First self-driving shuttle coasts into New York’s Times Square
On July 17, Coast Autonomous, a new entry in the self-driving vehicle market, kicked off a day of demonstrations of its autonomous P-1 Shuttle on Broadway in New York’s crowded Times Square, a symbolic location meant to demonstrate the company’s confidence in its technology.
Watch an autonomous race car tackle England’s famous Goodwood hill climb
Roborace's Robocar is the first vehicle to complete the Goodwood hill climb course without a human driver onboard. The all-electric race car is supposed to form the basis for the world's first autonomous racing series, but so far Roborace has only conducted a handful of public demonstrations.
Torc Robotics expands its self-driving car development team
Virginia-based Torc Robotics is growing its workforce in order to expand its self-driving car development program. The company launched its Asimov autonomous-driving system last year, and continues to test it in Virginia and Nevada. But Torc faces a great deal of competition.
Intel and Baidu team up to make autonomous driving even smarter, safer
Baidu will use cameras and software from Intel subsidiary Mobileye in its self-driving car programs. The Chinese tech giant will also adopt Mobileye's safety model for autonomous-car decision making. Both Intel and Baidu hope to market autonomous-driving tech to other companies.
Renault prepares to launch French autonomous mobility-service pilot program
Renault is launching a pilot mobility services using self-driving cars in the French city of Rouen. Users will be able to hail an autonomous car via an app and ride on three designated routes. Renault hopes the service will complement Rouen's existing public transit system.
Techy sports we will all be watching in the (not-too-distant) future
Science fiction has kind of gotten our hopes up about the future of sport. While we've not yet got a real version of Star Wars' Podracing, that doesn't mean there aren't some impressive high tech sports out there. Here are our picks for the ones we think are going to be everywhere in a few years.
This has not been an easy year for Tesla and its Model 3
Production woes have delayed delivery of Tesla's Model 3, its new entry-level vehicle aimed at bringing more consumers into the carmaker's electric fold. Now, it's finally nearing its goal of producing 5,000 units per week (which it was supposed to hit last year), but it still has a ways to go.
Could thermal-imaging sensors help make self-driving cars safer?
Thermal imaging company FLIR Systems thinks that one way to make autonomous vehicles safer would be to give them the ability to use thermal reading tech to better deal with challenging lighting and weather conditions. And they're doing their bit to help change things. Here's how.
A storied train station will anchor Ford’s new high-tech Detroit campus
Detroit's Michigan Central Station has sat abandoned since the last passenger train left 30 years ago. But Ford just bought the massive train station, and plans to make it the center of a new downtown Detroit campus focusing on autonomous and electric cars, as well as mobility services.
Fisker bets its self-driving shuttles will ferry future commuters
Fisker has announced that is working on an autonomous vehicle called the Orbit, a driverless shuttle that will soon ferry commuters around. Fisker teamed up with Protean to equip the Orbit with in-wheel electric motors, a layout that maximizes interior space. The first prototypes will begin testing in late 2018.
Watch a self-driving car negotiate Las Vegas streets jammed with pedestrians
How do self-driving cars avoid colliding with pedestrians? Autonomous-driving startup Torc Robotics explains the process in this video. It's about not only making sure the car sees pedestrians but figuring out what to do once it identifies them. Torc tests cars in Virginia and Nevada.
Tesla fully self-driving Autopilot package coming in August, Musk says
Tesla will start adding fully self-driving capabilities to its vehicles when the company releases Autopilot Version 9 in August, according to CEO Elon Musk. While it readies the next vehicle autonomy upgrade, Tesla continues minor updates to the system to address driving safety issues due to driver inattention.
Chinese startup aims to set design direction for autonomous cars
The Byton K-Byte concept debuts at CES Asia in Shanghai as the second concept vehicle from the Chinese electric-car startup. Like Byton's first concept, now dubbed M-Byte, the K-Byte emphasizes connectivity and autonomous driving. The company plans to launch a production version in 2021.
Ford’s driverless delivery vehicle actually has a driver
Ford has a plan to launch a meal-delivery service within the next few years using autonomous cars that it's developing. But a pilot scheme currently underway in Miami is using a driver to control the car, allowing researchers to instead focus on developing the system for dispatching and collecting ordered meals.
Driverless cars: Waymo eyes Europe for launch of robot taxi services
Having achieved seven million miles of tests on public roads in the U.S., Waymo says it's now looking to introduce its autonomous-car technology in Europe. The company's boss said this week that it already has officials there investigating how local regulations might affect its efforts.
Chrysler may shift its focus to shared vehicles and mobility services
Chrysler may survive as a provider of vehicles produced for ridesharing services, according to a new report. That means more partnerships like the recent deal with Waymo to provide up to 62,000 autonomous minivans, as well as a decreased focus on cars that are aimed at individual buyers.
California snips legal red tape for robot taxis
Fancy a free ride in a driverless car? California is now allowing autonomous-vehicle companies to offer rides to regular folks, and they're not allowed to charge for the journey. The move follows in the footsteps of Arizona and comes as the state explores the viability of robot taxi services.
Waymo orders a huge number of self-driving cars for robot taxi services
Waymo has ordered a huge number of self-driving cars for its planned robot taxi service. It currently has 600 autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivans on the road, but it's just ordered another 62,000. Yes, you read that right: 62,000. It's not clear when they'll be ready, or how it plans to deploy all of them.
Uber in partnership talks with Waymo for self-driving technology
Uber would like to work with Waymo, Google's self-driving car division. Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the two companies are having discussions about partnering, but Waymo declined to comment. Calling Waymo an "incredible technology provider," Uber's CEO believes autonomous driving technology will be shared.
We may be ready for autonomous cars, but how about self-driving bikes?
A U.K.-based company, AB Dynamics, has created a self-driving motorbike. The reason? To help simulate real world driving conditions on test tracks which could help make future autonomous or semi-autonomous cars smarter. Check it out in all its amazing self-balancing glory.
Could fleets of self-driving cars become a public health concern?
Could self-driving and autonomous vehicles being used as public transportation be considered a public health concern? Who will keep things clean for driver-less vehicles if there's no driver to maintain it? Taxis, Ubers, and even Lyfts, have questionable levels of cleanliness already.
30 percent fewer taxis in New York City could be an improvement, MIT says
The right algorithm could have a massive impact on the number of taxis needed in a city. Researchers from MIT have created an ultra-efficient dispatching algorithm that they say could slash the size of a city’s fleet of taxis by 30 percent. All thanks to the power of math!
Apple, VW team up to ferry workers around Cupertino in self-driving T6 vans
Apple hooks up with Volkswagen to shuttle employees in self-driving vans while Uber hits the brakes on their autonomous car efforts. Also, we play around as androids in Quantic Games new game Detroit: Become Human.
Apple and Volkswagen are reportedly partnering to build self-driving vans
Apple has reportedly inked a deal with Volkswagen for the tech firm's self-driving shuttle service. Ferrying Apple employees between the company's various campuses and offices in Cupertino, California, the driverless shuttle will reportedly use modified versions of Volkswagen's T6 Transporter van.
Uber shutters self-driving project in Arizona two months after fatal accident
Uber has ended autonomous-car tests in Arizona two months after one of its robot vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian there. The firm will take a new approach when it resumes trials in Pittsburgh and San Francisco, that it says will let it "hone the safety aspects of our software and operating procedures."
How gaming company Unity is driving automakers toward virtual reality
Unity Technologies, best known for the software tools it builds for game developers, has quietly turned its attention toward the auto industry. Unity's tech now enables virtual walkarounds of cars that haven't even been built yet, and may soon aid the development of self-driving cars.
See what it’s like to take a ride in Drive.ai’s self-driving taxi
Drive.ai is weeks away from launching a self-driving taxi trial in Frisco, Texas. But to give us all a glimpse into what it will be like to ride in one of its autonomous cars along public roads and in traffic, the Silicon Valley-based company has released a video showing its technology in action.
Apple expands autonomous car fleet as major Chinese player comes to town
Apple now has the second-largest fleet of self-driving cars on the streets of California. It's just added 10 more, so it's now licensed to test 55 of its high-tech vehicles in the state. The news comes as Chinese ridesharing giant Didi Chuxing received a license to start testing its own autonomous cars in California.
Cops have lots to learn when it comes to autonomous-car emergencies
As part of its application for a permit to test fully driverless cars on California's public roads, Waymo has compiled a 41-page booklet explaining to law enforcement agencies and first responders how to deal with its vehicles in a range of emergency situations. It seems there's plenty to learn.
Watch a pro drifter battle an autonomous race car on the track
Roborace pitted its prototype autonomous race car -- known as "DevBot -- against pro drifter Ryan Tuerck in a battle of man versus machine. Because if self-driving cars are going to race, they need to be at least as fast as human drivers. Find out if the robot was able to beat the human.
Driverless pods could be used to ferry tourists around a U.K. national park
Driverless pods are already being used to take passengers around one of the world's busiest airports, and now they're being tested at the U.K.'s most popular national park. The Lake District is conducting a feasibility study to see if the electric-powered pods can be used to ease traffic congestion and cut pollution.
Ohio governor says you ‘have to take risks’ as state welcomes driverless cars
The governor of Ohio has given permission for driverless-car tests in the state. While acknowledging the awfulness of the recent tragedy in Arizona when an autonomous Uber car struck and killed a pedestrian, Governor Kasich said it was nevertheless right to "take risks" when developing new technologies.
Can A.I. make self-driving cars a reality? Waymo reveals the future
Waymo got some stage time at Google I/O to discuss how Google's artificial intelligence efforts have helped speed up the development of self-driving cars. A.I. allows autonomous cars to react to the environment, according to Waymo, which plans to launch an autonomous ride sharing service later this year.
Get lost: MIT’s self-driving car takes on unmarked roads
A team of computer scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed a self-driving system that’s designed to successfully navigate unpaved roads by using basic GPS data and sensors technology.