Piaggio Fast Forward Granted New U.S. Patent

BOSTON, Sept. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF), the Boston-based robotics company and a leader in smart following technology, announced that the company has been awarded patent number 11,112,807 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent, titled "METHOD FOR DETERMINING SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE BEHAVIOR MODELS..." adds to PFF's robust intellectual property portfolio, and is focused on the proprietary design of robot behavior specifications. PFF develops self-driving machine software and hardware for use in dynamic and unmapped built environments. The company combines in-depth knowledge of the outdoor and indoor built environment with a unique library of behaviors designed through millimeter accurate observation of how people move with one another through the world, from sidewalk etiquette to entering and exiting buildings with one another and beyond. PFF holds 44 patents ranging from wheel designs, to robot designs, to behavior models.

The patent was developed and co-authored by the members of the PFF technology and design teams. The company is at the forefront of the future of pedestrian mobility with the development of two-wheeled, non-autonomous products at the start. Some of what PFF is developing will create autonomous behaviors that compliment the non-autonomous robot/device/vehicle. To accomplish this, PFF observes people, analyzes data and designs behaviors for following robots interacting with leaders and bystanders in pedestrian environments ultimately making a seamless experience between humans and robots.

PFF 's best in class following technology that pairs with a person by reliably detecting people, follows them indoors and outdoors using a fused sensor array using RGB and stereo depth mapping cameras and 4D radar.  In 2019 the company debuted gita®, a two-wheeled cargo carrying following robot designed with pedestrian etiquette in mind. The gita robot uses machine vision to follow its leader and is designed to match human behaviors like walking speed, maneuverability, and travel distances with all interactions such as pairing, following, unpairing and parking being done with the touch of a button. Because most of the built environment is constantly changing and is unmapped, PFF focuses on these spaces and presently has robots following human leaders across the United States without the need for telepresence joystick operation.

"The knowledge of understanding how people move is the foundation of our mission. Piaggio Fast Forward's approach is to understand pedestrian etiquette and design machines that share this understanding. We continuously work to better innovate in order to provide the leadership for the complex interactions between humans and machines moving together in pedestrian environments," commented Mitchell Weiss, PFF Chief Technology Officer.

PFF is a  design-led company with extensive knowledge of pedestrian mobility and uses this knowledge to create innovative mobile tech solutions that move the way people move—to help people walk more, walk farther, and to allow them to do more of their everyday living on foot. Additionally, PFF recently announced an innovative sensor technology package developed for consumer and business robots as well as motorcycles and scooters.

Details of the issued patent can be found at USPTO. For more information on PFF, please visit www.piaggiofastforward.com.

About Piaggio Fast Forward
Smart following technology leader Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF) is a Boston-based company founded in 2015 by the Piaggio Group, the Italian manufacturer and creator of the iconic Vespa scooter. PFF has an extensive knowledge of pedestrian mobility and uses this knowledge to create innovative mobile tech solutions that move the way people move. PFF's vision is to move toward a sustainable mobility ecology where cities are centered around people over cars, and value transportation systems that support healthier lifestyles, cleaner environments and stronger local economies. For more information, visit www.piaggiofastfoward.com.

About Piaggio Group
Established in 1884, Piaggio Group is the largest scooter and motorcycle manufacturer in Europe and one of the global leaders in the sector. The Piaggio Group has been listed on the Italian stock exchange since 2006 and has three main business lines: 2 and 3 wheelers (scooters and motorcycles), light commercial vehicles and robotics (PFF). The Group's portfolio includes some of the most iconic and famous brands in the light mobility industry, such as: Piaggio, Vespa, Moto Guzzi, Gilera, Derbi, Ape and Piaggio Commercial. Piaggio Group counts more than 6.600 employees, it has a distribution in more than 100 countries and six industrial plants (in Italy, India, China and Vietnam). The Group also has four research and development centers, which employ approximately 1,000 people.

Disclaimer "forward looking statements"
This press release contains statements related to PFF's future business and future events that may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward looking statements can generally be identified by use of terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "likely," "may," "plan," "predict," "potential" "should," or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. Such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of PFF, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Forward looking statements set out in this press release are current as of the date of this press release and are based on several estimates and assumptions that are subject to business, economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies, with respect to future business decisions, which are subject to change. PFF  undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether because of new information, future events, or circumstances or otherwise.

SOURCE Piaggio Fast Forward