Calgary's first driverless shuttle pilot project welcomes 4,500 passengers

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According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the first public trial of a driverless shuttle in Calgary, Alberta, Canada has come to an end.

During the 22-day pilot project, a total of 4,500 visitors were shuttled between Telus Spark and the Calgary Zoo, as the vehicle operated on a separate roadway free of other vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

According to City transportation engineer Colin Chapman, passengers had a lot of questions about the vehicle.

“They were interested to see a vehicle that doesn't have a steering wheel, and obviously a bit unsure while they're getting on,” Chapman says via CBC

“There were some concerns with security and what if it were to be hacked, and that kind of concern was built into the vehicle — it's a one-way connection, so unless you're the operator itself that can't happen.”

A collaboration between the University of Calgary, several companies from different industries, and three levels of government, the project utilized a combination of high-accuracy satellite navigation and LIDAR.

The shuttle project is now being tested in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Chapman says. Early next year, the team involved with the project in Calgary will bring a report to the federal government.

For Chapman, this first test proves that the technology works.

“One of the key takeaways is nobody was hurt, nothing was hit, so the technology was kind of proven,” Chapman says.

“That was one of the big things to introduce the technology from an insurance standpoint, you know, we can do this.”