REV-1

Refraction AI's REV-1 (Refraction AI, founded 2017 in Ann Arbor by University of Michigan professors) is a distinctive three-wheeled delivery vehicle sized between a sidewalk bot and a car: up to 15 mph with about a 280-pound payload, designed for winter 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. There is no consumer price: it runs a robots-as-a-service model where customers subscribe to dedicated, brand-customizable robots. Several verified-vs-claimed points matter. A reported wind-down or acquisition is refuted: Refraction is verified still operating through 2024 to 2026 (new CEO Luke Schneider, an Austin office, Chick-fil-A as a marquee client, an active 2026 profile); the 'Osage Venture Partners exited' label is a venture-portfolio markdown, not a confirmed acquisition or shutdown, so it is not tagged discontinued. It is recorded at pilot maturity: a roughly 21-person company with a named client and multi-city presence but no independently verified scale figures. Any lifetime delivery count, fleet size, revenue, or live-market count is unverified, and the claim that the REV-1 was discontinued in favor of a 'REF-1' is a likely misread of source language describing a second generation of the same design.

Readiness

REV-1 is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, 1 verified deployment is on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability

internal-only

Internal use only (not for retail).

see evidence →

Price honesty

no-price

No price points on file for REV-1.

see evidence →

Capability honesty

no-claims

No reviewed capability claims on file for REV-1.

see evidence →

Real-world use

pilot

Maturity: pilot. 1 verified deployment in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

What it claims to do

No reviewed capability claims on file.

Price

No reviewed price points on file.

Real-world use

• Ann Arbor operated by Refraction AI2020-02-01

Safety record

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

Privacy

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for REV-1.

Specs

notes

• Verified: 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).
• CORRECTION (shutdown REFUTED): 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).
• Form-factor / regime note: 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.
• Claimed but NOT verified (cap-flag): 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.
• Source/methodology (Phase 1A, 2026-06-04): CAP-FLAG: Refraction AI's official site (refraction.ai) is DEFUNCT - all paths return HTTP 404, consistent with the company's exited status (Jan 2026). No live maker-official or operator-official source exists; the primary substrate is an archived Wayback snapshot of the official homepage. The REV-1 record's verified claims rest on secondary press + this archived official artifact.

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.

runtime

7 h

max_speed

15 mph

weight_kg

45

formFactor

sidewalk (low-speed delivery PDD; REV-1 operates primarily in the BIKE-LANE / road-margin, a distinct regime between sidewalk bot and car)

payload_kg

22.7

What's under the hood

No brain on file for REV-1.

Frequently asked questions

Is the REV-1 actually available for purchase?

Not available to consumers. In internal use by Refraction AI.Source: Refraction AI's Luke Schneider (CEO; still operating; ~21 employees; Chick-fil-A; gen-2 design)

What does the REV-1 cost?

Not announced.

Where is the REV-1 being used?

REV-1 is in use at: Ann Arbor operated by Refraction AI (2020-02-01).Source: Refraction AI — autonomous last-mile delivery (Ann Arbor)

Is the REV-1 safe?

No incidents on record across 1 verified deployment.

How does the REV-1 handle privacy?

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for REV-1.

Who makes the REV-1?

REV-1 is made by Refraction AI, based in Ann Arbor, MI, USA.Source: Refraction AI's Luke Schneider (CEO; still operating; ~21 employees; Chick-fil-A; gen-2 design)

Video

Compare side by side

• REV-1 vs Cartken Courierby Cartken · sidewalk
• REV-1 vs Coco Botby Coco Robotics · sidewalk

Sources

1. Refraction AI's Luke Schneider (CEO; still operating; ~21 employees; Chick-fil-A; gen-2 design) · https://www.ottomate.news/p/refraction-ais-luke-schneider-is ↗
2. Refraction AI raises $4.2M seed (2021) · https://www.therobotreport.com/refraction-ai-raises-4-2m-for-delivery-robots/ ↗
3. Refraction REV-1: ~15 mph, ~280 lb payload, bike-lane / road-margin operation · https://newatlas.com/robotics/rev-1-delivery-robot/ ↗
4. Refraction founded 2017 by U-Michigan professors Johnson-Roberson + Vasudevan · https://pulse2.com/refraction-launches-rev-1-michigan/ ↗
5. Refraction AI official homepage (archived snapshot; live site now defunct/404) · http://web.archive.org/web/20240128151846/https://refraction.ai/ ↗
6. Refraction AI REV-1 · https://robohub.app/pl/compare/refraction-ai-rev-1/vs/ur10e ↗
7. Refraction AI — autonomous last-mile delivery (Ann Arbor) · https://www.refraction.ai/ ↗
8. TechCrunch: Refraction AI launches REV-1 in Ann Arbor, 2020 · https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/25/refraction-ai-launches-its-middle-of-the-road-delivery-robot-in-ann-arbor/ ↗