Velodyne Lidar, Inc. has announced a multi-year sales agreement with Local Motors, a U.S. digital vehicle manufacturer that develops sustainable mobility solutions to empower communities around the world. Local Motors uses Velodyne’s lidar sensors to enable safe, reliable operation of Olli, its 3D-printed, electric, self-driving shuttle.
Local Motors includes multiple Velodyne Puck sensors in Olli, which provides mobility services across neighbourhoods, campuses and urban city centres.
Olli is deployed at universities, business parks and local communities throughout the U.S. and in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Vikrant Aggarwal, President, Local Motors, says: “We selected Velodyne’s sensors after a rigorous evaluation process where they clearly stood out as the right strategic partner to address our long-term lidar needs. Velodyne’s technology leadership gives us confidence we will always have the latest lidar technology to help ensure safety in our vehicles. We look forward to co-evolving our product offerings to address more use cases in the autonomous mobility space.”
Laura Wrisley, Vice President of North American Sales, Velodyne Lidar, adds: “With Olli, Local Motors is empowering communities to redefine local transportation and create opportunities for people with mobility challenges. Our sensors provide the much-needed data for Olli’s critical safety features. Local Motors is a valued customer that is open and easy to collaborate with in addressing their lidar needs. The insights from Local Motors on our product development and prototypes have been very helpful in shaping our sensor portfolio to enable safer autonomous driving.”
Deployments of Olli 2.0, Local Motors’ latest iteration, include the Jacksonville, Florida Transportation Authority’s Test & Learn Program. The deployment of the Olli 2.0 at JTA was the first in the U.S. and made possible through a recent partnership with Beep, a Florida-based mobility-as-a-service provider.
Local Motors and Beep have plans to deploy hundreds of autonomous vehicles in the coming years.
