CRS preview: the EasyMile EZ-10 autonomous shuttle
We are working on adding the EasyMile EZ-10 autonomous shuttle to the Crash Recovery System database. Robot shuttles are an important new, reconfigurable form of transportation for goods and people. With the move to cities, private cars are being squeezed out because they take up too much parking and road space. Conventional public transport partly takes over but there is a missing link. What about the last-mile, the wheelchair-bound disabled, those that cannot afford the fare?
The autonomous mobility industry is tackling part of the last-mile problem that many commuters encounter when using public transportation by replacing large, diesel buses with a fleet of electric, self-driving shuttle buses that transport small groups of people along defined and planned routes. Autonomous shuttles could be a key element that connects the public transportation systems to reduce private car ownership in the future.
Autonomous shuttles are upright, boxy, 8-20 person vehicles that are symmetrical so they never do a U-turn. Small footprint, all-round vision, large doors, quiet, zero-emission, they can go indoors and over piazzas and roads and are able to perform many different tasks even in one day. Primarily intended for intensive urban use, they are gated to never exceed a determined speed, typically in the range 50km/h – 60km/h.
It all adds up to a new form of transport backed by both huge companies like Toyota and Baidu and start-ups like EasyMile. Their trials explore many possible applications, from empowering the poor and disabled, to viably filling in gaps in the transportation network and replacing very underutilized vehicles such as school buses and private cars, reducing congestion and cost. City road congestion will be eliminated by banning little used and weakly filled vehicles such as private cars and some school buses and introducing robot shuttles intensively used because they reconfigure in use, even go indoors, move sideways and arrive at your door.
EasyMile is a French high-tech start-up founded in 2014 with over 180 employees. The main product, EZ10, was designed from the ground for autonomous driving (no steering wheel). It was launched in 2015 and 110 units have been sold to date. Apart from selling the EZ10 shuttles, the company also licenses its in-house autonomous driving software to other companies. The shuttle is full electric and has an 8 kWh Lithium LiFePO4 battery on 48V. The transmission is single gear and the total weight of the vehicle is 2750 kg. Of course, all the information about this shuttle will soon be available in the Crash Recovery System.
Are there special vehicles in your area that have not yet been added to the Crash Recovery System? Contact us via marketing@moditech.com and let us know which you would like added.
Crash Recovery System – Know what’s inside, see what to do!