Benteler, Mobileye and Beep plan to launch autonomous shuttle in 2024

The automotive supplier Benteler, the ride service Beep Inc., and Intel’s sensor technology subsidiary Mobileye have announced a strategic collaboration to develop and deploy fully electric and autonomous movers in public and private communities in North America. The shuttles are intended for first and last mile use in urban areas and are expected to go into production in the United States starting in 2024, according to the company.

The collaboration will enable the development and deployment of a fully autonomous electric vehicle (SAE Level 4) for the USA that meets automotive industry standards and public road safety standards, according to the plan. Benteler’s autonomous mover, specifically developed for this purpose, will be supported by the Mobileye Drive self-driving system from the Israeli autonomous driving specialist and complemented by Beep’s proven deployment and operation systems, technologies, and services.

“The demand for micro-transports for several people is constantly increasing in our cities and communities worldwide and must be met to relieve roads, protect the environment, and offer safe and reliable mobility to everyone. The market launch of an affordable, autonomous electric mover is a solution that will change mobility as we know it today,” believes Hinrich Woebcken, supervisory board member of Beep and former CEO of Volkswagen North America.

The trio points to long-standing experience in key aspects of autonomous solutions: Beep in operating micro-transit and mobility solutions, Benteler through its EV Systems division in developing and manufacturing automotive solutions and safety systems, and Mobileye in providing solutions for automated driving.

Collaboration draws on cross-industry experience

Benteler is known for its scalable and modular platform for electric vehicles. With engineering, vehicle integration, and manufacturing expertise, they intend to develop an autonomous mover and integrate all individual subsystems within it. This includes the industrialization and production of the mover, which will take place in the USA. The goal is to introduce the mover worldwide in other countries.

“Autonomous movers are the solution for the public transport of the future and address the mobility challenges of increasing urbanization and rising emissions,” says Marco Kollmeier, managing director of Benteler EV Systems GmbH.

In his view, these vehicles must be robust for 24/7 use in public or commercial areas, at optimized costs and with excellent ride comfort. Mobileye sees itself as the market leader in solutions for autonomous driving and has delivered more than 100 million of its leading computer vision solutions for the established market of driver assistance systems. Additionally, they point to one of the most widely distributed autonomous fleets in the world, which is deployed in Israel, Germany, Japan, China, France, and the USA.

“The benefits of autonomous driving can only be fully realized on a large scale. In collaboration, Mobileye aims for the mass production of self-driving mobility solutions for the first and last mile, enabling convenient, accessible, and safe transportation of people throughout North America,” promotes Johann Jungwirth, Vice President Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) at Mobileye.

Beep is a leader in the USA and successfully tested autonomous electric shuttles in many public road projects for tens of thousands of drivers on tens of thousands of road miles in 2021 alone. The company’s service and technology have avoided many cubic meters of carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuel-based transportation services with cleaner electric vehicles, claims the provider. As part of its autonomous vehicle test programs, it has worked closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and now uses this expertise to help develop a new platform that focuses on safety.

“Beep’s well-established US presence for our autonomous mobility operations model, which includes machine learning, context-dependent route intelligence, and Beep’s existing centralized command center platform, combined with Benteler and Mobileye’s manufacturing know-how, makes this the first convergence of all the capabilities needed for the successful implementation of this important transformation in individual mobility,” believes Joe Moye, CEO of Beep.