{"id":"3d6ab7c3-98a8-4e88-b453-3816582a9101","companyId":"00ba3980-5394-4fcb-b672-d90b2a128220","modelName":"REV-1","slug":"refraction-rev-1","description":"Refraction AI (founded 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by University of Michigan professors Matthew Johnson-Roberson and Ram Vasudevan; about $4.2 million seed raised in 2021; now led by CEO Luke Schneider with teams in Ann Arbor and Austin, Texas) makes the REV-1, a distinctive three-wheeled delivery vehicle sized between a sidewalk bot and a car. The REV-1 travels up to 15 miles per hour with about a 280-pound payload and is designed for winter and snow and bicycle-courier-style operation, running primarily in the bike lane or road margin while able to use sidewalks where permitted, a regulatory regime between a sidewalk personal delivery device and a road autonomous vehicle. A critical current-state correction: the dispatch flagged a possible wind-down or acquisition, but Refraction is verified still operating through 2024 to 2026, with the Osage Venture Partners exited label being a venture-portfolio markdown rather than a confirmed acquisition or shutdown, and counter-evidence including a new CEO, an Austin office, Chick-fil-A as a marquee client, and an active 2026 company profile, so it is not tagged discontinued. The registry records it at pilot maturity, since it is a roughly 21-person company with a named client and multi-city presence but no independently verified scale figures. It runs a robots-as-a-service model where customers subscribe to dedicated brand-customizable robots. Any lifetime delivery count, fleet size, revenue, or live-market count is unverified, the claim that the REV-1 is discontinued in favor of a REF-1 is a likely misread of source language describing a second generation of the same design, and the precise nature of the Osage exit is unconfirmed.","formFactor":"sidewalk","maturityStage":"pilot","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"notes":[{"label":"Verified","value":"Refraction AI (founded 2017, Ann Arbor; U-Michigan professor founders) makes the REV-1, a larger sidewalk/bike-lane delivery vehicle. CEO Luke Schneider (since ~2023); ~21 employees; Austin TX product-development office; Chick-fil-A marquee client. RaaS model (customers subscribe to dedicated, brand-customizable robots)."},{"label":"CORRECTION (shutdown REFUTED)","value":"The dispatch flagged a possible wind-down/acquisition. VERIFIED still operating (2024-2026): the Osage Venture Partners 'Exited' label is a VC-portfolio markdown, NOT a confirmed acquisition or shutdown (no acquirer/date/terms). Counter-evidence: new CEO, Austin office, Chick-fil-A, active 2026 profile. Do NOT tag discontinued. maturity=PILOT (lean)."},{"label":"Form-factor / regime note","value":"REV-1 operates PRIMARILY in the bike-lane / road-margin (can use sidewalks where permitted), a distinct regulatory regime between a sidewalk PDD and a road AV. Recorded under form_factor=sidewalk (the low-speed-PDD bucket) with this bike-lane regime noted, rather than creating a single-instance form_factor."},{"label":"Claimed but NOT verified (cap-flag)","value":"Any lifetime delivery count, current fleet size, revenue, or live-market count (none independently verified - a ~21-person company). The search-summary claim that REV-1 is 'discontinued in favor of REF-1' is a likely misread (the source says 'generation 2 of the initial design' = evolution, not discontinuation). The precise nature of the Osage 'exit' is unconfirmed."}],"specs":"REV-1: three-wheeled delivery vehicle sized between a sidewalk bot and a car; up to 15 mph, ~80 lb vehicle weight, ~280 lb / 127 kg payload (~16 cu ft, ~4-5 grocery bags), 5-ft stopping distance; designed for winter/snow + bicycle-courier-style operation. Founded 2017, Ann Arbor MI (U-Michigan professors Matthew Johnson-Roberson + Ram Vasudevan); $4.2M seed (2021); CEO Luke Schneider; Ann Arbor + Austin TX.","formFactor":"sidewalk (low-speed delivery PDD; REV-1 operates primarily in the BIKE-LANE / road-margin, a distinct regime between sidewalk bot and car)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.ottomate.news/p/refraction-ais-luke-schneider-is","title":"Refraction AI's Luke Schneider (CEO; still operating; ~21 employees; Chick-fil-A; gen-2 design)","sourceName":"Ottomate"},{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/refraction-ai-raises-4-2m-for-delivery-robots/","title":"Refraction AI raises $4.2M seed (2021)","sourceName":"The Robot Report"},{"url":"https://newatlas.com/robotics/rev-1-delivery-robot/","title":"Refraction REV-1: ~15 mph, ~280 lb payload, bike-lane / road-margin operation","sourceName":"New Atlas"},{"url":"https://pulse2.com/refraction-launches-rev-1-michigan/","title":"Refraction founded 2017 by U-Michigan professors Johnson-Roberson + Vasudevan","sourceName":"Pulse2"}],"aliases":["Refraction REV-1","REV-1"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-03T21:25:37.017Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-03T21:25:37.017Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/refraction-rev-1","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/refraction-rev-1","name":"REV-1","alternateName":["Refraction REV-1","REV-1"],"description":"Refraction AI (founded 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by University of Michigan professors Matthew Johnson-Roberson and Ram Vasudevan; about $4.2 million seed raised in 2021; now led by CEO Luke Schneider with teams in Ann Arbor and Austin, Texas) makes the REV-1, a distinctive three-wheeled delivery vehicle sized between a sidewalk bot and a car. The REV-1 travels up to 15 miles per hour with about a 280-pound payload and is designed for winter and snow and bicycle-courier-style operation, running primarily in the bike lane or road margin while able to use sidewalks where permitted, a regulatory regime between a sidewalk personal delivery device and a road autonomous vehicle. A critical current-state correction: the dispatch flagged a possible wind-down or acquisition, but Refraction is verified still operating through 2024 to 2026, with the Osage Venture Partners exited label being a venture-portfolio markdown rather than a confirmed acquisition or shutdown, and counter-evidence including a new CEO, an Austin office, Chick-fil-A as a marquee client, and an active 2026 company profile, so it is not tagged discontinued. The registry records it at pilot maturity, since it is a roughly 21-person company with a named client and multi-city presence but no independently verified scale figures. It runs a robots-as-a-service model where customers subscribe to dedicated brand-customizable robots. Any lifetime delivery count, fleet size, revenue, or live-market count is unverified, the claim that the REV-1 is discontinued in favor of a REF-1 is a likely misread of source language describing a second generation of the same design, and the precise nature of the Osage exit is unconfirmed.","identifier":"3d6ab7c3-98a8-4e88-b453-3816582a9101","category":"sidewalk","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}}}