September, 2026

AGC Automotive Americas and FORT Robotics announce remote driving program in Detroit using hidden and transparent On-Glass Antenna

AGC’s North America auto division moves into on-road deployment with on-glass retrofit 5G antenna for teleoperations

Detroit, MI — AGC Automotive Americas, in collaboration with FORT Robotics (formerly Mapless AI), today announced the launch of its hidden on-glass 4G/5G Retrofit Antenna for a live remote driving program operating on public roads in Detroit’s Transportation Innovation Zone (TIZ). The deployment marks a transition from CES 2026 demonstration activity to active real-world operation supporting remote vehicle driving capabilities.

The Detroit program is believed to be one of the only current implementations of a remotely operated vehicle system approved on US roads today utilizing hidden and transparent glass-integrated antenna designed to eliminate the need for bulky rooftop connectivity modules often used in on-road teleoperation systems.

From Live Demo to Road Deployment

January’s CES demo showcased an aftermarket remote-driving system kit live in operation, highlighting how antenna-integrated automotive glass can support the high-bandwidth, low-latency vehicle communications required for teleoperations—without additional visible rooftop hardware. The demonstration received industry attention and established the foundation for real-world operation in Detroit.

AGC is the world’s largest automotive glass manufacturer by market share, and its global connectivity R&D teams have been developing, testing and validating integrated glass antenna designs for market-leading OEMs since the 1970’s. As smart mobility trends evolve in today’s automotive industry, the company is developing solutions for tomorrow’s customers and use cases, working with partner FORT Robotics for this on-road proof-of-concept aimed at future applications in OEM mass-production vehicles.

Following Mapless AI’s acquisition by FORT Robotics in May of this year, that concept has now moved into live operation on public roads, with AGC’s antenna architecture actively supporting remote operation in real driving conditions.

The remote driving platform originally developed by Mapless AI is now part of FORT Robotics’ comprehensive Trust Layer for Physical AI, which includes solutions for active onboard safety, human-in-the-loop control, and outside-in safety. AGC’s hidden connectivity solution utilizes a distributed antenna design with multiple hidden and transparent 5G antennas tucked away in the corners of the windshield and back window. This distributed design contributes to a more stable connection, helping to ensure safety and uptime.

Taken together, AGC Automotive Americas and FORT Robotics now have a uniquely differentiated remote operations kit that does not require any additional external body antenna and can be easily retrofitted for compatible aftermarket fleets or natively integrated for future OEM vehicles.

CES 2026: Mapless AI driver remotely operating vehicle with AGC antenna in Detroit from Las Vegas booth
Photo Credit: Autoline Daily - Autoline on the Road – “Driving a Car That’s 2,000 Miles Away”

OEM Use Cases with Real Value Propositions

Operational efficiencies, safety enhancements, and monetizable mobility services are examples of key interests among automotive mobility leaders today. Teleoperations services can enable fleets and OEMs to realize additional value across these categories.

OEMs will be able to consider cost-reduction use cases for both personal and commercial vehicles, such as driverless end-of-line delivery and vehicle testing at the production stage. Throughout vehicle life, OEMs have the option for future monetizable end user services such as remote chauffeur.

Fleet operators can consider adding new mobility service features to existing fleets, such as rental car delivery to homes and airports. Remote driving allows for more operational efficiencies for these fleets to reduce downtime as well. At the end of life, vehicle resale value is preserved by eliminating the need to drill holes in body exteriors to accommodate roof-top antennas.

Robotaxi and autonomous trucking operators can gain an additional safety tool for handling live emergency situations such as being stopped in traffic. U.S. regulators are increasingly asking for more robotaxi safety protocols and teleoperations can be a strong consideration for certain use cases.

“Remote operation and supervision can unlock meaningful fleet efficiencies and new revenue opportunities for fleet owners and OEMs today, while laying the foundation for scaled autonomous vehicle deployments in the future,” said Philipp Robbel, VP of Product Engineering at FORT Robotics. “FORT’s Trust Layer provides the safety, control, and communications foundation needed to support these use cases at scale.”

Sleek Design Integration with End Users in Mind

Traditional teleoperation vehicle configurations often require rooftop-mounted antennas and modem systems that alter vehicle appearance while increasing installation complexity and cost—often needing to drill holes in the vehicle body for aftermarket retrofits.

An integrated glass antenna approach enables remote vehicle operation systems to be deployed in a way that maintains standard consumer vehicle appearance, making it suitable for rental fleets, mobility operators, and future autonomous support applications.

“Remote driving is becoming a real need and opportunity in automotive mobility. AGC Automotive Americas is thinking ahead by designing the connectivity architecture with future consumers and fleet operators in mind,” said an AGC spokesperson. “Bulky, exterior antenna hardware will make the vehicle less appealing to these stakeholders while also reducing aftermarket re-sale value, and our solution solves for this.”

Retrofit Today, OEM Integration Tomorrow

A key aspect of the Detroit program is the system’s ability to operate across both retrofit and future OEM use cases. The current deployment is an easy aftermarket installation and proves that mobility fleet operators can adopt remote driving services for existing, compatible fleet vehicles without affecting the exterior vehicle design or lowering future resale values.

In parallel, AGC Automotive Americas and FORT Robotics are preparing glass antenna enabled designs for direct integration into OEM vehicle production programs, enabling remote driving systems to become a native part of future software-defined vehicles.

This dual-path approach allows the technology to be deployed immediately in existing compatible fleets today and future OEM vehicles into the future.

Hidden and transparent variations of AGC Automotive Americas 4G/5G Retrofit Antenna

Design & Validation: AGC Anechoic Chamber and On-Road Testing

Prior to on-road deployment, the AGC antenna system and FORT’s remote driving platform were jointly validated using a combination of AGC anechoic chamber testing and real-world road evaluation. AGC’s indoor, full-vehicle anechoic testing environment located in Ypsilanti, Michigan allowed engineers to precisely model and optimize expected performance under controlled RF conditions, ensuring more accurate and efficient on-road field testing in real-world driving conditions.

AGC Antenna R&D engineers test designs at its Ypsilanti, Michigan R&D center

Explore Deployment Opportunities

AGC Automotive Americas and FORT Robotics are currently engaging with fleet operators, mobility providers, and automotive OEM partners interested in evaluating real-world deployment of remote vehicle operation technologies. Reach out to learn more about OEM and aftermarket fleet integrations or related design, testing and validation services.

About AGC Automotive Americas

AGC Automotive is a global leader in automotive glass and advanced materials, developing integrated solutions for connected, electric, and software-defined vehicles. Headquartered in Tokyo, the company holds top market share globally in the automotive glass segment, offering solutions and R&D services to the world’s largest OEMs and advanced mobility fleets. AGC Automotive Americas handles regional commercial, R&D and business development operations for the company. It is part of the larger AGC Group, which employs approximately 57,000 people worldwide and generates annual sales of approximately $13 billion through its operations in more than 30 countries.

About FORT Robotics

FORT Robotics is The Trust Layer for Physical AI, with the charter of making autonomous machines safe, secure, and reliable enough to deploy at scale alongside humans. Partnering with FORT gives robot manufacturers and end users the ability to certify safety, maximize efficiency, AND gain time to market speed.

Since its founding in 2018, FORT has become a leading provider of safety solutions across the robotics industry and used across warehousing, transportation, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, mining, energy, defense, and other industries. FORT has secured 25 patents and deployed more than 19,500 units to a global base of over 600 customers including Fortune 500 category leaders.

More information at www.fortrobotics.com

AGC Media Contact

Terry Yim
terence.yim@agc.com

FORT Robotics Media Contact

Tim Smith and Diane Whitlow
media@fortrobotics.com