Go X is unleashing 100 self-driving scooters on a large Georgia business park

Here at Roadshow we spend a lot of time thinking about the future – especially what the future will look like when the promise of autonomous transportation has become a reality. Many large and small companies have invested huge sums of money to be the first to find out. The youngest company is a small company in Georgia. The company, named Go X, starts its self-driving scooter test fleet on Wednesday in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, where 100 of these scooters are offered for public use (and possible rebellions against their creators, we suspect).

The self-propelled scooter Go X is mostly a fairly normal electric scooter, as you get it from Bird, Lime, Uber or Lyft. Only these scooters have a few additional things screwed on so that they can drive around without a human being. To stay upright without leaning on a stand, the scooter sprouts two small, non-powered support wheels. From there we can make some more educated guesses based on the company’s promotional video above.

One of the most famous additions to the standard scooter is the motor, which is mounted on the underside of the riser for the handlebars and allows the front wheel to turn by itself. Next up is a hastily 3D printed box that faces forward and sits directly under the handlebar. For security reasons, this seems to contain a camera and some indicators. The camera’s feed is then sent through software developed by Go X’s partner Tortoise, and magic happens – or at least it should. Based on previous interviews With representatives from Tortoise, the scooters will operate autonomously, but can also be remotely controlled by people who monitor their progress if something goes wrong.

In any case, when the driver is finished with his scooter, he tries to navigate back to a staffed loading area in which a Go X employee searches for damage and disinfects each scooter.

The co-founder of Go X sees this program not only as an opportunity to find scooters more easily for customers, but also a historically much more important one.

“This is a very monumental moment in history,” said Alexander Debelov, co-founder of Go X, in a statement. “Just like the first plane flight, this launch offers an insight into the future of what’s possible: The day when self-driving scooters are not an illusion, but an absolute reality.”

That may sound ambitious, but it will be interesting to see how successful the process is and whether it can expand beyond the Peachtree Corners Georgia Technology Park. Or, you know, when the scooters decide they have enough, turn on their handlers and roam the streets in ominous-looking packs. Either … or.

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