Singapore’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) is teaming up with Chinese company BYD to develop smart electric cars.
They have signed an agreement on a joint lab to develop over 100 electric vehicles with autonomous technologies for test-bedding.
The cars are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2014.
A spokesperson for the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the parent organisation of I2R, said BYD will bring into the partnership its expertise in developing electric vehicles.
Singapore is the only country outside China that BYD is investing autonomous capabilities research and development in, added the spokesperson.
On its part, I2R will contribute its expertise in integrating autonomous vehicle technologies.
A*STAR said potential uses of the vehicles include e-taxi or private rental cars.
The two partners will also work on an autonomous vehicle fleet system that can dynamically allocate vehicle resources based on real-time information, including vehicle location, route and origin-destination information.
