Autonomous Vehicles
Whilst driverless, fully automated transport is today’s aspiration, understanding and resolving the role this mode has in the future of transportation is still a work in progress.
We are always curious. We are always invested in tomorrow’s transport. Investing in and partnering with businesses specialising in the transportation technologies of the future helps us to build our capabilities and future-proof our business to ensure that we are ready to embrace new trends in transport when the technology is ready to support them.
The strategic investment in new technology including Autonomous Vehicles (AV) is funded though our parent company, ComfortDelGro’s US$100 million venture capital fund with the aim to develop our capabilities in AV transport.
In 2023, ComfortDelGro invested in Ottopia, a software company that develops teleoperation software for autonomous vehicles. Ottopia’s teleoperation technology can remotely assist, guide and safely control entire fleets of autonomous vehicles. Tested and deployed in a variety of environments, it can be integrated into the Group’s future AV Operations Centre, making it an essential tool to enable the adoption of AV technology in smart urban mobility. This is a key investment and part of the Group’s strategy to grow and future proof the business, especially in the transport areas of smart urban mobility, fleet electrification, automotive engineering technologies, as well as adjacent disciplines such as clean technology, smart logistics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and robotics.
Further enhancing its commitment to capability building and exploring the potential of autonomous driving solutions, in 2022 ComfortDelGro signed a memorandum of understanding with automotive safety and autonomous driving solutions provider Mobileye. Under the MoU, ComfortDelGro will leverage Mobileye’s AV technology to build new skills in driverless operations, incident response processes, fleet management and maintenance.
In 2022, ComfortDelGro also established an Autonomous Vehicle Centre of Excellence to develop its capabilities in the operation and maintenance of Autonomous Vehicles. The centre will focus on research and development of AV-related capabilities, enabling us to develop a technology platform to support the delivery of mobility services using AVs.
Other than investment in technology, ComfortDelGro has conducted various autonomous trials in Singapore which included an autonomous shuttle bus service at the National University of Singapore’s Kent Ridge campus in 2019, as well as an on-demand shuttle bus service using autonomous vehicles in Jurong Island in 2021.