Estonian deep-tech developer Elmo, which introduced teledriving technology as a service globally last year, has received approval from the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport to commence teledriving on public roads in Lithuania. As part of the « Transport Innovation Forum, » Elmo is testing teledriving from Vilnius with a car located in Estonia. This makes Lithuania the third country to accept Elmo’s street-legal teledriven car.

« While autonomous technologies and vehicles have garnered significant attention and reshaped laws for their introduction to the streets, teledriving, ready for market use today, is gaining attention rapidly. It’s gratifying to see that Elmo has gained trust with its practical experience, and our functional technology is finding favor with both regulators and customers, » said Elmo’s founder and CEO, Enn Laansoo Jr.

In May of last year, Elmo introduced its teledriven car at the European ITS Congress in Toulouse and received an invitation to participate in the largest transport and logistics conference in the Baltic States, the « Transport Innovation Forum 2023, » held in Vilnius. Over the past year, teledriving and its technology have gained swift attention globally, even amid the rise of autonomous driving technologies. Elmo’s second-generation technology has secured street approval, accumulating over a year of service and driving on public streets.

« We have valuable experience and confidence to test cross-border teledriving at speeds exceeding 40 km/h. If the testing is successful and we accumulate sufficient kilometers, we are prepared to apply for a permit to drive without a safety driver, » added Laansoo Jr.

To date, Elmo has remotely operated its technology and gained valuable experience in 8 countries (including the USA) and over 25 cities. The company holds street-driving permits and operates its teledriving doorstep delivery service daily on public roads in Estonia and Finland. Simultaneously, Elmo is negotiating with several major cities with the goal of starting teledriving car services in at least three different countries in 2023.

In 2022, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to introduce its street-legal teledriven cars and certified teledrivers from the Estonian Transport Authority into real-world car-sharing services. Elmo’s teledriven car has been driven and demonstrated to clients for technology licensing purposes in the streets of major cities such as Paris, Munich, Hanover, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Los Angeles, and others.

Elmo is an Estonian company primarily focused on developing innovative deep-tech technology for teledriven cars (see elmoremote.com) and offering environmentally friendly vehicle-sharing services (see elmorent.ee). Elmo is the first responsibly certified car rental company in Estonia.

Estonian company Elmo, the first to put teledriving technology into service in 2022, has expanded to Helsinki. As a result, Finland became the second country in Europe to have teledriving on its streets and roads.

Using teledriving technology on the streets of Helsinki has been approved by Finnish Transport and Communication Agency Traficom based on the permit provided by the Estonian Transport Administration.

“I have always liked Helsinki and its positive attitude towards start-ups. Their openness to innovative technologies is verified by the fact that the largest start-up companies are established in Scandinavia. Their activity is supported on government level, which without a doubt contributes to the success of the companies,” says Elmo’s founder and CEO Enn Laansoo Jr.

Last year, Elmo introduced its teledriving technology on the major international start-up event Slush and simultaneously carried out several successful tests on local roads, which gave the confidence to take teledriving to the streets of Helsinki.

“Elmo brings an interesting addition to the testing of new vehicle-related technology in Finland. This is the first trial of teledriving vehicle in our country. At Traficom, our task is to enable experiments and innovations related to traffic and communication, » says Reijo Jälkö, the leading expert at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.

Elmo’s goal is to find a car sharing company in Helsinki who could be provided with a licence for the teledriving technology and offered the teledriving service. Until then, residents of Helsinki can place one-click orders for the delivery of Elmo’s rental cars to their door through Elmo’s app that can be downloaded from the web page elmorent.ee. To deliver a car to the door, Elmo’s certified teledriver will take control of the nearest car through a 4G network and will drive the car to the customer’s door by the time requested.

Elmo currently operates more than 100 electric cars in Estonia, providing delivery of rental cars via teledriving to addresses requested by customers in Tallinn as well as Tartu. Helsinki is now the third city and Finland the second country within the EU to allow teledriving on public roads and in service provision. In parallel, Elmo is in negotiations with several big cities with the goal of launching the teledriving provision in at least three different countries within 2023.

In August and September, Elmo’s focus is on servicing the first pioneer customers and introducing the technology to local car sharing companies, adapting it to Helsinki’s 4G and 5G networks. The gained knowledge helps to improve the next generation of Elmo’s teledriving technology and to help secure the necessary permits for Elmo’s future partners. The more extensive launch of home delivery service is planned in autumn once a local partner has been selected and the summer holiday season has ended.

Last year, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to put road-legal teledriving and teledrivers licenced by the Estonian Transportation Administration into a real-life car sharing service. Elmo’s teledriving technology has been introduced and tested for licencing purposes to customers on the streets of Paris, Munich, Hannover, Zurich, Vienna, Los Angeles and many other big cities.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of innovative deep-tech teledriving technologies (see elmorent.ee) and the provision of an eco-friendly car sharing service. Elmo is the first car rental company in Estonia to be awarded a CSR quality label.

Additional information:
Enn Laansoo, Jr.
CEO
Elmo
enn@elmorent.ee

Elmo asutaja ja tegevjuht Enn Laansoo jr räägib Kuku raadio ajakirjanikele, kuidas Elmo kaugjuhtimistehnoloogia toimib, kuidas rendiautod kaugjuhitavalt kliendini viiakse ja kuidas saab auto kindlaks kellaajaks ukse ette tellida.

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In an exciting collaboration, the Swedish clean technology company Elonroad and Estonia’s Smart Mobility company Elmo are teaming up to develop a cutting-edge stationary charging track for electric vehicles (EVs) with the aim to transform EV charging technology and promote sustainable transportation solutions.

Elmo, the world’s first company to introduce remotely controlled electric cars in a car sharing service, has raised up to 2.6 million euros from international growth capital fund and other investors to speed up the licencing of remote control technology in foreign markets, grow the team necessary for the development of next-generation technologies and to prepare new eco-sustainable remotely controlled cars and take them to public roads.

Teledriving and driverless transportation are potentially the biggest and most positive changes in the mobility sector in our generation. Global urban mobility market is in flux due to shifting consumer preferences and technological advances. City governments reduce private car ownership in urban areas, consumers seek sustainability, convenience and affordability. Car ownership is declining in favor of public transport, bicycles, car sharing clubs, and ride hailing. 

“We are happy to contribute to an Estonian technology company such as Elmo which is one of the first in the world to put remote control technology based services into daily practical use. We see remote control technologies and the related services as a necessary step in bringing fully autonomous driving technologies into our daily life in the future,” said Ragnar Meitern, head of the lead investor’s representative Highgoal Capital Management. 

Highgoal Capital Management OÜ is a technology focused small alternative funds manager with a track record of identifying and backing some of the most successful founders and companies in the mobility business, their investment portfolio including Bolt and Planet42 among others. The company has experience in in European, Middle Eastern and African markets and has offices in London and Tallinn. FlyCap is a Latvian growth capital fund that offers growth capital to medium-sized companies in Latvia and elsewhere in Europe.  Barolo Invest and SAGGIS are Estonian capital based investors. The financing transactions were counselled by KPMG Baltics and Keystone Advisers.

“It is a great recognition to the current work of our team when experienced investors are willing to contribute to our success in today’s financial climate, and a sign that Elmo’s position is strong in the fast-growing sector of remotely controlled vehicles,” said Enn Laansoo Jr., the founder and CEO of Elmo.

“Although Elmo’s greatest competitive edge has so far been the development of the technology as well as the provision of a short-term rental service in one company, we will now be able to conclude the separation of the technology and the short-term rental business into subsidiaries in order to bring aboard new investors with a more specific focus,” added Laansoo.

Last year, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to bring its road legal remotely controlled cars and drivers licenced by the Transport Administration’s into a real-life car sharing service. Remotely controlled cars have become a daily service on the streets of Tallinn as well as Tartu. For the purpose of licencing the technology, Elmo’s remotely controlled cars have been driven and introduced to customers in the streets of Paris, Munich, Hannover, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Los Angeles and many other big cities. By today, there are ongoing negotiations with more than 50 customers interested in the licensed technology and preliminary work is in process to start driving on the public roads of at least two foreign cities this summer.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of an innovative deep-tech technology for remotely controlled cars (see elmoremote.com) and the provision of eco-friendly car-sharing services (see elmorent.ee). Elmo is the first car rental company in Estonia to receive the quality label for sustainable business.

Additional information:
Enn Laansoo, Jr.
CEO
ELMO Rent AS
enn@elmorent.ee

L’équipe d’Elmo, la première entreprise au monde à proposer l’autopartage avec des voitures télécommandées sur la voie publique, s’est enrichie de nouveaux conducteurs à distance certifiés par l’autorité des transports, ce qui permet à l’entreprise d’étendre son service et sa flotte de voitures électriques télécommandées sur les routes estoniennes.

À l’automne dernier, Elmo a lancé un service dans le cadre duquel des voitures de location sont amenées aux clients par des voitures télécommandées. À ce jour, trois conducteurs télécommandés ont été certifiés et au moins sept le seront bientôt. Le service gagne en popularité en raison de sa nouveauté et de son aspect pratique, qui permet de mieux gérer son temps.

Selon Enn Laansoo Jr, PDG d’Elmo, le droit de conduire délivré par l’autorité des transports est unique au monde. « Nous avons fait un nouveau pas en avant pour l’entreprise et pour le monde, car nos voitures télécommandées et leurs conducteurs à distance sont les premiers au monde à passer un examen de l’autorité des transports et à obtenir l’autorisation de conduire sur les routes publiques et de servir les clients au quotidien. C’est l’assurance que la technologie que nous avons mise au point répond à toutes les exigences de sécurité nécessaires ».

Outre l’Estonie, l’entreprise a formé des conducteurs à distance et testé la technologie sur les voies publiques de Berlin, Munich, Hanovre, Paris, Los Angeles, Helsinki et d’autres villes étrangères où la technologie et les possibilités qu’elle offre ont été présentées.

« L’arrivée de nouveaux conducteurs à distance est un grand pas vers notre vision future où les consommateurs peuvent utiliser un service de covoiturage pratique, voyager plus efficacement et de manière plus durable », a ajouté Laansoo Jr.

La clé du succès d’ELMO réside dans la capacité d’innovation de l’État estonien et dans sa volonté de soutien et de coopération. « L’essai des voitures télécommandées d’ELMO et l’examen sont un bon exemple de l’ouverture de l’Estonie aux solutions innovantes qui répondent à toutes les exigences en matière de sécurité. Nous sommes très heureux que la première société de location de voitures électriques d’Estonie ait pris l’initiative de cette innovation dans notre culture de la circulation », a déclaré Jürgo Vahtra, chef de l’unité des véhicules terrestres à l’autorité des transports.

Elmo est une entreprise estonienne dont le principal domaine d’activité est le développement de voitures télécommandées et de technologies innovantes connexes (voir elmoremote.com) et la fourniture d’un service de partage de véhicules respectueux de l’environnement (voir elmorent.ee).

Pour plus d’informations :

Enn Laansoo, Jr.
PDG ELMO Rent AS
enn@elmorent.ee