Navya’s autonomous minibus starts trial in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is known for High Rollers,players that risk high stakes, and sometimes burn to the ground. The French manufacturer Navya, which specializes in self-driving mini-shuttles, knows the risk very well and how to deal with it. Starting today an autonomous shuttle roams the streets of the city in collaboration with fleet management firm Keolis and the city of Las Vegas, a first in the US.

The trials are scheduled from January 11th to the 20th and restricted to a fixed track. The track includes Fremont Street between Las Vegas Boulevard and Eighth Street. Navya has tested its buses in the past months on Michigan’s test track MCity. Navya buses have been used on public roads in France since 2015. Las Vegas also is undergoing major upgrades of its traffic infrastructure, including connected traffic signals.

Self-driving on a fixed route is comparably simple to free roaming cars all over the city. What can be seen fairly easily on the outer shell of the bus are the Velodyne-Puck-Lidar as well as the cameras. Inside, the bus has no steering wheel or pedals.