Crowdsourcing automaker Local Motors will stop operations this Friday, based on staff, TechCrunch reports. The firm has not but formally introduced its imminent demise, although its reactions from its workforce have already appeared on LinkedIn.
“As with most adventures, they must come to an end,” Jeff Hollowell, Local Motors VP of knowledge know-how, wrote on Thursday. “Local Motors has closed its doors. It has been an exciting, challenging, and educational experience working with Olli and all the team at Local Motors. I was fortunate to work with amazing individuals and help build what others said could not be done! I’ve been able to grow as a leader and learn new skills that I now take to my next path forward. Thanks to all the team members and partners that I was able to work with. The time spent was well worth the effort.”
Local Motors pioneered the concept of crowdsourcing the manufacturing of automobiles with 2016’s, Olli, a 3D-printed 12-passenger microbus powered by now equally defunct IBM’s Watson. It set off a minor arms race amongst automakers to provide a brand new class of autonomous EV individuals movers, nevertheless, imparting Level 4 autonomous capabilities has confirmed exceedingly troublesome thus far — partly on account of technological shortcomings within the present era of sensor and sign processing techniques. Of. course, that hasn’t dissuaded firms from making an attempt, their efforts having led to a collection of high-profile site visitors accidents in recent times such because the Navya that wrecked within the opening hours of CES 2017, the Toyota e-Pallette that ran down a paralympian in August, and the solo-vehicle accident in Whitby, Ontario that critically injured a person final December.
Local Motors first made a reputation for itself with the Rally Fighter kit car earlier than it pivoted to creating the Olli. The firm had deliberate to launch a pilot program for the second iteration of its autonomous shuttle, the Olli 2.0, in Toronto final spring, nevertheless these plans have been subsequently pushed again to February, 2022, and, with Thursday’s revelation, will now doubtless by no means happen.
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