Volvo Unveils Driverless Electric Bus

Volvo and a Singapore university unveiled a driverless electric bus on Tuesday that will soon undergo tests in the city – state , the latest move towards rolling out autonomous vehicles for public transport.

High- tech Singapore has become a testbed for self – driving technology and the world ’ s first driverless taxis went into operation in a limited public trial in the country in 2016.

Swedish automaker Volvo Buses and its local partner Nanyang Technological University ( NTU ) unveiled what they described as a full – size autonomous electric bus and said the vehicle would soon start trial runs in the university ’ s sprawling campus.

Data from the trials will be used to improve the technology before the driverless buses are put to the test on public roads , Volvo and NTU said in a statement.

Volvo Buses president Hakan Agnevall said the vehicle was “ an important step towards our vision for a cleaner , safer and smarter city ” .

The vehicle is 12 metres ( 39 feet ) long with a full capacity of close to 80 passengers.

It uses 80 per cent less energy than a diesel bus of a similar size and is equipped with sensors and navigation controls managed by an artificial intelligence system , the statement said.

( AFP )