Motional Picks Ottopia to Support Teleoperation of RoboTaxi Fleets
July 28, 2021
Motional has announced that it chose Ottopia to support the deployment of its robotaxi fleets. Motional said it will use Ottopia’s teleoperation technology to conduct remote vehicle assistance (RVA) when operating its fully driverless, SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles.
RVA is when a human operator provides remote assistance to an autonomous vehicle when they encounter unusual scenarios or edge cases. The operator can direct the vehicle to a new path, or provide other assistance to the vehicle, all while located remotely in a fleet control center. Similar to challenging driving scenarios that human drivers encounter, edge cases can include road interruptions such as construction zones, or unexpected behavior from other road users.
Ottopia has optimized its proprietary video, communication, and control software to integrate with Motional’s RVA solution, which includes Motional-developed interfaces and third-party hardware. Motional’s fleet has conducted more than 100,000 public rides, and the company plans to launch a fully driverless ride-hail service with Lyft in multiple U.S. markets in 2023. Motional employees will be able to provide RVA to the robotaxis used in this service.
“While there are rapid advances in autonomous technology, there are always going to be certain edge cases that can benefit from remote support,” said Amit Rosenzweig, founder and CEO of Ottopia. “This requires the ability to offer robust, real-time human intervention – at any time, anywhere. Ottopia is leading the teleoperation industry and we’re proud to work with Motional as it begins scaling its technology.”
The company said it plans to begin testing the RVA solution later this year.
“As we prepare for mass deployments of Motional robotaxis, an RVA solution provides an added layer of support for when our vehicles encounter unique and challenging road scenarios,” said Guillaume Binet, vice president of software infrastructure at Motional. “Effective RVA is an important part of our commitment to delivering a seamless end-to-end passenger experience. Ottopia is a leader in its field and we look forward to continued collaboration as Motional makes robotaxis a global reality.”
For more details on Motional, visit its website here. For additional details on Ottopia, visit its website here.
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