IBM Could Be Bringing A Robot Shuttle Service To Rochester
It’s pretty exciting to think about just how much Rochester is going to be impacted by the huge Destination Medical Center Project over the next 20 years. Groundbreaking on the Discovery Square project is starting today, so this is happening. I’m mostly looking forward to having more restaurants, but it seems like there’s a lot of other cool stuff coming our way.
Just imagine this: You and your friends are downtown. You decide you want to head to another bar or restaurant, but it’s on the other side of downtown. You don’t feel like driving – or you shouldn’t be driving. No problem! Because that’s when you all decide to hop in a shuttle that’s basically driven by a robot. Maybe I should explain.
One of the cooler potential DMC projects has IBM teaming up with Local Motors, a company based out of Phoenix, on a self-driving shuttle system named Olli. The idea is that Olli would transport up to 12 people between different downtown hubs and various DMC districts. So while Olli won't take you all across Rochester, it does seem like it'll make downtown life a lot easier. Adios, Downtown Rochester Road Rage!
IBM is presenting their plan to the DMC Corporation Board today, so fingers crossed it goes through. This seems like an awesome idea to me!
Source: The Med City Beat