News about self-driving cars have been in circulation for sometime now. But while we wait for technology giants like Google to make the idea real, a small and lesser-known French company Induct has made driverless car commercially available in the U.S.
According to Inhabitat.com, Induct has manufactured an electric, self-driving vehicle designed to complement conventional transport. Named Navia, the zero-emissions vehicle is fully self-sufficient.
Induct Robotics Director, Cyril Royere said the car is very different from other self driving models in the sense that it can navigate the environment without needing guidance from infrastructure. Navia does not even need GPS for getting around.
Navia can be summoned from a smartphone or any desktop. The car, which can seat up to eight passengers, has a maximum speed of 12.5 mph and travels safely on most types of terrain, guided by its onboard lasers and sensors. This technology also helps in avoiding pedestrians or other obstacles on the road. In case of emergencies, the car has a manual stop button.
Navia is expected to be used at airports, university campuses and stadiums. Chief Executive of Induct, Pierre Lefevre, says, "Imagine a city without noisy, polluting buses, replaced by environmentally-friendly, robotic shuttle buses that can be summoned by your mobile phone."
The car costs around $250,000 (152,000 pounds) and was launched at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. A beta version is currently in use at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland and the Atomic Energy Authority in Abingdon.
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