Five Navarre entities manufacture an autonomous vehicle to transport people in closed circuits

The project was selected in the call for Strategic R&D Projects of the Government of Navarra with a grant of 1.7 million euros.

The VELETA project, led by the Navarrese company Tecnacar, has developed an electric vehicle (zero emissions), autonomous, connected and long-distance to travel on routes marked in advance. It is a prototype whose objective is that the vehicle itself can move around a closed circuit transporting people and goods without the need of a driver.

The project has been carried out by a consortium led by the company Tecnacar, with the participation of the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), the Automotive and Mechatronics Technology Center NAITEC and the companies Permagsa and I3code. The aim of this project was to respond to the need that exists in the transport of people and goods in confined areas such as airports, vacation resorts or industrial environments, places with a large influx of people that usually demand repetitive routes.

Throughout the last 3 years, the project has led to the development of a safety and automated system that is capable of making the vehicles move without the need of a driver. In this way, the vehicle achieves greater control and better prevention systems than those that can be provided by human driving. This system can not only be applied to the prototype of the VELETA project, but can also be implemented in other vehicles, which increases its commercialization possibilities.

The project received a grant of 1.7 million euros through the call for Strategic R&D Projects of the Government of Navarra. This call seeks to promote R&D projects considered to have a high impact as they are aligned with the sectors identified in the Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS4) of Navarra.