NEW YORK: Driverless cars have rolled into New York City, finally. But don’t expect to see them travelling down Fifth Avenue anytime soon. The cars have been corralled behind the gates of the sprawling Brooklyn Navy Yard — away from city streets teeming with cars, bikes and pedestrians.
The cars will begin shuttling people on Wednesday around a loop that is just more than 1 mile at the yard, a 300-acre, privately operated manufacturing and technology hub. They will run seven days a week to meet passengers going to and from a recently opened ferry landing. There is no charge for a ride and anyone can hop in.
On a test run recently, Greg Zborowski, a systems engineer for Optimus, slid behind the wheel and pressed a green button. The car started and then accelerated. It is programmed to go no faster than 15 mph and to obey all traffic rules. At a stop sign, it came to a full stop. It inched forward to clear a blind spot, and made a left turn followed by a quick right. Later, it swerved around a driver opening his car door.
“No hands,” Zborowski said, holding up his arms. “Atno point am I interacting with it.”
Autonomous vehicles have been heralded as the next revolution in transportation, promising to move people and goods far more efficiently than cars dependent on drivers.
Still, autonomous vehicles continue to be tested in more than a dozen communities around the country, according to Samuel I Schwartz, a transportation consultant and author of “No One at the Wheel.” He added that almost all of these self-driving cars are confined to enclosed areas, though a few have operated on a limited basis on public roads.
“In 2017, autonomous vehicles were two years away from hitting the street,” Schwartz said. “In 2019, they are at least five years away,” he added. In New York City, autonomous vehicles are likely a long way from being allowed on public roads. “I think it’s absolutely cool, but anything can happen,” said Frank Davis, a fire safety engineer who was visiting the yard and plans to take a rid. “For a shuttle, it’s fine, but on the road, no. People fail, so does technology.” The cars at the Navy Yard are operated by Optimus Ride, a startup company founded in 2015 by five graduates and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The cars will begin shuttling people on Wednesday around a loop that is just more than 1 mile at the yard, a 300-acre, privately operated manufacturing and technology hub. They will run seven days a week to meet passengers going to and from a recently opened ferry landing. There is no charge for a ride and anyone can hop in.
On a test run recently, Greg Zborowski, a systems engineer for Optimus, slid behind the wheel and pressed a green button. The car started and then accelerated. It is programmed to go no faster than 15 mph and to obey all traffic rules. At a stop sign, it came to a full stop. It inched forward to clear a blind spot, and made a left turn followed by a quick right. Later, it swerved around a driver opening his car door.
“No hands,” Zborowski said, holding up his arms. “Atno point am I interacting with it.”
Autonomous vehicles have been heralded as the next revolution in transportation, promising to move people and goods far more efficiently than cars dependent on drivers.
Still, autonomous vehicles continue to be tested in more than a dozen communities around the country, according to Samuel I Schwartz, a transportation consultant and author of “No One at the Wheel.” He added that almost all of these self-driving cars are confined to enclosed areas, though a few have operated on a limited basis on public roads.
“In 2017, autonomous vehicles were two years away from hitting the street,” Schwartz said. “In 2019, they are at least five years away,” he added. In New York City, autonomous vehicles are likely a long way from being allowed on public roads. “I think it’s absolutely cool, but anything can happen,” said Frank Davis, a fire safety engineer who was visiting the yard and plans to take a rid. “For a shuttle, it’s fine, but on the road, no. People fail, so does technology.” The cars at the Navy Yard are operated by Optimus Ride, a startup company founded in 2015 by five graduates and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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