Sac State Students To Be Shuttled By Autonomous Vehicles
Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Mark Anderson
Photo: One of LM Industries Group’s Olli electric vehicles. (Courtesy of LM Industries Group, Inc.
Starting next month, autonomous Olli shuttles will ferry students on a route through California State University Sacramento.
Two autonomous Ollis will run a 1.2-mile north-south route on non-public roads on campus, said Jay Rogers, CEO of LM Industries Group Inc., the San Francisco company that developed the autonomous, partially 3-D-printed Olli.
Olli shuttles hold up to 12 people. They require a steward on board, though not a driver, because the shuttles don’t have steering wheels. The stewards will collect information and feedback from users of the free shuttle, Rogers said.
Sacramento won the chance to use the Ollis during a demonstration run by applying in September to a competition put on by LM Industries to come up with a course that could benefit from the slow-speed electric shuttles. Sacramento and Phoenix were both selected to develop mobility programs using the Olli vehicles.
In the Phoenix area, the Ollis will be used as shuttles at East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa, Arizona.
At Sac State, Ollis will replace the Herky Streetcar electric shuttle.
The school will have use of two Ollis for at least three months.
One of them may be moved to another route in the Sacramento region or to another region that has created its own transportation plan for intriguing use of an Olli, Rogers said.
Following the test period, Sac State could choose to lease an Olli or two, he said. During the test period, LM is offering the services of the shuttles for free.
Sacramento’s participation in LM Industries’ competition was part of a push by the city to benefit from the development of autonomous vehicle technology. In 2016, Sacramento applied to the federal government to serve as a testing ground for autonomous transportation technologies. Last year, city leaders including Mayor Darrell Steinberg, U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé announced the city was forming the Autonomous Transportation Open Standards Lab.
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In a news release from LM Industries, Matsui said “exposure to this type of technology is an important first step” to make autonomous vehicles part of people’s daily lives.