EasyMile EZ10

EasyMile EZ10
Manufacturer	EasyMile
Years in operation	2015-2021
Operators	Gardens By The Bay (2015) ComfortDelGro Bus (2019-2021)
Technical Data
Length	4 metre
Motor	TBC
Accessibility	Low Floor
Emission Standard	NA (Zero tailpipe emissions)

The EasyMile EZ10 is an autonomous, low-floor, battery-electric mini-bus built by French company EasyMile.

Between 2019-2021, one unit of the EasyMile EZ10 was trialled in 2019 within the NUS’ Kent Ridge Campus, operating on a fixed 1.6 km route. Previously, another EasyMile EZ10 was trialled at Gardens By The Bay for a short period in December 2015.

The buses were formerly registered as Research and Development vehicles, with the NUS trial unit bearing the plate number RD3168X.

Background Information:

The EasyMile EZ10 was launched in April 2015, and conceived as a last-mile transit solution, enabling smart mobility in urban, suburban or private areas. It is a bi-directional electric autonomous shuttle where steering and braking are performed without human intervention.

The vehicle is equipped with a full range of sensors – such as LIDARS, cameras, GPS, IMU, odometry – enabling safe and reliable navigation on a pre-mapped area without a need for additional infrastructure.

In addition, the EZ10 is the first autonomous shuttle that has been allowed to ride in mixed traffic environment in France, Germany, Norway, Australia, and Japan.

Technologies:

• Geolocalisation
  Localisation algorithm calculates a vehicle’s position with centimetre-level accuracy in real-time by fusing data obtained via the sensor set, comprising:
  • LIDARs (Laser Detection And Ranging)
    Provide 2D & 3D perception maps of the environment to allow for precise vehicle positioning and obstacle detection.
  • Cameras
    Detect obstacles and estimate their position relative to the vehicle. Supplement perception maps with environmental analysis (road signs, traffic lights) and classification.
  • Differential GPS
    Communicates between the GPS sensor and a base station to determine the precise position of the vehicle at any moment.
  • Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
  • Odometry
    Measures the displacement and speed of each wheel to estimate the velocity of vehicle and change in vehicle position
  • The autonomous vehicle is in constant communication with both its environment (V2X) and the supervision centre thanks to a 4G data connection network
• Obstacle Detection
• Safety
  • Redundant coverage by full range of sensors, and constant monitoring of the perfect functioning of each sensor at all time
  • Redundant obstacle detection function
  • Fail-safe and redundant braking systems
• Cybersecurity measures
• EZFleet
  EasyMile Fleet management solution for autonomous vehicles, enabling Mobility-as-a-Service applications

Charging System:

Plug-in Charging System. A full charge takes about 6 hours.

See Also: Autonomous Buses in Singapore

EasyMile EZ10:

Autonomous Bus Trial at Gardens By The Bay:

The EasyMile EZ-10 was first trialled at Gardens By The Bay (GBTB) between 1 – 14 December 2015, then named the Auto Rider. As part of the two-week trial, the bus plied a 1.5 km-long loop, starting at The Meadow (near “The Planet” sculpture), via the “World of Plants” series of outdoor gardens, and looping at The Canopy (near the cooled conservatories). Each ride had a duration of 15 minutes.

The trial was conducted on each day from 4 to 5.45 pm, departing The Meadow at 15-minute intervals. The buses were limited to a maximum speed of 8 km/h with an onboard attendant. Passengers were asked to complete a short survey after the ride, to provide feedback on their experience.

To suit local conditions, Gardens By The Bay collaborated with ST Engineering to augment the EasyMile vehicles with additional technologies that would enable these vehicles to navigate smoothly within the mixed-traffic environments of GBTB, under tropical weather conditions such as rain.

The Auto Rider was officially launched on 22 June 2016 for public rides in Gardens by the Bay. Each vehicle had a capacity of 10 passengers, with 6 seating, and either 4 standing passengers or 1 passenger-in-wheelchair. The trial ceased in 2017/2018.

Autonomous Bus Trial in NUS:

The EasyMile EZ-10 (Referred to as NUSmart Shuttle for this trial) was funded and imported by Inchcape Singapore, and operated by ComfortDelGro Bus Pte Ltd for the trial. The fully-electric vehicle carries up to 12 people, and the year-long trial aims to gauge the commercial viability of a fully autonomous shuttle service.

The NUSmart Shuttle (Registered as RD3168X) first embarked on a 1.5-month-long road test from 25 May 2019 at NUS’ Kent Ridge Campus, plying on a 1.6km route between Heng Mui Keng Terrace and Business Link as part of a mapping process—through the collection of data for the vehicle’s navigation systems. The shuttle travelled at between 5km/h and 16km/h during this period.

Upon completion of the mapping process, the NUSmart Shuttle ran a validation test for three hours daily over a four-week period. During this time, the shuttle did not take passengers. Following the road test, the NUSmart Shuttle commenced passenger service trials from 30 July 2019.

Although it is a driverless vehicle, the NUSmart Shuttle carries a Safety Operator on board for safety reasons. The Safety Operator would be on hand to provide information to passengers and ensure safe operation of the vehicle.

The NUSmart Shuttle was suspended from 7 April 2020 due to the coronavirus situation. The trial formally ceased on 26 January 2021.

ITS World Congress Singapore 2019 Exhibition

The NUSmart bus, RD3168X, was showcased at the ITS World Congress Singapore 2019 demonstrations area at The Float @ Marina Bay. As part of demonstrations, the autonomous bus plied a fixed circuit within the compound fetching exhibition visitors.

Interiors:

The EasyMile EZ-10 seats six passengers. For the safety of passengers, seatbelts are required to be worn while the vehicle is in motion.

The interior features a passenger information display system with announcements, displaying bus stops along the route and estimated time of arrivals for upcoming stops.

External Links & References:

• EasyMile EZ10 – EasyMile
• Autonomous shuttle trial starts at the National University of Singapore – NUS
• NUSmart Shutte – NUS UCI
• EZ10 Autonomous Shuttle starts trial at National University of Singapore – EasyMile
• Gardens By The Bay: First Fully-Operational Driverless Vehicle – EasyMile
• NUSmart Shuttle Passenger Service Trial Ends – NUS Office of Campus Amenities (OCA)

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