Skip to main content

Induct introduces the Navia fully-electric driverless shuttle

French mobility solutions specialist Induct recently announced its first delivery of Navia, the self-driving electric shuttle developed under a partnership with Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). According to Induct, Navia is the first automated electric shuttle offering an environment-friendly alternative to public transport and private cars in urban areas. The automated driverless electric vehicle carries up to eight passengers at a maximum speed of 20 km/h, and was designed t
February 12, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
French mobility solutions specialist 7149 Induct recently announced its first delivery of Navia, the self-driving electric shuttle developed under a partnership with Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

According to Induct, Navia is the first automated electric shuttle offering an environment-friendly alternative to public transport and private cars in urban areas.  The automated driverless electric vehicle carries up to eight passengers at a maximum speed of 20 km/h, and was designed to complement conventional transport, public or private.

Navia is fitted with laser telemetry, GPS and sensors that detect the vehicle’s acceleration (accelerometers) and its rotation (gyroscopes) around all three axes (to and fro, side to side, up and down), enabling it to instantly calculate its position, route and distance travelled, in real time, enabling it to carry its passengers in complete safety and take them where they want to go without fuss.

Induct says Navia is ideal for those environments that need a simple, safe and environment-friendly mobility solution: pedestrianised city centres, large industrial sites, airports, theme parks.

Philippe Vollichard, deputy to the EPFL vice-president for planning and logistics, explains, "Our collaboration with Induct enables us to make effective progress on our scientific research work on induction charging and artificial intelligence, not only in the laboratory, but also outdoors. This project fits in the development of our Innovation Square, where we welcome many start-ups to our Scientific Park. We are delighted to take part in the project since, within the framework of its mobility plan, EPFL is exploring the most innovative public transport solutions for the first and last kilometer. Following a public tender procedure launched in 2011, EPFL identified the solution put forward by Induct and means to contribute to that concept's validation with the competent authorities. The school hopes to be able to deploy this technology on a large scale."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New technology can ‘charge a bus during fifteen-second stop’
    June 3, 2013
    Swiss firm ABB has developed technology that it says can charge a full-sized electric bus during ordinary stops, removing the need for overhead lines in major cities. According to ABB, the bus can be charged with a fifteen-second, 400 kilowatt boost at selected stops, which allows for the vehicle to top off its charge while the passengers are loading or leaving the bus, and a three to four minute charge at the end of the bus line will then fully recharge the batteries.
  • FOTsis targets ‘socially inclusive’ cooperative ITS
    December 5, 2013
    The FOTsis project addresses the imbalances between the vehicular and infrastructure sides of cooperative ITS infrastructures and looks to ensure road operators can help to enrich future technology applications. By Jason Barnes. Several developments have conspired to push the vehicular side of cooperative infrastructures/cooperative ITS to the fore in recent years. The automotive industry’s rather shorter product development and lifecycles combined with economic slowdown in many regions gave rise to the not
  • ITS technology reduces congestion, improves workzone safety
    July 17, 2012
    As the road-building season gets under way in the US, the Federal Highway Administration has just published a White Paper which deals with the use of ITS technology in work zones. On 30 April 2009, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a White Paper which was prepared by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to inform public agencies about the use of ITS to manage construction work zones. This is a particularly relevant topic given the large number of construction projects that are ex
  • UK plans changes to AV Code
    April 20, 2022
    Drivers can view content 'not related to driving' - but mobile phone use still illegal