You’re on vacation in a new town and your first thought is, “how cool would it be to get to see the sights in an autonomous three-wheeler.” OK, maybe not your first thought but that might change soon if you’re going to visit certain cities as a result of a new partnership announced Tuesday.
Eugene, Ore.-based Arcimoto Inc. produces three-wheel electric vehicles, one of which is called the FUV, or fun utility vehicle. The company has entered a partnership with Faction Technology Inc. and GoCar Tours Inc. to produce 310 driverless FUVs.
Operating in several cities in the U.S. and eventually, Europe, GoCar rents autonomous vehicles connected to its network. Its mobile tour guide, what it terms the world’s first GPS-guided tour, will give directions, crack jokes, recommend restaurants and even tell stories about each city.
Users can take tours guided by GPS or create their own itineraries. GoCar currently operates in Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego and Monterey, Calif., Barcelona, Spain and Lisbon and Porto, Portugal.
Faction’s DriveLink® and TeleAssist® technologies will enable GoCar EVs to combine autonomy with remote human teleoperation. DriveLink is a digital vehicle platform that supports over-the-air updates, networked data and autonomy features. Autonomy sensors include cameras, thermal IR and radar.
TeleAssist allows remote operators to monitor vehicles and intervene when necessary.
“This is an exciting use case for Faction’s driverless technology, bringing customers a world-class tourism and driving experience right to their doorsteps,” said Faction CEO, Ain McKendrick, said in a statement. “Exploring a new city at your own pace with your friends in a fleet of FUVs is far more enticing than any oversized, gas-powered tour bus will ever be, with the added convenience that customers won’t have to wait in lines to pick up or return the vehicle.
The three companies signed a letter of intent calling for production of 20 vehicles for a pilot program to begin next year at GoCar Tours Las Vegas. If the program is successful GoCar will begin a phased deployment of an additional 290 vehicles to its locations in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and San Diego, Calif., and later in Barcelona, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal, the companies said in a release.
The companies stressed the letter of intent is “an expression of interest and is not intended to and does not create a legally binding obligation on the part of any party.” If things should escalate to legally binding obligations they will be expressed in definitive agreements between the companies.
Jesse Fittipaldi, Arcimoto Interim CEO
Arcimoto Inc.
“This is a thrilling confluence of three cutting-edge technologies that directly aligns with our vision for the future of sustainable transportation,” said Jesse Fittipaldi, Arcimoto Interim CEO in a statement.
“This is an incredible innovation on so many levels, dramatically improving our customer rental experience while driving down the cost of fleet operations,” added Nathan Withrington, Founder of GoCar Tours. “I love that a customer will be able to reserve a GoCar, it will driverlessly arrive at their location, they get in and take the controls, getting the same award-winning GoCar experience, stopping wherever they like when they like. And then, when they head back to their hotels, the Arcimoto will driverlessly return to GoCar. It’s magic.”
The FUV is Arcimoto’s flagship vehicle.
Arcimoto Inc.
The FUV is Arcimoto’s flagship vehicle and is available online starting at $17,900. It has a range of 102 miles with a 75 miles per hour top speed.
Arcimoto Roadster three-wheeled electric vehicle.
Arcimoto Inc.
Arcimoto also produces the Roadster, starting at $23,900 and last-mile delivery vehicle, the Deliverator, with a starting price at $25,000.
Other models include the Mean Lean Machine, a tilting electric trike, Rapid Responder for emergency personnel, Flatbed farm and industrial truck and Cameo camera vehicle.
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