Halo, a rideshare company working with T-Mobile, launched today promising to offer users a driverless electric car service. Sort of.
Someone will be driving Halo cars at all times, but when your car gets to you, it won’t have a driver behind the wheel. That’s because (at first, anyway) someone will be driving the car remotely, essentially using a sim-racing setup. That remote operator will then hand the controls over to the user, who drives the car to their destination.
When you’re done with the car, the remote operator takes over, allowing you to get out without considering parking because the car will simply take off like a remote-operated drone.
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Service will initially be offered in urban parts of the Las Vegas Valley later this year, the company says. Although the cars will depend on users and operators to drive them, Halo says that its vehicles will learn from the drivers and build towards level 3 autonomous capabilities over time. The service will also help people get used to seeing “driverless” cars whizzing around.
“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.”
Halo was founded by executives from Uber, Cruise Robotics, Proterra, Amazon, and more. It received initial investment from T-Mobile’s 5G Open Innovation Lab.
“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,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “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!”