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 6^th, 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 1^st, 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.