Car manufacturer Renault and a number of its partners have begun testing several mobile services, including a smartphone service that enables you to call a self-driving taxi. The tests are currently being conducted in the R&D Center of the Paris-Saclay University, France, and involve a fleet of Renault Zoe Cab test mules based on the Zoe architecture.
The prototype taxis move along pre-determined routes, with 25 cameras and a number of LIDARs following their progress. The dispatchers will monitor the cars at all times and contact the passengers whenever necessary.
Another concept vehicle, a shuttle bus called the Transdev-Lohr i-Cristal, also participates in the big test. It makes a series of nighttime trips (00:30 – 03:00 local time) from Saclay to a major railway hub with four stops underway. Unlike the bus, the Zoe Cabs are actually available for hire as taxis during the day.
Renault hopes that the experiment is is currently conducting at the Paris-Saclay campus will eventually lead to this innovative means of transportation spreading across the whole territory of the Saclay Commune.
Photos: Renault