Elmo, who is the world’s first street legal teledriving technology developr whose technology is used in car-sharing services since 2022, has made history in the field of teledriving. For the first time, a passanger car was teledriven between countries and on snowy roads, with Elmo’s technology controlling a teledrivable car in Tallinn, Estonia, from the capital city of Lithuania, Vilnius. During the journey, which lasted over half an hour, there were no communication interruptions or technological setbacks. 

“Many of our potential customers have inquired about international teledriving, and it is gratifying to see that our technology works flawlessly. From a technological perspective, our system operated with the same latency and quality 600 km away as it does when in the same city,” rejoices Elmo’s founder and CEO, Enn Laansoo, Jr. “From Elmo’s perspective, it is important to demonstrate that our technology, developed for 4G, actually functions over such distances, and through valuable experience, we have practically proven this.” 

“After our initial meeting at last year’s Toulouse ITS Congress, I invited the Elmo team to our Transport Innovation Forum in Vilnius this year, and it was surprising to see the progress in the meantime. We are proud that Lithuania was involved in this historic event in the remote control sector,” said Asta Kazlauskienė, the Strategic Partnership Manager at the Lithuanian Transport Innovation Association. “Lithuania is a very good place for testing innovative teledriving and autonomous technologies, and through practical demonstration, we were able to introduce the wide potential of teledriving to logistics and transport entrepreneurs during the forum.” 

The teledriving of a car on the roads of Tallinn, Estonia, from the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, took place during the Transport Innovation Forum on November 23-24. Elmo was recognized by the forum’s jury as the technology company with the greatest potential. It is also noteworthy from a technological standpoint that, in addition to the car being on a 4G network, the remote operator’s workspace in Vilnius was connected to a 4G network (meaning both ends had a 4G connection), which is typically connected to a more stable and faster wired connection. Legislation for cross-border teledriving still needs further development. 

To date, Elmo has teledriven its technology and gained valuable experience in nine countries (including the USA), over 25 cities, obtained street driving permits in three countries, and operates daily teledriving services on public roads in Estonia and Finland.  Elmo is an Estonian company specializing in the development of innovative deep-tech technology for teledrivable cars (see elmoremote.com). In 2022, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to introduce its street-legal teledrivable cars and certified teledrivers into real car-sharing services. Elmo’s teledrivable car has been driven and showcased for licensing purposes on the streets of major cities such as Paris, Munich, Hannover, Hamburg, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Vilnius, Los Angeles, and others.

Estonian deep-tech developer Elmo, which introduced teledriving technology as a service globally last year, has received approval from the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport to commence teledriving on public roads in Lithuania. As part of the “Transport Innovation Forum,” Elmo is testing teledriving from Vilnius with a car located in Estonia. This makes Lithuania the third country to accept Elmo’s street-legal teledriven car.

“While autonomous technologies and vehicles have garnered significant attention and reshaped laws for their introduction to the streets, teledriving, ready for market use today, is gaining attention rapidly. It’s gratifying to see that Elmo has gained trust with its practical experience, and our functional technology is finding favor with both regulators and customers,” said Elmo’s founder and CEO, Enn Laansoo Jr.

In May of last year, Elmo introduced its teledriven car at the European ITS Congress in Toulouse and received an invitation to participate in the largest transport and logistics conference in the Baltic States, the “Transport Innovation Forum 2023,” held in Vilnius. Over the past year, teledriving and its technology have gained swift attention globally, even amid the rise of autonomous driving technologies. Elmo’s second-generation technology has secured street approval, accumulating over a year of service and driving on public streets.

“We have valuable experience and confidence to test cross-border teledriving at speeds exceeding 40 km/h. If the testing is successful and we accumulate sufficient kilometers, we are prepared to apply for a permit to drive without a safety driver,” added Laansoo Jr.

To date, Elmo has remotely operated its technology and gained valuable experience in 8 countries (including the USA) and over 25 cities. The company holds street-driving permits and operates its teledriving doorstep delivery service daily on public roads in Estonia and Finland. Simultaneously, Elmo is negotiating with several major cities with the goal of starting teledriving car services in at least three different countries in 2023.

In 2022, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to introduce its street-legal teledriven cars and certified teledrivers from the Estonian Transport Authority into real-world car-sharing services. Elmo’s teledriven car has been driven and demonstrated to clients for technology licensing purposes in the streets of major cities such as Paris, Munich, Hanover, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Los Angeles, and others.

Elmo is an Estonian company primarily focused on developing innovative deep-tech technology for teledriven cars (see elmoremote.com) and offering environmentally friendly vehicle-sharing services (see elmorent.ee). Elmo is the first responsibly certified car rental company in Estonia.

Elmo, the Estonian company behind the world’s first road-legal teledriving technology, is proud to announce a licensing agreement with RSG International, a renowned global leader in the road safety sector and well-known for its cutting-edge research and road safety product development. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in advancing road safety technology and creating new opportunities in the field.

Elmo’s teledriving technology, which is currently in operation on public streets, has caught the attention of RSG International due to its transformative potential for the road safety sector. Under the terms of the agreement, Elmo will license its technology to RSG International, allowing for the retrofitting of teledriving technology onto RSG’s Ford F550 crash trucks. Additionally, Elmo will work on integrating new features into its teledriving station, making it more accessible for individuals with disabilities to operate the station and forging new career paths within the road safety industry.

“We have tested self-driving vehicles, but teledriving is a much more effective solution for the road safety sector, both today and in the future. When Elmo picked us up at the airport in their teledriven car and drove us to the hotel, we immediately understood that this was the company we wanted to partner with,” stated Elliot Steele, Vice President of Technology at RSG International.

RSG International’s decision to partner with Elmo follows rigorous validation and analysis of the teledriving solution’s potential for their operations. The collaboration is expected to yield strategic benefits for both organizations.

Enn Laansoo, Jr., CEO and Founder of Elmo, commented, “RSG International opens three very strategic doors for us. First is the road safety sector, where we can license our teledriving technology. The second is the Ford F550, which is a well-used platform in various other sectors. RSG will become the missing puzzle piece for our North America market strategy.”

The overarching goal of this partnership is to enhance road safety by retrofitting existing crash trucks with teledrivable technology, removing human operators from these vehicles and thereby reducing risks to human lives. Furthermore, the agreement seeks to expand the capabilities of teledrivers, creating new job functions in the modern road safety sector.

About RSG International:

RSG International is a globally recognized leader in the road safety sector, comprising a conglomerate of industry-leading road safety businesses across North America. These include B&K Enterprises, Dimensional Products, RoadBlock Solutions, Pivot Safety Products, Peninsula Construction, Powell Contracting, Summit Rentals, and more. Together, these companies cover all aspects of road safety infrastructure, including product development, distribution, installation, and traffic management.

For more information, please visit RSG International’s website.

The public launch of Elmo’s world-first road-legal teledriving technology in the Netherlands will take place at the ‘Vakbeurs Openbare Ruimte’ Expo in Utrecht on September 27 and 28. This event is a collaboration between the Estonian teledriving technology company Elmo, Dutch Automated Mobility (DAM), and Aon Netherlands. It marks the beginning of a revolution in the shared car sector in the Netherlands.

Elmo´s teledriving technology, which can be licensed by other shared car operators, will be demonstrated during the event as Elmo’s teledriven car drives outside the expo area while being controlled from inside the hall. This demonstration is for illustrative purposes, as the car can be operated from anywhere in the world by certified teledrivers. The advantage of teledriven shared cars is that they are delivered to people’s homes by a ‘teledriver,’ thus reducing the need for city parking space. Once inside, the customer takes control of the vehicle and drives to their intended destination.

Elmo is the world’s first and only company with both a road-legal teledriving technology platform and a fleet of shared cars in operation. In Estonia and Finland, teledriven shared cars are already on public roads, with 19,000 users and 140 cars in operation. Elmo’s CEO, Enn Laansoo Jr., is delighted that the first step has also been taken in the Netherlands: „This partnership represents a remarkable leap forward in the evolution of mobility and shared car delivery services in the Netherlands. Our goal is to bring Elmo’s cutting-edge technology to the forefront of convenience, and we believe teledriven shared cars will revolutionize the current rental car landscape.“

In the Netherlands, Dutch Automated Mobility now has more than five years of experience in operating autonomous and remote-controlled systems. This made it the designated implementation and realization partner for Elmo. Co-founder of Dutch Automated Mobility, Alwin Bakker, emphasizes the significance of this partnership. „This is another exciting addition to our mission of advancing autonomous and teleoperated systems in the Netherlands. Following self-driving shuttles and delivery robots, we are now collaborating with Elmo to bring teledriven shared cars to the streets of Netherlands and to the doors of Dutch customers. Our partner, Aon, will support us from the risk assessment and insurance side.”

Robert Boshouwers, co-founder of Dutch Automated Mobility adds, “This partnership means not only a leap into the future of mobility, but also a proof of the innovative spirit of our organizations. With this we will make shared cars more accessible to more people, fewer shared cars will be needed in the city and more space will be available in the urban environment.”

About Dutch Automated Mobility
Dutch Automated Mobility is a pioneer in autonomous and remote-controlled systems, specializing in shuttle buses and delivery robots. They have a strong track record of successful implementations in the Netherlands.

About Aon
Aon’s Automotive, has been providing expert risk management consulting and insurance brokerage solutions to the automotive industry for more than 100 years. The Automotive business is a priority for Aon’s management. Our dedicated team of automotive professionals includes account executives, brokers, data scientists, claims and risk control consultants.

Estonian company Elmo, the first to put teledriving technology into service in 2022, has expanded to Helsinki. As a result, Finland became the second country in Europe to have teledriving on its streets and roads.

Using teledriving technology on the streets of Helsinki has been approved by Finnish Transport and Communication Agency Traficom based on the permit provided by the Estonian Transport Administration.

“I have always liked Helsinki and its positive attitude towards start-ups. Their openness to innovative technologies is verified by the fact that the largest start-up companies are established in Scandinavia. Their activity is supported on government level, which without a doubt contributes to the success of the companies,” says Elmo’s founder and CEO Enn Laansoo Jr.

Last year, Elmo introduced its teledriving technology on the major international start-up event Slush and simultaneously carried out several successful tests on local roads, which gave the confidence to take teledriving to the streets of Helsinki.

“Elmo brings an interesting addition to the testing of new vehicle-related technology in Finland. This is the first trial of teledriving vehicle in our country. At Traficom, our task is to enable experiments and innovations related to traffic and communication,” says Reijo Jälkö, the leading expert at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.

Elmo’s goal is to find a car sharing company in Helsinki who could be provided with a licence for the teledriving technology and offered the teledriving service. Until then, residents of Helsinki can place one-click orders for the delivery of Elmo’s rental cars to their door through Elmo’s app that can be downloaded from the web page elmorent.ee. To deliver a car to the door, Elmo’s certified teledriver will take control of the nearest car through a 4G network and will drive the car to the customer’s door by the time requested.

Elmo currently operates more than 100 electric cars in Estonia, providing delivery of rental cars via teledriving to addresses requested by customers in Tallinn as well as Tartu. Helsinki is now the third city and Finland the second country within the EU to allow teledriving on public roads and in service provision. In parallel, Elmo is in negotiations with several big cities with the goal of launching the teledriving provision in at least three different countries within 2023.

In August and September, Elmo’s focus is on servicing the first pioneer customers and introducing the technology to local car sharing companies, adapting it to Helsinki’s 4G and 5G networks. The gained knowledge helps to improve the next generation of Elmo’s teledriving technology and to help secure the necessary permits for Elmo’s future partners. The more extensive launch of home delivery service is planned in autumn once a local partner has been selected and the summer holiday season has ended.

Last year, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to put road-legal teledriving and teledrivers licenced by the Estonian Transportation Administration into a real-life car sharing service. Elmo’s teledriving technology has been introduced and tested for licencing purposes to customers on the streets of Paris, Munich, Hannover, Zurich, Vienna, Los Angeles and many other big cities.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of innovative deep-tech teledriving technologies (see elmorent.ee) and the provision of an eco-friendly car sharing service. Elmo is the first car rental company in Estonia to be awarded a CSR quality label.

Additional information:
Enn Laansoo, Jr.
CEO
Elmo
enn@elmorent.ee

Elmo asutaja ja tegevjuht Enn Laansoo jr räägib Kuku raadio ajakirjanikele, kuidas Elmo kaugjuhtimistehnoloogia toimib, kuidas rendiautod kaugjuhitavalt kliendini viiakse ja kuidas saab auto kindlaks kellaajaks ukse ette tellida.

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In an exciting collaboration, the Swedish clean technology company Elonroad and Estonia’s Smart Mobility company Elmo are teaming up to develop a cutting-edge stationary charging track for electric vehicles (EVs) with the aim to transform EV charging technology and promote sustainable transportation solutions.

The Swedish cleantech company Elonroad and Estonian teledriving technology company Elmo are pleased to formally announce their entry into a Letter of Intent (LOI) to collaborate in developing an innovative stationary charging track in Tallinn, Estonia for Elmo´s electric cars fleet. This partnership will combine their expertise to enhance technology for smarter charging of electric vehicles. The two companies decided on starting collabaroation after meeting in Tallinn in early may as a part of King and queen of Sweden official visit to Tallinn.

The Estonian company Elmo has been providing the electric car sharing service since 2013, and in the last three years has focused on the development of remote control technology (teledriving), with the aim of bringing the cars to the customer, thus making the service smarter, more environmentally friendly and more convenient for the customer. Elmo is currently the only one in the world that uses remote control technology in daily service on public roads. The new autonomous charging lane for electric cars makes the service even more efficient: “In order to ensure service quality, we need to charge electric cars between scheduled trips, and the innovative autonomous charging lane to be built promises to significantly improve the process for our customers, minimize downtime and increase user satisfaction. The content of the cooperation is to build a pilot charging station, which will be installed near Elmo’s head office in Tallinn, in the Ülemiste business district.” commented Enn Laansoo Jr., the CEO and Founder of the Elmo company.

This collaboration aims to provide teledriven cars with automatic charging capabilities to ensure readiness for further deployment. Similar installations will be evaluated and developed for public spaces during this project, eventually supplying Elmo’s entire operational network with automatic charging infrastructure.

Elonroad’s CEO, Karin Ebbinghaus, highlights the mutual benefits of this alliance in enhancing electric vehicle charging infrastructure and promoting the widespread adoption of sustainable transportation solutions. It’s a perfect combination of two megatrends – electrification and shared economy. The partnership is committed to driving industry-wide growth and fostering environmental consciousness.

The development plan follows a two-step approach: executing a pilot project and, upon successful completion, transitioning to a full-scale commercialization phase. Elonroad will develop and install the charging station, utilizing their proprietary 22kW automatic charging technology and retrofitting an electricity collector on a Nissan Leaf vehicle.

Elmo’s CEO, Enn Laansoo, Jr., emphasizes autonomous charging solutions’ crucial role in remote activities. Integrating Elonroad’s technology into Elmo’s operations will contribute to emission-free urban transportation, unlock new operational possibilities, and significantly enhance overall operating efficiency.

Elmo is revolutionizing car sharing by delivering its electric rental cars remotely to customers with its innovative teledriving technology since 2022, being the first in European service. The charging station pilot with Elonroad will be the next big step in the company´s service development.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Elmo CEO
Enn Laansoo Jr.
Email: enn@elmoremote.com
Phone: +372 5216858

Elonroad CEO
Karin Ebbinghaus
Email: karin.ebbinghaus@elonroad.com
Phone number: 46 070 339 55 42

Tallinn, Estonia – Latitude59, the leading tech conference in the Baltic region, has announced that it will be the first event in the world to offer road legal teledriven transport to its visitors around the city’s public streets. The conference has partnered with Elmo, the Estonian fast scaling company behind the world’s first road legal teledriven technology development and car sharing service.
The Elmo electric cars, which are equipped with cutting-edge teledriven technology, will be available to transport visitors daily during the event at Kultuurikatel and also providing ride from conference venue to the afterparty on the 25th of May. This will not only provide a hassle-free and comfortable transportation experience but will also contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the event.

“We are thrilled to partner with Elmo to offer our visitors a sustainable and innovative transportation solution,” said Liisi Org, the CEO of Latitude59. “At Latitude59, we are committed to creating a more sustainable future, and this partnership with Elmo is one great example to that commitment.”

The teledriven technology used in the Elmo electric cars allows the vehicles to be operated remotely, enabling a safe and convenient transportation experience for passengers. The cars are also equipped with advanced safety features including collision avoidance and emergency braking systems.

“We are excited to be a part of this groundbreaking initiative with Latitude59,” said Enn Laansoo Jr., the CEO and Founder of Elmo. “Our electric cars are designed to be sustainable and environmentally friendly, and we are proud to partner with an event that shares our commitment to sustainability and better mobility options for the future.”

Elmo attended Latitude59 also last year as a promising start-up, offering teledriving experience from the on-site station and got lot of attention from the quests. It has been a turbulent year for the Estonian company with 9 months long technology road-show in EU and US and becoming the first company in the world delivering road legal teledriving e-cars to car sharing service and already servicing customers in two cities – Tallinn and Tartu.

Latitude59 is known for bringing together the brightest minds in the tech industry to explore emerging trends and share insights. With this partnership with Elmo, the conference is taking a step towards a more sustainable future while providing a unique and innovative experience for its attendees.

The 2023 edition of Latitude59 will take place on May 24-26 in Tallinn, Estonia.

Elmo is revolutionizing car sharing by delivering remotely its rental cars to customers with its own innovative teledriving technology since 2022 being the first in service in Europe.

Press contacts: 

Latitude59
Mirjam Mäesalu
mirjam@latitude59.ee

Elmo Remote
Enn Laansoo Jr.
CEO& Founder
+372 52 16 858
enn@elmoremote.com

Elmo, the world’s first company to introduce remotely controlled electric cars in a car sharing service, has raised up to 2.6 million euros from international growth capital fund and other investors to speed up the licencing of remote control technology in foreign markets, grow the team necessary for the development of next-generation technologies and to prepare new eco-sustainable remotely controlled cars and take them to public roads.

Teledriving and driverless transportation are potentially the biggest and most positive changes in the mobility sector in our generation. Global urban mobility market is in flux due to shifting consumer preferences and technological advances. City governments reduce private car ownership in urban areas, consumers seek sustainability, convenience and affordability. Car ownership is declining in favor of public transport, bicycles, car sharing clubs, and ride hailing. 

“We are happy to contribute to an Estonian technology company such as Elmo which is one of the first in the world to put remote control technology based services into daily practical use. We see remote control technologies and the related services as a necessary step in bringing fully autonomous driving technologies into our daily life in the future,” said Ragnar Meitern, head of the lead investor’s representative Highgoal Capital Management. 

Highgoal Capital Management OÜ is a technology focused small alternative funds manager with a track record of identifying and backing some of the most successful founders and companies in the mobility business, their investment portfolio including Bolt and Planet42 among others. The company has experience in in European, Middle Eastern and African markets and has offices in London and Tallinn. FlyCap is a Latvian growth capital fund that offers growth capital to medium-sized companies in Latvia and elsewhere in Europe.  Barolo Invest and SAGGIS are Estonian capital based investors. The financing transactions were counselled by KPMG Baltics and Keystone Advisers.

“It is a great recognition to the current work of our team when experienced investors are willing to contribute to our success in today’s financial climate, and a sign that Elmo’s position is strong in the fast-growing sector of remotely controlled vehicles,” said Enn Laansoo Jr., the founder and CEO of Elmo.

“Although Elmo’s greatest competitive edge has so far been the development of the technology as well as the provision of a short-term rental service in one company, we will now be able to conclude the separation of the technology and the short-term rental business into subsidiaries in order to bring aboard new investors with a more specific focus,” added Laansoo.

Last year, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to bring its road legal remotely controlled cars and drivers licenced by the Transport Administration’s into a real-life car sharing service. Remotely controlled cars have become a daily service on the streets of Tallinn as well as Tartu. For the purpose of licencing the technology, Elmo’s remotely controlled cars have been driven and introduced to customers in the streets of Paris, Munich, Hannover, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Los Angeles and many other big cities. By today, there are ongoing negotiations with more than 50 customers interested in the licensed technology and preliminary work is in process to start driving on the public roads of at least two foreign cities this summer.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of an innovative deep-tech technology for remotely controlled cars (see elmoremote.com) and the provision of eco-friendly car-sharing services (see elmorent.ee). Elmo is the first car rental company in Estonia to receive the quality label for sustainable business.

Additional information:
Enn Laansoo, Jr.
CEO
ELMO Rent AS
enn@elmorent.ee