Singapore could be first with autonomous vehicles, according to a senior researcher.
Professor Dim-Lee Kwong - the executive director of the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore and professor of electrical and computer engineering at the National University of Singapore - told a media panel organised by Seagate that Singapore probably will be first to actually implement autonomous vehicles.
"Singapore is very strategic" and A*STAR and Singapore's Ministry of Transportation have a five year plan that's already seen two autonomous vehicles tested.
About US$200,000 worth of processing power is currently needed for an autonomous vehicle, he said.
{loadposition stephen08}Researchers in Singapore are working on a "neuromathic chip" that will be the equivalent of one million neurons, he said. (By comparison, the human brain believed to have about 86 million neurons.)
The country's IoT program has three pillars, he said: sensors, secure connectivity and data analytics. A*STAR's particular focus is on edge devices - such as autonomous vehicles - which are the "most difficult and challenging," Prof Kwong said.
But the potential benefits are huge. Every autonomous vehicle could replace 12 conventional vehicles, significantly reducing traffic jams, saving people's time, and doing away with the need for more car parks, he observed.
IDC associate vice-president for IoT Asia Pacific Hugh Ujhazy noted that while people own cars for convenience, ridesharing is almost as convenient. The growth in ridesharing services has been accompanied by a drop in the number of 18-24 year-olds with driver licences in mature markets.
Disclosure: The writer attended the event as a guest of Seagate.