Driverless cars could soon be used to shuttle people in enclosed areas

Electric driverless shuttles could soon be used to transport people in enclosed areas. Speaking to the The Straits Times, Mr. Ho Kei Leong, Senior Scientist at National Technological University (NTU) Energy Research Institute, said the aim currently is to implement such systems in enclosed areas such as universities, science parks and amusement parks.

Driverless cars are still not used on the main roads of Singapore.

Mr. Ho's 10-member team modified a driverless shuttle and is testing it on a 2km route around CleanTech Park in Jurong West.

The National University of Singapore (NUS), meanwhile, has plans to test its driverless golf buggy on the footpaths of Chinese and Japanese gardens later this year.

Mr. Ho added that plans are underway to enhance the capability of the buggy, which includes cutting down the charging time from seven hours to just one, and increasing the buggy's speed to 40km/h after attaching handle bars for passengers to hold on. However, he thinks that the most important aspect is to educate the public about these driverless cars.