Motional announces operation of driverless vehicles on public roads

Motional, a driverless technology company, has announced that it is operating driverless vehicles on public roads.

The company claimed that it is one of the first companies in the world to operate driverless vehicles.

Motional tested multiple driverless vehicles in Las Vegas this month. The vehicles are claimed to have safely navigated through intersections and unprotected turns, as well as interactions with other road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

Motional president and CEO Karl Iagnemma said: “Not all driverless systems are created equal. Ours is the product of decades of innovation, a relentless commitment to safety and process, more than a million miles of testing, and a rigorous external review.

“We’re one of the first companies in the world to go driverless. It’s a significant step on our path to making driverless vehicles a safe, reliable and accessible reality, and a proud day for Motional.”

The company said that its driverless operation comes after decades of innovation, 1.5 million miles of driving, and a two-year self-imposed safety evaluation process that took hundreds of employees and more than 100,000 hours to complete.

Motional is a joint venture (JV) of Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv.

With the latest milestone, the company claimed that it is one step closer to a future of safer transportation.

By 2023, Motional and Lyft, which operates the world’s longest-standing commercial robotaxi service, will be launching a scalable, fully driverless, multimarket service.

Motional said that it conducted the driverless vehicle tests on public roads with a safety operator, as well as on closed courses with and without a safety operator.