nuTonomy, developer of state-of-the-art software for self-driving cars, and Lyft, announced a strategic R&D partnership focused on understanding and optimizing the end-to-end experience of autonomous vehicle (AV) passengers.
Under the partnership, nuTonomy and Lyft will align their respective technology platforms to gather valuable research and insights into all aspects of ensuring a passenger’s comfort and safety during an AV ride – from routing and booking to the performance of the driving system and how it interacts and communicates with the rider.
The collaborative R&D effort will take place in Boston, MA, where nuTonomy has been testing its self-driving electric cars since the beginning of the year. The tests are being conducted in Boston’s Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park and the adjacent Seaport and Fort Point neighborhoods. An engineer from nuTonomy rides in each of its vehicles during testing to observe system performance and assume control if needed.
Through its testing program in Boston, nuTonomy is building on the knowledge it has gained from the road tests and public trials it has been conducting in Singapore’s one-north business district since last August. nuTonomy plans to launch its self-driving mobility-on-demand service in Singapore in 2018.
Following the initial phase of this partnership, Lyft and nuTonomy will consider expanding it in ways that will yield additional learning and data about the ideal function, performance and features of an autonomous mobility on demand service that could be deployed in cities to tackle the difficult challenge of urban driving.