IACMI partner, Local Motors, unveils Olli, a self-driving electric vehicle during its Maryland facility opening this week.
Hundreds gathered for the event, including U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Bruce Andrews. During his speech, he lauded Local Motors’ innovation, IACMI CEO Craig Blue and The Composites Institute (IACMI).
“I am pleased to see Dr. Craig Blue, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, here with us today. Based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, this Institute is developing new advanced composite materials with the goal of creating products that are lighter and stronger than anything on the market today. They’re also testing out new, cost-effective recycling methods for the automotive industry. And they’re partnering with dozens of companies, including Local Motors, to get technology out of the lab, into the market, and on the road.”
You can read the full speech from Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews on Commerce.gov.
Olli’s unveiling can be seen on ABCNews or a number of other organizations covering the event including Yahoo Finance, Autoblog, CrazyEngineers, DigitalTrends, PC Mag, and many more.
Craig Blue, IACMI CEO and Mark Johnson, Director of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, participated in the unveiling event.
The vehicle, dubbed ‘Olli,’ was unveiled during the Grand Opening of a new Local Motors facility in National Harbor, MD this morning, and transported Local Motors CEO and co-founder John B. Rogers, Jr. along with vehicle designer Edgar Sarmiento from the Local Motors co-creation community into the new facility. The electric vehicle, which can carry up to 12 people, is equipped with some of the world’s most advanced vehicle technology, including IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) for Automotive, to improve the passenger experience and allow natural interaction with the vehicle.
Starting today, Olli will be used on public roads locally in DC, and late in 2016 in Miami-Dade County and Las Vegas.
“Olli offers a smart, safe and sustainable transportation solution that is long overdue,” Rogers said. “Olli with Watson acts as our entry into the world of self-driving vehicles, something we’ve been quietly working on with our co-creative community for the past year. We are now ready to accelerate the adoption of this technology and apply it to nearly every vehicle in our current portfolio and those in the very near future. I’m thrilled to see what our open community will do with the latest in advanced vehicle technology.” Read more on the Local Motors Blog.
See the videos on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymz4SYVr_EE