Is there some sort of driverless renaissance going on in the Old World? First, London revealed their future driverless people movers in the form of the Gateway, and here we are with word that the Netherlands too, would want to send their driverless buses on trial on public roads in that part of the world. Known as the WePod, these shuttles are able to ferry folks around on short 200m journeys, and there are hopes that this shuttle can eventually be extended to cargo trucks.
Each WePod is able to carry half a dozen adults along a 200m stretch of road, and this is the maiden trial of its kind around the world. The trial at the moment would send people on a short journey back and forth along the side of a lake in the central Dutch agricultural town of Wageningen. It is definitely not fast at all, plodding along at 5 miles per hour (8kmph), although Jan Willem van der Wiel, the project’s technical director, shared, “But an unmanned vehicle has never been used on public roads. This is a milestone.”
This particular project looks set to be expanded in the months to come, and will soon function as a form of public transport throughout a 4-mile stretch in the town. Fully developed WePods will have a top speed of 15mph.
Filed in .. Source: theguardian