Robotic Research helps Olli shuttle bring autonomous vehicle programs to two campuses

Robotic Research LLC, a provider of autonomy and robotic technologies to government and commercial customers, announced its team has recently supported the launch of two new international deployments of Olli, the autonomous shuttle manufactured by Local Motors. The deployments both support campus-based pilot programs, including at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) in Turin, Italy, and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. The Olli is equipped with Robotic Research’s AutoDrive autonomy kit, which allows the vehicle to think, perceive, and navigate in diverse, mixed-traffic environments. “Every new application and deployment of the Olli shuttle demonstrates its effectiveness in solving transportation needs for customers looking for clean, safe, and efficient infrastructure,” said Alberto Lacaze, President of Robotic Research. “The versatile autonomous performance in unstructured and dynamic environments like KAUST and ITCILO exemplify the Olli’s state of the art mobility. This is another great step for our company in playing an important role to bring safer and more efficient public transportation to communities around the world.” AutoDrive allows vehicles to drive on both pedestrian walkways and on public roads through pedestrian and vehicular traffic as it incorporates LiDAR, camera, and radar sensors. It can operate in GPS-denied environments including underground, as well as in dense urban landscapes. This technology provides ground vehicles with fixed-route autonomy, with applications in mass transit, first-last mile transportation, and shipping. Robotic Research’s engineers were on site in Italy and Saudi Arabia over the last two months to ensure the effective launch of both programs. The main route of operation for each location includes:

• KAUST – A horseshoe route that includes a 1.9-mile loop circling the KAUST campus, including four loading zones throughout the trip.
• ITCILO – An on-campus route that includes four loading zones.

The autonomous kit provides driver-warning, driver-assist, and fully autonomous functionality on surfaces ranging from urban-improved road to off-road terrain. The system retrofits ground vehicles of all sizes, from small, portable robots to large trucks. All of these functions occur while the vehicle is collecting and analyzing data. For more information, visit www.roboticresearch.com.