Protean Electric and LM Industries Partner on Self-Driving Electric Shuttle Olli

Protean Electric, developer of in-wheel electric drive systems, announced a new strategic partnership with LM Industries, an American vehicle manufacturing company focused on open-source vehicle designs and the creators of Olli, a self-driving, electric shuttle.

The two companies' partnership will initially focus on providing the eDrive system for Olli, then expand into developing new technologies that will accelerate future autonomous and transportation-as-a-service (TaaS) vehicle production.

Local Motors developed Olli in 2016 as a self-driving shuttle designed for sites using low-speed mass transit, such as airports, campuses, hospitals and municipalities.

Protean Electric is best known for its in-wheel electric motors

The Olli autonomous shuttle is equipped with a 15 kWh battery pack powering a 20 kW continuous, 30 kW max electric motor. The shuttle has a maximum speed of 25 mph and includes speech recognition, capabilities powered by IBM's Watson, that allows the vehicle to talk to passengers.

Other hardware on the self-driving Olli comes from industry leading manufacturers. The Olli includes 2 Velodyne VLP16 LiDAR units, 2 IBEO ScaLa laser scanners, 2 ZED optical cameras and an Ellipse N GPS.

"Open platforms are a critical piece of LM Industries' strategic vision, allowing us the flexibility to work with innovative companies like Protean Electric and quickly integrate new technologies that let us make great product," said John B. Rogers Jr, CEO and co-founder of LM Industries.

"Protean Electric's eDrive technology with in-wheel motors and integrated power electronics, make power-train components obsolete and vehicle digitization easier. It will help us revolutionize self-driving vehicle design creating more space for passengers."

"LM Industries brings the latest technological and safety advancements to mobility products. Their core skill is rapid product development and commercialization, and we are excited to be working with them. We fundamentally believe our in-wheel motor technology is a key enabler to self-driving passenger vehicles, and that LM Industries are a key participant in the future of that market" says KY Chan, CEO of Protean Electric.

LM Industries has announced significant financing for its Olli autonomous shuttle. Through partnerships with Florida-based Elite Transportation Services (ETS) and Texas-based Xcelerate, the company says it has secured over $1 billion in financing for its Olli shuttle.