Autonomous shuttles are making their way to New York and California, with self-driving vehicle tech company Optimus Ride announcing two sites to deploy its fleet:
- Brooklyn Navy Yard: an industrial park in New York spanning 300 acres that supports 400 businesses with 9,000 on-site workers.
- Paradise Valley Estates: an 80-acre, private community in Fairfield, California.
Brooklyn Navy Yard will have autonomous shuttles on its public roads that’ll serve as a loop transportation service connecting “NYC Ferry passengers to Flushing Avenue outside the Yard’s perimeter,” according to Optimus Ride. The shuttles at Paradise Valley Estates will serve as self-driving tours of the community to prospective residents, as well as provide current residents with reserved and on-demand ride services for travel within the community.
Deployments are scheduled for the second quarter of 2019.
Figure 1: Brooklyn Navy Yard. (Image Source: Optimus Ride)
Optimus Ride CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Ryan Chin says, “We are excited to announce not one but two self-driving vehicle deployments today. Working with leading developments and communities like Paradise Valley Estates and the Brooklyn Navy Yard enable us to further our mission to transform mobility. We’re pleased to be the first company to launch a self-driving vehicle program in the state of New York and, having now announced three deployments in the first quarter of 2019, are well positioned as the leader in self-driving systems for geofenced areas.”
This announcements comes off the heels of Optimus Ride’s strategic partnership with Brookfield Properties, where Brookfield’s Halley Rise development near the Washington D.C. area will also host a set of self-driving vehicles. There, shuttles will provide transport for tenants from offices to parking lots.
Figure 2: Paradise Valley Estates. (Image Source: Optimus Ride)
