Local Motors, an Arizona-based crowdsourced automobile manufacturer has introduced Olli, an autonomous vehicle that has been 3D printed and is partially recyclable. According to the company, it is the first vehicle that makes use of IBM Watson’s car focused learning platform that bases itself off cognitive learning. the platform is called the Watson Internet of Things (IoT) for Automotive.
On the first look, we definitely felt that this van looks like a cross between the VW Beetle and a local shuttle bus. Local Motors is looking to not just add business, but also to transform mass transport as we know it. Today, at the National Harbor campus, Washington DC, the company is going to give free demo rides to people. This facility houses a 3D printing facility along with an inventor playroom and STEM program that is used to demonstrate how 3D printed cars get recycled. This year, the company is going to expand its operations to Knoxville and Berlin as well.
CEO of the company John B. Rogers, Jr., talked to The Verge regarding the project. “There is no more connected technology possible than a car, you just have to make it work,” he says. “The Strati is the idea of what does a $5,000 car look like? And an Olli is, what does it mean to share [a car]? The future is full of both. In the future, it is shared transportation that is organizationally owned, there will be shared transportation that is privately owned, and then there will be transportation that is not shared that is privately owned. We’ll have all these.”
When asked about the company’s practice of using “micro-factories”, he said, “we’ve just taken control of our first powertrain and our communities will open-source the powertrain. Once you control the powertrain, then we control the building of the vehicle. The motor and the sensors and electronics are something we can partner very well with other people. And we can buy the battery from a lot of people whether it’s Tesla Energy or Samsung SDI.”
Photo Credits: TechCrunch
