Expanded test bed in Singapore for autonomous vehicles a big boost for research: Developers

A self-driving electric vehicle by the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology being tested on the road at the National University of Singapore. Having access to more public roads would give researchers more scenarios and environments to w
A self-driving electric vehicle by the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology being tested on the road at the National University of Singapore. Having access to more public roads would give researchers more scenarios and environments to work with, and raise public awareness of autonomous vehicles, said National University of Singapore researcher Marcelo Ang. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
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Developers of autonomous vehicles (AVs) have called the move to open up all of western Singapore for trials an unprecedented step - one that will greatly enhance the development of such vehicles here.

It is logical to expand the test area for AVs to learn more about how self-driving vehicles interact with road users and test the public reaction to them, transport experts said. But they cautioned that this could cause traffic delays at the start.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 25, 2019, with the headline Expanded test bed in Singapore for autonomous vehicles a big boost for research: Developers. Subscribe