Lyft Launches 30 Self-Driving Cars In Las Vegas, Nevada
by Amanda Froelich Truth Theory
In the near future, you and your loved ones may commute to work, school, or the park in self-driving vehicles. Though many trials have ended in accidents, the company Lyft is confident it can produce a reliable, safe, and affordable self-driving vehicle system.
In early January, Lyft tested its self-driving cars at the Compute Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, by offering free rides to people. Because that trial was successful, the company now seeks to unleash 30 autonomous vehicles in the city known for abundant partying.
As Engadget reports, the new initiative will allow commuters in the city to hail a self-driving car. For those who are concerned about the technology, trials have shown that the Aptiv-designed vehicles are capable of maneuvering the city’s chaotic traffic.
The self-driving fleet of vehicles is likely to consist of Aptiv-augmented BMWs that use nine LiDARS, a trifocal camera, 10 radars, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, and an advanced GPS to safely navigate roads. Initially, the vehicles will be limited to a small selection of routes.
Lyft and Aptiv have agreed to a multi-year collaboration. Both companies agree that the implementation of self-driving technology is a monumental step forward. Said Aptiv president and CEO, Kevin Clark, in a statement: “With Aptiv’s autonomous driving technology deployed throughout Las Vegas and broadly accessible through the Lyft app, a wide range of consumers will be able to share the experience of autonomous vehicles in a complex urban environment.”
“More importantly, the resulting knowledge and data will allow us to further refine our autonomous driving capabilities and strengthen our portfolio of industry-leading active safety solutions,” Clark added.
The autonomous vehicles will be operated by highly-trained safety drivers. However, it will still be some time before any company is able to operate a fully functional self-driving vehicle system in urban areas.
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Source: Engadget
Image Credit: Lyft
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