ROBOTIC RESEARCH AND FPINNOVATIONS PARTNER TO DEVELOP RESOURCE ROAD TRUCK PLATOONING TECHNOLOGY

Joint efforts will provide Level 4 Autonomy for natural resource sector roads

CLARKSBURG, Md. and MONTRÉAL–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Robotic Research, LLC (rr.ai), a global leader in Automated Driving Systems (ADS), and FPInnovations, a Canadian private non-profit research and development center, announced today their collaboration to develop an off-road truck platooning system for the forest industry. This project will combine Robotic Research’s proven expertise as a global leader in self-driving technology with FPInnovations’ knowledge in forestry and transportation to adapt the truck platooning technology to off-highway environments.

The multi-year project aims at accelerating the adoption of off-road automated-vehicle (AV) technology to improve safety and address an acute labor shortage, thereby improving the quality and viability of rural jobs where natural resources are located. Looking to the future, a successful project would not only benefit Canada’s forest industry, but other Canadian sectors such as mining resources and natural resources in Northern Canada.

Robotic Research, with a history of other groundbreaking projects, including the development of the Xcelsior AV announced with New Flyer this year, will create unmanned convoys of Class 8, ADS-enabled trucks that follow a driver in a lead vehicle. The project will adapt existing technology to challenging Canadian conditions such as four-season weather and operations on off-pavement roads, particularly for resource roads in continental and polar climates.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected by FPInnovations and believe this project is a transformative model of how ADS can aid industries, like forestry, operating in perilous conditions or facing workforce shortages.” said Alberto Lacaze, President, Robotic Research. “The unmanned truck convoys work in concert with commercial drivers to enhance their efficiency, while also protecting their safety.”

In Phase I, truck convoys will be put through safety trials that mimic the routes from harvesting sites to sawmills. Once the system is proven to be secure, FPInnovations will run trials on actual resource roads, known to be challenging because of dust, sharp curves, and steep slopes.

“We are very pleased to partner with Robotic Research whose leading-edge expertise in the commercial on-road and defense transportation will greatly benefit Canada’s natural resource sectors and help address an acute labor shortage” stated Stéphane Renou, President and CEO, FPInnovations.

About Robotic Research

Robotic Research is U.S.-based, global leader in localization, autonomy, and robotic technology transforming the way we move. Founded in 2002, the Company has been a trusted technology partner to the public and private sector for nearly twenty years. From people to platforms, at home or overseas, Robotic Research is driven to make the way you move smarter, safer, and more efficient.

About FPInnovations

FPInnovations is a private not-for-profit research and development center with professional researchers who create solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness. It is ideally positioned to perform state-of-the-art research, develop advanced technologies, and deliver innovative solutions to complex problems for every area of the sector’s value chain, from forest operations to consumer and industrial products. Its R&D laboratories are located in Québec City, Montreal, and Vancouver, and it has technology-transfer offices across Canada.

Related links:

To learn more about Robotic Research, visit www.rr.ai, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

To learn more about FPInnovations, visit web.fpinnovations.ca, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Contacts

Taylor Smith
press@rr.ai

Robotic Research Announced as Finalist for AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards

CLARKSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Robotic Research, LLC (rr.ai), a global leader in autonomous technology, announced today it was named by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) as a finalist for an XCELLENCE Award in the category of Innovation.

AUVSI selected Robotic Research for its Pegasus Mini, a lightweight, compact unmanned system that can fold out of a backpack and transform from a tracked ground robot to quadcopter-type drone, and then back again.

“Pegasus Mini, as well as our whole Pegasus family of systems, was designed with the user in mind, as a way to overcome the challenges faced by legacy systems,” said Alberto Lacaze, co-founder and president of Robotic Research. “So, it’s very gratifying to be nominated as a finalist for an AUVSI XCELLENCE Award.”

AUVSI represents the unmanned industry. The XCELLENCE Awards are, therefore, the industry honoring peers—individuals and organizations—that have demonstrated a commitment to advancing autonomy, leading and promoting safe adoption of unmanned systems, and developing programs that use these technologies to save lives and improve society.

“During the last year, the unmanned systems industry rose to meet urgent new challenges posed by the pandemic. It is inspiring to see organizations and companies that led this charge among the XCELLENCE Awards finalists,” said Brian Wynne, President and CEO of AUVSI. “As unmanned systems become increasingly integrated within our society, AUVSI is pleased to recognize this distinguished group for their innovative work that will accelerate our industry forward toward assured autonomy.”

Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at the AUVSI XPONENTIAL trade show, held on August 16-19, at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Robotic Research

Robotic Research is a U.S.-based global leader in localization, autonomy, and robotic technology transforming the way we move. Founded in 2002, the company has been a trusted technology partner to the public and private sector for nearly twenty years. From people to platforms, at home or overseas, Robotic Research is driven to make the way you move smarter, safer, and more efficient.

To learn more about Robotic Research, visit www.rr.ai, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About AUVSI

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)—the world's largest non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems and robotics—represents corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries involved in industry, government and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets. For more information, visit AUVSI.org.

About XPONENTIAL

AUVSI XPONENTIAL is the largest, most significant event for the unmanned systems industry. The 2021 exhibit hall will showcase hundreds of cutting-edge companies from around the world and the conference will feature educational programming by unmanned systems experts, providing information about the future of policy, technology and business solutions and trending topics.

Contacts

Taylor Smith
press@rr.ai

Robotic Research Autonomy Powers North America’s First Automated Heavy-Duty Transit Bus 

CLARKSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Robotic Research, LLC (rr.ai), a global leader in autonomous driving technology and solutions, and New Flyer of America Inc. (“New Flyer”), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, announced today the successful development of the Xcelsior AV™ – North America’s first fully operational automated heavy-duty transit bus.

“Welcome to the future of mass transit,” said, Alberto Lacaze, president of Robotic Research. “Automated transit buses, like the Xcelsior AV, are not just safer and greener, but more efficient. By optimizing rider capacity, improving traffic flow, and reducing stop-and-go accordion delays, these vehicles have the potential to not only increase the efficiency of travel for those on board, but for all vehicles on the road. Our partnership with New Flyer has resulted in a new mode of transit that brings together the latest technologies, ultimately helping to enable a safer, cleaner, more efficient, and more accessible transportation solution for the public.”

With the addition of Robotic Research’s autonomous AutoDrive® technology, the Xcelsior AV™ can visualize its environment, allowing it to avoid collisions with vehicles, pedestrians, and other hazards. Its automated precision docking capabilities precisely maneuver the bus within inches of the level boarding platforms, providing easy access to passengers with disabilities in accordance with ADA rules. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications can also enable “platooning,” where multiple buses are linked and dispatched together to accommodate more passengers at peak transit times. Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications also provide links to traffic lights and crosswalk signals to smooth traffic flow.

“Our Xcelsior AV represents the anticipated future of safety in public transit and the latest leap forward for New Flyer. The technology is real and it’s here,” said Chris Stoddart, President, New Flyer and MCI. “In the future, we expect fleets of automated buses to improve road safety and with the potential to shorten commute times, increase energy efficiency, and reduce congestion. As standards and regulations are developed and implemented and automated buses are deployed across North America, we expect our Xcelsior AV to enable meaningful improvements in the public transit user experience, which will hopefully lead to increased ridership. Together with Robotic Research, we are leading clean, accessible, reliable mobility that’s safer for all.”

The new Xcelsior AV™ bus is equipped with Robotic Research’s AutoDrive® automated driving system, the eyes and brain of the AV bus, and AutoDrive ByWire® drive-by-wire system, which enables automated throttle, brake, and steering. The AutoDrive® technology is already operating in first-mile/last-mile transit applications across four continents on both mixed traffic, public roadways and corporate and academic campuses.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has already announced that it will deploy New Flyer’s Xcelsior AV™ buses to serve on its CTfastrak bus rapid transit (BRT) route between New Britain and Hartford, anticipated to commence early 2023¹. The CTDOT project is funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as part of its Integrated Mobility Innovation (“IMI”) initiative. It also is the first scheduled public automated bus application and will operate within the dedicated CTfastrak BRT guideway.

“We have amassed quite a team for this project,” said Dennis Solensky, Transit Administrator, CTDOT. “CTfastrak is a one-of-a-kind asset to test new technology on, and we are thrilled to put it to its best use and roll out the first automated full-sized buses in North America!”

For more information, read our white paper, Automated Bus Rapid Transit: A Mode of High Quality, High-Capacity Transit Corridors.

About Robotic Research

Robotic Research, LLC, is an award-winning, leading provider of autonomy and robotic technology driving the transformation of commercial and government autonomous operations through innovative and intelligent systems. Whether providing autonomous vehicles to the military to keep the warfighter safe; delivering unmanned, transformable robots to extend the reach of Special Forces units; or making commercial transportation safer and more efficient, Robotic Research is leading this dynamic revolution in technology.

To learn more about Robotic Research, visit www.rr.ai, and on Twitter and LinkedIn.

¹ APTA

Contacts

Taylor Smith
press@rr.ai