Two driverless shuttles with a single remote supervizor, in service, and on track for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games at France’s National Sports Shooting Centre (CNTS).
EasyMile and multinational public transport public transport operator Keolis have taken a further step in completely automated mobility by remotely supervising two fully driverless shuttles, without any human supervizor on board, at France’s National Sports Shooting Centre, in the centre of the country. This new phase aims to validate the economic and operational model of the autonomous shuttles.
During competition days, EasyMile’s autonomous electric shuttles will transport spectators and athletes the 1.5 km between the main car park, located at the entrance of the centre, and the shooting ranges. This last-mile service is a new, more environmentally friendly mode of mobility. The shuttles are also accessible to people with reduced mobility.
A key step towards scaling up mobility services to level 4 autonomy
For 18 months, Keolis tested and operated these two third-generation EasyMile autonomous shuttles on the CNTS site. The deployment enabled the transport operator, a leader in the commissioning of autonomous shuttles, to test the navigation software bricks and to validate the latest features of the critical safety systems, which allow the vehicles to travel safely in level 4 autonomy (without any on-board human assistance and supervised remotely).
The two shuttles run simultaneously without an operator on board. They are monitored by a field operator and a supervision centre in Paris. Passengers can communicate with the supervisor using an intercommunication system and cameras positioned inside the vehicles.
Thanks to a sufficiently high level of technological integrity, this offers a real mobility service on the CNTS site. It also paves the way for other similar deployments, joining sites such as ArianeGroup, and Terhills, Belgium, also with fleets of fully autonomous shuttles, supervised remotely.
These private sites, in a controlled environment, are the perfect use cases for the deployment of autonomous shuttles, and the last step before scaling up to public roads, as EasyMile has already started to do on the IUCT Oncopole medical campus in Toulouse, to provide innovative, inclusive and sustainable mobility solutions.
“This new service, based on the know-how of two major players in autonomous public transport, is a further step towards scaling up, thanks to the control of operations by a single supervisor for two shuttles. Carried out in collaboration with Keolis, this project highlights the service that a fleet of autonomous shuttles can provide and the maturity of our technology.” Benoit Perrin, Managing Director of EasyMile.
This service is part of the SAM consortium (Safety and Acceptability of Autonomous Driving and Mobility), a nationwide project in France for experimenting with autonomous driving and mobility that brings together industrial players, research and local partners. The challenge is twofold: to develop the use and knowledge of these systems by citizens and local players and to build the future regulatory framework, particularly in terms of safety validation.
The operation is at the heart of the national strategy for autonomous vehicles, enabling the co-construction of a legislative framework for deployment on open roads. It is being carried out with the support of the French government’s Investissements d’avenir, operated by ADEME, as part of the EVRA (Experimentation of Autonomous Road Vehicles) call for projects.
About EasyMile
EasyMile is a leader in software and complete solutions for driverless goods and passenger transport. It partners with blue-chip manufacturers to autonomize their vehicles with award-winning technology built on safety-by-design, ready for deployment today, with clear client benefits.
Since 2014, the company has become known for quality delivery and real-world deployments. EasyMile’s proven technology has driven autonomously in 300+ locations in more than 30 countries, over 1, 000,000km.
With several mass operations around the world, EasyMile was the first to deploy fully driverless at Level 4 of autonomous driving, and the first to receive authorization to run at this level on public roads in Europe..
In 2021, EasyMile raised a 55 million Series B to scale commercially. Today, it is the number one provider of autonomous shuttles in the world, and has deployed the highest number at Level 4 of autonomous driving (completely removing any human supervizor onboard) on the market.
Global users of its autonomous tow tractor solution include BMW, Daimler, and other major automotive manufacturing plants and logistics centers in Europe and the United States. It has also served airports including Narita International in Japan, Schiphol in the Netherlands, and operates in a fleet at Changi Airport in Singapore.
EasyMile has more than 250 employees in four locations (Toulouse, Berlin, Denver and Singapore), doubling its headcount every 2 years.
source: easymile