When people think of self-driving vehicles, Google or Tesla are often the first names that spring to mind. When it comes to industrial applications for the technology, manufacturers should think more along the lines of Clearpath Robotics’ OTTO Motors.
Already in use by companies like GE and John Deere, OTTO Motors’ material handling, self-driving vehicles will see a boost with a recent USD$30-million investment by a number of industry leaders.
“Clearpath is developing exciting self-driving vehicle technology for industrial environments,” said Michael Young, director at Caterpillar Ventures. "We look forward to collaborating with Clearpath to drive efficiency gains in Caterpillar facilities.”
The investment is being led by iNovia Capital and Caterpillar Ventures, along with partners from GE Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, RRE Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. These companies see the investment as a step towards an automated future in manufacturing and beyond.
“Software-differentiated hardware will disrupt every major sector over the next decade,” said Karam Nijjar, partner at iNovia Capital.
“Self-driving vehicles are already revolutionizing transportation,” Nijjar continued. “Clearpath isn’t just building the factory of the future; they are laying the foundation for entirely new business models enabled by artificial intelligence, autonomy and automation.”
Clearpath sees this push to Industry 4.0 as a logical step in providing flexible platforms to fill needs in many aspects of industry. Matt Rendall, CEO and co-founder of Clearpath, notes that these requirements are distinct from other self-driving vehicles.
“Factories operate like small indoor cities, complete with roads, traffic, intersections and pedestrians,” Rendall explained. “Unlike city streets, a factory floor is a controlled environment, which makes it an ideal place to introduce self-driving vehicles at scale.”
Will the self-driving vehicles market only grow, with OTTO Motors cornering the market?
For more information, check out the Clearpath and OTTO websites or watch a webinar on the company's YouTube channel.