Autonomous shuttle in Toulouse: “EasyMile has 50 vacancies”
Olivier Pairot, Marketing Director of EasyMile, explains the stages of development of the autonomous shuttle in Toulouse and the development axes of his company.
Is the EasyMile shuttle allowed to drive without a driver?
The Ministry of Ecological Transition has given us the authorization to test our shuttle without driver or supervisor on board by the end of 2021, at the Oncopole, in several stages. In the coming days, a dry run will take place, for 15 days without a driver and without a supervisor on board (with a remote supervisor from our Compans premises) but without passengers.
Then, no doubt, at the beginning of January 2022, we will be able to drive without a supervisor and with passengers on board. It is fundamental for us. this is a first in Europe on a shared road.
Read also :
At the Toulouse Oncopole, the EasyMile shuttle will really run without a driver
The LOM law supplementing this authorization?
Yes, the LOM law on mobility comes into force in September 2022 and will definitively authorize autonomous vehicles to drive on the open road in September 2022. The authorization will remain subject to the authorities on a codified file for greater security. The legislative framework is changing and at the same time it is also the observation of our good technological maturity which allows the progressive opening on industrial, airport or nuclear sites for example. Why not on the Airbus sites for example. Of our 250 employees, 200 are in Toulouse including 150 in R & D. We have 50 positions to fill, from intern to doctoral student in experienced robotics, including software developers.
Freight is also an axis of development?
Our technology combines millions of lines of code and on-board kits on a multitude of platforms, whether for passenger or freight transport. The tract easy, a shuttle manufactured by the world leader in the airport, can, thanks to our technology, be fully autonomous and perform automatic tasks 24 hours a day in a sector which has difficulty in recruiting. Container ships offer the same services for logistics centers.
And the private vehicle?
We don’t believe it. Carlos Tavarès, CIO of Stellantis, said: such a vehicle would cost way too much.
