Navia Driverless Car Spotted In Singapore

The city-state of Singapore might be spearheading another initiative to make other First World countries jealous – by the time 2015 arrives, driverless vehicles might not even warrant a second glance as it could very well be deemed as normal in Singapore then, thanks to the Navia driverless vehicle. The Navia happens to be an eight-seat shuttle which might resemble an elongated golf cart (it sure as heck is not going to win any kind of awards with its design), but that does not mean it ain’t a great people mover. Other than not requiring a driver to get you to your destination, the Navia will boast of touchscreen navigation as well as an electric motor.

It is smart enough to park itself on top of its charger when “resting”, and it uses a network of lasers and sensors in order to detect whether anything might be amiss or in the way of Navia, so that it can avoid any obstacles in real time without missing a beat. Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University is set to be the Navia’s very first real-world environment, which would be a great “last mile” solution for Singapore’s ever burdening public transport system. Will it be able to win votes for the ruling party as well during the next elections if the Navia was approved?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Transportation
Tags: singapore