German Startup Promises Remote-Driven Cars for Tomorrow

DR – Unsplash

In Las Vegas, a German startup called Vay challenges the dream of the autonomous car by betting on remote driving. Less expensive, but also riskier, is this approach a future revolution in mobility, or a false good idea ?

It doesn't fly and it's not autonomous, but it does drive remotely. It still sounds like science fiction. As is often the case these days, the human is placed behind the screen. While autonomous driving remains the goal of many high-tech companies, Vay is playing a resolutely “low-tech” card, with an original idea: it's not artificial intelligence that guides the cars, but a remote driver, installed in a virtual cockpit. With basic cameras and a minimalist interface, this approach, which aims to be simpler and less expensive, could well call into question the entire mobility industry.

By sacrificing the sophistication of the sensors and radars of autonomous cars, Vay is banking on an attractive business model: a ride at half the price of traditional VTCs like Uber or Lyft. Less technology, lower costs, but also fewer guarantees in terms of safety. “Our basic principle in terms of safety is that the remote driver can make the decision,” says Thomas von der Ohe, co-founder of Vay. But when faced with vehicles delivered to underperforming cameras, the question of reliability remains open. To err is human.

Considering rental rather than reservation, this is the model that Vay aspires to. For von der Ohe, the real revolution will come from the possibility of having a car delivered to where you need it. “This could be an alternative to individual cars,” he assures. An attractive scenario, but one that will not fail to spark debate on the viability of this solution on a large scale. The absence of permanent drivers and the possibility of relying on remote drivers, at all times and at a lower cost, could well make the automobile even more accessible… but at the cost of impersonality and danger.

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