Motional, the $4 billion collaboration between Aptiv and Hyundai focused on bringing self-driving technology to market, is preparing to deploy vehicles capable of fully autonomous operation on the roadways of Las Vegas, following authorization from the state of Nevada.

Karl Iagnemma, president and CEO of the company, revealed on Tuesday through a blog post that Nevada has granted approval for testing autonomous vehicles without a human safety operator present.

However, the introduction of these vehicles to Las Vegas streets is not imminent. Iagnemma, whose initial autonomous vehicle company nuTonomy was acquired by Aptiv in 2017 and subsequently became part of the Motional joint venture with Hyundai, stated that the company will dedicate the coming months to a comprehensive period of internal testing and evaluation. This testing phase, which is already in progress, involves analyzing the performance and safety of its vehicles in both public and controlled environments. Based on this schedule, testing without a driver is anticipated to commence in early 2021. 

Iagnemma also mentioned that Motional is collaborating with a highly regarded safety evaluation organization. While the company has not yet disclosed the identity of this assessor, further details regarding the safety and assessment procedures will be released in the weeks ahead, as reported to TechCrunch.

Motional has a well-established presence in Las Vegas. Previously operating as the Aptiv Autonomous Mobility Group, the company spent several years conducting autonomous vehicle trials within the city, always with a human driver ready to intervene. In January 2018, the company initiated a week-long pilot program with Lyft to test a robotaxi service during CES, the prominent technology conference. This initial experiment, which consistently included a human safety driver, was extended and continues to operate today. By February 2020, the program had facilitated over 100,000 paid rides in Aptiv’s self-driving vehicles through the Lyft application.

Aptiv’s investment in Las Vegas increased alongside the growth in ridership. In December 2018, the company established a 130,000-square-foot technical facility in the city to accommodate its fleet of autonomous vehicles, as well as a dedicated engineering team focused on the research, development, and validation of software, hardware, and mapping systems.

According to Iagnemma, this upcoming driverless testing will be conducted independently from the company’s existing self-driving fleet currently operating within the Lyft network in Las Vegas.

Following the joint venture with Hyundai, the rebranded Motional is expanding its operations not only in Las Vegas but also in other U.S. cities such as Pittsburgh, and internationally, including Singapore and South Korea. The objective, Iagnemma explains, is to develop autonomous vehicle technology capable of navigating diverse road conditions worldwide, encompassing both left- and right-hand traffic, varying weather conditions like intense sunlight and heavy rainfall, and a range of road types including highways, city streets, roundabouts, and intersections without traffic signals.

It remains uncertain where these driverless vehicles will be deployed and when Motional intends to make them available to the general public. Should Motional mirror the approach of Waymo, which has been gradually expanding a driverless service in the Phoenix area, the rollout will likely be deliberate and involve a prolonged testing period. 

Another aspect yet to be determined is whether Motional will collaborate with Lyft or another partner to launch a driverless service. Last month, Motional and on-demand shuttle provider Via announced plans to introduce a shared robotaxi service for public use in a U.S. city during the first half of 2021. The companies stated their goal is to establish a model for on-demand shared robotaxis and assess how these driverless vehicles can be integrated into public transportation systems. The partnership with Via will initially involve autonomous vehicles with a human safety driver present.

Specific details regarding this partnership and the service remain limited. Motional and Via have not identified the city, outlined the service’s geographic boundaries, or specified the number or type of vehicles that will be utilized. The companies did indicate that the service will launch in one of the U.S. cities where Motional currently operates, which limits the possibilities to Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, and Santa Monica.