Global design and technology firm IBI Group has been shortlisted from a group of more than 200 participants from 25 countries, to be one of four finalists in a challenge to shape the impact of autonomous transportation in New York City.
NYC’s Driverless Future Competition was a call for proposals that will actively influence the city’s response to driverless cars. A team of IBI Group transportation specialists, software developers and architectural designers, developed the concept for sAVe, a community-supported, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform that offers multi-modal ridesharing services, including automated vehicles as they become available. Team members will pitch their concept to NYC government officials and private-sector mobility leaders, including Uber and Mercedes-Benz, next week (July 11) at a special edition of the monthly NY Tech Meetup, where the winner will be announced live.
As a finalist, IBI will receive a one-year membership to New Lab, an interdisciplinary space in Brooklyn designed to support emerging technology entrepreneurs. Here, team members can realize their proposal, supported by the larger IBI TH!NK network, a group of individuals dedicated to producing solutions for actual urban problems.
The NYC pitch offers finalists the opportunity to present their concept to an expert panel of top government officials, leading technologists, and venture capitalists, in front of hundreds of public attendees. The event will be streamed live, and the winning team will receive a US$2,500 cash prize.
IBI’s sAVe concept is a multi-modal ridesharing platform that provides trip services in transportation-underserved neighborhoods, and connects residents to public transit hubs that they may not otherwise be able to access quickly and conveniently.
Available at community kiosks or as a smartphone app, the platform will make use of existing public infrastructure without increasing the number of private vehicles in already-congested areas. It will also serve to introduce autonomous vehicles (AVs) to new populations that may not otherwise get to experience or benefit from this technology.
“When we heard about the competition, we knew it was the perfect fit for us. We released a report earlier this year around driverless cars and cities, as part of our TH!NK initiative, and we were well positioned to take our research to the next level, by developing an actionable solution,” said Oliver Hartleben, IBI’s TH!NK coordinator.
“The assignment needed an interdisciplinary approach, and we were able to leverage the expertise of young professionals from across the firm to produce a solution we are all very proud of.”
