Cars without a human driver for the first time in Europe, thanks to ‘teledriving’

Vay uses an approach that defines “tele-driving”, i.e. the ability to control the car from a site that can even be miles away. Operators can thus pilot the vehicles using steering wheel and pedalsas well as a monitors to know what is around the car itself. They also hear the sounds of road traffic via microphones and headphones.

In short, like a real one video game, even if the car in this case is in real traffic. The data is transmitted to the operations center via the usual mobile data networks and, in the event of a malfunction of the latter, the vehicle stops automatically.

For the first time, Vay tried his technology of “tele-driving” on the public roads of the German city of Hamburg, after receiving a test permit last December. Normally the circulation of vehicles without a human driver is not allowed inside.

“As a leading teledriving company, we have been driving remote-controlled electric cars on the public roads of Berlin and Hamburg for more than three years”Vay’s CEO and co-founder said, Thomas von der Ohe. “With the exemption permit received in December 2022, we have now been able to drive successfully even without a human driver”.

Vay was founded in Berlin in 2018 and among its founders we find the Italian engineer Fabrizio Ugo Scelsi. It now has a team of more than 150 people, including software experts with Silicon Valley backgrounds, along with automotive hardware and security engineers.

The startup envisages two main ways of using its technology. The first is a kind service “door to door”: the car is remote-controlled up to the user’s position, where the latter takes control of it to go to his destination. Finally, after the user reaches his destination, the remote operator will regain control of the vehicle. The second method of use, on the other hand, provides for the car to be remotely controlled while the user is inside.

According to Vay, the “tele-driving” it will reveal safer for passengers and more convenient for driversand will contribute to reduce the number of vehicles on urban roads. It also aims to compete with existing providers of such services car sharing and ride hailing. Other benefits include eliminating the need to search for a parking and the ability to move a zero emissions. The vehicle can be booked through aapp and will be particularly suitable for last-minute trips, such as getting home from the train or bus station.

Furthermore, the data that Vay is collecting from its tests can be used to fuel the development of solutions in the future autonomous driving rely on artificial intelligence.