Scotland launches commuter self-driving buses

From May 15, the world's first fleet of five driverless buses will begin operating in Scotland. Standalone devices

will discuss a route of more than 20 km in the suburbs of Edinburgh. Buses will run at hourly intervals. They are expected to carry up to 10 thousand passengers every week.

At Stagecoach, a bus operatorroutes, said their autonomous buses would travel at speeds of up to 80 km/h on pre-selected highways and bus lanes. The route will pass through the famous Forth Road suspension automobile bridge. The system will need to manage in conditions of heavy traffic, cope with interchanges, intersections and roundabouts.

For safety reasons, at first on eachthe bus will always be attended by two representatives of the company. The first of them will monitor the operation of automatic control systems, and the second will help passengers, accept payments and provide assistance if necessary.

Launch of autonomous buses:the result of a lengthy project by private companies, Edinburgh's Napier University and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory to develop and test the technology over four years.

Scottish government officials note that the country's road network presents a wide range of environments as a diverse testing ground for new technologies.

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Cover photo: NFI Group