Future of the automotive industry is here.
ABC reports Australia's first driverless shuttle bus was trialled today in Perth, Western Australia.
The driverless beast is in motion. Still yet to face its greatest test - Perth merging. @perthnow pic.twitter.com/vEwhCrcg4G — Joel Kelly (@joel_hack) August 31, 2016
This bus which can carry 11 passengers and can travel upto 45km per hour, is rated level 4 on the scale of automation. This means it can perform all safety-critical driving functions without anyone behind the wheel.
But there’s a catch. It can do so only in a few environments.
FEATURES OF THE DRIVERLESS BUS:
- It can avoid an accident with the help of its front and rear cameras.
- GPS technology installed.
- Autonomous emergency breaks plus an emergency stop button.
- Ability to detect other vehicles and read traffic lights.
The bus is worth $250,000 and has been built by a French company.
It has been imported by road safety advocacy group RAC.
RAC Chief Executive Officer Terry Agnew told the ABC that with 90 per cent of road accidents caused by human error, the driverless bus was safer than being in a car with a driver.
"The risk with driverless vehicles is lower, the statistics say their safety record is stronger," Mr Agnew said.
"Over the next 20 to 30 years we are going to see driven vehicles and driverless vehicles having to coexist.
"This isn't a lot different to a hundred years ago when you had motor vehicles coming on the road and you had horses."
In case of an accident, the RAC would claim responsibility and the bus is also covered by Western Australia's third-party insurance.
What if the program that drives the bus is hacked? Well, the vehicle can also be manually driven and taken over, if hackers were ever to access the shuttle's navigation system.
The driverless bus will now undergo a three-month trial along the South Perth foreshore.
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