Orlando’s Lake Nona is one of the fastest-growing communities in America with more than 10 million square feet of world-class residential and commercial facilities. Lake Nona is driven by a long-term vision, and committed to building an innovative community that inspires human potential whilst being focused on sustainable design, healthy living, and groundbreaking gigabit fiber optic technology. This beautiful community will soon be home to a new way of transportation.
Beep is collaborating with the community of Lake Nona to bring the first autonomous shuttles to Central Florida with service expected to begin this spring. Beep, a new Florida-based company that provides autonomous mobility solutions, announced an exclusive dealer arrangement for the state of Florida, with NAVYA, the global leader in the autonomous vehicle (AV) market, and smart and shared mobility solutions. The companies announced their innovative development partnership for shared mobility and AV research through which Beep will lead testing and pilot deployments of NAVYA’s driverless and fully electric AUTONOM Shuttle in the state of Florida.
“The interest in our autonomous mobility solutions from transportation hubs, medical and university campuses, airports, town centers, and other similar use cases has been overwhelming,” said Kevin Reid, Beep’s co-founder and a technology entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in innovations that have driven successful startups that have reached more than a $1 billion valuation. “Our suite of services and solutions, underpinned by NAVYA’s cutting edge technology, will further Lake Nona’s smart city vision by providing an innovative, green and intelligent mobility solution to its residents and visitors.”
The introduction of NAVYA’s AUTONOM Shuttle in Lake Nona will be the first step toward integrating new mobility technology into the region. Autonomous shuttle service in Lake Nona will begin this spring and will feature two shuttles each with a dedicated operator on board. The AUTONOM Shuttle can hold up to 15 people and will travel on fixed routes within the Lake Nona community at speeds of up to 16 mph. Designed to improve productivity and ease road congestion in urban centers while also optimizing navigation and passenger safety. All of Beep’s autonomous vehicles deployed in the U.S. will be monitored by the company’s state-of-the-art operations center headquartered in Lake Nona.
”Tavistock’s continued efforts to bring new and innovative solutions to Lake Nona is part of our mission to create an enriching environment that ensures residents, businesses, and visitors have an incredible experience,” said Jim Zboril, president of Tavistock Development Company, the developer behind Lake Nona. “NAVYA’s driverless shuttles and Beep’s autonomous mobility solutions provide an intelligent, fluid, and environmentally-friendly transportation option. We look forward to integrating this new shuttle service into our larger Move Nona transportation plan to make it easy for people to explore Lake Nona.”
Lake Nona, home to miles of paved and unpaved trails, electric vehicle charging stations, bike share program, and community shuttles It is also home to a car share program featuring Tesla Model 3s for its latest multi-family development, Pixon, set to open in 2019.
“Over the last several years, together with our public and private partners, we’ve solidified Orlando as a hub for innovation, technology, sustainability, and advancement. Tavistock continues to take these visions to the next level as we welcome NAVYA’s expansion of its global footprint and Beep’s headquarter operation and their cutting-edge autonomous mobility solutions to the Lake Nona community,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “We look forward to Beep’s growth here in our city, the opportunity to further mobility options for our residents and the future opportunities that will come together from this emerging industry and our creative community.”
Lake Nona’s multimodal transportation strategy – Move Nona – creates a seamless, efficient mobility network providing a variety of ways to get around the 17-square-mile community.
How long until Osceola County sees AUTONOM Shuttle?
