The driverless rental car that comes to you
A cross between a rental car and a cab, this alternative solution is currently being tested in Hamburg, Germany, by the start-up Vay. After placing an order via a dedicated application, the customer then waits for the car to arrive. There’s no need to go to a specific location, as the vehicle comes directly to them. The car is driven remotely by an operator sitting in a station equipped with a steering wheel and pedals, like a car simulator, from where they can drive the vehicle remotely. Once on board, the customer takes control and drives the car as usual. Once the rental period is over, the remote driver takes control of the vehicle once more.
Note that Vay soon plans to offer a solution whereby the remote driver also drives throughout the journey, the customer being then a simple passenger in a car without a human driver on board.
The main advantage of this system is that the car does not need to be collected or returned to a specific location, since it picks up the customer and then leaves directly for another mission once the trip is over. With this solution, Vay intends to transport more people with fewer vehicles, making the trips operated by each car more profitable.
This kind of technology was previously demonstrated last year by the Estonian start-up Elmo. With it, you no longer need to go and collect the vehicle you have rented. It will come to you, alone, without a driver on board. Elmo is still looking for partners, especially in Germany, to launch a commercial offer based on this technology.
