Vehicle and transportation
‘Mobilai’, part of the Intel Group, has received approval for test drives in an autonomous vehicle, which now allow the company to operate its autonomous ‘Robotics’ on the streets of Paris. Now, it is adding Paris to the list of cities where autonomous vehicle (AV) test trips will be made.
The orders in Paris will be in collaboration with the RATP Group, the third largest public transport operator in the world, and Mobilai has invited the employees of the leading department store in France, Galeries Lafayette, to use its services four days a week.
A Mobilai autonomous test vehicle is capable of transporting two passengers simultaneously accompanied by a Mobilai safety driver and a RATP co-driver.
Cities like Paris, with complicated road systems, and a high amount of pedestrians and traffic, pose a great challenge to both human drivers and autonomous vehicles (AV). Such areas are essential examination areas for the development of safe, driverless and global-scale services. The addition of the French capital to Mobilai’s test environment set marks another important step in driving the industry towards commercial readiness. The pilot will allow the company to receive important insights and feedback from passengers.
The test trips take place in New York City, Munich, Detroit, Tokyo, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and China. The company is expected to launch a commercial robotics service under the MoovitAV brand in Munich and Tel Aviv in 2022, after receiving approvals from the Ministries of Transportation and Finance.