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Taiwan-based autonomous driving firms launch self-driving bus rapid transit services in their home market

Taiwanese self-driving technology leaders plan to enter the European and Southeast Asian markets in collaboration with LiLee Systems.

The launch event for southern Taiwan’s first bus route served by autonomous vehicles was held on August 9, 2020 in Tainan, the area’s second largest city. Proponents of the self-driving bus program, jointly launched by Tainan’s municipal government and Silicon Valley-based LiLee Systems with the support of a group consisting of leading Taiwanese firms engaged in driverless technologies, plan to initially introduce two demonstration services, including a 6.4-kilometer-long route that will operate during weekends and public holidays and a 2.9 km-long route that will run during work days. A commercial service will be rolled out once the tests with real passengers on real roads scheduled for before the end of this year and the release of ticket pricing have taken place. 

The self-driving bus displayed during the launch event comes equipped with an integrated autonomous driving system capable of addressing all manner of road conditions by leveraging AI technologies coupled with intelligent traffic signs and signals. The solution combining six high-resolution cameras, four Lidar devices, high-definition maps and 5G-enabled connected car technologies was provided by LiLee Systems in collaboration with a Taiwanese partner team grouping together Green Transit Company, Taiwan Optical Platform, HYA Company, H.P.B. Optoelectronics, Iscom Online International Information, STARTRII CO and FRED. With the support of its Taiwanese partners, LiLee Systems expanded into the US market with the winning of several bids to supply driverless buses there. With the self-driving buses supplied to Jacksonville, Florida, to cite one example, LiLee Systems demonstrated the feasibility and safety of the autonomous rapid transit (ART) system in a metropolis with a population of nearly one million. As part of the ART project, the company also helped the city build the Smart Transportation Innovation Corridor, a thoroughfare for autonomous vehicles. LiLee Systems garnered Taiwan’s System Integration Award 2019 for its outstanding contribution to the project.

An officer from the Systems Integration Promotion Alliance (SIPA), a program initiated by the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), the administrative agency of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, indicated that autonomous vehicles could help solve urban traffic woes. Transforming traditional buses into highly-automated vehicles enhanced by an intelligent management system can help improve operational efficiency, do away with the need for manual operations and reduce deployment costs, while promoting environmental sustainability. By virtue of the successes in the US and Taiwan, the Taiwanese autonomous driving leaders are poised to enter the European and Southeast Asian markets in collaboration with LiLee Systems. With the support of SIPA, LiLee Systems has entered into negotiations with a smart park in the eastern part of the Netherlands for the supply of self-driving vehicles. The firm aims to establish a leadership position in Southeast Asia’s intelligent transportation system market by helping build special lanes for mass rapid transit and light rail systems enhanced by driverless technologies.  

Last Updated on 2020/08/21

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