Autonomous Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) provider May Mobility has announced that it has closed a $50 million Series B round.
Toyota Motor Corporation led the Series B round, and the automotive manufacturer has also selected May Mobility as one of its partners in the autonomous TaaS segment for future open mobility platforms.
To date, May Mobility has raised a total of $84 million. This latest funding round will be used for strategic hires across the engineering and operations functions, as well as to expand the company’s vehicle fleet to meet growing demand.
Mobility
Mobility
Robotic Research granted permission to operate Olli autonomous shuttle in Maryland
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Motor Vehicle Administration recently granted autonomy and robotic technologies provider Robotic Research LLC permission to operate Local Motors’ Olli autonomous shuttle between its two office locations in Clarksburg, Maryland.
The Olli shuttle is driven by Robotic Research’s AutoDrive technology.
After a thorough review of the technology with Montgomery County government, law enforcement, fire/EMS, and public transportation, MDOT granted Robotic Research a Highly-Automated Vehicle (HAV) permit for the Olli shuttle, which will allow the company to continue its research and testing of autonomous vehicle capabilities and technology directly on a half-mile stretch of public roadway in Montgomery County.
WHILL's autonomous driving Personal EVs being trialed at North American airports
WHILL, the developer of the Model Ci and Model A Intelligent Personal Electric Vehicles (EVs), has announced that its autonomous driving Personal EVs will be trialed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG).
According to the company, the trials are part of an initiative to further the current mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) model across the world.
Navya launches autonomous shuttles in Lyon, France
In an effort to support the technological development of the public transport network in Lyon, France, Navya has launched two autonomous shuttles in the city that will be fully integrated into Lyon's public transport network over the next two years.
The shuttles will provide a regular service Mondays through Saturdays, except on match days and during other events.
Orange County, Lake Nona awarded BUILD grant that will help develop autonomous vehicle infrastructure
Orange County and Lake Nona—a smart community within the city of Orlando and Orange County—have been awarded a new $20 million federal BUILD grant that will help “reimagine mobility” in the smart community.
The grant, which is the first of its kind for Central Florida, will support the planning, design and construction of a Local Alternative Mobility Network (LAMN) in Lake Nona.
RTI unveils Connext Drive platform for autonomous vehicles
Real-Time Innovations (RTI) has unveiled Connext Drive, a platform that the company says provides the necessary software and tools to automotive manufacturers to build highly autonomous vehicles and fleets.
RTI says that Connext Drive allows autonomous vehicle makers to develop and build vehicles without the high risk and cost of in-house technologies. The platform also eliminates the difficulty of adapting legacy connectivity, as it bridges both research and production technologies, and supports development from prototype to end use.
Equipped with a native Software Development Kit (SDK) for developing and integrating vehicle applications, Connext Drive supports software from the research phase all the way through to production.
NIO, Mobileye partner to develop autonomous vehicles
Chinese automobile manufacturer NIO has announced a strategic collaboration with Mobileye, an Intel company that develops vision technology for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, to develop highly automated and autonomous vehicles (AV) for consumer markets in China and other major territories.
Through the collaboration, Mobileye will design a self-driving system that NIO will engineer and manufacture. The companies say that they will build on Mobileye’s level-4 (L4) AV kit.
Jacksonville Transportation Authority tests autonomous vehicle designed for those with disabilities
On Thursday, Oct. 31, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) tested what it is calling the first Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible autonomous vehicle in the United States.
JTA has made ADA accessibility a requirement for the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) autonomous vehicle program, which is a multi-phased program that will convert and expand Skyway monorail cars into an autonomous vehicle network.
“It needs to be something that all of our customers and citizens can easily utilize,” JTA CEO Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. said via WJCT.org.
Toyota Research Institute to test its P4 automated driving test vehicle in Tokyo next summer
Next summer, Toyota Research Institute’s (TRI) Platform 4 (P4) automated driving test vehicle will be tested on public roads in Tokyo, offering select individuals the chance to experience the technology first hand.
Based on the fifth-generation Lexus LS sedan, the P4 test vehicle, which will have a safety driver present in the vehicle at all times, will operate in a waterfront subcenter called Odaiba district, which is described as “busy and often congested.” TRI says that Odaiba presents a “complex environment” with a variety of challenges that make it ideal for demonstrating the capabilities of Toyota’s automated driving technology.
