The smart city of the future

PICTURE this: hot-pink driverless electric vehicles, stuffed to the brim with food deliveries, cruising along our highways.

That's the image painted by So Yong Heng, oversea market representative of Neolix, the company that manufactures said four-wheelers, at a recent demonstration with foodpanda. And the wheels are being set in motion. A trial will take place at National University of Singapore's UTown from mid-October, says Miro Banovic, operations and innovation lead at foodpanda, which is partnering Neolix to roll out this modern-day food-delivery initiative.

"During this trial, the robots will assist with completing the last-mile deliveries during peak periods, and transform into a mobile convenience store." The company aims to expand the "vending machine on wheels" concept to more residential estates in future, he says, adding that the project is in line with Singapore's vision of being a smart city.