Lyft is already working other companies, like GM, on autonomous vehicle development, and inked a new deal with nuTonomy.
Lyft, the growing rideshare platform, signed an agreement with nuTonomy of Boston, a well regarded start-up company focused on development of self-driving cars, to conduct joint testing and development of autonomous vehicles.
Additionally, French automaker PSA Group recently signed an agreement with nuTonomy to test autonomous vehicles on roads in Singapore, which pushing to develop the infrastructure needed to support for self-driving vehicles.
Under the new partnership, Lyft and nuTonomy plan to align technology platforms to gather insights into all aspects of ensuring a passenger’s comfort and safety during a ride in an autonomous vehicle – from routing and booking to the performance of the driving system and how it interacts and communicates with the rider.
Karl lagnemma, CEO and co-founder of nuTonomy, said joint research and development efforts will take place in Boston where nuTonomy has been testing its self-driving electric cars since the beginning of the year.
(“Passenger economy” will grow to $7 trillion by 2050, Intel predicts. For the story, Click Here.)
“By combining forces with Lyft in the U.S., we’ll be positioned to build the best passenger experience for self-driving cars. Both companies care immensely about solving urban transportation issues and the future of our cities, and we look forward to working with Lyft as we continue to improve our autonomous vehicle software system,” lagnemma said.
The nuTonomy autonomous car, a Renault Zoe, buzzes around on Boston city streets.
Lyft officials were equally effusive in their praise of the new deal.
“At Lyft, we imagine a world where car ownership is optional and cities are designed for people instead of cars. Partnering with nuTonomy is an important step towards making this vision a reality. The nuTonomy team is one of the first movers in autonomous vehicle development, and we look forward to working with them to bring their autonomous vehicles to the Lyft network,” said Logan Green, CEO and co-founder of Lyft.
(Click Here for details about Lyft’s development deal with Waymo.)
With the 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. nuTonomy plans to launch its self-driving mobility-on-demand service in Singapore in 2018.
Lyft also has a research partnerships with Waymo and GM. The new venture with the Detroit-based maker could easily to a broad new alliance that includes PSA. PSA is committed to collaborating with GM on a series of projects, in addition to the fact that it bought Opel from GM earlier this year.
Partnerships of have more common as carmakers and tech companies race to build fully autonomous vehicles which have the potential to transform the transportation landscape in the U.S. and in major cities around the world.
(To see more about nuTonomy’s deal with PSA in Singapore, Click Here.)
For nuTonomy, which was organized by experts in robotics and intelligent vehicle technology, Iagnemma and Emilio Frazzoli of MIT. The company has developed the first-of-its-kind complete solution for providing point-to-point mobility via large fleets of self-driving cars; this includes software for autonomous vehicle navigation in urban environments, smart phone-based ride hailing, fleet routing and management, and controlling a vehicle remotely through teleoperation.