A new pilot project for on-demand, autonomous vehicle service is set to begin operating on the public roads of Irvine, California.
Beginning in November, a fleet of self-driving Hyundai electric SUVs will provide a free ride-sharing service with self-driving capabilities being provided by Chinese vehicle developer Pony.ai and mobility vendor Via.
The BotRide pilot program will run from Nov. 4, 2019, to Jan. 31, 2020, where residents in the area can hail an autonomous Hyundai Kona SUV directly from their smartphone via the BotRide app. The app directs passengers to stops for pick-up and drop-off for shared trips without lengthy detours.
Via’s algorithms enable multiple riders to share the same vehicle using Pony.ai’s autonomous vehicle technology. The vehicles are equipped with sensor hardware and software to identify the precise position of surrounding vehicles, handle pedestrian traffic in urban areas, monitor its surroundings, predict behavior of other road users and plan actions related to ongoing traffic.
BotRide will be available in 13 popular destinations covering several residential, commercial and institutional points of interest.
The goal of the project is to study consumer behavior in an autonomous ride-sharing environment including where the vehicles travel and how the customer experience is delivered via self-driving cars. Each vehicle will have a human co-pilot in charge of monitoring the self-driving system for additional safety and will feature passenger-to-system interactions such as automated onboard passenger verification.
BotRide will feature SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle technology, an electric powertrain, flexible service routes and trip planning.
“The BotRide pilot represents an important step in the deployment and eventual commercialization of a growing new mobility business,” said Daniel Han, manager of advanced product strategy for Hyundai, in a statement. “In addition to the technology partners powering BotRide, the broader city and community ecosystem have also played an important role in making BotRide possible. The BotRide pilot can serve as an example of how cities and companies can come together to truly enable smart cities and smart transportation systems of the future.”
