NuTonomy, the MIT spin-off technology startup company that makes software to build self-driving cars and autonomous mobile robots, introduced the world's first self-driving taxis to the streets of Singapore in August.
The taxi rollout beat Uber by just a few days when the company announced it would have a small fleet of autonomous taxis operating at the end of the month in Pittsburgh. The plan is to launch its mobility service there in 2018.
Back in May, the company closed a $16 million round of funding, which included investment from Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford's Fontinalis Partners, according to BusinessWire.
Now, the company is expanding its autonomous vehicle testing to Boston, following the trials it began on Singapore roads. Testing on the city's public roads is also scheduled to launch before the year ends and will start with nuTonomy's self-driving Renault Zoe electric vehicle, CNET reported.
The City Hall is working with this Cambridge-based company to put a self-driving car on the streets of Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in South Boston. The park offers about three miles of roadways within a contained, publicly-opened space and will require the car to navigate amid pedestrians, cars, bikes, and the MBTA's Silver Line.
The move to Boston is intended to maximize the driving experiences this company's autonomous technology is exposed to, including inclement weather and pedestrian traffic. The program will require a licensed driver to take control of the vehicle; the car must also be clearly labeled as a testing vehicle. An engineer will be behind the wheel during trials to monitor the system and take control if necessary.
"Testing our self-driving cars so near to nuTonomy's home is the next step towards our ultimate goal: deployment of a safe, efficient, fully autonomous mobility-on-demand service," said CEO Karl Lagnemma in a statement.
NuTonomy isn't the first technology company to test its software on public roads. Google vehicles have logged more than 2 million self-driving miles on U.S. roads and in September, Uber launched its autonomous vehicle pilot in Pittsburgh.
The company also made an agreement with Southeast Asian ride-hailing company Grab recently.
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