Driverless tech’s key moment is in this tiny country: opinion

epa05509461 A handout image dated 20 August 2016, issued by US start-up company nuTonomy, showing a nuTonomy self-driving vehicle pictured in Singapore. In a first in the world, NuTonomy officially launched their diverless taxis in Singapore today, allowing selected passengers to use a smartphone app to order a car. During the ride passengers will be accompanied by an engineer of nuTonomy that will take control of the car should the autonomous driving system fail. In addition to Renault's Zoe electric vehicles, the company also uses Mitsubishi's i-MiEV electric cars. EPA/NUTONOMY / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Pilot plans to test driverless cars on city streets have so far been little more than vanity research projects. But one tiny country has put the whole autonomous vehicle industry on a track to make money in real life. 

Automakers, tech firms and new entrants the world over have spent the past few weeks racing to meet the May 30 deadline for a so-called Request for Information that Singapore announced back in November. The city state plans to operate fleets of autonomous vehicles in three districts starting in 2022.