Orca Mobility designer Mike Lowell, left, and CEO Bill Messing at their office on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Orca Mobility designer Mike Lowell, left, and CEO Bill Messing at their office on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Could a Granite Falls startup’s three-wheeler revolutionize delivery?

Orca Mobility’s battery-powered, three-wheel truck is built on a motorcycle frame. Now, they aim to make it self-driving.

GRANITE FALLS — Nothing is more frustrating to Bill Messing than seeing a big diesel-drinking box truck deployed to deliver a single case of wine or a box of office supplies.

Messing’s Granite Falls-based startup Orca Mobility aims to put an end to the excess labor, fuel and wear-and-tear those trips require.

His solution?

Develop a small self-driving electric truck built on a motorcycle chassis that can travel at highway speeds and navigate tight turns.

Wait, that’s only two wheels, right?

Not here. The motorcycle frame on which Orca’s cargo vehicle is based has three wheels — two in front and one in the rear. Here’s what sets it apart — like a motorcycle, the front wheels tilt, which means it can lean into a turn.

You can’t do that with a car or truck.

It also stands on its own when it comes to a stop, no kickstand necessary.

The configuration is based on patented technology licensed from a previous company in Snohomish that Messing and Mike Lowell, Orca’s lead designer, were partners in, called Tilting Motor Works.

Bob Mighell invented the trike’s unique front end.

There’s nothing else like it, said Messing, Orca’s founder and CEO.

Others, including some big carmakers and motorcycle manufacturers, have tried to develop a three-wheel vehicle that leans, but so far haven’t found success, Messing said.

The trike’s target customers were motorcyclists who wanted the stability of a three-wheeler, but yearned to lean into turns.

Jay Leno, who tested the trike on his reality TV show “Jay Leno’s Garage” summed it up: “If you were blindfolded and you were on this, you’d think you were on a regular motorcycle,” he said.

In 2021, Oregon company Arcimoto bought Tilting Motor Works for an estimated $10 million.

While still at Tilting Motor Works, Messing saw an opportunity to put Mighell’s invention to work — hauling cargo.

It took 18 months, but he negotiated a license all of the company’s intellectual property.

Founded in 2019, Orca Mobility occupies a corner of Cobalt Motorcycles’ warehouse in Granite Falls.

“What we’re doing is getting rid of the internal combustion engine, turning it into an electric vehicle and getting rid of the rider to make it an autonomous vehicle,” Messing said.

They’ve built a battery-powered prototype and are now focused on making it self-driving.

“It’s one step further, though a big step!” Messing said of the effort.

Bill Messing plugs in his computer to look through data after a quick ride on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Bill Messing plugs in his computer to look through data after a quick ride on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Why a trike?

A typical box truck emits 50 or 60 tons of carbon dioxide every year. In the United States alone there are four million of them on the road, Messing said.

“That’s 200 megatons —200 million tons of carbon dioxide — from these box trucks that are often running around 10% to 20% full,” Messing said.

Every day freight carriers and retailers regularly dispatch box trucks to drop off small payloads, a case or two of wine to a restaurant or a dozen auto parts between repair shops. They average about seven miles per gallon, Messing said.

By comparison, Orca, which weighs about 700 pounds, can travel 100 miles on a charge and carry about 400 pounds, roughly the capacity of a small SUV, he said.

At 114 pounds, the prototype’s battery pack is similar in weight to a standard motorcycle engine, Lowell said.

Messing, Lowell and a team of 10 hope to “displace millions of those box trucks and vans,” and replace them with a slender, self-driving EV with the footprint of a motorcycle, Messing said.

Orca has a front track width of about three feet.

“When your vehicle has a footprint that’s only three feet wide and eight feet long, it can go places, and do things that no other vehicle can,” Messing said.

“It can go through doorways or into a freight elevator,” he said.

It can navigate a business park or head out on the highway. And there’s the key, it can travel at a clip.

So, why not just make it a small four-wheeler ?

Simple answer. They don’t lean.

“Any vehicle this wide, whether it’s got three wheels or four wheels that can’t lean, falls over when it goes around a corner at speed, 100% of the time,” Messing said.

‘There are a lot of two- or three-foot-wide vehicles around the world that can go putt, putt, putt, but something that can actually travel 30-40-50-60 miles an hour does not exist on the road,” Messing said.

“This can travel highway speed and won’t require a driver,” he said, pointing to the company’s prototype.

Bill Messing takes the prototype for a quick demonstration ride around the parking lot on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Bill Messing takes the prototype for a quick demonstration ride around the parking lot on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Now make it self-driving

Making Orca an autonomous, self-driving vehicle is next. It starts with a rider and a zillion points of data.

“We’re riding it around and gathering the data,” Messing said.

Sensors attached to the trike collect data 100 times a second, measuring the steering angle, acceleration, lean angle and other functions, Messing said.

The rider’s every move teaches the software how to operate without a driver, Messing said.

A GPS system, accurate to one centimeter, also collects data.

“As you go into a corner, it measures the speed and the radius,” Lowell said. “So, when they’re programming it to run on the road by itself, they’ll know what data to put in.”

The next step is to feed the information “into a machine learning environment to teach it how to follow a particular path and go by itself,” Messing said. “The data really is the linchpin.”

Once the software “learns” to operate the vehicle automatically, the company plans to invest in the type of self-driving software that incorporates collision avoidance and traffic sign recognition.

Orca won’t be commercially available until 2025, Messing said.

Messing said he has talked to a number of delivery companies about how they might add Orca to their fleet.

They keep asking Messing the same question:

“Is it ready?”

Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @JanicePods.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

FILE — Boeing 737 MAX8 airplanes on the assembly line at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing said on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
Federal judge rejects Boeing’s guilty plea related to 737 Max crashes

The plea agreement included a fine of up to $487 million and three years of probation.

Neetha Hsu practices a command with Marley, left, and Andie Holsten practices with Oshie, right, during a puppy training class at The Everett Zoom Room in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Tricks of the trade: New Everett dog training gym is a people-pleaser

Everett Zoom Room offers training for puppies, dogs and their owners: “We don’t train dogs, we train the people who love them.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.