Driverless electric shuttle targets busy urban areas

Navia is a driverless electric shuttle designed for use in pedestrian-heavy areas such as airport parking lots, shopping malls, business parks and universities.

There’s been no shortage of media coverage of Google’s driverless car, but meanwhile a French firm has developed something similar. Rather than a personal vehicle, however, Induct’s Navia is a driverless electric shuttle designed for use in pedestrian-heavy areas such as airport parking lots, shopping malls, business parks and universities. Capable of carrying up to eight passengers at a maximum speed of 12.5 mph, Navia features laser range finders, cameras and GPS technology as well as accelerometers and gyroscopes that allow it to instantly calculate its position, route and distance traveled. Combined with a software package developed by Induct, that combination of technologies enable the vehicle to move autonomously and safely in any environment, Induct says. Navia’s propulsion system uses Lithium-Polymer batteries, with instant induction recharging at each stop. The video below demonstrates the vehicle in action: In early December Induct announced its first delivery of Navia under a partnership with Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL); similar partnerships are already in the works with the University of West Florida and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, Induct says. Transportation entrepreneurs around the globe: time to get involved? Spotted by: Murtaza Patel