Michigan driverless shuttles might hit the road in 2018

Ann Arbor’s own startup May Mobility is getting closer to deploying the first self-driving shuttle fleet, aiming to launch them out in the streets of Detroit by 2018. Along with making its public debut on prestigious accelerator Y Combinator’s demo day on August 21, the Michigan startup has released a full-fledged website to replace the mysterious simplicity of the previous one—containing only an email contact. Despite having released plenty of new information, the driverless car world is now more piqued about this company than ever. A shuttle service run by an R&D-heavy team, May Mobility is set apart by their ambitious plan to remove human safety drivers from their shuttles by 2018, upgrading to a fully self-driving fleet. Having secured a partnership with the City of Detroit for deploying their vehicles, and starting further testing in Warren MI and two more Florida locations within the next quarter, the company could reach the market before others do. For the team behind May Mobility, a simpler and safer approach is the way to go from a business standpoint. While not car-makers themselves, May Mobility offer electric shuttles that have undergone proprietary technological modifications. Essentially, they buy vehicle chassis from vehicle manufacturers and then kit them out with driverless technology This situation-specific approach allows for lower costs and faster deployment time without compromising driverless performance.