UK-based AV developer Aurrigo has secured new international orders for its for its driverless pods amounting to more than £1.5m (US$1.8m). Sales have come from customers in Australia, Canada, Finland, Singapore and the USA, with the latest deal seeing one of the company’s ‘Pod Zeros’ heading to China.
This growth takes its annual sales up to £4.2m (US$5m) and, with the company predicting a further £6m (US$7.2m) of contracts between now and the end of 2020. Aurrigo has already created 10 new jobs over the past 12 months.
David Keene, chief executive of Aurrigo, said, “Our Pod Zeros have been in development for several years and, thanks to trials with UK Autodrive, Blind Veterans UK and Elliot Gardens in Australia, we have been able to refine the autonomous technology on real-world applications.
“This has helped us prove to potential customers across the globe that we offer a viable, safe and cost-effective solution for first- and last-mile transport issues and our pods are now in operation at universities, airports and innovation districts. There has even been talk about putting one of them into a shopping center in the Middle East.”
“We have really invested in our global presence, creating offices in Houston, Ottawa and in Adelaide, while the current strategy is to build our network of distributors. This is proving extremely successful, with deals already agreed in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.”
Aurrigo is the autonomous vehicle division of RDM Group, with the latter boasting 26 years’ experience in providing advanced automotive technology design solutions to major vehicle OEMs.
The company’s ‘Pod Zero’ seats four people and travels at a maximum speed of 15mph (24km/h) off-road and will run for 60 miles (96km) on a single charge. Customers can buy the full autonomous pod or just purchase the platform and then fit their own autonomous control system.
“At the last count, we’ve got 30 pods operational across the world and this number could double in 2020,” said Keene. “We’re now looking at applying our solutions to other applications, most noticeably a 12-seater autonomous shuttle in Cambridge and the world’s first autonomous luggage dolly, which is currently being trialled at Terminal 5, Heathrow.”