ENDEAVR stands for Envisioning the Neo-traditional Development by Embracing the Autonomous Vehicles Realm. We are a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to futureproofing small communities. We turn them into smart cities by enhancing their capacity to utilize emerging technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, ICT, IoT, and AI, to accomplish desired socio-economic, environmental, and health outcomes.
ENDEAVR was launched in 2018 as a pilot project sponsored by Texas A&M University and the W.M. Keck Foundation. The foundation of ENDEAVR is interdisciplinary smart-city education that empowers young people to seek creative, affordable, and effective solutions for challenges faced by underserved communities and underprivileged populations.
The success of ENDEAVR is built upon trust and partnership among educators, students, industry, and local communities.
ENDEAVR currently has two programs.
PROBLEM. In the U.S., there are 18,696 small communities (as of 2021) with a population of less than 50,000. These communities typically have a low population density, lack public transport services, and offer limited accessibility to daily services, making it particularly challenging for residents to fulfill their essential travel needs and access healthcare.
SOLUTION. In early November 2020, we launched ENDEAVRide, a novel “Taxi + Telemedicine 2-in-1” service, delivered on a self-driving van. Our launch site is Nolanville (population 5,330), a small town located in central Texas. Like other small communities, Nolanville was a “desert” of public transit, with only one feeder bus stop and barely no paratransit service. Vulnerable populations, defined in this project as people with disabilities, those living in carless households, and older adults, have struggled to obtain needed transportation and health care.
ENDEAVRide is the nation’s first self-driving, microtransit service, delivering affordable transportation and healthcare to disabled veterans and thousands of vulnerable populations living in Central Texas. We thank Wocsor LLC for their in-kind donation of the autonomous vehicle technology. Join this Discord server and learn how you can benefit from the technology we use. It is open-source!
ENDEAVRide has received the Smart 50 Award, the Kellogg Award, and the American Planning Association TX Implementation Award.
ENDEAVRX is an interdisciplinary service-learning program that connects students from the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) disciplines with industries and communities.
Student trainees take an interdisciplinary seminar course and an interdisciplinary project-based learning course. They seek affordable and effective solutions for real-world challenges such as climate change, transportation, aging population, governance, economic growth, and social inclusion. Students develop interdisciplinary competence, critical thinking, and creative-problem-solving skills.
ENDEAVRX has trained more than 300 college students from civil/electrical/mechanical engineering, computer science, landscape architecture, urban planning, and visualization. They work in interdisciplinary teams to transform small underserved communities into smart cities.
ENDEAVRX can be implemented in other higher-education institutions, and thus transform the nation’s interdisciplinary education in the era of smart and connected communities.