the first autonomous vehicle to circulate in France
This is a big step forward for EasyMile. EZ10, the autonomous vehicle that the Toulouse start-up has been developing for 6 years, has received authorization to travel in France without a driver. And it is in Toulouse, on the Oncopole site, that the shuttle will be made available to users.
For EasyMile, a Toulouse start-up, this is the reward for six years of work and hundreds of hours of testing. Because the autonomous shuttle EZ10 traveled thousands of kilometers before this certification. Abroad – the United States, Australia, Singapore, Finland – but also in France. Many Toulouse residents discovered this shuttle in December 2017 on allées Jules Guesde, in the city center of the pink city or in Pibrac a few months earlier.
And it is in Toulouse that this shuttle will be put into circulation. A first in Europe in terms of autonomous vehicles, which shows the price lead by EasyMile over the competition. The EZ10 is a driverless shuttle and therefore completely autonomous. Ecological – the shuttle runs on electricity and has a range of around 100 kilometers – it can carry up to 15 people.
#Toulouse is a city of innovation and especially in terms of mobility. It is therefore with pleasure that we welcome the first vehicle authorized to run independently. @easymiles @FaureDominique @jmlattes https://t.co/RrhBumjgnA
– Nicolas Misiak (@misiak_nicolas) November 29, 2021
“A first in Europe on an open road”
The government therefore ordered the EZ10 a level 4 authorization (ie the possibility of driving without a driver), which will allow it within a few weeks to make trips without a driver around the Oncopole university campus. Already in place, the shuttle links the car park (located several hundred meters away) and the main entrance of the Toulouse University Cancer Institute. All on a road where bicycles, pedestrians and buses intersect. But until now, there was always a supervisor on board. From January 2022 – thanks to government authorization – the EZ10 shuttle will be able to do without it, security being considered from a distance.
For Olivier Pairot, Marketing Director of EasyMile, this government authorization is excellent news. “It is a great recognition for us, especially since it is a first in Europe on the open road. This proves that we have the level to succeed in doing what we have always wanted to do: a public transport service, with a level of performance expected by users and above all without on-board supervision. “.
The “autoCampus” project
Next step ? The “autoCampus” project on the site of the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse with the setting up from January 2022 also of two shuttles. As at the Oncopole, there will be several stages. Dry runs, then deployment with a supervisor and passengers. To date, these shuttles are not expected to drive without a driver. The project “will also be of use to the students within the framework of their research, the University of Toulouse 3 being very closely associated with the deployment of this two shuttles.
Ultimately, EasyMile hopes to position it as a real transport solution for faculties, airports and other large companies. It also targets the private business market, where such a driverless shuttle can speed up employee travel within their site.