5 Things You Need to Know about Autonomous Shuttles

Get the details on Move Nona’s autonomous shuttle program

August 23, 2019

Lake Nona is getting ready to launch its autonomous (driverless) shuttle service on September 18, so we wanted to help answer questions you may have about the shuttles and what you can expect. We made the initial announcement about autonomous shuttles coming to Lake Nona earlier this year and are excited that they’ll be on the road soon!

Below you’ll find more details about the shuttles, how they work, and how you can take advantage of this cutting-edge transportation service.

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01. What are autonomous vehicles?

An autonomous vehicle, also known as a driverless or self-driving vehicle, is an electric vehicle capable of sensing its environment and moving with little or no human input. The autonomous vehicle is designed to improve productivity and ease road congestion while also optimizing navigation and passenger safety.

The Lake Nona autonomous shuttles are operated by a new mobility company called Beep and manufactured by a French company called NAVYA.

02. How do autonomous shuttles work?

Lake Nona’s autonomous shuttles are NAVYA’S AUTONOM shuttle manufactured in France. The shuttles seat up to 10 passengers and can travel at a max speed of 15 mph.

The AUTONOM shuttle uses cutting-edge multi-sensor technology to interact in real time with its environment. That includes 8 3D LIDAR sensors (light detection and ranging) each with a 200-foot range that can help map the area around the shuttle.

Although the shuttles are driverless, the Lake Nona shuttles will always have an attendant on board who’s trained to manually override the vehicle if needed.

In order to prepare for the launch, Beep hosted a first-of-its-kind training for nearly 100 emergency personnel from both Orange County and City of Orlando fire rescue, EMT, and police departments. The training taught the attendees how to interact with the vehicle in emergency situations and included a hands-on session on how to drive the vehicle manually if needed.

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03. When is the program launching?

Shuttle service will begin on Wednesday, September 18, 2019.

For the latest details on shuttle routes and hours of operation, click here

04. What do I need to know to ride an autonomous shuttle?

Have fun! This program is designed to make it easier to explore our community. We hope you’re just as excited as we are for this exciting new service launch in Lake Nona.

Please see below for some program basics:

Shuttles will operate on the same fixed routes. Eventually, the plan is to significantly increase the number of shuttles and expand the route network to make getting around Lake Nona even easier.

A shuttle is expected to arrive at a stop every 10-15 minutes

Pick-up and drop-off are only available at designated stops

Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times and seatbelts are required at all times for all passengers.

No alcohol or smoking allowed on the shuttle

Service animals are the only animals allowed on the shuttle

During the initial launch period, there is no cost to use the shuttles.

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05. What is Move Nona?

Move Nona is a bold new approach to transportation providing Lake Nona residents and visitors with a variety of efficient and inter-connected ways to get around. The autonomous shuttle service is the first new transportation service within the Move Nona umbrella. We look forward to sharing more details about additional Move Nona transportation options soon.

For more information about Move Nona, please click here.

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