Voyage says it can offer "ambulance-grade" cleanliness to its self-driving vans with ultraviolet-C ... [+]
Voyage, a self-driving startup that provides ride services for senior citizens, is outfitting its autonomous minivans with an ultraviolet lighting system adapted from ambulances that sterilizes vehicles after each ride and kills Covid-19.
The UV-C system was developed with auto-parts supplier GHSP and is being tested in the new G3 version of Voyage’s self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans in San Jose. The G3 system, including upgraded software, sensors and computing power was developed with partner companies including Fiat Chrysler, Nvidia
“How do we prevent a prior passenger from spreading Covid to the next passenger? We looked at ambulances because ambulances have already solved this problem. Turns out it’s UV light,” Cameron tells Forbes. That led it to GHSP, which makes UV-C lighting systems to sterilize ambulances. “Between trips, when the car is entirely empty, these lights are on. And they’re amazing. They kill Covid-19 on surfaces, and also other infectious viruses like the seasonal flu.”
Like all industries, autonomous vehicle developers have scrambled to adapt to the pandemic. Robotaxi operators like Waymo haven’t resumed public ride services, though road tests of AI-enabled vehicles continue. At the same time, efforts to ready robotic trucks and delivery vehicles that can help keep logistics operations flowing have intensified. Voyage, which also hasn’t resumed ride operations yet, says it’s using the time to improve its vehicles and service for the older passengers it serves.
Unlike Waymo, Cruise and other U.S. programs, Voyage has specialized on providing door-to-door driverless van rides for senior citizens in retirement communities in California and Florida. Those relatively enclosed environments, with lower average speed limits, are easier to maneuver than Phoenix suburbs or downtown San Francisco, but also need transportation services for older people with physical limitations or who can no longer drive themselves.
The new G3 system for Voyage's self-driving minivans costs 50% less than the previous iteration.
“That is a market in which those seniors don't have a solution today. The solution is either a friend driving them or it’s Uber
Ultraviolet lighting is harmful to humans, so Voyage also has sensors in the seats and connected to detect whether an occupant is present before the UV-C system is engaged. In-vehicle cameras also monitor the cabin so that remote human technicians can be sure no one is present during the sterilization process.
Voyage, which began working directly with Fiat Chrysler this year to have vans modified for its program, will initially operate 15 of the new G3 vans, before scaling up to “hundreds,” Cameron says. While he declined to provide specific details about the cost reduction with the new system, most of the savings come from a big drop in the cost of sensors, which have dropped by 65%, and a 25% decrease in the cost of the computer system Voyage uses.
The drop in costs “lays a clear path to a profitable robotaxi business serving senior citizens,” Cameron said.
