(27 Aug 2020) LEAD IN:
Cities in Taiwan are testing self-driving buses to boost their public transport systems.
The vehicles could allow mass transportation to be extended to rural areas and to run late into the night.
STORY-LINE:
A bus leaves the station and begins its journey.
But the person behind the wheel is not the driver - they are simply a safety operator.
The bus can drive itself.
New Taipei City is one of the major cities in Taiwan testing out this technology to help expand its public transport network.
"Several sensors are mounted at the exterior of the bus so that the bus knows what is going on around it, and they help the bus make decisions," explains Liu Chia-ching, Marketing director at Kingwaytek Technology Co. Ltd, a company which designs and manufactures navigation software.
Using sensors including lidars (light detection and ranging), radars, video cameras, the bus is able to drive in a straight line, slow down at traffic lights and perform U-turns without human intervention.
A safety operator monitors the buses' actions.
Sensors fitted at points around the streets help guide the bus along its route.
Huang Li-ya, Senior Executive Officer at New Taipei City's Transport Department, says the vehicles are in the first stage of development but sees potential for them to improve transportation.
"The transport industry is lacking drivers. We also hope to make the best use of such integrated technology in the extension of mass transport services to replace the shortage of drivers," she says.
Late night services and bus routes into remote locations are often the areas that struggle when there is a shortage of drivers available.
But during this testing phase, the buses ferry people around Taipei between midnight and 2:30 a.m.
It's a strange experience for passengers - but one they seem to be open to.
"The feeling is so unreal. Normally, passengers are aware that their lives depend on the driver. But now, the bus is sufficient to protect passengers," says Joshua Luo, a transport management student.
"Such a feeling is difficult to describe. But I can say that it's very shocking."
Some even prefer the self-drive vehicles.
"It is even smoother than buses driven by humans. There are no sudden moves," says Chu Shih-peng, a civil servant in Taipei.
Turing-Drive is the company in charge of developing the self-driving bus system in Taipei City.
Turing-Drive CEO David Shen explains the technology involved.
"In the self-driving bus we are developing for Taipei City, there are two lidars on the top of the vehicle that are in charge of positioning. Why lidars? Because GPS are not so accurate in a city," he says.
"We have as many as nine video cameras to detect people, other vehicles and common objects found on the road to avoid collisions with the bus."
Besides Taipei City and New Taipei City in the north, other Taiwanese cities in the centre and south are also developing self-driving buses.
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