Singapore begins to introduce driverless cars

MIT Technology Review : In 2015 Singapore will try out a system of driverless cars in one of its neighborhoods. It is not the first time the city has tested autonomous vehicles—driverless golf carts, buggies, and a bus have all operated in various parts of the city over the past several years. Singapore has been an early adopter of the new technology because of the city’s high population density and congested roadways. The government hopes that such a system will encourage the use of public transit by operating as a taxi service that takes people to public transportation stops. Autonomous vehicles could also render traffic lights and parking lots obsolete. Certain challenges must be overcome, however, before the system can be widely adopted. Those include improving current maps because driverless cars need three-dimensional maps that are accurate to within 20 centimeters, according to Nhai Cao, a senior global product line manager at TomTom, a navigation vendor.