Robotic Research

Robotic Research develops self-driving solutions primarily catering to the defense sector. Its commercial division RR.AI focuses on providing autonomous driving solutions for passenger buses, commercial trucks, drayage, and other logistics vehicles. According to the company, it uses uncommon sensor systems in its autonomy stack, including stereo and structure for motion, and a range imaging method for approximating 3D forms from 2D sequences. The company has its testing facilities in Gaithersburg and Clarksburg, Maryland.

Key customers and partnerships

RR.AI also has product collaborations with transit bus manufacturers such as New Flyer of America (May 2019; unveiled product in January 2021) and Gilling (January 2022) to integrate its autonomous tech with the bodies of the vehicles. 

As of December 2021, RR.AI had integrated its autonomous driving technology “AutoDrive,” in about 150 on-road heavy-duty transit buses, Class 8 trucks, and yard trucks across the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, and Saudi Arabia. In relation to transit buses, the company won a contract with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) in June 2020 to deploy three autonomous buses with Level 4 autonomy (i.e., fully autonomous vehicles limited to specific locations and/or conditions) but with a driver on board. It was also selected by Port Authority New York New Jersey in November 2019, to introduce autonomous buses in a pilot program that ran through May 2021.

Funding and Financials

In December 2021, the company raised USD 228 million in a Series A funding round, which the company intended to utilize for product development and to further expand its RR.AI division. It also received an undisclosed amount of funds from Oshkosh Corporation, a manufacturer of specialty and access equipment, in May 2022, and announced a strategic partnership with the same.

Key competitors: None comparable (Robotic Research is the only company with more focus on self-driving transit buses)