Ridecell Inc., a carsharing and ride-hailing provider, has announced the public availability of its autonomous operation platform as well as its acquisition of Auro, a California-based developer of autonomous vehicle technology.

With these two initiatives, Ridecell now offers an autonomous mobility solution that enables on-demand autonomous shuttle mobility service in low-speed, private-road settings, according to the company.

Ridecell’s autonomous operations platform has been used in autonomous pilot programs. The platform is designed to automate vehicle and operations management for autonomous fleets. It can direct autonomous vehicles to operations depots for maintenance and route support vehicles to the autonomous vehicle for routine operational tasks such as cleaning as well as on-demand assistance in exceptional situations, according to Ridecell.

The Auro acquisition will bring expertise to accelerate the Ridecell autonomous operations platform, according to the company. The Auro team will become the Ridecell Autonomous Driving Division. Ridecell will be able to test its autonomous operations platform in real-world environments through integration of Auro-enabled driverless shuttles in private road environments.

"The Auro acquisition and the launch of our autonomous operations platform represent the next phase of our strategy to provide a complete autonomous solution for Ridecell customers," said Aarjav Trivedi, CEO of Ridecell. "We can now provide even more value for our autonomous customers and help mobility operators launch new carsharing, ridesharing, and on-demand shuttle services today that will accommodate the addition of autonomous vehicles without the need to change the underlying platform. The acquisition makes it possible to launch a proven autonomous shuttle service today in settings such as corporate and college campuses."

Auro's autonomous technology provides a self-driving platform for low speed deployments. Auro partners with shuttle manufacturers to add self-driving capabilities to shuttle and neighborhood electric vehicle platforms. These shuttles drive people around within campuses, theme parks, resorts, business parks, and retirement communities.

"The technology behind Auro-enabled driverless shuttles, together with the Ridecell on-demand mobility platform, will help campuses and other private environments prove that autonomy can be an integral part of an urban transportation experience today rather than just a short, fixed-route showcase," said Nalin Gupta, CEO of Auro. "We are excited to join forces with Ridecell to make even bigger strides in autonomous new mobility."