Milla is an autonomous French shuttle heading to Montreal

PARIS: Several French cities currently play host to a system of autonomous shuttles operating on an experimental basis. Now other countries could see similar shuttles in use as Milla, the company behind them, now wants to expand internationally as well as roll out a larger model.

A dozen vehicles are already on the road in Velizy-Villacoublay, Aix-en-Provence and Nice as part of experiments covering a few kilometres.

For the time being, these autonomous shuttles, designed to have Level 4 autonomy, only run on predefined routes, mapped in advance and at low speeds of around 30kph. They

Milla works mainly with local authorities to provide transportation services in under-served or poorly served areas.

In fact, a mobile application is all that is needed to order a ride. The Milla Pod then arrives at a meeting point and offers different destinations within a radius of about 10km. Inside the vehicle, there is an information screen and USB sockets to recharge your various electronic devices.

Currently, two models exist, which can transport either 6 (Milla Pod) or 16 people (Milla Shuttle). Each one has a driver's seat so that it can be brought manually to its operating area. In the future, a goods transport version is also planned.

These vehicles are built in Le Mans, France, and Milla intends to export its technology, with projects under way in Montreal, Canada and Brussels, Belgium.