Ottopia, an Israeli maker of remote assistive tech for autonomous, driverless vehicles, has landed a commercial agreement to help Uber-backed Serve Robotics with the deployment of its sidewalk delivery robots.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Amit Rosenzweig, Ottopia has developed a remote assistance platform that uses teleoperation software for human operators to monitor fleets of autonomous vehicles and provide guidance when they run into complex and unpredictable safety situations, including road construction or obstacles on the road.

The deployment of human operators can solve any challenge, including safety and cybersecurity, by responding to questions from the car’s brain, according to the startup. Safety and other challenges are some of the issues that have held up the mass adoption of autonomous vehicles.

Teleoperation is the technology behind operating an autonomous machine or robot from a distance via a wireless connection. The software can be installed on robotaxis, roboshuttles, autonomous trucks and machines, and last-mile delivery robots.

As part of the commercial agreement, Serve will be paying Ottopia an undisclosed sum for using its “teleoperation software which enables them to remotely assist and control their robot fleet from multiple control centers around the world,” Rosenzweig told The Times of Israel in emailed comments.

Source: TOI