A Driverless Shuttle Trial Is Set To Begin in Sydney This Month

The technological advancement of the moment continues to creep closer and closer to reality. Perth followed the self-driving path of the US last year with its trial of Australia's first driverless bus and Adelaide began trials of its own electric airport shuttles earlier this year. Not to mention ride share companies Lyft and Uber duelling it out to be the first to launch self-driving cabs on the road.

Now, Sydney is getting on board, with the NSW Government green lighting legislation for a two-year trial of driverless shuttles at Sydney Olympic Park — and it's happening imminently, with the trial expected to begin later this month.

As in Perth and Adelaide, the vehicle will look like a small shuttle. During the trial period, it will only travel 10km/hour, though the shuttle is capable of hitting a (still cruisy) 50km/hour. The first phase will take place on a closed-off road, so it won't be until later phases that you'll actually get to take it for a spin. Once the shuttle is moved to a public section of the park, it will carry workers along the main streets, taking them to and from the carpark.

A product of HMI technologies, the vehicle has an external GPS system which assists with coordination and accuracy. The track will be pre-programmed, but, in the case of something going wrong, the shuttle also has an emergency break. This trial will also allow for the development of infrastructure systems, including the shuttle's connection to traffic lights and even to customers' personal devices.

If this all sounds a bit like the start to every movie where the machines take over, we hear you. So many sci-fi movies are closer to truth than we ever imagined possible. A simultaneous cool and creepy thought.

On a brighter note, according to ABC, it is estimated that up to 94 percent of crashes on roads are caused by human error. Since humans suck at driving so much, there's a good chance driverless cars will actually improve road safety in Australia — until the artificial intelligence decides otherwise, of course.

Via ABC.