
Driverless, Electric Shuttles Now Operating in Lyon, France - kungfudoi
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/driverless-electric-shuttles-now-operating-in-lyon-france/
======
Animats
Navya found a buyer! They've been showing off their technology since CES 2014.
Here's their demo video.[1]

There are a lot of these little things available. There's Easymile.[2] Theirs
is so slow they have to show double-speed video. There's Olli, from Local
Motors.[3] It's 3D printed and has a hipster website, but there are no
installations. Even Ycombinator has one, Auro.[4]

Most of these things underperform a golf cart. They're all in the "when in
doubt, slam on the brakes" speed range for non-belted passengers. This is in
some ways a harder problem than driverless cars, where the passengers are
belted in and can survive at least a 35MPH collision.

Maybe the solution to this is to provide seat belts, and limit speed to 5-6MPH
until everyone is belted in. This will encourage people to buckle up,
especially with a bit of nagging.

[1] [http://navya.tech/?lang=en](http://navya.tech/?lang=en) [2]
[https://vimeo.com/137217228](https://vimeo.com/137217228) [3]
[http://meetolli.auto](http://meetolli.auto) [4]
[http://www.aurobots.com/](http://www.aurobots.com/)

~~~
Retric
These seem to be a good fit for collage campus, remote parking, or around
large airports. Basically anywhere the trips are fairly short and people are
normally carrying 10+ lb of stuff or through areas you don't want people
walking around.

They might also work for retirement communities, hilly areas, or where weather
is often terrible, basically when walking is unpleasant. Possibly even transit
within amusement parks or other places where navigation can confuse people.

But, well slow speed, and high cost per passenger mile is a clear reason they
are not in widespread use.

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heinrichf
The same vehicles are actually being tested in Switzerland by the Post:

[https://www.postauto.ch/smartshuttle](https://www.postauto.ch/smartshuttle)

[https://www.post.ch/en/about-us/company/media/press-
releases...](https://www.post.ch/en/about-us/company/media/press-
releases/2016/start-of-public-testing-of-autonomous-shuttles)

[https://www.post.ch/en/about-us/company/media/press-
releases...](https://www.post.ch/en/about-us/company/media/press-
releases/2016/start-of-public-testing-of-autonomous-
shuttles#3E6F400CE78A4C8886C50AFC8351D490_collapsible)

Unfortunately, it seems they just shut them down after a minor incident.

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mastax
> They also carry a human operator at all times.

Despite this, these are still pretty neat. It's like a tram line without
having to build the tracks. You don't need to steer, just not hit anything in
front of you. In this case, the sensors can probably do most of that, too.

~~~
nylsaar
No steering wheel or pedals must mean the operator operates the door?
"Quelqu'un doit sauter!". (This may not be funny in two languages.)

~~~
dimtion
As a French, reading this I immediately understood this as "Somebody must
blowup!", which I think wasn't the intended joke...

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evaneykelen
In the Netherlands a test is underway using Ez10 self driving busses making
use of bicycle lane: [http://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/113024/Eerste-
zelfrijdende-b...](http://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/113024/Eerste-zelfrijdende-
bussen-rijden-vanaf-vanmiddag-in-Appelscha) (Dutch language)

~~~
lukeholder
Also being trialed in Perth, Australia.

[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-09/driverless-electric-
bu...](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-09/driverless-electric-bus-to-be-
trialled-wa-rac/7152650)

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mkj
There's one of these in Perth Australia. Reportedly has a wireless keyboard
for manual control...

~~~
SyneRyder
Yup, there's a short article about the Perth one here. It was briefly taken
offline after problems with the GPS, but I understand it's operational again
now.

[http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-test-
dr...](http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-test-drives-
australias-first-driverless-bus/news-story/67414213fe56139bd2aa06c4a23e8ed3)

------
pan69
We had this in the Netherlands in 1999. I think its still in operation today.
I used to work in Rivium business park at the time and used to ride it every
morning (when it worked).

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW7XUs_0yU8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW7XUs_0yU8)

[https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/ParkShuttle](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/ParkShuttle)

(Sorry, WikiPedia page in Dutch).

~~~
frik
But that one is low-tech, like the automatic robots in factories. It uses
magnets under the road surface and RFID tags, see FROG link on the wiki page.

The OP article mentions high-tech sensors like stero cameras and LIDAR
-technology that requires state-of-the-art computers and is used in Google
self-driven cars, etc.

~~~
unusximmortalis
And?... if the end result is the same? :)

~~~
surfmike
One requires expensive road infrastructure, the other doesn't.

------
user5994461
Some more information:

The shuttles are doing a 1 mile "L" path circle around a park and a commercial
center. Then they turn back.

There isn't any traffic whatsoever. It's a wide road for pedestrians only,
circling the area.

I've been saying forever that we should have golf cars to move around that
place. Now it's getting real :D

------
tajen
They operate in the south of Confluence: It's a straight line without
intersections. Granted there are pedestrians in this area, but I don't even
think there are cyclists around. I was a bit disappointed when I learnt about
the path: They're barely more than a tram.

~~~
masklinn
Makes sense for a first test, they're just a smaller and more reactive tram,
with no infrastructural requirements. That provides a well-controlled and safe
baseline.

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coldcode
The human operator sure has a crazy job. You don't really do anything but are
responsible if something goes wrong so you can't zone out.

