Gillig, a US-based manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses, and RR.AI, a developer of autonomous mobility solutions, have entered into an agreement to develop advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle (AV) technology for transit buses in North America. The partnership will seek to combine RR.AI’s vehicle automation experience and Gillig’s transit operations expertise.
“We see this partnership as a great fit for both our companies,” said Gillig president and CEO Derek Maunus. “The Gillig team is passionate about delivering transformative products and solutions that make transportation safe and efficient, and help eliminate roadway congestion. RR.AI is equally committed to those important goals. We’re excited to work with such a technology leader to bring advanced vehicle automation technologies to cities across America.”
The companies aim to develop and test safety features such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), precision docking and bus yard automation in addition to blind spot detection and pedestrian avoidance. While commonly used in passenger vehicles, many of these features have not been widely deployed on heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Additionally, the companies hope to develop automated driving capabilities that can be deployed for selected in-service operations, or in the transit depots to help manage electric vehicle charging and reduce vehicle damage.
Gillig says it plans to implement AV and ADAS features across its product lines and it expects its zero-emission battery electric bus will be one of the first models to benefit from the capabilities under development.