German remote-driving startup Vay has just launched its first commercially available driverless mobility service in the United States. However, its take on driverless cars differs from that of other companies in the emerging autonomous driving industry due to its automotive-grade teledriving technology.
“After five years of developing our technology, we are bringing our vision to life in Las Vegas. Our convenient, affordable and sustainable door-to-door mobility service aims to free cities from parked cars and make them more liveable and greener.”
Co-founder and CEO Thomas von der Ohe
What’s special about Vay’s driverless mobility service?
Vay stated in a recent press release that its innovative driverless mobility service is already operational in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Interestingly, the system does not entirely operate on its own. Despite having no driver inside the vehicle, it still relies on humans that are remotely controlling the vehicle.
It is made possible with Vay’s automotive-grade teledriving technology. It is basically a platform that enables people to book driverless vehicles that are monitored and controlled by humans in a remote space.
How does it work?
Vay’s cost-effective per-minute car rental service ensures an easy and fast process from the “driverless” vehicle delivery to customers to its return after the journey across the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the Arts District.
Customers can book a driverless electric car via Vay’s mobile app. Then, the teledriver would control the driverless car to reach the customer’s current destination from the teledrive center.
The customer will take control of the car upon delivery and drive themselves to their respective destinations.
More enticingly, the service charges customers $0.30 per minute of driving and $0.03 per minute of stopovers. However, it may increase depending on the company’s insights from this initial launch.
“The new Vay service is not only the least expensive option to get from A to B, but it also provides me with the freedom to travel at my own pace as I’m alone in the car.”
Unname user of Vay teledriving’s early access phase
Teledriving technology
Vay’s teledriving technology is an innovative alternative to autonomous driving systems that adhere to industry regulations for safe driving even on public streets.
In fact, Vay was the first company to launch a driverless vehicle on public roads in Europe. Now, it has set its eyes on the North American market with the launch of the driverless mobility service in Las Vegas.
It currently has a team of professional teledrivers at a teledrive station that simulates real-time vehicle driving with a steering wheel, pedals, and other vehicle controls.
The system mirrors the surroundings of the vehicle via camera sensors and displays it on the large screens of the station. Its microphones also transmit road traffic sounds and warning signals to the teledriver’s headphones.
Vay’s teledriving technology offers a safer alternative to autonomous driving systems that are still in their early stages of development. As we witnessed with GM Cruise’s mishaps in San Francisco, companies must continue to ensure the safety of driverless autonomous vehicles while developing them.
