France-based robotics company, Induct, has won the race to get the first self-driving car on the road, by unveiling the world’s first commercially available driverless car, beating big brands such as Google and Tesla to the accolade. The new Navia shuttle is now available in the US.
Launched at the International CES show in Las Vegas on Monday, Navia costs around $250,000 (£152,000) and can carry up to eight passengers. The electric vehicle, which doesn’t go faster than 12.5 mph, also uses on-board lasers to detect obstacles in its path, rather than GPS.
Speaking on the unique features of the new brand, Chief executive of Induct, Pierre Lefevre, said Navia is intelligent, self-sufficient and environmentally friendly. “Imagine a city without noisy, polluting buses, replaced by environmentally-friendly, robotic shuttle buses that can be summoned by your mobile phone. Navia is completely self-driving, 100 per cent electric, emission-free, safe and simple to use. It is the ideal solution for taking pedestrians that last mile.”’
“Navia can operate in any environment, with the necessary authorizations from local city, state and national authorities,” he stated. The car is currently being used in beta version at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland and the Atomic Energy Authority in Abingdon.