ADDISON LEE
The private hire firm says it will have driverless cabs on London roads by 2021 thanks to its partnership with software firm Oxbotica. The tech company is digitally mapping roads and traffic features in the capital to gain a better understanding of how it can be navigated. The robots won’t be taking over quite yet, however, as the company says its 5,000 drivers will remain employed. Addison hopes to initially offer shared minibus shuttles to get to work or to the airport.
UBER
Japanese car maker Toyota is investing $500million (£388m) in Uber to develop an autonomous fleet. The partnership will see Uber integrate its autonomous driving system with Toyota’s Guardian technology, which offers a few automated safety features such as lanekeeping but doesn’t enable a vehicle to be entirely self-driven. It is hoped the purpose-built Sienna minivans will be deployed in trials in 2021. Uber also hopes the deal will help its self-drive reputation after a fatal collision with a pedestrian in the US last year.
Google’s Waymo launched a limited self-driving taxi service called Waymo One in Phoenix, Arizona, last December, following a test with a select group of residents and approval from the local transportation department. Hundreds of preapproved riders can now book the self-driving service using an app, then hop in one of the autonomous vehicles with a human safety driver behind the wheel. Waymo’s system then decides the best route and safest drop-off point.
TESLA
Elon Musk recently boasted that his electric car company would have a million driverless taxis on the road ‘a year from now’. As part of this ambitious idea, he announced plans to repurpose Model 3s at the end of their lease contracts to build this fully fledged fleet. Central to this promise is a new ‘transformative’ artificial intelligence microchip, which Musk claims is powerful enough to enable Teslas to pilot themselves without supervision.
PROJECT CAV FORTH
Following the government’s announcement that the first driverless public transport services will be on UK roads by 2021, £4.35million of funding has been awarded to Scotland’s first self-driving bus trial. The pilot project involves five autonomous buses, converted from manually driven vehicles, which can carry 42 passengers on a 14-mile journey between Fife and Edinburgh. A driver will be present to comply with legislation and provide a back-up for safety.