Beep delivers the next generation of mobility services utilizing driverless, electric, multi-passenger vehicles. By specializing in planning, deploying and managing advanced autonomous shuttles for both private and public communities, Beep safely connects people, places and services in first-mile, last-mile mobility networks. Beep also leverages the data and learnings from its public road deployments to produce vehicle agnostic, edge solutions meant to enhance safety, access, artificial-intelligence and driverless operating capabilities of autonomous platforms. Beep delivers on a primary goal of enabling mobility-for-all with the services and software they provide. Beep has planned, managed and deployed autonomous shuttles across 6 states and more than two dozen communities across the country including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, California and Yellowstone National Park. For more information visit: www.ridebeep.com

Prior to deployment, Beep creates a high resolution, multi-dimensional map of the shuttle’s routes. On the roadway, a variety of technologies such as traditional navigation sensors, GPS, and LiDAR enable the shuttle to understand where it is in the world, comparing what the shuttle “sees” in real time to what it expects to “see” based on the high resolution map loaded into the shuttle. As the shuttle proceeds along route, additional sensors such as radars and LiDARs are used to detect any obstacles in its path, such as pedestrians or other vehicles, enabling the vehicle to make decisions on how to proceed along its route.

Each one of Beep’s autonomous shuttles routes receives approval from the federal government. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) knows where the shuttles will be operating and during what times of the day.

The shuttles can travel up to 15 mph along the corridor and have varying speeds based on where autonomous shuttle is along the route.

Several factors impact the speed of the vehicle. Our vehicles are best suited for controlled speed, geo-fenced environments. Typically, those environments are high density mixed traffic, and pedestrian and cyclist rich. The shuttle will respond to what it “sees” and acts quickly to avoid anything in the shuttle’s path, causing the vehicle to slow or even stop. The speeds are programmed to ensure a safe and pleasant experience for passengers and those that interact with it.

Autonomous shuttles will share the road with buses and other vehicles during operational hours. Similar to transit buses and traditional vehicles, the shuttle will observe all traffic signals, stop signs, and rules of the road. The shuttle attendant onboard will also do a visual check of the intersection before entering to ensure the vehicle’s safe operation. There are various optical sensors on the outside of the shuttle, providing a 360-degree view of the environment. Each sensor allows the shuttle to respond to traffic or pedestrians that may come in the vehicle’s path.

Safety is accounted for at many different levels for a project; including where, how and when the shuttle operates and how it will be monitored. Safety touches every aspect of a project from the planning, implementation of systems and vehicle selection for the project.