[Courtesy of Navya Group, Keolis / Twitter]
A driverless shuttle bus fondly named Navya launched on Wednesday but less than two hours after the debut it crashed. However, it was reported that the shuttle bus was not at fault but a human driver. Fortunately, none of the twelve passengers on the shuttle were hurt.
Navya made a grand debut in front of celebrities and cameras. People lined up for a free trip on a 0.6-mile loop in downtown Las Vegas. The shuttle, a year-long pilot program backed by AAA insurance and Keolis, drives no faster than 15 mph and stays on the programmed route. Nvya is the very first self-driving public shuttle in the nation.
We are in Atlanta this week to demonstrate our NAVYA SHUTTLE with @KeolisNA at #aptaexpo2017. Booth Hall B 3119, this route is Hall B1! pic.twitter.com/YLYcHaUGPv
— NAVYA (@NAVYA_Group) October 9, 2017
It has multi-sensors that register its surrounding to detect dangers and obstacles. When a 20-ton semi-truck backed up to it, Navya detected the truck and stopped quickly as it was programmed to do so. However, the truck driver did not stop, failing to see the shuttle and hitting it.
Las Vegas City representative issued a statement, "The shuttle did what it was supposed to do, in that its sensors registered the truck and the shuttle stopped to avoid the accident. Unfortunately, the delivery truck did not stop and grazed the front fender of the shuttle. Had the truck had the same sensing equipment that the shuttle has the accident would have been avoided."
The truck driver was cited for illegal backing. Navya operated more two more tours with passengers after the crash.
The self-driving shuttle will remain in the party city for the minimum of one year. The sponsoring companies expect that about 250,000 passengers will be on Navya.
Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
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