CloudBoxx from INVERS powers UK’s first teleoperated carsharing service Fetch
Convenience and an excellent user experience is at the heart of teleoperated carsharing: Users select and book a car through an app and get it delivered without a driver to their doorstep. To guarantee a smooth digital rental process, Imperium Drive, the operator of Fetch, the UK’s first teleoperated carsharing service, relies on the CloudBoxx from Invers for connectivity, vehicle data and rental commands. The market-leading telematics solution enables keyless car access, guarantees high reliability, and provides comprehensive data and commands for automated rental processes.
Siegen/London, September 6th, 2023 – When launching Fetch, the UK’s first driverless car hire service for urban mobility, British tech start-up Imperium Drive chose the CloudBoxx from Invers as a connectivity solution that provides keyless access to their hired cars. The service allows users to summon a vehicle with a smartphone app. The car is then driven remotely by an operator to the user’s doorstep where it arrives completely driverless. Once the car is delivered, the user unlocks the car and drives to their destination. When finished, the user pulls over, ends the ride on the app and walks away. The operator takes over control and drives the car remotely to the next customer or to the nearest parking base.
“It’s driverless but not autonomous, yet”, says Koosha Kaveh, CEO at Imperium Drive “There’s still a human involved, but they’re sitting in a control center piloting the vehicle in the same way you would a drone.” Imperium Drive has made its Fetch system available to the public in Milton Keynes, UK, where the company claims it’s successfully driven for over 1,000 miles without a single collision during an 18-month trial period. The drivers remotely operating the hired cars have a 360-degree view of the roads using a combination of cameras built into the vehicle, and computer-vision algorithms that detect traffic signs, obstacles and any other sources for dangerous situations nearby. The setup resembles ones used by gamers who specialize in racing simulators, featuring a cockpit-like gaming chair, four monitor displays, and driving peripherals like a steering wheel. “Remotely controlling vehicles through public streets and delivering them to car-sharing service customers will have significant impact on the industry, solving challenges like fleet balancing and density issues when expanding operations to suburban or remote places,” says Alexander Kirn, CEO of Invers. “Following our focus on constantly improving tech solutions for carsharing services, it is very exciting for us at Invers to be part of the first commercial solution for teleoperated carsharing, launched by Imperium Drive in the UK.”
When designing and developing their service, Imperium Drive tested three different telematics systems before choosing CloudBoxx as its solution for their automated rental process. Extensive testing proved it to be very reliable, easy to install and supported by very professional customer service. Following an 18-month trial period, the service started in Milton Keynes on June 1st, 2023. The team at Imperium Drive is now looking at expanding the Fetch business across the UK as well as getting it started in North America soon.
About Invers
Invers, inventor of automated vehicle sharing, enables mobility service providers to launch, operate and scale their offerings with integrated hardware and software solutions specifically designed for developers of shared mobility services. As the world’s first shared mobility technology company, Invers is developing and reliably maintaining the fundamental building blocks at scale to offer its customers cost-efficient and easily implementable tech solutions.
The company acts as an independent and reliable partner for operators of services such as car sharing, scooter sharing, ride pooling and car rental with the vision to make the use of shared vehicles more convenient and affordable than ownership. Customers include Share Now, Clevershuttle, Miles, imove, Carify, Getaround, imove, Flinkster, TIER and Emmy. The company was founded in 1993 and has locations in Siegen, Cologne and Vancouver. The development takes place entirely in Germany.
Related Posts
Car Sharing, Shared Mobility, Technology
Connected Cars in Shared Mobility – A Future Vision for 2035
By 2030, up to 95% of new vehicles sold worldwide will be connected cars - meaning they will be able to communicate with external devices. In this article, we dive into four car sharing use cases to discover how technology might change our mobility behavior in the future.
Car Sharing, Expert Interviews, Shared Mobility
Insights Interview on Car Sharing in South Korea
We interviewed Jieun Choi, Head of Marketing Department of G car, about the history of the South Korean market, synergies to other mobility markets, the South Korean regulatory framework and the future of car sharing in South Korea.
Car Sharing, Shared Mobility
12 European Car Sharing Associations and Networks: An Overview
Over the years, several car sharing associations and networks have emerged across Europe. Their goal: Helping operators in their country to grow their business. Here is a list of 12 important addresses you need to know.