Who’s your new best friend at CDT’s Prospect Green office location in Rancho Cordova? Olli. During a 3-month trial, employees at Prospect Green get rides to their offices and cars by way of some of the most advanced transportation technology available.
Olli is a 3-D printed shuttle that takes you to your office or car at under 5 mph, but has the capability to drive up to 25 mph. The shuttle can seat eight people comfortably, and each vehicle is accompanied by an attendant who oversees its autonomous operations with the ability to take over manual control or pull an emergency brake if the need arises.
The self-driving vehicles operate on a pre-programmed route around the campus’ parking lots and shuttles employees on the 518,156 square-foot campus to and from their cars and offices.
Prospect Green’s trial with Olli will be its first application in a business setting.
The autonomous vehicle will stop automatically on its own by using a series of cameras, GPS technology, radar and lidar (a radar-like system that uses reflected lasers for positioning) if an object crosses its path.
The Prospect Green-located Olli project was funded by a $90,000 grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and $10,000 provided by the City of Rancho Cordova.
Olli comes from Arizona-based Local Motors and has deployed Olli shuttles in Australia, South Korea and Germany, plus a multitude of U.S. sites.
Before you jump onto Olli, and you know you will, you must first sign a liability waiver.