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Apple added two dozen self-driving SUVs to its California test fleet
Last April, Apple was granted a permit to test its autonomous vehicle technology by the state of California and since then, the company has expanded its test fleet from three vehicles to 27, Bloomberg reports. The California Department of Motor Vehicles said that Apple had registered 24 Lexus RX450h SUVs between last July and this month. While initially aiming to develop its own autonomous vehicle, Apple later decided to switch gears and design a self-driving system that could be incorporated into other vehicles. And we've seen glimpses of that technology in recent months. A patent application, a presentation from Apple AI Research Director Ruslan Salakhutdinov and a research paper have all pulled back parts of the curtain Apple's technology development usually hides behind. And a closeup look from Voyage cofounder MacCallister Higgins gave us a bit of a visual.
Toyota caves to pressure and adds CarPlay to new models
Many car manufacturers have joined the modern era by adopting Android Auto, Apple CarPlay or both, but not Toyota. It insisted on going its own way, and that has usually meant skipping its cars entirely if you cared about smartphone integration. Thankfully, the automaker has seen the light. The 2019 Avalon and future models (including Lexus vehicles) with an Entune 3.0 or Enform 2.0 system will support Apple CarPlay, letting you use the more sophisticated apps from your iPhone instead of making do with limited built-in features. CarPlay will be standard on all Avalon trim levels when the sedan goes on sale in late spring, although that's no guarantee it'll be standard on other models.
Lexus LF-1 concept looks toward an electrified, autonomous future
A few months ago Toyota and Lexus announced that by 2025, all of their car models would either be electric or have an electric powertrain option. Today at the NAIAS event, Lexus showed off a slick concept crossover that could be a part of that future. The LF-1 "Limitless" concept design is supposed to invoke "molten katana," but the important parts are inside. With options for a gas, plug-in hybrid or all-electric powertrain, it fits into Lexus' vision for the future. Naturally, it also includes intelligent and autonomous features, with a chauffeur mode that can get you home hands-free, and suspension that reacts to driving style, road conditions and weather data. "Four-dimensional" navigation takes time into account, suggesting breaks for gas, rest and, at appropriate times, setting up hotel reservations like a concierge. The touch controls inside include haptic responses, while a touchpad accepts data entry.
Toyota's latest self-driving car is more aware of its surroundings
Toyota barely unveiled its second-generation self-driving testbed half a year ago, but it's already back with an update. The automaker is showing off a Platform 2.1 research vehicle that has made some big technology strides... including some unusual design decisions. The biggest upgrade is an awareness of its surroundings: the modified Lexus is using new lidar from Luminar that not only sees further and maps more data but has a "dynamically configurable" field of view that focuses its attention on the areas they're needed most. There are also new deep learning AI models that are better at spotting objects around the car as well as predicting a safe path.
Take a look at Apple's self-driving test vehicle
Photos obtained by Bloomberg are giving us our first look at what appears to be a testbed for Apple's self-driving car technology. An observer caught the Lexus SUV (looking similar to the demo vehicle above) rolling out of an Apple facility in Silicon Valley, rocking an extensive kit including Velodyne LiDAR units and radar sensors, which help the car observe the world around it. Apple picked up a permit to test its autonomous technology on California streets a couple of weeks ago, and it apparently isn't waiting to get started.
Toyota unveils its next-gen autonomous test vehicle
Way back in 2013, Toyota showed off its self-driving testbed for autonomous vehicle features like safety braking and automatic lane control. Now, the company is pulling the dust sheets off the second-generation of the ride, which is designed to do a whole lot more. The Toyota Research Institute 2.0 Advanced Safety Research is the first that the company can say was built entirely in-house.
Toyota's 10 millionth hybrid sale hints at a greener future
Toyota announced that as of January 31, it has sold over 10 million hybrid cars. Business has been strong in recent months, as one million of those sales have come since the end of April 2016.
Lexus' insane LED-covered car, and more in the week that was
Transportation startup Lucid Motors is working on an electric car to rival the Tesla Model S, and it just announced plans to build a $700 million manufacturing facility to bring it to fruition. Meanwhile, Lexus unveiled a mind-blowing car covered with 41,999 LEDs that can change colors at a whim. Could the solution to congested streets lie in subterranean tunnels? That's the idea behind these crazy CarTubes, which could move city traffic underground. Four major cities around the world pledged to ban diesel cars by the year 2025, and UPS just rolled out its very first e-bike delivery vehicle in Portland, Oregon.
Google's self-driving car is the victim in a serious crash
Google's self-driving cars don't have a flawless safety record, but it's clearer than ever that careless human drivers remain the greater threat. A commercial van running a red light struck one of Google's autonomous Lexus SUVs as it crossed a Mountain View intersection, seriously damaging the side of the vehicle. Neither the Google observers nor the van driver were hurt, thankfully. However, this is likely the worst incident to date for Google's driverless cars -- previous crashes have typically involved humans rear-ending the robotic cars at low speed.
Toyota recalls another 1.4 million cars with defective airbags
Airbags have been at the center of the largest auto recall this year. Japanese corporate Takata's faulty airbags have forced major automakers to recall about 60 million cars in the US alone. While the automative industry is still dealing with the extent of the risks associated with Takata's airbags, which have been linked to over a dozen deaths and a hundred injuries, Toyota has now announced a second recall. The Japanese carmaker is recalling 1.43 million cars because of defective inflators and another 2.87 million cars that have fuel emission problems.
Lexus software update gives new meaning to 'car crash'
Last year, headlines made everyone fearful of hackers taking over cars on the freeway. Turns out the real menace to owners of connected cars are the loopy manufacturers themselves. Toyota had to suck it up this week and admit to Lexus owners, who were going nuts on Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday, about why the climate control, radio, GPS, USB, Bluetooth, and other features suddenly stopped working for a range of 2014-2016 Lexus models. Or, their dashboard console would reset itself repeatedly.
Lexus nav systems are acting up nationwide (updated)
As upgraded systems bring cars closer to other connected devices, it's inevitable that they suffer from some similar issues. Today many Lexus owners were afflicted by a problem that saw their head units stuck in some kind of reboot loop. Derik Gutowski posted a video of the sequence on YouTube, showing it start to boot before showing a purple screen and then beginning the cycle again. On a Lexus owner's forum, posters suggest (as apparently directed by dealers) pulling the battery cable for ten minutes, which forces a manual reset and gets things working again.
Google is hiring autonomous car testers in Arizona
If you're in Arizona, Google is hiring for a gig that could be a good alternative to doing Uber. The job entails test driving an autonomous car around the state for $20 an hour, six to eight hours a day. You'll still need to know how to actually drive to be able to take the wheel if needed. But since your role is testing out the big G's new technology, you're expected to provide the engineering team "concise written and oral feedback," submit daily reports and document any test or procedure performed.
Toyota will make automatic braking near-standard by 2017
Worried that you might not stop your Camry in time to avoid a nasty collision? Toyota is determined to prevent that from happening going forward. The Japanese car maker has announced that its automatic braking systems will be standard on 25 out of 30 Toyota and Lexus models, at nearly every trim level, by the end of 2017. It'll only be non-standard on the 4Runner, 86 (formerly the Scion FR-S), Mirai, Lexus GX and Scion iA.
Google self-driving car crashes into a bus (update: statement)
Google's self-driving cars have been in accidents before, but always on the receiving end... at least, until now. The company has filed a California DMV accident report confirming that one of its autonomous vehicles (a Lexus RX450h) collided with a bus in Mountain View. The crash happened when the robotic SUV had to go into the center lane to make a right turn around some sand bags -- both the vehicle and its test driver incorrectly assumed that a bus approaching from behind would slow or stop to let the car through. The Lexus smacked into the side of the bus at low speed, damaging its front fender, wheel and sensor in the process.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Riversimple's hydrogen car and more!
Is the age of the hydrogen car upon us? This week Riversimple announced plans to launch a 250-mpg fuel cell vehicle that's as affordable as a gas-burning car. The craziest part is that the company won't be selling it: Drivers will instead purchase a monthly plan that includes maintenance, insurance and hydrogen fuel. Meanwhile, Lexus unveiled the LC 500h, a 470-horsepower beast that could very well be the sexiest hybrid ever made. And three friends developed one of the craziest-looking vehicles we've ever seen. It's called the Cedar Rocket, and it's the world's fastest electric log car.
The 7 best green cars from the 2016 Detroit Auto Show
By Marc Carter This week the world's biggest automakers gathered in snowy Detroit to kick off the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. Over 40 new models debuted at this year's event -- including some groundbreaking green vehicles. From the world's first electric minivan to next-gen hybrids and futuristic hydrogen cars, read on to learn about seven of this year's standouts.
Watch this Lexus NX concept roll out on wheels made of ice
Lexus isn't a newcomer to the world of bizarre vehicle concepts. Back in October, the company introduced the Origami Car, a working electric IS sedan made out of cardboard. Fast forward to today and Lexus is showing off an NX crossover with ice wheels -- yes, ice wheels. This project, aptly called Ice-Tyre Lexus NX, features a set of hand-sculptured tires created from multiple blocks of ice, each one intended to recreate the look of Lexus' alloy wheel and its companion Yokohama winter tire.
Lexus made a working electric car out of cardboard
Suddenly, Lexus' hoverboard doesn't seem quite so impressive. The automaker has unveiled the Origami Car, a fully functional electric IS sedan whose main body, interior and wheels (!) are made out of cardboard. The designers laser-cut 1,700 pieces based on the digital model of the regular car, and stuck them all together using wood glue -- that's not exactly a quick process (it took 3 months to put everything together), but this would have been virtually inconceivable in previous decades. You're not going to see this vehicle on the streets, of course. The instrument cluster is nothing more than a bunch of drawings, and cardboard simply isn't going to be comfortable or safe. However, the Origami Car is proof that modern assembly techniques can build just about everything out of seemingly anything.
ICYMI: Spider vehicle, a 3D-printed teeny tiny saw and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-308883{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-308883, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-308883{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-308883").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: A miniature circular saw printed on a 3D printer is about to be produced by a designer so that it actually cuts wood. Teeny tiny little thumbs best be careful. The Spider concept car by Swincar is out, climbing 50 degree inclines without a hitch and making everyone want one. Finally, the Lexus Hoverboard is shown actually being ridden in a new video, rather than just inside the promotional glamour-shot pieces we've seen so far. It looks just as cool as we'd hoped.
