The JTA worked with Orlando-based autonomous vehicle operator Beep and French autonomous vehicle designer NAVYA to set up four autonomous vehicles along a specific route to transport COVID-19 tests. The vehicles will leave a drive-thru testing site and move to a processing laboratory on Mayo Clinic Florida’s campus in Jacksonville. The routes are blocked off from pedestrians, traffic and staff to maintain safe operation.
Commenting on the initiative, Nat Ford, CEO of Jacksonville Transportation Authority. says: “This development is a historic moment for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.”
He adds: “Along with our partners, Beep, NAVYA and Mayo Clinic, we are leveraging our learnings from three years of testing autonomous vehicles through our Ultimate Urban Circulator program. Our innovative team saw this as an opportunity to use technology to respond to this crisis in Northeast Florida and increase the safety of COVID-19 testing.”
The autonomous vehicle program is called the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) and it took only a week for plans to be put in motion to utilize the technology. The program at Mayo Clinic in Florida saves valuable time and resources, and because the vehicles have absolutely no people on board, the system helps to maintain health of those involved by further limiting contact.
This application of autonomous car technology and artificial intelligence enables companies to protect staff from exposure to this contagious virus. The protection extends to warehouse staff, drivers and medical personnel. While the coronavirus may be hitting society hard, there are some positives, in terms of spurring on innovation, to take from these unusual times.
