Local Motors, an Arizona-based company known for creating the first 3D-printed car, is partnering with UNLV to develop technology for autonomous vehicles. As part of the research announced Tuesday, the university’s Drones and Autonomous Systems Lab will rig a Local Motors vehicle with sensors that they hope will enable a robot to operate the 3D-printed vehicle.
Local Motors first received a flurry of attention earlier this year when it unveiled an electric car, the Strati, that was 3D-printed in 44 hours. The company uses a manufacturing approach whereby cars are built in microfactories, shops that are part factory, part showroom and part dealership. The goal is to use industrial 3D printing to localize the production of vehicles. Although its headquarters is in Phoenix, Local Motors has a facility in downtown Las Vegas.
According to a press statement, Local Motors has already delivered a test vehicle to UNLV’s lab.
The collaboration includes the University of Michigan and Arizona State. Local Motors expects to deliver versions of its highway-capable car throughout the next year. “This partnership with UNLV is an example of how Local Motors is using the power of co-creation to advance vehicle technology,” Corey Clothier, who leads the development team for Local Motors' automated vehicles, said in the announcement. “We will begin selling the world’s first 3D-printed car next year, and we’re excited for UNLV to be a piece of automotive history.”
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