Robotic Research And GILLIG, Develop Self-Driving Technology For Commuter Buses In USA

Electric Commuter Bus from GILLIG. (photo: doc. gillig)

JAKARTA- RR.AI, a self-driving technology startup unit of Robotic Research, and US bus maker GILLIG said on Monday, January 10, that they will jointly develop driver assistance systems and self-driving technology for commuter buses in Indonesia. United States of America.

Creating autonomous taxis is now proving more difficult and expensive to develop than expected, but investors have been pumping money into trucks and other commercial vehicles where automation can be done more quickly.

RR.AI and GILLIG said they would jointly develop Level 4 autonomous vehicle technology for buses, which would allow the vehicle to self-drive under certain circumstances, such as at a depot, but most of the time while the vehicle is running, it would require a human driver.

They say the technology can protect drivers through safety features, including automatic emergency braking, precision docking, blind spot detection and pedestrian avoidance.

"We believe the partnership with GILLIG will improve the safety and well-being of drivers, pedestrians and road users while increasing efficiency for transit authorities and lowering costs," said RR.AI Chief Executive Alberto Lacaze in a statement quoted by Reuters.

GILLIG said it expects to implement this technology in all of its bus models, but will apply it first in its newest electric bus models.

The US bus market has long been dominated by GILLIG, part of the Canadian unit of New Flyer NFI Group Inc, and Canada-based Novabus, part of the Volvo AB unit.

Robotic Research said last month it raised $228 million from investors including from SoftBank to improve RR.AI's solutions especially for trucks, buses and logistics vehicles.

GILLIG owner Henry Crown & Company also participated in the funding round.