Tekcapital’s Guident has announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Auve Tech, an Estonian autonomous transportation company, with the launch of Auve Tech’s flagship MiCa autonomous shuttle into the US market.
Guident will integrate its Remote Monitor and Control Center solution into the MiCa shuttle to enhance the MiCa’s safety features by adding human-in-the-loop connectivity to the fixed-route transportation technology.
“With MiCa now officially ‘landed’ in the US for market entry, we are glad to join forces with Guident. Together, we are committed to enhancing the safety and efficiency of our MiCa AV shuttles with their advanced remote monitoring and control software. Based on the success in Japan and Europe, we eagerly anticipate rapid deployment of our innovative combined solution in the US and worldwide,” Johannes Mossov, Board Member at AuVe Tech OÜ.
A MiCa shuttle has been received at Guident’s headquarters and the integration process is fully underway. The new partnership and technology will be showcased at the grand opening of Guident’s new headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, later in April.
“Since establishing our strategic partnership, we have been thrilled to collaborate with the Auve Tech team on several projects. We are particularly excited to achieve a significant milestone with Auve Tech’s entry into the US market coupled with the integration of our advanced teleoperation technology,” said Harald Braun, Executive Chairman and CEO at Guident.
The MiCa shuttle is described as ‘the world’s most compact and flexible level 4 autonomous shuttle.’ This is significant because most other companies developing Level 4 autonomous vehicle technology, including Alphabet, Volvo, and GM, have valuations in excess of a billion dollars.
Where the Auve Tech and Guident partnership breaks new ground is the established human-in-the-loop safety solution that allows a real person to take control of an autonomous vehicle should danger be detected.
A General Motors incident in which one of the company’s Cruise autonomous taxis dragged a woman after a collision in San Fransico is the perfect example of the benefits of a human-in-the-loop autonomous vehicle safety solution, such as Guident’s Remote Monitor and Control Center.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Cruise’s taxi license after the incident.
In the Cruise case, if the vehicle had access to a remote operator, they would have been able to step in and take control of the vehicle, possibly minimising the severity of the incident.
