Arcimoto, an electric vehicle maker for everyday drivers and fleets, demonstrated the first driverless fun utility vehicle (FUV) and unveiled a new torque vectoring technology at a showcase in late July. The torque vectoring forms part of a broader effort to enable true drive-by-wire, laying the foundation for autonomous and remote-controlled Arcimotos.
Faction Technology partnered with Arcimoto to demonstrate the driverless FUV using remote control, a step forward toward true ride-on-demand, where riders will be able to summon a vehicle to their location and then hop in and drive. “Our vision is very much in line with Arcimoto’s mission, which is to rightsize transportation for both delivery and ride on demand, ” said Ain McKendrick, Faction Founder and CEO. “Driverless combines autonomy with the ability to remote assist a vehicle when you need it, because the magic is really when the vehicle arrives driverlessly.”
Arcimoto develops and manufactures ultra-efficient and affordable electric vehicles. The Arcimoto FUV® is purpose-built for everyday driving, transforming ordinary trips into pure-electric joyrides. Also available from the company are the Deliverator and Rapid Responder, providing last-mile delivery and emergency response functionality, respectively, at a fraction of the cost and environmental impact of traditional gas-powered vehicles. Arcimoto vehicles are built at the company’s manufacturing plant in Eugene, Oregon.
Faction Technology, Inc. is aiming at both micro-logistics and ride-on-demand with a right-sized approach to driverless fleets. The company has engineered its own unique electric three-wheel vehicles.
“Deploying safety-forward driverless vehicles at scale requires developing from the chassis up,” said McKendrick. “Using legacy automobiles for driverless operations is great for development and research projects, but we feel smaller vehicles are the key to alleviating the ever-growing problem of urban gridlock. Faction combines autonomy with remote human teleoperation, which doesn’t require us to wait for 100% autonomous technology. To us, autonomy is an optimization, driverless is a product.”
Seth Bannon of Faction funder Fifty Years said, “By building from the ground up with driverless in mind instead of retrofitting existing vehicles, Faction is set to radically improve urban and suburban transportation, cut down on emissions, and create massive economic value in the process.”
As a technology company, Faction is partnering with manufacturers of light electric vehicles to scale operational fleets.
