Swiss Phone company puts first driverless car on the streets of Zurich

Swiss telephone company, Swisscom, launched a driverless car that is being tested on the roads of Zurich today. This is the first of its kind in the country.

The car is a Volkswagen Passat and it began road tests last week and end the tests on Thursday. The car has been equipped with sensors, computers and a special kind of software.

“Swisscom is interested in the digitisation of the economy,” company official Christian Petit told reporters. “Swisscom is not turning into a car manufacturer. But future innovations in the automotive industry will centre on networking with the environment. For this reason, the driverless car is a prime example of digitisation and therefore of great interest to us,” he said.

The computer in the car drives, steers and brakes the car using laser scanners, radar and video cameras to detect nearby vehicles and pedestrians and road users. The software on board is used to issue driving commands and analyse data.

The project also has AutoNomosLabs, a German company that has run similar tests in Germany, as partners. The test Passat has two people in it as a safety measure, in case a driver needs to take over.

Driverless cars are being tested all over the world and in the US. Internet giant Google has also been running tests for 6 years.