![]() ![]() “The robots are required to yield the right-of-way to bicycles, to pedestrians as well as to regular vehicular traffic.” “We’re huge bike advocates and big believers that they are an important part of city transportation,” Refraction AI CEO Luke Schneider said. Eventually, the robot will roll alone at up to 15 miles per hour with a remote operator monitoring over the internet. ![]() The company’s REV-1 vehicle looks sort of like a futuristic ice cream cart with two wheels in the front and one in the back.įor now, an attendant on an electric scooter follows the REV-1 while the machine’s artificial intelligence learns Austin streets. Michigan-based Refraction AI started operations in Austin last week with 10 semi-autonomous robots delivering Southside Flying Pizza in Travis Heights and the Central Business District. “What if in two years we have several hundred of these on the road?” “I almost feel like we’re the test subject for this new technology, and that does bother me,” he said. “My personal view is that I don’t believe these belong in the bike lane,” said Jake Boone, who serves as vice-chair of the city’s Bicycle Advisory Council. ![]() Attitudes differ among cyclists on whether they should share bike lanes with the robots.Ī small fleet of robots delivering pizza in Central Austin has set off a debate about whether the semi-autonomous machines’ use of bike lanes will squeeze cyclists off the road or launch a technological revolution to reduce motor vehicle deliveries and boost demand for bicycle infrastructure. Pérez / KUT Riley Pakes, with Refraction AI, monitors a delivery robot in a bicycle lane on South Congress Avenue. ![]()
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