Lake Nona Business Joins National Testing Initiative

Beep, the operator of Lake Nona’s autonomous shuttle program, was selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide data for a public portal of autonomous vehicle data.

June 26, 2020

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is leading a new, nationwide initiative to improve the safety and testing transparency of automated driving systems known as the Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) Initiative.

Lake Nona’s Beep is among the nine companies and eight states, including Florida, that were selected as the initiative’s first participants.

Participants in the AV TEST can share details about their autonomous operations through a public portal that will help increase awareness of testing, centralize the DOT’s role in promoting safety and innovation, and build stronger relationships among federal, state, and local governments and stakeholders.

The data collected during the test will be available on an online, public-facing platform for sharing automated driving systems testing activities and other safety-related information with the public. Online mapping tools may show testing locations at the local, state, and national levels, as well as testing activity data including dates, frequency, vehicle counts, and routes.

Information from the programs Beep operates in Lake Nona’s living lab community, in addition to their other operations in Jacksonville and Peoria, Arizona, will be available in the online portal.

“We applaud the DOT and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on an initiative meant to create the needed transparency for safe deployment and operation of autonomous technology across the country,” said Joe Moye, CEO at Beep.

In addition to Beep, the other participants include Cruise, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Local Motors, Navya, Nuro, Toyota, Uber, and Waymo. The participating states are California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah. 

For more about the AV Test Initiative, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/avtest.

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