autonomous

Elmo gains approval for higher-speed driverless teledriving with AI-braking technology

Elmo, the Estonian company behind the world’s first road-legal teledriving technology, has achieved a major milestone in remote technology innovation. The Estonian Traffic Department has officially validated Elmo’s AI-powered autonomous braking system, enabling its teledrive technology to operate without a safety driver at higher speeds and without area restrictions. This advancement in driverless mobility further solidifies Elmo’s leadership in the teledriving sector, offering safe, scalable, and robust communication protocols for technology solutions in urban mobility, road safety, and military applications.

Enn Laansoo, Jr., CEO and co-founder of Elmo, commented, “Our team is very happy with technological and regulatory progress we have made in the past year, which allows us now to focus on delivering our solutions to our clients. Our pipeline of clients includes multiple car-sharing operators, road safety, and military players in the EU, including Germany, with further potential expansion into the Middle East and the U.S. Parallel to sales, we’re also advancing AI and machine learning upgrades to ensure an even safer teledriving experience, focusing on both functional safety and operational safety standards.”

“This milestone underscores Elmo’s technological leadership in remote driving technology and strength of its technical resources, capable of efficiently developing road ready driverless AI powered solutions.” stated Ragnar Meitern, Managing Partner of Highgoal Capital, an early investor in Elmo and other fast growing tech companies in the mobility sector, including Bolt. “Their goal-oriented progress and operational experience position Elmo uniquely for large-scale expansion, making them an even more attractive deep-tech company in the transport sector.”

Since launching the first road-legal teledrive service in public car sharing in Estonia and Finland, Elmo has deployed its technology on public roads in Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Helsinki, Zurich, Krakow, Los Angeles etc and soon on Ontario highways. This extensive deployment makes Elmo the most widely tested and applied teledriving solution on the market, showcasing its commitment to regulatory compliance and safety features. Elmo’s remotely controlled 4×4 vehicles are also in active use on the frontlines in Ukraine, supporting crucial operations in challenging conditions.

Elmo has further demonstrated cross-border teledriving with a record 2,500 km journey between teledriver in Croatia and e-car in Finland using 4G and 5G, in partnership with Nokia and Deutsche Telekom‘s Croatian operator Hravtski Telekom. This achievement highlights the potential of human-machine collaboration in long-distance remote vehicle control and operation.

Jürgo Vahtra, Head of the Estonian Traffic Department, praised Elmo’s systematic approach to safety, stating, “Elmo has balanced technology development with practical experience, making their progress safe and reliable. Their AI-driven SOS braking system, performed flawlessly in our tests, which was instrumental in granting approval for driverless high-speed operations”.

Elmo’s technology provides a practical alternative to fully autonomous vehicles, offering the efficiency of teledriving with lower hardware and deployment costs. Richard Woller, Co-Founder & CEO of technology consulting firm schwarzenberg.tech, commented, “Elmo’s combination of regulatory achievement and real-world deployment across sectors based on a smart technology sets the stage for a next era of adaptable mobility services. We believe that tele-operated driving is key in automated mobility and are impressed by the strong and solution-driven team at Elmo.”

With its ongoing fundraising round, Elmo is actively seeking to expand its capabilities and build on its global footprint. The company is planning to enhance its European operations and is considering a launch to enter to Northern American market, potentially introducing technology licensing to car rental, road safety and military companies. This latest approval not only sets the stage for Elmo’s next phase of growth but also presents a compelling opportunity for investors, clients, and cities interested in cutting-edge teledriving technology for a variety of use cases, including driverless taxis and affordable transportation options.


For more information, please visit www.elmoremote.com.


For media inquiries and further information, please contact:

Enn Laansoo Jr. 

CEO and Founder 

Elmo

Email: enn@elmoremote.com

Drive into the future with Nokia’s Network as Code, Elisa and Elmo cars

Original post by Shkumbin Hamiti from Nokia blog.

In “Back to the Future,” Doc Brown famously said, “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” While we haven’t quite reached that level of futuristic travel yet, a groundbreaking proof of concept (PoC) took place in late spring 2024. A car was remotely driven through the public streets of Espoo at Nokia Headquarters, Finland, and during the Imagine Metaverse expo in Tampere.

This successful PoC was the result of a collaboration between Elmo Cars, a pioneer in remote driving technology and the holder of the title for the world’s first road-legal teledrivable cars in car-sharing services since 2022, and telecommunication leaders Elisa and Nokia.

How does this remarkable technology work? Priit Haljak, co-founder and CTO of Elmo, explains: “Elmo develops teledriving technology by equipping cars with multiple cameras and a custom controller for remote driving. With two years of experience in heavy traffic worldwide, our technology is mature. We are proud to be working with global players like Nokia and Elisa.”

Navigating crowded areas presents significant challenges. Network issues and peak time overload can degrade video quality, making it difficult for remote drivers to clearly see the road, surroundings, and traffic signals, thus ensuring the highest safety.

To overcome this challenge, Elmo integrated Nokia’s Quality of Service on Demand (QoD) capability from the Network as Code platform. This capability dynamically adjusts the network to ensure connectivity for Elmo cars, guaranteeing that even during periods of high network traffic, the cars receive the high-quality video feed necessary for safe operation. Juha Saarinen, Technological Manager at Elisa, comments on Elisa’s role in today’s Proof of Concept: “For Elisa, collaboration with partners like Elmo and Nokia is fundamental, especially when it comes to proving the true value of the latest 5G technologies.”

The PoC demonstrated real-time integration and immediate improvements in video quality during network congestion. Network as Code also enables critical device status and network insights, offering valuable information about device connectivity and potential network issues.

Additionally, Nokia’s Network as Code (NaC) serves as an aggregator, allowing for the seamless management of connections through a single interface, regardless of the network provider or country.

Want to know more? Check out this video!

Experience the future of programmable networks with Nokia’s Network as Code. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

About Shkumbin Hamiti

Shkumbin is a twenty-five-year Nokia veteran based in Espoo. His distinguished career with Nokia includes  successful track record of spearheading, leading, developing and influencing some of most significant developments within the mobile industry. Shkumbin held key technology leadership positions in standardization, ecosystem development, devices, GTM partnerships, and business line management. He is named as inventor in 12 granted patents and author of several technical publications. He is currently heading Nokia’s Network Monetization Platform Business Unit helping industry to unleash the power of 5G networks.
Born in Prishtina, Kosovo, Shkumbin studied in Zagreb, Croatia and after a brief time in Bangkok, Thailand he moved to Finland where he has lived since 1996. Married with two teenage sons, he is passionate about aviation and enjoys playing chess.

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