Singapore tech shames Google - Here's why we're all looking forward to it!

'They can move quickly. They can institute things that, at a federal level in the United States, would be very difficult.'

After securing $3.6 million to fund an up-and-coming piece of technology, an MIT-spinoff company based in Singapore shames Google's driverless car.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - With news of self-driving taxis popping up across the internet, it should come as no surprise that one company should pull ahead of the rest.

A Singapore-based company called nuTonomy has released images for their latest autonomous car - and its features put Google's tech to shame.

The startup company recently received $3.6 million from companies like Samsung Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Signal Ventures and Dr. Steve LaVall.

By utilizing techniques based on aerospace technology, nuTonomy has begun the process of pioneering new methods of creating a more comfortable and safe ride.

"We are impressed with nuTonomy's technical acumen, especially their leadership in decision-making methods for vehicles," Amy Garg of the Samsung Global Innovation Center's strategic investments team stated. "Partnering across the spectrum in the industry will be essential to turning years of research into an everyday reality."

Earlier this month, nuTonomy's first driverless car passed its first driving test around a custom obstacle course. The vehicle passed without incident, and nuTonomy has already begun the approval process to allow on-road testing.

Doug Parker, the chief operating officer of nuTonomy, stated: "Singapore is an economic powerhouse but it's also a smaller nation. They can move quickly. They can institute things that, at a federal level in the United States, would be very difficult."

By "move quickly," Parker referred to the speed in which legalizing driverless vehicles and inserting them into public transport can be completed. nuTonomy admitted their ultimate goal is to create a robot-run taxi service that can be hailed via smart phones.

Singapore's driverless car features a steering wheel, an egg shape, can be refuelled via electricity and includes a brake pad in the event a human needs to take over - which doesn't sit well with Google.

Google claims it is "gravely disappointed" with the wheel and brakes as human error is more likely to cause an accident, but neither nuTonomy nor Singapore officials care.

Parker explained, "We've got strong political support ... and even favorable geography. There are no earthquakes here." He continued, saying the roads are flat and are "incredibly maintained and present fewer challenges than, say, a hilly slope in San Francisco."

"I'm quite confident that Singapore will be the first city to implement this new technology," Lee Shiang Long, the director of the nation's research wing A*STAR told The Straits Times. "This is because unlike trials in other countries, which are left pretty much to the private sector, the government is behind the efforts here."

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