![Vay begins remotely operated drives in Las Vegas without a human present [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Vay-Las-Vegas-Driverless.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Vay begins remotely operated drives in Las Vegas without a human present [Video]
Six months after sharing initial plans to expand to the US and begin remotely operated journeys in Las Vegas, Vay has successfully driven its teledrive vehicles on public roads in Sin City without a human present inside. Check out the video below.
Vay is a teledriving specialist originally based in Berlin, Germany that has taken a remote-first approach to “driverless” vehicles, in which an operator operates an EV in its fleet from a dedicated hub.
While Vay hopes to one day introduce more autonomous driving functions into its system as permitted, its current service relies on teledrivers, whose focus is the remote delivery of rental EVs to customers. The process enables customers to hop in a delivered EV, drive off, and park whenever they are done, alerting Vay to step back in and remotely drive the vehicle back to base.
After operating its first vehicle without a driver present in Hamburg this past February, Vay declared itself the first and only company to do so on European roads. This past May, Vay followed up with plans to operate in the US, which led to its first teledriver hire in Las Vegas in May.
Vay’s initial US teledriver completed a thorough training program via the company’s teledrive academy, becoming the first of hopefully many future drivers to operate out of the company’s new Las Vegas headquarters.
Today, Vay is celebrating another key milestone, beginning teledriver operated routes on public roads in Las Vegas for the first time, joining a US competitor that’s been offering a similar service.
Vay joins Halo.car in Las Vegas with remote EV drives
With the commencement of operations in Las Vegas, Vay has become the first teledriver specialist to operate on public roads on two separate continents. That said, Vay is not the first company to operate vehicles in the US… or Las Vegas for that matter… without a human inside.
Fellow teledriving specialist Halo.car has been operating “driverless” rides from its remote hub in Las Vegas since June. Still, another teledriving service in the US is welcomed and represents a viable bridge in the gap between in-cabin drivers and fully-autonomous travel, which still appears years away.
To reach today’s driving milestone, Vay says its teledriver technology went through a thorough development and validation process to ensure it met all industry standards to allow for
safe operation on public roads. Vay co-founder and chief technology officer, Fabrizio Scelsi elaborated:
At Vay, we don’t just say ‘Safety First’ – we live it. We implement safety and security by
design, considering this as an essential part of our development process starting from
day one.” Vay follows key safety standards, including those for vehicle safety, functional
safety (ISO 26262), and cybersecurity (ISO 21434). TÜV Süd, an independent third-party for testing, certification, auditing and advisory services, has tested and positively endorsed Vay’s technology in accordance with these high safety standards.
With Las Vegas operations now underway, Vay aims to offer a safe, sustainable, door-to-door vehicle deliveries via its app. Vegas locals interested in testing out Vay’s service can request early access by subscribing to a waiting list.
Check out Vay’s video of the remotely operated EV navigating Las Vegas roads with no one inside below:
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British Columbia got its first 400 kW DC fast charger last week at Canadian C-store chain On The Run, but that’s not the good part. As part of a limited time offer, these chargers are FREE!
The Canadian convenience store chain just took the wraps off its new, ABB-developed, 400 kW chargers earlier this month, but they’re already planning to bring the ultra-fast 400 kW dispensers to at least four more locations in BC this spring, and have them online just in time for the summer road trip season – something On The Run hopes its customers will appreciate.
“The A400 charger delivers an enhanced customer experience, with reliability and performance from a 32-inch screen to higher power charging sessions and power sharing,” reads the company’s official announcement, via LinkedIn. “Download the Journie Rewards app to start the charge – free for a limited time.”
On The Run’s new 400 kW ABB DC fast chargers are compatible with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs, and can accommodate Tesla and other NACS-equipped vehicles with an adapter. That said, the company seems to imply that Tesla drivers in particular will have a maximum charging speed of “just” 50 kW, which feel hilarious (given the current state of affairs between Tesla and the Canadian government), but probably isn’t.
In addition to the ABB A400 400 kW units shown here, On The Run locations also employ the ABB Terra 184 dispensers rated at 180 kW. On The Run plans similar deployments at the four BC locations mentioned above, as well as two more each in Quebec and Ontario slated to go live towards the end of this year.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla’s controversial CEO Elon Musk once mocked 350 kW charging speed as being “for a child’s toy,” despite the fact that, nearly nine years later, his own cars and Superchargers can barely make it to 325 kW while others have sailed right on past. I made fun of that fact on the Quick Charge episode shown, above – and, while I do think it’s funny and relevant, the much more relevant piece of news here is that companies like BP Pulse, Revel, and Wallbox are actively deploying 400 kW solutions, today (while others hit the same mark as far back as 2017).
It’s just a fact: Tesla has fallen way behind.
SOURCE | IMAGES: On The Run, via Electric Autonomy.
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Terawatt Infrastructure‘s first medium- and heavy-duty electric charging truck stop in California is now online, in Rancho Dominguez.
Located 12 miles north of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the private Rancho Dominguez site, which is shared among multiple fleets, will support electric trucking fleet operations in and out of the largest container ports in the US.
First customers include Dreaded Trucking, Hight Logistics, PepsiCo, Quick Container Drayage, Southern Counties Express, Tradelink Transport, and WestCoast Trucking & Warehousing.
Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system. Terawatt’s site features a proprietary charge management system, in-house technicians, 24/7 customer service, and onsite parts management.
“This launch underscores growing collaboration between enterprises, shippers, carriers, and charging infrastructure providers to advance sustainable technologies across logistics and transportation operations, especially in the medium and heavy-duty sectors,” said Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt. Palmer added that the company will bring another charging site online in Rialto, California, in June.
Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers in September 2024 to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.” Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.
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In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.
Norwegian developer Equinor announced yesterday that it received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering Empire Wind 1 to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted this tweet yesterday:
Burgum gave no indication of what insufficiencies there were in the approval process for the fully permitted offshore wind project, despite Trump’s recent declaration of a national energy emergency that speeds up permitting processes.
The commercial lease for the 810-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1’s federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. It was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction in 2024.
The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Empire Wind 1, which was due to come online in 2027, has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”
As Electrek reported, Equinor secured $3 billion to finance Empire Wind 1 in January. The total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility as of March 31 was around $1.5 billion.
As of March 31, Empire Wind has a gross book value of around $2.5 billion, including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (pictured above), which was expected to become the US’s largest dedicated port facility for offshore wind.
In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement:
Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them. Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.
As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.
Equinor says it’s considering appealing BOEM’s order.
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