Esports Drive New Project Activity in the Expanding Metaverse

In October, I found myself seated in an autonomous shuttle vehicle that’s part of the PAUL (Piloting Autonomous Use Locally) service launched by Site Selection’s home city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, in partnership with T-Mobile 5G and Beep, an Orlando-based company that creates “multi-passenger, electric, autonomous mobility solutions.” Detrick Traylor, a U.S. Army veteran who came out of retirement to apply for a position with Beep, was operating the shuttle with what amounted to an X-Box controller as he took passengers on short rides, temporarily overriding the autonomous operation. “I applied because the technology seemed interesting,” he said. 

As he spoke, I looked out the window to see a drone filming the shuttle’s staged demonstrations. The drone’s operator, like Traylor, was also using a controller that resembled a video-game console. Or did the gaming console resemble the drone controller?

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