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Waymo's self-driving cars needed a lot less human intervention in 2018
Waymo likes to boast that its self-driving cars can handle tough situations, and now it has some extra data to back up its claims. The California DMV has published manufacturers' reports for autonomous vehicle disengagements (moments when a human had to intervene), and Waymo's disengagement rate fell in 2018 to 0.09 for every 1,000 driverless miles -- that's half as many instances as in 2017. To Waymo, that's evidence the cars are better at dealing with "edge cases," those once-in-a-lifetime situations that used to require human adaptability.
Amazon invests in a self-driving car startup
Amazon is clearly interested in autonomy between its delivery drone project and Scout robots, but it's taking that commitment one step further. The tech giant has participated in a $530 million investment round for Aurora Innovation, a self-driving car startup created by luminaries like ex-Googler Chris Urmson, former Tesla Autopilot leader Sterling Anderson and Uber autonomy co-founder Drew Bagnell. While Amazon hasn't said what it hopes to gain from the investment, Aurora's technology may provide some clues.
Microsoft and MIT can detect AI 'blind spots' in self-driving cars
Self-driving cars are still prone to making mistakes, in part because the AI training can only account for so many situations. Microsoft and MIT might just fill in those gaps in knowledge -- they've developed a model that can catch these virtual "blind spots," as MIT describes them. The approach has the AI compare a human's actions in a given situation to what it would have done, and alters its behavior based on how closely it matches the response. If an autonomous car doesn't know how to pull over when an ambulance is racing down the road, it could learn by watching a flesh-and-bone driver moving to the side of the road.
Stop & Shop is bringing autonomous food stands to Boston
Forget self-driving grocery delivery cars -- Stop & Shop wants robotic vehicles to bring a chunk of the store to your door. It's launching autonomous grocery vehicles in the greater Boston area that will let you shop for produce, meal kits and "convenience items" (think bread and eggs) just outside your home. You just have to hail one of the Robomart-made cars through a mobile app, unlock the vehicle when it arrives, and pick your food -- a combination of computer vision and RFID tagging automatically flags your purchases. It's not quite Amazon Go on wheels, but it's close.
Intel's Mobileye will help China's public transport go autonomous
Mobileye is making a big push for autonomous driving in China, albeit not in the way you might expect. The Intel-owned company is "exploring" two major deals to use its self-driving tech in the country, most notably for mass transit. It's hoping to team up with Beijing Public Transport Corporation and Beijing Beytai to roll out driverless mass transit services in China, including the development of Level 4 (fully autonomous in specific conditions) tech and the creation of an industry standard. If everything goes forward, it could be ready in 2022.
Kroger starts testing self-driving grocery delivery in Arizona
You now have a chance to try Kroger's self-driving grocery delivery... if you happen to live in the right part of Arizona. The chain has launched its driverless delivery pilot at a single Fry's Food Stores location in Scottsdale, giving you a chance to receive foodstuffs courtesy of Nuro's autonomous vehicles. Order through the Fry's website or app and the robotic courier can deliver either the same day or next day for a $6 flat fee. You'll have to live in the same 85257 ZIP code, so you can't make them drive across town just to satisfy your curiosity.
