Renault ZOE Cab, the autonomous taxi for the streets of Paris that will help improve traffic in the French capital

When it comes to autonomous driving, many brands are constantly generating news about their advances in this type of technology. Renault is not usually one of those car manufacturers that is very active in autonomous driving technology. Or so it seems. Because, in reality, the French brand is working to achieve an efficient and practical autonomous driving system.

In Paris, the The Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab project is underway, which, through public streets and dedicated lanes on these and campus roads, aims to offer a public transport service complementary to the existing one on the Saclay Plateau. This complementary public transport service on the Saclay Plateau includes an autonomous electric shuttle, the Transdev-Lohr i-Cristal, and three Renault ZOE.

The shuttle will allow trips for up to 16 people, although it will only be available at night, when the rest of the transport services are not running. Meanwhile, the Renault ZOE Cab can be requested during the day, through an application developed by Marcel. With this application, you can request an autonomous taxi service at any time, and it will pick you up at a point and drop you off at your destination.

To avoid disrupting traffic and offer a safe and practical route, a comprehensive map of stops and pick-up zones has been designed that do not interfere with normal traffic. These pick-up points have been set up in some of the busiest areas of the Saclay campus, so it is easy to find one of them and access the service without any problem.

The autonomous vehicles providing the service use systems such as LIDAR radar, cameras, inertial units and GPS, with specific software for autonomous driving. With all of this, the Renault ZOE and the shuttle can locate and avoid pedestrians, stop at traffic lights, drive through intersections and, in general, move autonomously without problems. Even so, the vehicles will carry a “safety driver” on all trips to increase safety, although this person will not need to intervene at any time.

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