Fresno State engineering students, President Joseph I. Castro and even university mascot Victor E. Bulldog plan to take rides in a self-driving electric shuttle on campus Tuesday.

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The demonstration is part of a series of events hosted by the Lyles College of Engineering to commemorate National Engineers Week.

The four-passenger shuttle is a product of Silicon Valley startup Varden Labs. Alex Rodrigues, CEO of Varden Labs, will discuss the autonomous transportation industry after the demonstration from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the North Gym (Room 118). Community members are invited.

Rodrigues is a mechatronics engineer and entrepreneur from Ontario, Canada who has nearly 10 years of experience building robotic systems. He has worked at various software companies, including Khan Academy, and led two teams to win the 2012 and 2013 international FIRST Robotics Competition.
 
“I think that autonomous transportation will be the biggest revolution since the internet,” Rodrigues said. “It will become safer, cheaper and better for the environment. Working on self-driving shuttles is a way to allow us to be a part of and hopefully catalyze this revolution.”