Yesterday, T-Mobile announced that Halo Cars launched one of the first commercial driverless car services in the U.S. running on the carrier’s 5G network in Las Vegas. When visitors and residents summon the all-electric robotic car, a driverless Halo arrives at the pick-up location to take the rider to their destination.
Halo, a company purchased by Lyft in February of 2020, has been testing operations on the T-Mobile 5G network since it began driving on dedicated Las Vegas roads earlier this year. Halo said they are collaborating with local municipalities to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to address traffic congestion and carbon emission challenges by connecting public transit systems to on-demand, driverless cars. The company expects to begin offering rides to customers later this year with service initially available in urban parts of the Las Vegas Valley.
“Driverless cars! Fueling this kind of startup innovation is part of why we’ve built the biggest, fastest and most reliable 5G network in the country,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “Innovation and driving change for the better is our DNA at the Un-carrier, and we’ve unleashed a 5G network that will transform industries and change our world for the better. I can’t wait to see what comes next as we work with startups, developers and entrepreneurs like Halo building the next big thing in 5G!”
Using a proprietary RemotePilot technology, Halo has developed an Advanced Safe Stop mechanism enabling its cars to immediately come to a full stop if a potential safety hazard or system anomaly is detected. Using an advanced Artificial Intelligence algorithm, the car also learns in the background while humans control the vehicle, building a unique feedback loop to achieve Level 3 capabilities over time.
“Full autonomy is a massive challenge from both a technical and social trust perspective that won’t be solved for years to come,” said Anand Nandakumar, the founder and CEO of Halo. “But Halo has been designed to address these challenges by building automation over time starting with a solution that consumers will feel comfortable using today.”
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