Autonomous vehicle created in Estonia starts operating in US

TALLINN - MiCa, the latest generation autonomous vehicle created by Estonian company Auve Tech, began operating in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday evening, Estonian time.

MiCa has been issued US license plates and permission to drive on a 1.5-kilometer track in open traffic.

"West Palm Beach is proud to be the site of this pilot project that showcases innovation in solving transportation challenges," Jessica Keller, West Palm Beach’s transportation and mobility capabilities manager, said.

"The autonomous vehicles we created in Estonia are a daily occurrence in Japan, and increasingly in Europe and the Middle East. Entering the US market is a very big step for our company and the entire Estonian automotive industry," Auve Tech founder Väino Kaldoja said. "We feel a great responsibility and are working hard to ensure that similar operations continue to occur."

According to Kaldoja, it is an interesting coincidence that the first operation is just a few kilometers from the Mar-a-Lago residence of US President Donald Trump. The new solution used in the US operation is a solution from technology partner Guident, which allows autonomous vehicles to be monitored remotely in real time throughout the journey.

Auve Tech is a company based 100 percent on Estonian capital that develops Level 4 autonomous vehicles to reduce the need for personal cars. The street-legal driverless vehicles operate in both open and restricted traffic on four continents.

The first phase of operations in West Palm Beach will last three months, and anyone who wishes will be able to ride the autonomous bus.