The moment when people in the city of New York City can use autonomous vehicles is fast approaching. Optimus Ride, a Boston-based company, plans to use self-propelled shuttles. They should be on the road in the second half of 2019 in Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The industrial complex is home to four hundred companies. There are also about 850 people living there. This makes it by no means a large area to serve with self-propelled shuttles, but a good location to do experiments. The shuttle travels around the complex and does so in an area that is secured with the help of geofencing. Passengers will mainly be the people who work for the companies in the area. The cars also stop at a small dock of the East River Ferry of New York.
Already expansion
New York City isn’t the only place you’ll find Optimus Ride shuttles. The company has indicated that it also plans to use the shuttles in the Paradise Valley Estates in Fairfield, California. This too is a small area, where residents are allowed to use the vehicles. It is not certain how many vehicles in total will drive in the two areas.
Optimus Ride CEO Ryan Chin said it’s a way to promote our mission to transform mobility. We are pleased to be the first company to roll out self-propelled vehicles in the state of New York. At the same time, he sees his company as a leader when it comes to self-propelled systems in defined areas.
The state of New York has long been the main choice for companies to carry out tests on self-propelled vehicles. Two other companies have already done tests there, but Optimus Ride is the first to do so on a commercial basis.
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.
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