"Pretty cool" says delighted tourists as driverless buses roll out in new Singapore test
Record ID:
1428746
"Pretty cool" says delighted tourists as driverless buses roll out in new Singapore test
- Title: "Pretty cool" says delighted tourists as driverless buses roll out in new Singapore test
- Date: 27th August 2019
- Summary: SINGAPORE (AUGUST 26, 2019) (REUTERS) AUTONOMOUS BUS STOPPING AT BUS STOP SCREEN ON FRONT OF BUS READING (English): "AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ON TRIAL"/ FLASHING LIGHTS PASSENGERS GETTING ON BOARD AUTONOMOUS BUS VARIOUS OF AUTONOMOUS BUS DRIVING AWAY BUS CAPTAIN AT SBS, MUHD FAIZ BIN AHMAD SITTING AT DRIVER'S SEAT / STEERING WHEEL TURNING BY ITSELF STEERING WHEEL TURNING BY ITSELF CHIEF ROBOTICS ENGINEER AT ST ENGINEERING LAND SYSTEM, TAN NAI KWAN, RIDING AUTONOMOUS BUS SCREEN SHOWING AUTONOMOUS BUS ROUTE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF ROBOTICS ENGINEER AT ST ENGINEERING LAND SYSTEM, TAN NAI KWAN, SAYING: "The authority are looking forward for (to) this, and in fact, they are very supportive in our development, and they also gave us a lot of help in establishing all the road regulations and establishing all the testing procedures. Like the TR (Technical Reference) 68 (national standards) that recently they published this year, they've actually helped us to bring the autonomous system into the public faster." (MUTE) TIMELAPSE OF VIEW FROM AUTONOMOUS BUS FRONT WINDSHIELD DRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF ROBOTICS ENGINEER AT ST ENGINEERING LAND SYSTEM, TAN NAI KWAN, SAYING: "So, the teams are well prepared. Of course, we always want to have a very safe ride for everybody. I think throughout the whole process, you have seen us, we are very concerned about safety belt, et cetera, and the type of passenger we are bringing on board during this phase. As time goes by, I guess we are going to give a better education to the public, as well as for own consumption as a developer, so that we can give a better solution to this transportation (for) Singapore." TOURIST USING KIOSK TO BOOK A BUS SEAT SCREEN ON KIOSK TOURIST AND COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT FROM IRELAND, STEPHEN BYRNE, 20, AND FRIEND WALKING INTO AUTONOMOUS BUS BYRNE AND FRIEND TAKING SEATS IN AUTONOMOUS BUS AUTONOMOUS BUS DRIVING OFF BYRNE AND FRIEND SEATED IN AUTONOMOUS BUS BYRNE LOOKING ON AUTONOMOUS BUS PASSING ON ROAD AS SEEN FROM WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURIST AND COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT FROM IRELAND, STEPHEN BYRNE, 20, SAYING: "It's pretty cool, but at the same time it kind of feels pretty similar to a normal bus, so I suppose that's a good thing. It's not too much of a shock." (MUTE) TIMELAPSE OF BUS CAPTAIN AT SBS, MUHD FAIZ BIN AHMAD, SITTING AT DRIVER'S WHEEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) BUS CAPTAIN AT SBS, MUHD FAIZ BIN AHMAD, 27, SAYING: "I have to look out for traffic, any hazards, which some drivers, they violate the rules, which we need to take extra precautions, because they (don't) know how this autonomous bus is working, and most importantly, I have to ensure my passengers' own safety." AUTONOMOUS BUS PARKED STAFF PUTTING CHARGING PLUG INTO AUTONOMOUS BUS FOR CHARGING
- Embargoed: 10th September 2019 07:27
- Keywords: autonomous bus service Singapore self driving shuttle Sentosa trial tourists
- Location: SINGAPORE
- City: SINGAPORE
- Country: Singapore
- Topics: Information Technologies / Computer Sciences,Science
- Reuters ID: LVA001ATZRU55
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Under the sweltering Singapore sun, an autonomous shuttle bus drives up by itself and allows a line of tourists to board, providing respite from the heat as the passengers sped away in cool comfort.
The island-state - ranked second behind the United States in its preparedness for driverless vehicles - started to tentatively test a fleet of shuttles in its coastal tourist district of Sentosa this week.
After a series of mishaps at home and abroad with the new technology, the company behind the latest test said it is taking no chances. Tan Nai Kwan, chief robotics engineer at ST Engineering Land Systems, said safety was paramount during this testing phase.
"We always want to have a very safe ride for everybody. I think throughout the whole process, you have seen us, we are very concerned about safety belt, et cetera," said Tan.
On the first day of the trial on Monday (August 26), there were almost as many bus stewards as passengers making sure seatbelts were tightly fastened as the bus trundled through quiet roads. Meanwhile, a driver hovered above the self-rotating steering wheel at all times, ready to snatch back control.
"I have to look out for traffic, any hazards. Some drivers they violate the rules, which we need to take extra precautions, because they (don't) know how this autonomous bus is working," said Muhd Faiz Bin Ahmad, one of the autonomous buses' safety driver.
Singapore's testing of the technology is being closely watched as tech firms and automakers race to build self-drive cars and develop new business plans for what is expected to be a long-term makeover of personal transport.
The city-state ranked No. 2 globally in an index that assesses countries' openness and preparedness for autonomous vehicles in a recent KPMG report, although a broader roll out across the island remains years away.
Testing is not without risk. In 2016, a self-driving car being tested in Singapore collided with a truck as it was changing lanes. The were no injuries but similar accidents in the U.S. have been fatal.
But the few intrepid tourists that managed to navigate the on-demand service on the trial's first day in Singapore did not seem phased by their robotic navigator.
"It's pretty cool, but at the same time it feels similar to a normal bus," said Stephen Byrne, a 20-year old student from Ireland.
(Production: Joseph Campbell, Travis Teo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None