IBI Group One of Four Finalists in NYC Driverless Future Competition
Global design and technology firm, IBI Group has been shortlisted from a group of more than 200 participants from 25 countries, to be one of four finalists in NYC’s Driverless Future Competition — a challenge to shape the impact of autonomous transportation in partnership with the City of New York. The challenge was a call for proposals that will actively influence the city’s response to driverless cars. A team of IBI Group transportation specialists, software developers and architectural designers from across five offices in the U.S. and Canada developed the concept for sAVe, a community-supported, mobility-as-a-service platform that offers multi-modal ridesharing services, including automated vehicles as they become available. Members of the team will pitch their concept to NYC government officials and private-sector mobility leaders, including Uber and Mercedes-Benz, on July 11 at a special edition of the monthly NY Tech Meetup, where the winner will be announced live.
“When we heard about the competition, we knew it was the perfect fit for us. We released a report earlier this year around driverless cars and cities, as part of IBI TH!NK’s Pocket R&D initiative, and we were well positioned to take our research to the next level by developing an actionable solution,” said Oliver Hartleben, IBI TH!NK Coordinator. “The assignment needed an interdisciplinary approach and we were able to leverage the expertise of young professionals from across the firm to produce a solution we are all very proud of.” IBI TH!NK is a network of passionate individuals within the firm that transcend professional, geographical and age boundaries to produce solutions for actual urban problems.
As a finalist, IBI Group will receive a one-year flex membership to New Lab — an interdisciplinary space in the vibrant Brooklyn Navy Yard designed to support entrepreneurs working in emerging technologies. Here, team members will be able to realize their proposal, supported by the larger IBI TH!NK network. The July 11th pitch offers finalists the opportunity to present their concept to an expert panel of top government officials, leading technologists and venture capitalists, in front of hundreds of public attendees; essentially a “shark tank” for designers and innovators. The event will be streamed live, and the winning team will receive a $2,500 cash prize.
