Volvo plans to send out robot-buses onto the roads of Singapore. The 36-seater 7900 model claims to be the world’s first fully autonomous bus that measures around 40 feet, beating previous mini-shuttles like the Las Vegas route. Its all-electric design also means it will use 80 percent less energy than an equivalent diesel bus. “The world’s first 12-metre autonomous bus will shape the future of public transportation by promoting a transport system that is safe, efficient, reliable and comfortable for all commuters,” Subra Suresh, president of the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, which is partnering with Volvo on the project, said in a statement released Monday. “It will soon be tested on NTU’s Smart Campus, which has been a living testbed for autonomous vehicle technologies since 2012.” The system uses lidar sensors, stereo vision cameras, and a satellite navigation system that Volvo describes as “like any GPS” that gives accuracy up to one centimeter using several data sources. This is combined with an interial management unit that uses a gyroscope and accelerometer to smooth out the ride, a key issue with something as large as a bus. No hands! Volvo It’s a big step forward, and one that could represent the future of autonomous transport inside cities. Amos Haggiag, CEO of transit firm Optibus that helps run the Las Vegas autonomous shuttle, told Inverse in February 2018 that cities “will start to massively and probably aggressively favor mass transportation over taxis and private vehicles,” which could give rise to self-driving buses moving through congested central areas. Assaf Biderman, associate director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab, also told Inverse in May 2017 that city-dwellers will likely switch between car and bus as they travel in and out of a city, similar to today’s park-and-ride. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk has expressed interest in making a bus. The bus' sensor. Volvo Volvo’s bus has the capacity for 57 standing passengers, resulting in a total capacity of 93 people. The plan is to use the first bus on a short test route along the campus roads, gradually expanding to the outside of the university. A second bus will undergo tests at a bus depot operated by Singapore’s public transport agency SMRT, testing the vehicle’s capabilities at navigating washing bays and charging areas. The agency will help determine whether autonomous cars are completely ready for Singapore’s roads as part of the trial. The bus in action. Volvo The bus is designed to charge using the HVC 300P system developed by charger firm ABB, which uses 300 kilowatts of power to replenish a bus battery in around three to six minutes. By comparison, a Tesla supercharger offers 120 kilowatts of power to charge a Model S sedan in around half an hour. The fast charging speeds enable the bus to get back on the road with little downtime. Avoid the dummy. Volvo With Volvo’s bus taking to the road, it may not be long before more city dwellers place their commutes in the hands of a robot. Update 3/7 10:30 a.m. Eastern: An earlier version of this story described Optibus as a “Las Vegas autonomous shuttle developer.” It has since been corrected.<doc-sep>Autonomous technology is being actively sought by several auto makers and in some cases, teams of engineering students as well as university researchers are helping them out. One such example has now surfaced where Volvo has partnered with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to unveil a 12-metre autonomous electric bus, which is being deemed as the world’s first of its kind. In a development programme being worked upon by both the auto major and the university, a single-deck Volvo 7900 Electric bus has been produced. The 36-seater vehicle accommodates 80 people on board. Being all-electric, the autonomous bus is a zero emission vehicle that claims to be requiring 80 percent less energy than an equivalent capacity diesel model. Volvo Autonomous, Electric Bus (Image: Gwyneth Teo) For its autonomous part, the bus is equipped with an artificial intelligence (AI) system drawing its inputs from many sensors as well as navigation controls. The sensors on board include light detection and ranging sensors while stereo-vision cameras for 3D imaging couple to them. Additionally, an advanced global navigation satellite system with location accuracy of up to 1 cm has been used, which in turn draws its data from multiple sources. The AI system comes as a courtesy of the NTU researchers, who claim that the system will allow the autonomous bus to make its way through dense traffic under tropical weather conditions. The system even appoints safety measures against cyber intrusions, as claimed by the researchers. (Image: AFP/Roslan Rahman) While this is Volvo’s first fully autonomous and electric bus being used for public transportation, the NTU university has been involved in several such projects. Driverless vehicle technologies have been under works in the university over the last few years, with NTU even having fully automated mini buses running on its roads as a part of another project in collaboration with SMRT Services and 2getthere, a Dutch autonomous vehicles manufacturer. In 2018, NTU researchers reportedly made a breakthrough in light detection and ranging sensors, potentially lowering the cost by up to 200 times. The launch of the fully autonomous and electric bus comes as a part of a partnership between NTU and Land Transport Authority (LTA). Eventually meant for the fixed routes and scheduled services, the preliminary testing of the autonomous bus has been completed and it will soon enter a trial phase on the university’s roads. Subsequently, another such bus will begin with its testing round at an SMRT bus depot in April. The idea is to check the autonomous capability of the vehicle to enter parking spots as well as washing bays. Volvo is aiming to propel its dream for safer and smarter vehicles with this invention. Meanwhile, NTU President, Professor Subra Suresh believes that the fully autonomous electric bus will "play a role in shaping the future of public transportation." A similar invention was recently seen in India when a team of LPU students came up with the world's first autonomous bus powered by solar energy, an even cleaner source of energy than the electric drivetrains.<doc-sep>
It seems increasingly likely that shuttles will become the first widespread, real-world application of level-five autonomous vehicles, with the boxy people-carriers transporting passengers along pre-determined routes. Indeed, a number of companies have spent the last few years testing autonomous shuttle buses as they work to improve and refine the technology. Researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have approached the subject a little differently, deciding to incorporate self-driving smarts into a full-size bus rather than a small shuttle. Working with Volvo, NTU claims that the 12-meter long, 80-person vehicle is the world’s first full-size, autonomous electric bus. The project is part of a plan to develop and conduct autonomous bus trials for fixed routes and scheduled services in Singapore. The government has been encouraging the testing of such technology in the hope of one day persuading more citizens to ditch their cars for public transit in the densely populated city state. The Volvo 7900 electric bus is kitted out with light detection and ranging sensors (lidars), stereo-vision cameras that capture images in 3D, and an advanced global navigation satellite system that uses multiple data sources to give pinpoint location accuracy to the nearest centimeter. Notably, NTU says the bus incorporates an artificial intelligence system that’s “protected with industry-leading cybersecurity measures to prevent unwanted cyber intrusions,” because the last thing you want is for a hacker to take control of a massive bus. The Volvo vehicle is the first of two buses to be put through its paces at Singapore’s Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous vehicles at NTU (CETRAN). The center includes a custom-built track featuring typical street fixtures such as traffic signals, bus stops, and pedestrian crossings. CETRAN can also re-create harsh weather conditions such as heavy rain and partially flooded roads, both of which pose serious challenges for autonomous vehicle technology. The other autonomous Volvo bus is scheduled to undergo tests at a working bus depot in Singapore where it will autonomously navigate into vehicle washing bays and charging areas. Commenting on the project, NTU President and Professor Subra Suresh said: “This fully autonomous electric bus will play a role in shaping the future of public transportation that is safe, efficient, reliable, and comfortable for all commuters.” Håkan Agnevall, president of Volvo Buses, said the collaboration represented “a key milestone for the industry and is an important step toward our vision for a cleaner, safer, and smarter city,” though he acknowledged that the journey toward full autonomy “is undoubtedly a complex one.” While the Singapore team claims that the Volvo vehicle is the first full-size, autonomous electric bus ever to hit the road, it’s actually not the first time we’ve seen driverless technology incorporated into a vehicle of this size. In 2015, for example, a company working with the Chinese Academy of Engineering successfully tested a (non-electric?) driverless bus on regular roads, with a video showing it changing lanes, overtaking other vehicles, and responding to lights. Editors' Recommendations