There was an announcement yesterday of a strategic partnership between BENTELER EV Systems, Beep Inc., and Mobileye, an Intel company. The aim is to develop and deploy pure electric, automotive-grade, autonomous movers in public and private communities across North America.
Focusing on the initial and last-step logistics applications in urban spaces, the shuttles will have production deployments in the United States in 2024.
The trio can use the years of experience in their critical niches of autonomous solutions – Beep in the operations of micro-transit and mobility solutions, BENTELER EV Systems in the design and manufacturing of automotive solutions and safety systems, and Mobileye in the delivery of automated driving solutions.
Also, according to a Reuters report, the on-demand driverless shuttles will have a space of around 12-14 seats. There will be no pedal or steering wheel in the vehicles.
These vehicles will operate in “contained geo-fenced areas” where speed limits of around 56 km/h or less exist. Hinrich Woebcken, an advisory board member for Beep, told Reuters.
The companies expect a couple of hundred autonomous movers on the US roads in the first year. Additionally, they aim to expand the number to between 10000 to 15000 globally.
