Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced a three-year pilot program to test autonomous mobility-on-demand concepts that solve the ‘first mile last mile’ problem by connecting drivers with mass transit systems.
Recognizing the company’s technologies in advanced safety and automated software, the LTA has selected Delphi Automotive as a strategic partner to implement autonomous mobility concepts. Delphi will provide a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles and will develop a cloud-based autonomous mobility-on-demand software (AMoD) suite, opening up new potential autonomous markets for its customers. The company will conduct a trial of an urban, point-to-point, low-speed, autonomous, mobility-on-demand service at Singapore’s Autonomous Vehicles Test Bed located at One-North, a business park in the western area of the city. The Singapore LTA pilot program will last three years, with plans to transition into an operational service by 2022.
Delphi’s AMoD development program and autonomous vehicle demonstration is part of the Singapore Autonomous Vehicle Initiative (SAVI), which was formed in 2014 to oversee and manage autonomous vehicle (AV) research, test-bedding, and the development of applications and solutions by industry partners and stakeholders. Of particular interest to the LTA is the potential for automated driving solutions to make it easier for commuters transiting the ‘first-mile and last-mile’ between a mass transit station and their home or work place. By addressing this need, the usage of the city-state’s mass transit systems could increase, reducing overall traffic congestion and vehicle emissions.
Delphi is a manufacturer of vehicle-based safety technologies, which are the building blocks for a fully automated vehicle and include advanced sensors, software, and electrical distribution. The company is using its participation in SAVI to develop new products and capabilities to serve its global customers. Developing a true end-to-end automated vehicle ecosystem, including a cloud-servicing capability, opens a host of new business opportunities for the company to offer its existing and potential customers in mobility and connectivity. Delphi’s technology system is vehicle agnostic and can be applied in passenger cars, buses, commercial vehicles, purpose-built mobility pods and electric vehicles. AVs provide the opportunity to facilitate efficient urban and suburban vehicle sharing, autonomous bus or taxi services, logistics and long-distance truck platooning.
“We are honored to partner with the Singapore LTA on advancing innovative mobility systems that will put Singapore at the forefront of autonomous vehicle adoption,” said Kevin Clark, Delphi’s president and chief executive officer. “This is a great recognition of our leadership in advanced safety technologies, automated software and systems integration, as well as our ability to drive these mobility solutions forward for our customers.”
Jeff Owens, chief technology officer at Delphi, added, “As a partner in SAVI, we will use a foundation of the same vehicle technologies that enabled us to successfully complete the first coast-to-coast autonomous drive across the USA in 2015. Developing a cloud-based software servicing capability integrated with the vehicle creates an end-to-end solution that will eventually allow our existing, and many potential new customers, the ability to enter emerging mobility markets.”
