Indonesia plans to use self-driving eco-friendly cars in State Capital City Nusantara

The Indonesian Ministry of Transport has announced ambitious plans to largely use eco-friendly autonomous, better known as self-driving, cars, in the soon to be State Capital City (IKN) of Nusantara, Indonesia.

The use of self-driving eco-friendly cars is part of the government’s plan to turn the capital into a smart city, explained the Director-General of Land Transportation Budi Setiadi.

To kick the project off, the government will start by offering environmentally-friendly options for public transportation such as buses, MRT, LRT, electric trams and first/ last mile services. They will also make sure the service is efficient to help reduce the use of private vehicles in the capital.

However, the plans are still in the early stage of studies because it will take massive infrastructure upgrades to be able to utilise autonomous vehicles effectively. That means Indonesia will be looking to upgrade its internet connection and network.

This is because self-driving cars not only rely on the car’s high definition camera, radar, lidar, and more to detect objects around them, they will also require high speed internet to support high accuracy GPS.

Hence the need to upgrade the internet in the area to ensure that the vehicles’ navigation system is always connected.

But other than the planning for the infrastructure, the government will also have to further look into regulations on autonomous vehicles.

The plan coincides with President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) directive to avoid using internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the Nusantara capital.