GreenPower Motor Company Inc. is partnering with Perrone Robotics Inc. (PRI) to build fully autonomous electric transit vehicles based on GreenPower’s EV Star shuttle platform.
A designer, manufacturer and distributor of a diverse line of electric powered buses for the transit, shuttle, tourist and school sectors, Greenpower was founded a decade ago with the intent to bring the “most compelling” zero-emissions buses to the market.
Mobility
Mobility
Waymo raises $2.25 billion in first external investment round
Waymo raised $2.25 billion in its first external investment round.
The investment round was led by Silver Lake, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Mubadala Investment Company. Additional investors included Magna International, Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation and Alphabet.
“Waymo is the proven leader in self-driving technology, is the only autonomous vehicle company with a public ride-hailing service, and is successfully scaling its fully driverless experience,” says Egon Durban, co-CEO, Silver Lake, and nominee for Waymo's Operating Board.
“We’re deeply aligned with Waymo’s commitment to making our roads safer, and look forward to working together to help advance and scale the Waymo Driver in the U.S. and beyond.”
City of Fremont, California, Pony.ai launch autonomous vehicle pilot program for city employees
On Monday, Feb. 24, the City of Fremont, California and Pony.ai launched a pilot program that uses Pony.ai’s shared, on-demand, autonomous last-mile service to provide rides for a group of City employees.
Participating employees will be transported from Fremont’s Amtrak/ACE Station to City Hall and City of Fremont Development Services Center via Pony.ai’s autonomous vehicles, which have a safety operator present in each vehicle to ensure safe and smooth navigation of complex road scenarios.
Each vehicle is equipped with Pony.ai’s full-stack autonomous driving technology, which serves as the “brains” of the vehicle. The technology is also expected to serve as a building block to the future Smart City, the entities say.
Pony.ai raises $400 million from Toyota to advance development of autonomous driving tech
Autonomous driving company Pony.ai has raised $400 million from Toyota Motor Corporation, which will be used to advance the companies’ joint efforts in autonomous driving technology development and mobility service deployment. The new funding totals $462 million and puts Pony.ai’s valuation at just over $3 billion.
An extension of a business partnership that Pony.ai and Toyota established in 2019, the latest strategic investment will expand the partnership’s scope of collaboration, as the companies will not only co-develop autonomous driving technology, but they will also look beyond the vehicle itself to explore further possibilities on mobility services.
Robotic Research to begin testing fully autonomous shuttles without onboard attendants
Starting in the second quarter of 2020, Robotic Research LLC will begin testing fully autonomous low-speed shuttles that are totally unmanned.
Daimler Trucks, Torc Robotics expanding testing of automated truck technology to new public routes in the U.S.
After completing initial mapping of additional routes, Daimler Trucks and Torc Robotics have announced plans to expand their testing of automated truck technology to new public routes in the U.S.
Robotic Research supports launch of international deployments of Local Motors' Olli autonomous shuttle
Robotic Research LLC has announced that its team recently supported the launch of two new international deployments of Local Motors’ Olli autonomous shuttle.
Both deployments support campus-based pilot programs, including at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) in Turin, Italy, and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.
uAvionix introduces new ADS-B transponder to its General Aviation and UAM lineup
uAvionix has introduced a new ADS-B transponder, tailBeaconX, to its General Aviation (GA) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) lineup.
The new Mode S Extended Squitter (ES) ADS-B OUT transponder is designed to address global air traffic surveillance system requirements for current and future ADS-B mandates. uAvionix notes that integration with the uAvionix AV-20-E and AV-30-E Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS) “introduces transponder control into the popular multi-function displays.”
COAST Autonomous, Saint Leo University developing plan for autonomous system for university's campus
Self-driving technology company COAST Autonomous has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saint Leo University in Florida to collaborate on the development of a plan for introducing an autonomous system onto the university's campus that works alongside existing campus transportation.
The deployment will include identifying routes and running simulations to determine the ideal fleet size and vehicle types that are needed to provide an efficient and useful service. This could include COAST P-1 shuttles and/or self-driving golf carts.
DGI awards North Carolina A&T State University $50,000 to prototype and deploy self-driving shuttles
Economic development organization Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) has given North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State University $50,000 to prototype and deploy two self-driving shuttles.
