The City of Boca Raton has introduced an autonomous shuttle on a short loop within the city’s Mizner Park. The MiCa vehicle from Estonian startup Auve Tech has been introduced in one of South Florida’s busiest downtown areas and is the city’s first fare-free self-driving transportation service. The project is a collaboration between the City of Boca Raton and Auve Tech, Circuit and Guident.
The initial service focuses on short, predictable trips between restaurants, shops and cultural venues, giving residents and visitors a convenient way to experience autonomous mobility. The city says there is the potential to extend the route into a 2.6-mile corridor between Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place, which would turn MiCa into a key downtown connector and complement Boca Raton’s existing BocaConnect electric shuttle network.
Nat Ford, CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, said, “Congratulations to the City of Boca Raton, Guident, Circuit Transit and Auve Tech for this milestone as it relates to mobility in our state. Today (November 26) marks more than the launch of a new shuttle — it marks the beginning of a new chapter of connected, sustainable mobility in South Florida. It demonstrates leadership, courage, innovation and a willingness to pilot the transportation technologies of the future.”
For Auve Tech, Boca Raton serves as the newest proving ground for MiCa, its next-generation autonomous shuttle. MiCa is an eight-seat, fully electric vehicle with a compact 4.2m footprint, a top speed limited to 25km/h and a 17.6kWh battery that supports up to 20 hours of daily operation using 22kW AC charging.
Safety and reliability are central to the vehicle’s design. Seven lidar sensors and multiple cameras provide full 360° perception, critical systems are redundantly engineered to prevent single-point failures and substantial effort has gone into ensuring robust cybersecurity. Passenger-focused features include air conditioning, double doors and built-in support for teleoperation and remote monitoring.
The MiCa joins a mobility ecosystem in Boca Raton where Circuit already operates the BocaConnect electric shuttle and other on-demand services. Circuit provides local operations, staffing and community engagement, while Auve Tech brings an autonomous vehicle optimized for short urban circulation.
Circuit co-founder and CEO Alex Esposito said, “We’re moving thousands, we’re creating local jobs, we’re encouraging economic activity and we’re reducing emissions, congestion and noise pollution in a cost-effective way. MiCa builds on this. Partnering with Guident and Auve Tech builds on our existing services and allows us to introduce new services and technologies to this growing community.”
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