Self-driving shuttle competition starts in DC metro

Published December 12, 2018 by Michael O'Connor

Local Motors by LM Industries is offering one locality, district or campus in the Greater Washington, D.C. area the chance to win a fleet of eight-person, self-driving shuttles to use for about three months.

Applicants have until February 6 to submit their pitch on why they should win. Shailen Bhatt, president and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, will serve as one of the judges. A link to the applications can be found here.

Olli is the brand for the self-driving shuttles designed by Local Motors. The company describes Olli as autonomous and as having a “responsive cognitive function.” LM Motors was founded in 2007 and does low-volume vehicle manufacturing.

A technical education district in Arizona and California’s Sacramento State University each won their bids for an Olli fleet.  Local Motors plans to map those locations and deploy the Olli fleets by the end of January.