Teledriving is taking off: meet the technology that wants to bring your next rental car to your front door
- Vay’s new rental cars are delivered remotely by teledrivers
- Drivers sit at stations with a steering wheel and live video feeds
- A trial is underway in Las Vegas via an iOS app ahead of a European launch
The next time you rent a car, it can be delivered by a driver miles away. Vay, a car rental company, is testing a technology in Las Vegas, where its vehicles are transported remotely to customers by teledrivers – and the technology could soon come to Europe.
The Vay app allows you to call up a vehicle for rent by the minute. Leave a PIN code and your car will be delivered without a driver, so you can use it for as long as you want. However, the system is not dependent on self-driving technology: Vay’s fleet is controlled remotely by a team of professional teledrivers. When you’re done, they can even park for you.
These trained operators sit at stations that resemble racing simulators. They control the vehicle remotely using a steering wheel, pedals and other controls that Vay says are “developed to meet automotive industry standards.”
Teledrivers view a live video feed of the road on a series of monitors, fed in real time by camera sensors installed in the vehicle. Microphones on the car also transmit traffic sounds and warning signals to the teledriver’s headphones.
According to Vay, the system relies on “multiple mobile networks combined with proprietary hardware on both telestation and the vehicle.”
Before Vay’s drivers get behind the wheel of a real remote-controlled car, they complete the Teledrive Academy. Vay describes this as “a rigorous program that prepares our drivers for the public road.”
Vay is also optimistic about its safety standards. It enlisted the help of TÜV Süd, an independent testing and certification body, to confirm that its remote driving technology is indeed safe. No matter how robust the data relays are, there are also built-in protections: in the event of an emergency, the vehicle automatically comes to a safe stop. According to Vay, the teledrive system is “as safe as having someone in the driver’s seat.”
It is not the only company involved in teledriving technology. The Estonian startup Elmo recently received approval in its home country for its AI-powered autonomous braking system, which allows cars to travel at higher speeds without a human driver. But not all of Vay’s rivals are ready to ditch the human driver yet…
Ghost rider
Vay’s ambition is to roll out self-driving mobility services that combine the best of people and machines, with the net benefit of reducing the number of cars in cities.
In the future, the plan is to include more autonomous functions in the system, once they are safe and legal. For the time being, the pilot fleet operates in Las Vegas. But momentum of recent fundraising and new partnerships with the likes of Belgian car-sharing platform Poppy mean that similar trials are now underway in Europe.
Vay is not the only company testing variations on the robotaxi concept. Alphabet subsidiary Waymo operates its self-driving taxis in Los Angeles, while Hyundai, in partnership with Uber, operates a highly autonomous version of the Ioniq 5 – albeit with a human driver behind the wheel as backup.
Elon Musk also finally unveiled Tesla’s long-promised ‘Cybercab’ in October, although very few details were revealed about the technology powering the vehicle. A recent vacancy for a remote teleoperator indicates that Tesla could follow Vay’s example with its robot taxis.
According to the listing, “Tesla AI’s Teleoperation team is charged with providing remote access to our robotaxis and humanoid robots. Our cars and robots operate autonomously in challenging environments. As we build on the AI that powers them, we need the ability to access and control them remotely.”
Unlike Vay, the feature description suggests that Tesla’s remote driving system will rely on VR instead of video screens. “Our remote operators are transported into the world of the device using a state-of-the-art VR setup that allows them to perform complex and intricate tasks remotely.”
Only time will tell when, where, and if Tesla even rolls out its remote taxis. If you want to have a rental car delivered by a remote driver, you have to go to Vay in Las Vegas for the time being. The app is now available for iOS. If you are an Android user, you can join the waiting list.