Oxa, a UK specialist in self-driving vehicle software, has announced its third commercial deployment of Oxa Driver in the US in collaboration with Beep, Inc., a provider of autonomous shared mobility solutions.
Oxa Driver is installed on the autonomous shuttles operated by Beep in a pilot program for Beep’s client, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) in Walnut Creek, California.
Named PRESTO, the autonomous shuttle service is operated by Beep for CCTA, servicing Rossmoor Walnut Creek and is CCTA’s first pilot with Oxa Driver.
The autonomous shuttles can carry up to seven seated and secured passengers, and will operate Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a safety attendant on board.
The electric, autonomous shuttles will operate on a predetermined route in the Rossmoor community, running on Oxa Driver, with Beep managing the planning, deployment and operation of the autonomous mobility network.
“As we continue to expand our presence in the US, deploying our autonomous software products in different locations and environments is key as we work towards our goal of Universal Autonomy,” Oxa CEO Gavin Jackson said in a statement. “The Rossmoor community has a population of over 9,000 residents and is a perfect location for us to continue to evolve our autonomous vehicle software while collaborating with Beep to provide a private service connecting Rossmoor residents to key amenities and locations throughout their community.”
As part of this deployment, Oxa also utilised Oxa MetaDriver, a virtual testing and training suite which uses generative AI, digital twins and simulation to accelerate machine learning and testing of self-driving technology before and during real-world use.
It generates a vast bank of synthetic scenes and virtual scenarios, including rare and unusual edge cases — such as foggy days, or objects appearing from behind moving vehicles — that are difficult, costly and time consuming to re-create in conventional testing.
“Virtual simulation enables verification and validation to be over 1,000 times faster than real-world miles, and allows us to robustly test in advance of deployments, without putting humans at risk,” said Jackson.
The Rossmoor launch follows Oxa’s previous participation in Beep’s deployments in the US, at Lake Nona in Orlando, and Florida State College at Jacksonville, with additional deployments to come in the US and UK before the end of the year.
