Two Cambridge start-ups combine forces to develop autonomy for lightweight vehicles
This press release was covered by Cambridge Network
Cambridge Electric Transport (CET) and Robik AI have formed a partnership to develop and test autonomous operation capabilities for lightweight vehicles. CET is developing the lightweight electric CitiPod as an urban transport solution to eliminate carbon emissions in cities and reduce traffic congestion. Robik specialises in developing autonomous driving software for lightweight delivery vehicles.
Announcing the partnership, Peter Dawe, CET Co-founder and Chairman, welcomed the opportunity to work with Robik. “There is a natural fit between us in terms of our common focus on lightweight vehicles, as well as our vision to get large vehicles out of our cities with their dangerous carbon and particulate emissions. The billions being poured into the development of electric cars, with or without autonomy, will not solve our urban transport problems. By focussing on low-cost, lightweight electric vehicles we will meet this challenge.”
Moti Tabulo, CEO of Robik, said the partnership would provide his company with a valuable test bed for the self-driving technology they are currently developing. “The CitiPod is an ideal vehicle for us to test various levels of driving autonomy. By being involved in the CitiPod trials we will be able to prove our technology in a practical application.”
CET is planning to deploy an initial test fleet of 150 CitiPods in Cambridgeshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire, some of which will be fitted with Robik’s technology to perform limited autonomous services, starting with crawling at a low speed to parking areas once a passenger reaches their destination.
