Overall Project

What is the AvCo project?

The goal of AvCo is to deploy the nation’s largest fleet of all-electric, highly-automated shuttles and meet long-standing mobility needs with new micro transit services in three cities across Colorado. The project is designed to advance an Autonomous, Connected, Electric, and Shared (ACES) mobility future to improve the safety, efficiency, and environmental impact of our transportation system.

What does AvCo mean?

AvCo stands for “Autonomous Vehicles Colorado”. The “AV” portion of the name represents the transit and technology aspects of the project while “CO” refers to the deployment state as well as the “co”llaborative ecosystem of partners who worked together to make it happen.

Where is the AvCo Project?

There are three different AvCo deployment sites: the City of Golden, the City of Greenwood Village, and the City of Colorado Springs. Each city demonstrates the technology in different use cases to serve an unmet mobility need in their community.

Service

Where can I ride one of the autonomous shuttles in the AvCo program?

There are no shuttles currently deployed as part of the AvCo project. AvCo is working to operate in three different cities in Colorado: Golden, Greenwood Village, and Colorado Springs starting at various times. The Golden’s Mines Rover project has concluded. The service in other cities will begin at different times yet to be announced.

Are these services integrated into other transit systems?

All shuttles are free and operate as a fixed-schedule transit service. The shuttles stop at every designated stop along pre-programmed routes. The services in Greenwood Village and Colorado Springs are designed to be integrated with other transit services, including light rail and bus services.

Where and when will the routes in Golden run?

Shuttles were deployed across 3 routes in August 2021.

How were the routes in Golden determined?

The routes were determined based on key origin and destination points downtown and on campus, as well as optimal operating conditions for the autonomous shuttle. Route selection involved representatives from the Colorado School of Mines, City of Golden, EasyMile, and many other project stakeholders.

Is the service fully accessible?

Yes. For those who may have mobility challenges, an automated ramp and onboard ambassador is available to assist in boarding. The shuttle can be configured with automatic audio and visual stop announcements as well.

How many people can it carry?

The EZ10s, which were used in the Golden project can carry up to 6 people not including the Customer Service Ambassador. Other future deployments may involve other vehicles with different capacities.

Vehicle and Technology

What is an autonomous vehicle?

Autonomous vehicles are operated by automated driving systems that rely upon sensors such as LIDAR, and other technology to “drive” the vehicle with little or no human input. There are different levels of automation, and many new vehicles today use lower levels of automation (SAE level 0-2) to perform certain parts of the driving task, which are known as advanced driver assistance systems (i.e. adaptive cruise control). However, highly autonomous vehicles (SAE levels 3-5) use advanced technology and complex algorithms to navigate in a predefined environment, using various elements in the environment to know exactly where they are, where they are going, and what obstacles could be interfering. The vehicle being used for the AvCo project is the EZ10, a level 4 driverless shuttle developed by EasyMile capable of operating all driving tasks without a human, within certain environmental constraints.

How does autonomous vehicle technology work?

EZ10 vehicles are designed around a suite of instruments that constantly and completely monitor the vehicle’s environment and orientation within that environment. These instruments include LIDAR sensors - LIDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging - which use laser pulses to build a 3D model of the EZ10s environment.

Essentially, LIDAR sensors help autonomous vehicles “see” other objects, including cars, pedestrians, and cyclists. This technology operates with extreme speed and accuracy, providing a complete 360 degree view around the vehicle with very precise measurements to all objects, obstacles, and landmarks within an established radius. The EZ10 uses a variety of different LIDAR sensors, some of which are tuned for obstacle detection and others that are better suited for landmark recognition and localization.

Working with the LIDAR sensors, the EZ10 also uses finely adjusted GPS data and measurements of vehicle accelerations and distances to determine its exact location and orientation - known as “localization”. Because all the data from the EasyMile sensors works together, there is high visibility around the vehicle with overlapping ranges. Also, distances to objects are agreed upon by LIDAR readings and algorithms - this clever combination allows instantaneous calculations to be made relating to the vehicle position based on real-time data from the GPS, odometer, and accelerometer.

The LIDARSlidars can detect objects up to 600 feet from the front of the vehicle.

What are the key features of the EZ10 transit vehicles that were used in Golden?

How are the vehicles powered?

The vehicles are powered by four 48V lithium-ion batteries for a total of 30 kWh of electric energy. 

The vehicles charge nightly using level 2 VersiCharge AC Units donated by manufacturer and project partner, Siemens. The battery will typically last for 8 - 12 hours on a single charge. The variance depends on the specific power utilization from heat, air conditioning, or other factors. It takes the battery 6 hours to return to full charge.

Are the vehicle operations impacted by weather conditions?

These vehicles can operate in a wide variety of weather conditions (hot, cold, dry, humid); they have been deployed in over 30 countries, including within the Arctic Circle, Dubai, and Canada. The service can operate in light to moderate weather conditions. Heavy rain and snow can be detected and interpreted as an obstacle by the numerous sensors on the vehicles, which can impact service availability (but does not present any safety concerns). The operating status will be determined based on the severity of the weather.

Safety

Is the vehicle safe?

EasyMile’s commitment to product and system safety is at the heart of all EasyMile activities. Details regarding EasyMile’s approach to safety and how it is embedded in all aspects of the vehicle’s design, deployment, and operational processes can be found in the company’s Voluntary Safety Self Assessment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found here.

Will the shuttle run in street traffic?

Yes. The shuttle only operates on pre-approved public and private roads that are aligned with the vehicle’s “operational design domain,” which reflects the current state of the autonomous technology. This project is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The shuttle operates more slowly than my car. Can I pass the shuttle in my vehicle?

If you must pass the shuttles, drivers should follow all applicable federal, state, and local traffic statutes and regulations.

How are passengers secured in the vehicle?

All passengers, except for the trained Customer Service Ambassador, must remain seated and wear buckled seat belts for the duration of the shuttle route.

Is anyone driving the shuttle?

The shuttles are programmed to drive themselves along a pre-programmed route. The shuttles all operate with a Customer Service Ambassador who is available to answer questions, monitor the shuttle’s travel and manually navigate the shuttle if necessary. Customer Service Ambassadors undergo specialized training to safely operate the shuttle. The training is proprietary and not available to the general public.

Partners

Who are the AvCo partners and what are their roles?

AvCo is the result of a unique partnership model involving multiple stakeholders essential to the program’s success, with major technology providers and consultants, including EasyMile, Siemens, Stantec, Panasonic, and HxGN SmartNet; several governments and supporting organizations, including Colorado School of Mines, City of Golden, City of Colorado Springs, City of Greenwood Village, Denver South, Colorado Department of Transportation; and the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, which is working to coordinate all stakeholders and project resources. For a full list of partners and sponsors, please visit the Partners/Sponsors page. Interested in partnering, contact tyler@coloradosmart.city.