Stealth robocar startup sees remote drivers as autonomy shortcut

By Stefan Nicola

Driverless vehicle
Thursday, 09 Sep 2021
2:30 PM MYT

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A Vay teledriver operates a remote-controlled vehicle from the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany. Vay, which has been quietly testing a fleet of remote-controlled electric vehicles all over Berlin, plans to roll out a mobility service in Europe and potentially the US next year. — Photos: Bloomberg

Deploying vast fleets of robocars has been much tougher than Tesla Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and others thought. One European startup is now pitching an intermediate step to full autonomy: teledriving.

Germany’s Vay, which has been quietly testing a fleet of remote-controlled electric vehicles all over Berlin, plans to roll out a mobility service in Europe and potentially the US next year.

A Vay teledriver operates a remote-controlled vehicle from the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany. Vay, which has been quietly testing a fleet of remote-controlled electric vehicles all over Berlin, plans to roll out a mobility service in Europe and potentially the US next year. — Photos: Bloomberg

A side-mounted camera on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

Thomas von der Ohe, chief executive officer of Vay, next to a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

While von der Ohe says he still believes in full autonomy, he learned at Zoox how difficult and expensive it can be to develop robot cars.

Von der Ohe previously worked on Amazon.com Inc’s Alexa and at self-driving startup Zoox.

Cameras and sensors on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

For a fraction of the price of an Uber, Vay customers will be able to order a remote-controlled car, drive themselves to their desired destination and then get out, leaving it to a human teledriver miles away to either park the vehicle or steer it to a next client.

A safety driver behind the wheel of a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

Engineers work on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in their garage in Berlin, Germany.

An engineer works next to a Vay teledriven electric vehicle at their garage in Berlin, Germany.

An engineer works on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in their garage in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriver control station equipped with steering wheel and monitors at the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany.

An electronic display in a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriver operates a remote-controlled vehicle from the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany.

A camera testing laboratory at the Vay offices in Berlin, Germany.

The Vay offices in Berlin, Germany.

Scelsi, left, von der Ohe, center, and Djukic at the company's offices in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriver control station equipped with steering wheel and monitors at the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany.

Engineers work at the Vay garage in Berlin, Germany.

Vay’s von der Ohe and his co-founders – engineer and electric-car developer Fabrizio Scelsi and Bogdan Djukic, who built software for Skype – have poached people from Google, Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Elon Musk’s Boring Co to develop hardware and software for a teledriving-first approach.

The grille and badge on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

Cameras and sensors on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

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Stealth robocar startup sees remote drivers as autonomy shortcut

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A side-mounted camera on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

Thomas von der Ohe, chief executive officer of Vay, next to a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

While von der Ohe says he still believes in full autonomy, he learned at Zoox how difficult and expensive it can be to develop robot cars.

Von der Ohe previously worked on Amazon.com Inc’s Alexa and at self-driving startup Zoox.

Cameras and sensors on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

For a fraction of the price of an Uber, Vay customers will be able to order a remote-controlled car, drive themselves to their desired destination and then get out, leaving it to a human teledriver miles away to either park the vehicle or steer it to a next client.

A safety driver behind the wheel of a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

Engineers work on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in their garage in Berlin, Germany.

An engineer works next to a Vay teledriven electric vehicle at their garage in Berlin, Germany.

An engineer works on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in their garage in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriver control station equipped with steering wheel and monitors at the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany.

An electronic display in a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriver operates a remote-controlled vehicle from the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriver operates a remote-controlled vehicle from the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany.

A camera testing laboratory at the Vay offices in Berlin, Germany.

The Vay offices in Berlin, Germany.

Scelsi, left, von der Ohe, center, and Djukic at the company's offices in Berlin, Germany.

A Vay teledriver control station equipped with steering wheel and monitors at the company’s offices in Berlin, Germany.

Engineers work at the Vay garage in Berlin, Germany.

Vay’s von der Ohe and his co-founders – engineer and electric-car developer Fabrizio Scelsi and Bogdan Djukic, who built software for Skype – have poached people from Google, Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Elon Musk’s Boring Co to develop hardware and software for a teledriving-first approach.

The grille and badge on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle in Berlin, Germany.

Cameras and sensors on a Vay teledriven electric vehicle near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

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