Lake Nona Brings First Autonomous Shuttles to Orlando Spring 2019

Beep and NAVYA to Collaborate with Tavistock’s Lake Nona Community to Activate Cutting-Edge Shared Mobility Solutions Model within the Smart City

Lake Nona Brings First Autonomous Shuttles to Orlando Spring 2019

LAKE NONA, Fla. Feb 19, 2019 – Beep, a new Florida-based company that provides autonomous mobility solutions, today announced an exclusive dealer arrangement for the state of Florida, with NAVYA, the global leader in the autonomous vehicle (AV) market smart and shared mobility solutions. In addition, the companies announced their innovative development partnership for shared mobility and AV research through which Beep will lead testing and pilot deployments of NAVYA’s driverless and fully electric AUTONOM Shuttle in the state of Florida. Headquartered in Lake Nona, a smart community within the City of Orlando, Beep is collaborating with the innovative master-planned community to bring the first autonomous shuttles to Central Florida with service expected to begin this spring.

Beep was founded by experienced fleet managers and technology entrepreneurs and offers the next generation of services for passenger mobility to fleet operators in planned communities and low-speed environments across the public and private sector. From route planning to on-board interactive services, Beep’s autonomous mobility platform provides safe, efficient movement of passengers between defined locations on private and public roads.

“The interest in our autonomous mobility solutions from transportation hubs, medical and university campuses, airports, town centers, and other similar use cases has been overwhelming,” said Kevin Reid, Beep’s co-founder and a technology entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in innovations that have driven successful startups that have reached more than a $1 billion valuation. “Our suite of services and solutions, underpinned by NAVYA’s cutting edge technology, will further Lake Nona’s smart city vision by providing an innovative, green and intelligent mobility solution to its residents and visitors.”

The introduction of NAVYA’s AUTONOM Shuttle in Lake Nona will be the first step toward integrating new mobility technology into the region. Autonomous shuttle service in Lake Nona will begin this spring and will feature two shuttles each with a dedicated operator on board. The AUTONOM Shuttle can hold up to 15 people and will travel on fixed routes within the Lake Nona community at speeds of up to 16 mph. The shuttle is designed to improve productivity and ease road congestion in urban centers while also optimizing navigation and passenger safety. All of Beep’s autonomous vehicles deployed in the U.S. will be monitored by the company’s state-of-the-art operations center headquartered in Lake Nona.   

“Tavistock’s continued efforts to bring new and innovative solutions to Lake Nona is part of our mission to create an enriching environment that ensures residents, businesses and visitors have an incredible experience,” said Jim Zboril, president of Tavistock Development Company, the developer behind Lake Nona. “NAVYA’s driverless shuttles and Beep’s autonomous mobility solutions provide an intelligent, fluid, and environmentally-friendly transportation option. We look forward to integrating this new shuttle service into our larger Move Nona transportation plan to make it easy for people to explore Lake Nona.”

Founded by the international investment organization Tavistock Group, Lake Nona is a nationally-recognized forward-thinking, smart city within the City of Orlando. By prioritizing revolutionary technology, strategic partnerships, education and wellbeing, Lake Nona is dedicated to finding solutions that improve the lives of its employees, residents and visitors. Lake Nona also serves as a living lab and model for the future of communities. Lake Nona’s multimodal transportation strategy – Move Nona – creates a seamless, efficient mobility network throughout the 17-square-mile community providing a variety of ways to get around.

Lake Nona is already home to miles of paved and unpaved trails, electric vehicle charging stations, bike share program, community shuttles and a car share program featuring Tesla Model 3s for its latest multi-family development, Pixon, set to open in 2019. Specifics regarding the inaugural routes and launch date for Lake Nona’s autonomous shuttle will be announced soon.

“Over the last several years, together with our public and private partners, we’ve solidified Orlando as a hub for innovation, technology, sustainability and advancement. Tavistock continues to take these visions to the next level as we welcome NAVYA’s expansion of its global footprint and Beep’s headquarter operation and their cutting-edge autonomous mobility solutions to the Lake Nona community,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “We look forward to Beep’s growth here in our city, the opportunity to further mobility options for our residents and the future opportunities that will come together from this emerging industry and our creative community.”

“Lake Nona continues to be a model of what a smart and connected community can accomplish,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. “Bringing the first all-electric autonomous shuttles to Central Florida is a defining moment for the future of transportation in our region and will help position Orange County as a place to demonstrate new, innovative technology.”

NAVYA, a pioneer and specialist in the AV market, assists cities and private sites around the world by offering leading-edge first and last mile transportation solutions that aim to return fluidity to congested urban centers. NAVYA has a strong global presence and is actively expanding its footprint in North America with a manufacturing plant in Metro Detroit building its AUTONOM Shuttle, a fully autonomous, driverless and electric vehicle.

“There is a global push to improve how urban areas function by building “smart cities,” said Jérôme Rigaud, COO of NAVYA group. “We are excited to be in partnership with Beep to launch this new initiative. Florida is an ideal to location for this venture due to the forward-looking communities like Lake Nona that welcome what Beep and NAVYA have to offer to their residents and visitors.”

Beep and NAVYA are participants in the Lake Nona Impact Forum, Feb. 20-22.