CASSI Debuts as Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Self-Driving Shuttle

By Kathy Newbern & J.S. Fletcher
May 19, 2021

OBX fans, take note: a new transportation experience has arrived, and the opportunity is short.

July 16 is the last day to see the first electric, self-driving transit shuttle in a U.S. national park. The setting feels fitting: this autonomous test is happening at Wright Brothers National Memorial, a place already known for a milestone in transportation history.

Soon after CASSI made her debut, we climbed aboard. The name stands for Connected Autonomous Shuttle Supporting Innovation. Although CASSI drives herself, a human operator rides along and can take manual control to stop the 12 mile-per-hour trip. The shuttle follows a one-mile fixed route running from the visitor’s center to the rear side of Kill Devil Hill, where the 1932, iconic 60-foot granite monument to flight stands. CASSI stops on the road below Kill Devil Hill rather than traveling up to the summit.

At that stop, riders may get off and reach the 2003 centennial memorial sculpture. The artwork includes a full-scale bronze version of the Wright Brothers’ aircraft and the seven people present for the Dec. 7, 1903 moment in history. Created by NC Sculptor Steven H. Smith, the piece recreates the instant captured in the famous first-flight photograph. The installation was placed there for the 100th celebration, an event attended by 120,000-plus people.

A one-way segment on CASSI takes about seven minutes. With only six seats available, visitors should be prepared for possible waits as pleasant weather brings more people to the site. CASSI’s almost three-month test run will check for safety while gauging the public’s reaction, plus gather scientific data.

CASSI was developed by EasyMile, a Toulouse, France company that produces shuttles for moving passengers and cargo. At Wright Brothers National Memorial, the $50,000 per month operating cost is funded through a partnership between the NPS and the NC Department of Transportation.

The article includes a humorous comment from the onboard stand-by driver, who came from New Orleans and has 40 years of experience teaching others to operate buses and street care vehicles. His remarks describe the contrast between his traditional transit background and the experience of working inside an autonomous shuttle, along with his enjoyment of the assignment.

The operator described CASSI’s technical setup: two 48-volt lithium batteries power GPS and electronics, and a 12-volt car battery is also used. Before public operation, the route was mapped by GPS. Real-time information is drawn from 20-or-more satellites. A locational LiDAR system, short for Light-Detection and Ranging, serves as the central sensing system for self-driving by giving CASSI a 360-degree view of the area around her. As it rotates constantly, LiDAR emits thousands of laser pulses every second. Those pulses strike surrounding objects and return, allowing CASSI to notice not just a vehicle or pedestrian in her path, but even a bird passing through. Orville and Wilbur changed transportation history with their experiment; CASSI is traveling along a path shaped by that legacy.

Categories

• History & Heritage

Tags

• Kill Devil Hills

Author

Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher are a husband-wife writing team from Raleigh, NC. Since 1994, they have worked as freelance travel writers with a focus on romance, luxury, spas and cruising. Their travels include 76 countries, 81 cruises and every continent. They first met and fell in love on the Outer Banks, later married here, and launched their personalized romance novel company, YourNovel.com, here in 1992. One fitting title that lets any couple appear together is Love’s Bounty: An Outer Banks Romance.