ZF is expanding its partnership with Oceaneering International, headquartered in Houston, Texas, to license the production and distribution of the Group Rapid Transport Gen 3 (GRT) shuttle.
This agreement combines Oceaneering’s engineering, manufacturing and integration expertise with the know-how of ZF in the development of functions for autonomous driving. The goal is to deliver a four-digit number of ZF shuttles to customers in the coming years.
The strategic agreement focuses on the segregated lane shuttle market. Oceaneering receives the license to produce and exclusive sales rights of the GRT Shuttle, which is designed for use on separate lanes. This Shuttle is considered the world’s most experienced autonomous transport system with over 100 million kilometers driven autonomously and more than 14 million passengers transported. It runs with over 99% uptime and was successfully implemented in Rivium in 2022.
Oceaneering has worked with 2getthere, a subsidiary of ZF, for over 30 years and has collaborated in the development of automated shuttle systems for entertainment venues worldwide. Now ZF and Oceaneering are expanding their relationship to bring autonomous shuttles to the US market.
ZF’s new fourth-generation autonomous shuttles were unveiled in early 2023. With state-of-the-art sensor technology, including lidar, radar, camera and audio systems, as well as the ZF ProConnect connectivity platform and the ZF ProAI supercomputer, they offer precise environment detection and safe driving solutions.
With selectable battery capacities of 50 to 100 kWh, the shuttles can travel up to 130 kilometers and reach a maximum speed of initially up to 40 km/h, and in further development even up to 80 km/h. The shuttle can accommodate up to 22 people with up to 15 seats. Together, ZF and Oceaneering plan to offer their autonomous transport solutions in various industries such as airports and theme parks to make the mobility of people and goods efficient.
David Fluhr
I have been writing about the topic of autonomous & connected driving since 2011. I studied social sciences at HU Berlin and have been a freelance journalist since 2012. Contact: mail@autonomes-fahr.de