Olli lands in Europe, the first 3D-printed autonomous minibus.
The arrival of Olli in Europe totally changes sustainable urban mobility. The innovative minibus will also be a project that will pay special attention to both accessibility features and the environment itself.
The minibus, built in Arizona by the Local Motors, it has a very unique peculiarity: the assembly of each vehicle starts within a single day.
The reasons behind this optimization are found in the assembly because 80% of the components used are 3D printed, and because the basic design has reduced the number of part suppliers, thus speeding up operations.
Going into a more technical perspective, the revolutionary small minibus is operated by four electric motors placed in the hub of the wheels, pushing it to a top speed of 25 km/h. Charging takes about two hours, with an autonomy of 40 km/h and the competence to transport until 12 people (including 8 seats).
According to Olli’s launch, the Ibm Watson-based guidance system, an advanced artificial intelligence system, is moving the shuttle.
In fact, more than 30 sensors (LiDAR, GPS) are mounted on the vehicle: the interface is able to process the information obtained and adjust its behavior in traffic accordingly.
There are many local authorities around the world who have expressed interest in introducing the vehicle into their tpl system. Although not equipped with a driver, there will be a security officer inside who verifies its correct functioning.
The choice of the location in which to experiment was decided through a challenge between European cities, the Local Motors International Challenge, which was won by the cities of Turin and Amsterdam, during the selection of the best urban contexts of experimentation of the minibus.
Olli will stay in Turin for 4 months, and will move to Amsterdam where it will deal with a different reality: the road.
