Eindhoven-based startup AI in Motion (AIIM) has been working on software for self-driving vehicles since its inception in 2019. The team behind AIIM has years of experience with these technical challenges gained in the automotive market. In its first year of existence, to demonstrate the developed software functionality to a wider audience, AIIM augmented a Toyota Prius with cameras, Lidar sensors, radar sensors and a computer for additional computing power needed to detect obstacles and people around the vehicle using AI models.
This demo also piqued the interest of a number of entrepreneurs in 2020, including Smartwayz, myDomain, and Buurauto. Buurauto's ambition is to make neighborhoods car-free, allowing users of the so-called Buurauto-NOOM platform to have low-speed cars navigate to them autonomously (i.e., without a driver) when the vehicles are actually needed for out-of-town driving. AIIM offered to provide its Toyota Prius demo vehicle specifically for an "automated valet parking" demo in the municipality of Breda and adapt it to the challenges surrounding the dynamic environment of Breda's city center. Together with two Engineering Doctorate students from TU/e, the AIIM team looked at what modifications were required to pull off a successful demo. Last September, the entrepreneurs behind the Buurauto-NOOM concept completed a beautiful demo day using this smarter Prius.
AIIM is now busy preparing its software modules for other growing markets such as the logistics market as well. Where it is working on innovative solutions to make automated forklift trucks drive smarter with the dynamic characteristics of a warehouse. For example, the forklift itself can make a better decision if it can detect the difference between a person crossing or a pallet lying in the truck's path. AIIM's experience from the Buurauto-NOOM project can be nicely incorporated into this.
Here you can find the final video: https://youtu.be/bQWMpMWCYPw
