March 1, 2024
This article originally appeared in VentureBeat.
How teleoperation could enable remote work for more industries
There’s little question that cloud-based software played a pivotal role in helping the corporate world rapidly shift to remote work in 2020. Adoption has included everything from real-time video communication and asynchronous messaging to virtual events and HR management. However, many jobs are rooted in the physical realm, including manual and industrial positions, something teleoperation startup Phantom Auto wants to change by becoming what it calls “Zoom for the physical world.”
Founded in 2017, Phantom Auto develops remote operation software that integrates with unmanned vehicles, from robo-taxis and delivery robots to forklifts and yard trucks. Businesses can use the software to monitor and control fleets from afar or draw a path for a robot to follow. Today, the company announced a partnership and strategic investment from ITS ConGlobal (ITSC), one of North America’s largest integrated “intermodal service providers.” ITSC operates rail and port terminals and provides freight infrastructure to major railroad companies, including Union Pacific, BNSF, and Norfolk Southern.
ITSC operates more than 30 of its own container yard depots, where yard trucks cart heavy industrial loads between points. The company said it loads and unloads around 8 million “intermodal shipments” annually. Moving forward, ITSC will roll out Phantom Auto’s remote operation software to train yard truck drivers to remotely control the vehicles, all while remaining socially distanced. Normally, both the trainer and trainee would sit together inside a truck’s cab, but now trainers will be able to sit inside the truck’s cab, with the trainee sitting at a remote console “observing, listening, and at times remotely driving the truck.” Later in the process, the two can switch positions.
Read the rest of this article in VentureBeat.
About Phantom Auto
Phantom Auto specializes in remote operation of all types of unmanned vehicles with customers throughout the world. The company’s interoperable solution enables people to remotely monitor, assist, and operate fleets of unmanned vehicles from up to thousands of miles away – including forklifts, robots, trucks, passenger vehicles, and more. Phantom Auto's proprietary teleoperation software delivers secure, low-latency communication over volatile wireless networks for reliable sensor streaming and safe control of vehicle functions.
Founded in 2017 by Shai Magzimof, Elliot Katz, and Ohad Dvir, Phantom Auto is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Maniv Mobility and other strategic investors.
