NuTonomy is partly financed by Bill Ford’s venture fund. Ford is the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. On Monday, NuTonomy announced it had made a deal with the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts to test out the Renault Zoe electric car. The car will be using the company’s self-driving software.
When nuTonomy’s cars hit the roads in Boston, they will learn U.S. street signs, roads markings and they will increase their ability to maneuver around pedestrians, cars and cyclists.
Boston has a transportation plan called Go Boston 2030 and nuTonomy’s cars are expected to help the city with its plans. Boston plans on increasing its access to transportation while increasing both sustainability and safety.
Nutonomy will start testing its cars out in Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park before being tested elsewhere. Engineers will be on-board to take over the wheel if necessary. The cars will not be collecting passengers, unlike Uber’s self-driving cars.
Martin J. Walsh, the mayor of Boston, released a statement saying the city is ready to lead the way with self-driving vehicles. He added that he was committed to ensuring self-driving cars will benefit the city’s residents.
The startup, based in Cambridge, MA, is also racing to release self-driving vehicles in Singapore in 2018. Other automakers, such as Ford and BMW, are expected to roll out their fleet of autonomous vehicles in 2021.
