ZF says that it systematically expanding its expertise in the field of autonomous driving in line with its ‘Next Generation Mobility’ strategy. To this end, it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Oxbotica, a producer of autonomous vehicle software, to develop a Level 4 self-driving system which will initially be deployed in passenger shuttles in major cities around the world.
ZF and Oxbotica will develop a Level 4 self-driving system that can be integrated into various vehicles including Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) shuttles to provide on-demand passenger and also goods transportation vehicles in urban environments. They anticipate that the autonomous shuttle market will grow substantially over the next 10 years.
As part of the collaboration, ZF has invested in Oxbotica and will take a seat on the company’s advisory board with a 5% share. The two companies started working together in 2019, with Oxbotica completing integration of its autonomous vehicle software with ZF’s ProAI, an AI-capable automotive-grade compute platform, and ZF’s Full-Range Radar.
“The entry investment of 5% underlines our confidence in Oxbotica’s capabilities. Together with Oxbotica, we are developing self-driving systems for autonomous people and cargo movers, addressing the current challenges in public transport and logistics,” said Torsten Gollewski, EVP autonomous mobility systems at ZF.