Global automotive technology company ZF has signed a strategic partnership agreement with British autonomous vehicle software developer Oxbotica to develop a Level 4 self-driving system to be initially deployed in passenger shuttles in major cities around the world.
The system will be integrated into various vehicles including Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) shuttles to provide on-demand passenger and also goods transportation vehicles in urban environments.
As part of the collaboration, ZF will sit on Oxbotica’s advisory board with a 5% share. And ahead of the autonomous shuttle deployments, both companies will work together to develop the technology and on validation and verification of the integrated self-driving vehicle system.
“The entry investment of 5% underlines our confidence in Oxbotica’s capabilities,” said Torsten Gollewski, executive vice president, autonomous mobility systems at ZF.
“Together with Oxbotica, we are developing self-driving systems for autonomous people and cargo mover addressing the current challenges in public transport and logistics.”
The two companies started working together in 2019, with Oxbotica completing integration of its autonomous vehicle software with ZF’s ProAI automotive-grade compute platform, and ZF’s Full-Range Radar.
Paul Newman, co-founder and CTO of Oxbotica, said: “Partnering with ZF in developing an on-road passenger and goods transportation solution is an important milestone in Oxbotica’s commercial autonomy strategy.
“Our product will bring new options to cities and transport operators around the globe who must solve the complex mobility challenges of the future. The way people and goods move is changing.”
