Orange Sparkle Ball has officially received a Transportation Innovation Zone (TIZ) Permit for piloting the autonomous robotic pickup of food waste for composting in the Corktown region of Detroit in partnership with Ottonomy and Scrap Soils with support from Brother Nature Farm.
(Image Source: City of Detroit)
In January 2023, the City of Detroit Office of Mobility Innovation was approved to launch the Transportation Innovation Zone. This first-of-its-kind expedited permitting process is designed to help bring new and innovative mobility solutions to Detroit and pilot them in the real world.
“The Office of Mobility Innovation was created to keep the City of Detroit at the forefront of the rapidly evolving automotive, transportation and mobility industries. Our automotive heritage offers unparalleled knowledge and skill to shape the future. Detroit's Transportation Innovation Zone (TIZ) was designed in response to industry feedback on how bureaucracy (often unintentionally) can consume the most valuable entrepreneurial resource - time. TIZ pilot projects like OSB’s can be authorized through a single but comprehensive compliance review - with a focus on public safety and inclusion. We welcome new ideas and Detroiters are ready to give real-world feedback. The TIZ is just one of the ways we’re building on the history of mobility innovation as a pathway to opportunity in Detroit.”
— Vince Keenan, Head of Innovation Engagement for OMI
Orange Sparkle Ball has been granted funding to build an Autonomous Robotic Pickup Platform by conducting a series of four iterative and increasingly complex pilots to explore the logistics of pickup across a series of end-of-life material removal use cases. Learnings from consecutive pilots will be used to build a multi-material pickup platform based on community needs, user feedback, and technology metrics. We will launch the project with a use case surrounding the pickup of residential and commercial food waste for composting in partnership with Ottonomy, Scrap Soils, and Brother Nature Farm. This first pilot will help the pilot partners understand the logistics and challenges of pickup from multiple locations and transport to a composting facility. We intend to take advantage of the expedited permitting process established by OMI in the TIZ to conduct our pilot work, having already received a TIZ Permit for our first pilot. Pilots two through four will also be conducted in the TIZ.
“Orange Sparkle Ball is excited to explore the use of autonomous ground robot technology to pick-up end-of-life materials from residential and commercial locations in Detroit. The use of this technology for pick-up has been under investigated, and we’re happy to be exploring new uses for the technology. Additionally, as a Michigander, I’m particularly proud to be conducting these pilots in Detroit. The unique expedited permitting process implemented by the City of Detroit and the innovative mobility funding platform from the State of Michigan is allowing us to explore new mobility use cases in Michigan, partnering with several Michigan based technology companies and community partners.”
— Meaghan Kennedy, Orange Sparkle Ball Founder
PERMIT APPLICATION & REVIEW PROCESS
1. Identifying Key Pilot Details
We began our journey through the permitting process by meeting with the Head of Innovation Engagement for the Office of Mobility Innovation. They walked us through the process and provided us with the permit application.
The permit application addresses a few key project details including: the partners involved in the pilot, a brief description of the solution and the pilot, an overall timeline for the work to be completed, insurance considerations, intended audience, specific pilot location within the TIZ, and roles for all involved parties.
2. Permit Eligibility Review
Upon submission, our permit application was reviewed and determined to meet the eligibility requirements for a TIZ permit, and we were instructed to set up an OMI Permit Preliminary Review (OPPR) meeting where members of relevant city agencies could highlight any concerns or considerations that may need to be addressed in our proposed pilot.
3. Addressing Community and Safety Considerations
In advance of the OPPR meeting, we were asked to prepare 3 documents: (1) a project overview with a brief description, goals, and point of contact, (2) a safety plan outlining any potential risks to the public posed by your technology and your recommended mitigations, and (3) a community engagement plan outlining outreach strategies, feedback mechanisms, and proposed timeline.
4. OMI Permit Preliminary Review (OPPR) Meeting
For the OPPR meeting, we walked through our pilot plan, including the safety and community engagement plans and fielded questions from city agency officials.
5. Amendment and Approval
Following the meeting, we received direction on next steps to take to address the concerns identified, and once we had plans in place to address said concerns, our TIZ permit was granted.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
As an innovation and impact accelerator, we’re thrilled to see a city taking the steps to lower the barrier to entry for innovation piloting. Typically, if a company had an innovative idea to pilot in a city, they’d be responsible for conducting the due diligence necessary to connect with relevant city agencies and meet the requirements of each agency individually. This permitting process established by the City of Detroit significantly streamlines the steps involved for every party involved. On the permittee end, it provides a clear entry point and subsequent steps for how to test an innovative solution, as well as provides a designated zone in which tests are conducted. On the city side, it creates a funnel for innovators to access the city and potentially lay down roots, creating jobs and community good. Additionally, it provides a clear forum for city stakeholders across a variety of departments to raise concerns and have them addressed prior to a solution hitting the streets. Lastly, on the community side, it introduces residents to a host of innovative ideas and a window into the startup ecosystem, which will not only bring innovation from the outside but also grow it from within.
We are excited to get to work in this innovation zone and understand the opportunity that can be found at the intersection of autonomous robotics and the removal of end-of-life materials! We hope that with successful piloting these solutions will have the potential to expand beyond this area and give us the opportunity to leverage existing infrastructure and facilities that are based outside the TIZ. Further, we hope to help validate expedited permitting as a way to lower barriers to piloting.
Click here to read through OSB’s TIZ Permit documentation.
Written by Hannah Ranieri, Innovation Strategist
