Did you know that self-driving shuttles are already a thing?
A local Orlando company operates driverless vehicles, and now there are plans to deploy more of these shuttles across the U.S. Could this be a future Disney World transportation method?
Orlando Business Journal reported that Orlando-based driverless shuttle operator Beep Inc. is joining up with two other firms to pursue deploying self-driving shuttles across the U.S. in 2024. These shuttles are known as “autonomous movers,” and no driver is necessary for operation.
According to Orlando Business Journal, Beep will be partnering with Mobileye, which is a subsidiary of Intel Corp., and Benteler, a German manufacturer. Benteler will build the vehicles, Mobileye will integrate their self-driving system Mobileye Drive, and the vehicles will be deployed and operated by Beep. Beep and Benteler intend to place a manufacturing facility in the U.S.
Beep Inc. headquarters are based in Orlando, Florida, with 19 routes located around the U.S. at this time. Their autonomous vehicles can operate with no human driver, and they are just shy of being fully autonomous. Beep CEP Joe Moye said that they expect to deploy “a couple hundred vehicles on U.S. roadways” in the first year of partnership with Mobileye and Benteler.
Orlando Business Journal spoke to commercial real estate expert Ron Kaplan, who said that Central Florida could be an attractive location for their new manufacturing facility. You can learn more about Beep in their video below.
We can’t but wonder whether driverless shuttles could work at Disney World? Keep reading AllEars for more Central Florida news!
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Would you get in a driverless shuttle? Tell us in the comments!
No thank you.
I’ve had some great interactions with Disney Transportation CM’s in the past so I would hate to lose them.
Also, the idea of being driven by a driverless vehicle is scary to me. I guess I’m getting old but that’s a hard pass for me!