There have been multiple electric autonomous shuttles launched in recent years. At a glance, Olli looks no different.
With a tall rectangular pod, a wide-set of headlights and large windows huddled between a rounded frame, Olli would blend right in among other shuttles on the market.
But wait! Olli is different in almost every way, starting from how it was created, right to its origin story.
The Story of Olli
Creation of Local Motors, Olli 2.0, is an attempt to make the companies dream of accelerating the adoption of its autonomous shuttles. The Co-founder and CEO of Local Motors, John B. Rogers, believes that Ollie 2.0 will be the answer to making autonomous shuttles accepted universally.
There have been certain reservations regarding individuals adopting Rogers’ vision of the future. However, John claims that Olli 1.0 has already been a powerful ambassador.
The Difference Between Olli 1.0 and 2.0
Olli 1.0 had made its appearance in 2016 when it started in National Harbor, Md., at a planned mixed-use growth a few miles south of Washington, D.C.
There are a lot of similarities between the two versions of Olli. Both the low-speed vehicles have the same standard shape and a top speed of 25 miles per hour.
Both have been crashed tested by Local Motors, and they come with Level 4 autonomous ability.
A designation which is given by the SAE that means the vehicle can control all aspects of driving in certain situations without human interference.
However, Olli 2.0 has a lot more range, which is up to 100 miles an hour on a single charge.
The production process has been improved, which makes Olli 2.0 now 80% 3D-printed. It also has a hub of motors replacing the axle wheel motors in its predecessor.
Adding to this, there are two more seats in Olli 2.0 and new programmable lighting.
The People Involved In Olli’s Creation
The parent company, Launch Forth, runs a digital design community of thousands of engineers and designers that co-creates products for consumers.
Startup Affectiva gives Olli’s cognition system, such as facial and mood tracking of its passengers along with effective route optimization.
Companies like Velodyne, Delphi, Robotic Research and Axis Communications manage the plan of the self-driving shuttle.
Other firms like Nvidia and Sierra Wireless give much of the Human Machine Interface.
Various companies supply the other bits and pieces to Olli which include Bosch, Goodyear, Protean and Eastman, to name just a few.
The production of Olli 2.0 has started in July, and the deliveries will begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
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