UK-based autonomous software developer聽Oxa has announced its first US-based partnership with Beep.
The new partnership will see Oxa鈥檚 self-driving software installed across a variety of Beep autonomous vehicles –聽with two Oxa-driven Beep shuttles already operating at Suntrax test facility in Florida.
The partnership comes just months after Oxbotica changed its name to Oxa ahead of its push into North America and Europe.
Gavin Jackson, CEO at Oxford-based Oxa, said: 鈥淭his marks a significant step forward for Oxa and the future of self-driving technology.
鈥淭hrough partnering with Beep, we have the potential to drive several thousand vehicles over the coming years to make Oxa software the most widely utilised AV platform on the planet.鈥�
Joe Moye, CEO at Beep, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to partner with Oxa to bring new and enhanced electric, autonomous vehicles to market as we continue to expand our testing and our business across the United States.
鈥淥xa鈥檚 self-driving software, integrated with our command centre and service management software, provides a safe and sophisticated autonomous solution that will enhance our passenger experience and operational capabilities, making more accessible, true autonomous use cases a near-term reality.
鈥淪afe, shared autonomous transportation promises a major impact on traffic congestion, road safety and the environment, and we鈥檙e pleased to have a partner who shares these priorities and values in Oxa.鈥�
Oxa鈥檚 autonomy software will be installed in a variety of vehicle types operated by Beep, from current passenger shuttles to future vehicle platforms.
The first initiative in the partnership is a fleet of Beep autonomous and electric shuttles driven by Oxa Driver, Oxa鈥檚 software that enables safe and energy-efficient self-driving of any vehicle type in any environment.
Two of the Beep shuttles featuring Oxa software are currently operating at the recently opened SunTrax test facility in Auburndale, Florida – the first US location specifically designed for connected autonomous vehicle and standard automotive testing in a single site.
Oxa Driver combines sensor data from cameras, lidar and radar, enabling it to gain a more comprehensive view of the world around it than vehicles that rely on cameras alone.
This latest announcement follows a successful Series C funding round for Oxa, which raised more than 拢115m 聽($140m) for the business earlier this year, as well as a new strategic partnership with Google Cloud through which Oxa is leveraging a number of Google Cloud products to help develop, test, validate and verify its self-driving technology.