its ‘robo-taxis’ in Boston. The start-up’s acquisition by automotive manufacturer Delphi for US$450 million in October is testament to the huge growth spurt in the driverless car industry. In San Francisco, ride-sharing company


Lyft is launching a fleet of automated cars with humans at the wheel (as Californian law demands) operated by software devel- oped by the ‘deep learning’ start-up Drive.Ai. Meanwhile, the Westfield Pod has recently appeared on the streets of London’s Green- wich. A more advanced version of the pods that go back and forth at Heathrow airport, these have their own sensors and a detailed 3D map of the area. The website says: “It decides for itself on the route to take, and


BBT January/February 2018 123


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