NRV Company TORC Is Disrupting the Auto Industry

If you haven’t heard, automated and driverless technology is thriving in Virginia’s New River Valley.

That’s right, NRV Company TORC and their revolutionary technology are disrupting the auto industry. Founded in 2005, TORC continues to create and refine self-driving technology for varying environments, from city street bustle to off-road adventure.

TORC actively works with mining and defense parters to minimize risk, meaning companies like Caterpillar are able to eliminate liability in dangerous work environments thanks to TORC’s innovation.

TORC Company Overview Video

This inventive company, founded by Virginia Tech students, hit the cover of Virginia Business this month with their groundbreaking technology.

“As the automotive industry moves us tantalizingly closer to a sci-fi future of roadways thrumming with such self-driving cars, Virginia has positioned itself as a hotbed for developing and testing autonomous vehicle technologies,” said Richard Foster, Virginia Business writer. “This is in large part due to innovative research work coming out of state universities such as Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia, as well as companies like Torc.”

Resources in the NRV like Virginia Tech and VTTI, and companies like TORC, are making unmanned systems research and production possible.

It looks like this disruptive technology is our future.

“If you think about it,” said TORC CEO Michael Fleming, “automobiles have been designed around the driver for the last 100 years. And one of the things that really excites me is, over the next 100 years, we’re going to design cars around passengers, because the driver is going to be a computer…”

Click here to read the full Virginia Business cover story.

Virginia’s New River Valley: For those searching for an inspiring place to live and do business, Virginia’s New River Valley provides both an eclectic small town atmosphere and an innovative, collaborative business community with a loyal, highly skilled, and educated workforce. Offering the best of all worlds – magnificent mountains, cutting-edge research, arts, entertainment, and education – it’s A NATURAL FIT.

Onward NRV: Onward NRV is a public/private, regional economic development organization whose mission is to attract and retain world class jobs, investment and talent in Virginia’s New River Valley. It’s also a movement where leaders from business, government, and higher education work together to promote the economic vitality of the region.