Roadblock: Self-Driving Car's Boston Test Run Delayed Tuesday

Update: The Boston Globe's Curt Woodward reports that Tuesday's rainy weather has delayed the first test-drive. You can still find lots of great info on the self-driving cars and where they'll be in Boston below. Meantime, we'll keep you updated when they officially do hit the road.

BOSTON, MA — Self-driving cars with Cambridge company nuTonomy were set to hit Boston streets for their trial run Tuesday, but the city's first-ever test run reportedly hit a snag due to rainy weather Tuesday.

The Cambridge company's self-driving fleet has already piloted a similar program in Singapore, pairing with a mobile ride-hailing app there to provide on-demand, self-driving taxi services. It plans to launch the service there in 2018.

That could be in the cards in Boston, too.

“These tests in the City of Boston will enable our engineers to adapt our autonomous vehicle software to the weather and traffic challenges of this unique driving environment," nuTonomy CEO and co-founder of Karl Iagnemma said in a press release. "Testing our self-driving cars so near to nuTonomy’s home is the next step towards our ultimate goal: deployment of a safe, efficient, fully autonomous mobility-on-demand transportation service.”

The planned test run follows city and state orders that permit self-driving cars to operate, within limits.

In Boston, nuTonomy’s pilot program will start in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in South Boston.

According to the company, "During the Boston road tests, nuTonomy’s software system will learn local signage and road markings while gaining a deeper understanding of pedestrian, cyclist, and driver behavior and interaction across a complex urban driving environment. nuTonomy plans to work with government officials to expand the testing area to other parts of the city in the near future."

An engineer from nuTonomy will ride in the vehicle during testing to observe system performance and assume control if needed, the company said.

You can get a sense of how the self-driving cars work in the promo video below:

Image via Youtube