Driverless car start-up Halo has launched a remotely operated electric vehicle service over the 5G network of T-Mobile US in Las Vegas, and expects to begin offering rides to customers later this year.
Visitors and residents can summon one of the driverless cars via an app. Operated remotely by a trained Halo driver, the car will then go to the pick-up location and take the passenger to their destination.
Halo, whose service will initially available in urban parts of the Las Vegas Valley, has developed a ‘safe stop’ mechanism that enables its cars to immediately come to a full stop if a potential safety hazard or system anomaly is detected.
The car also learns in the background while humans control the vehicle.
Halo is collaborating with local municipalities to accelerate the adoption of on-demand electric vehicles, helping address traffic congestion and carbon emission challenges.
“Driverless vehicles require a network with high capacity, broad coverage and low latency, making T-Mobile 5G a perfect match for developers such as Halo,” said John Saw, executive vice president of advanced and emerging technologies at T-Mobile US.
“There is a lot of work to do on the path to full autonomy, and Halo is taking a unique and intelligent approach to get there.”
