Renault tests the first autonomous rental car service in Europe

The group Renault, partner in the Rouen Normandy project, will launch the first autonomous electric car service via app in Europe.

Thanks to the support of the Normandy region, the Group Renault together with partners such as Transdev and Matmut, all of them partners in the Rouen Normandy Autonomous Lab project, are testing the first shared and autonomous mobility service on demand on conventional European roads.

This ambitious project, still in the testing phase, will open to the public in the last quarter of 2018 in the municipality of Saint-Etienne du Rouvray, with four vehicles Renault ZOE, 100% electric, joined by I-Cristal, an autonomous bus jointly developed by Transdev and Lohr. During this testing period open to the public, the Renault ZOE will be able to travel within a 10 km radius in this neighbourhood.

The idea behind this project, besides benefiting the environment, is to offer, through the use of an app (similar to some we have in Spain such as EMov, Cooltra or Car2Go), the rental of autonomous vehicles, which will automatically go and pick up the user. Once the destination is set, the customer will be able to carry out other activities without having to touch the steering wheel (although for the moment there will be a driver in case something goes wrong during the journey).

Although the technology is still in its infancy, this initiative is a great step forward towards the future. The Renault ZOEs are equipped with several highly sensitive sensors located at every angle of the bodywork to avoid problems and safety risks. These sensors are responsible for detecting everything from pedestrians crossing to measuring the speed of nearby cars so they can brake or accelerate in time. These sensors are further supported by other fixed sensors located on the municipality’s street lamps and poles, providing assistance and route improvements.

The interior of the car is quite different from the traditional design we are used to. The customer sits in the back, where they will find seats that resemble a small sofa, with plenty of room to stretch their legs, and in front there is a screen they can interact with, browse the internet, watch television…

Below we offer you a short preview of the service in video form, published by the Rouen Normandy Autonomous Lab company itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgkTH5JWacU

This initiative, although still in very early stages of production as far as the technology is concerned, could mark a before and after in the world of car travel. In the future, the customer will be able to get into the car, speak to the monitor through an artificial intelligence to set the destination, and then relax by watching a film, studying, catching up on work or even taking a nap. Without a doubt this will bring many positive points, but it will also generate detractors, since in the long term this could mean the beginning of the end of driving as we know it today.

Discover more about the autonomous Renault ZOE with this image collection: