Visit to research lab for the Cycab

I visited the research lab of INRIA in Paris to see the Cycab - a driverless electric vehicle. This project started more than 10 years ago. It is now on demonstration in a few cities in Europe.

The Cycab is still a prototype and need a manufacturer to bring it to commercial production, and to bring down the cost to an acceptable level. The cost of the prototype is rather high and is not commercially acceptable.

There is also the challenge of getting the regulators to accept these vehicles on the road. At the current time, the automated vehicle has to move within its own guideways, i.e. separate roads.

It may take another 5 to 15 years for the automated vehicle to be used more widely on the roads.

Tan Kin Lian