SINGAPORE: Punggol, Tengah and the Jurong Innovation District will be the first areas in Singapore to have self-driving buses and shuttles plying their roads come 2022.
Three towns in these areas will be planned with autonomous vehicle (AV)-friendly features, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Wednesday (Nov 22) at the opening of Singapore’s first AV test centre, called the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of AVs.
Starting from 2022, self-driving buses will be deployed in these three towns during off-peak periods. At the same time, autonomous shuttles will provide first-last mile connection for residents and workers in these districts, Mr Khaw said.
“We expect that the AVs will greatly enhance the accessibility and connectivity of our public transport system, particularly for the old, families with the young, and the less mobile,” he said.
“More importantly, we can gain further insights into how we can develop new towns or refurbish existing ones for the safe mass deployment of AVs.”
The inside of an autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle by NTU. (Photo: Kevin Kwang)
He said a Request for Information was launched on Wednesday to seek feedback from industry and research institutions on the key requirements and enablers needed for successful pilot deployments in these towns.
The Request for Information will be open until May 31 next year, he added.
On the opening of the AV test centre, Mr Khaw said it will provide “a safe, controlled and configurable testing environment” for developers to trial their technologies using a range of simulated on-road scenarios, with advanced test equipment like pedestrian simulators.
Other scenarios include aggressive driving and interactions with other road users, including cyclists and users of personal mobility devices, he added.
To monitor the progress of AV testing, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has installed seven 360-degrees closed-circuit television cameras at the centre. Real-time footage from these cameras will be streamed back to LTA’s Autonomous Vehicle Monitoring and Evaluation System, known as OLIVE.
Mr Khaw noted that ST Kinetics and NTU ERI@N have plans to start their autonomous bus trials at the new centre next year.
