Skip to main content

New Flyer and Robotic Research partner on driverless buses

Bus manufacturer New Flyer of America has partnered with Robotic Research to develop driverless bus technology. The partners will deploy advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in heavy-duty transit bus applications. New Flyer says the partnership supports the Federal Transit Administration’s plan to assess potential risks, barriers and mitigation strategies associated with the implementation of automation technologies in transit buses. Both companies will seek to develop an Xcelsior Charge battery-e
May 21, 2019 Read time: 1 min

Bus manufacturer New Flyer of America has partnered with Robotic Research to develop driverless bus technology.

The partners will deploy advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in heavy-duty transit bus applications.

New Flyer says the partnership supports the 2023 Federal Transit Administration’s plan to assess potential risks, barriers and mitigation strategies associated with the implementation of automation technologies in transit buses.

Both companies will seek to develop an Xcelsior Charge battery-electric bus equipped with SAE Level 4 ADAS technology which, according to New Flyer, allows a vehicle to perform all driving tasks autonomously while monitoring the driving environment.

The technology will be tested at unspecified Robotic Research facilities in late 2019, with closed course operation anticipated for 2020. A trained safety attendant will remain on board to evaluate the demonstration.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Congestion charging in New York edges a wheel-length closer
    May 16, 2023
    'This is about more than reducing traffic' says city mayor, pledging transit investment
  • Automatic signal control to prevent emergency vehicle collisions?
    March 14, 2012
    Field trials under way in Arizona promise eradication of accidents between emergency vehicles at intersections – as part of a national focus on ‘intelligent signal’ infrastructure. Collisions between police cars, ambulances and fire crews as they reach intersections at the same time, with equal priority given by all signals set on red, are as serious as they sound absurd. For emergency teams and those in need of their help, the consequences are dire. The solution could come from application of connected veh
  • Counting the environmental costs of ITS deployment
    October 29, 2015
    David Crawford looks at the latest thinking about calculating the benefits associated with the environmental side of ITS schemes. The penny is dropping that some environmental costs “are being shifted outside the traditional bounds of evaluation methods” for ITS-based road transport projects, according to researchers at the UK University of Leeds’ Institute for Transport Studies.
  • US updates ITS strategy for Connected Vehicle deployment
    March 16, 2015
    Jon Masters looks at the USDOT’s new ITS Strategic Plan for the next five years. Emphasis and direction for the next five years of Government led ITS research in the United States has been framed within a new ITS Strategic Plan. The US Department for Transportation’s (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) published the report at the tail end of 2014 after concluding a two-year ITS industry consultation process. The Plan identifies a vision to transform the way society moves and the ITS JPO’s aim of advancin