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Toyota will offer rides in self-driving cars at the Tokyo Olympics
Toyota has revealed details of an upcoming public test for its level-4 automated vehicle and "Chauffeur" self-driving tech, and sports fans headed to Tokyo next year for the Olympic Games will have the chance to try it out. The automaker is offering rides in the car between July and September in the busy waterfront district of Odaiba.
Tesla is quietly making its own AI chip for self-driving cars
In a recent earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the automaker has been 'stealth' developing a custom-built AI chip for at least two years.
Roborace is still pursuing its driverless race-car dream
Clearly, Roborace doesn't believe in bad luck. Last week, on Friday the 13th, the company chose to run its self-driving Robocar in front of a feverish crowd at England's Goodwood Festival of Speed. It was only the second time the team had demonstrated its futuristic vehicle publicly, following an unassisted lap in Paris roughly 13 months ago. There was no room for error. The absence of a human cockpit gives the car an unusually low profile. Its delicate curves were drafted by Daniel Simon, a concept-vehicle designer who has contributed to science-fiction blockbusters including Tron: Legacy, Prometheus and Oblivion. The robot racer's shape resembles a Formula 1 car, the Batmobile and a heat-seeking missile mashed together. The machine moved slowly, though, up the famous hill-climb course. Well, slowly compared with the other vehicles that had tackled the Goodwood track that day. Roborace had capped the car at 125 KMH (roughly 78 MPH) to ensure it completed the route safely. In the world of motorsport, that's pretty slow. The robot's racing line, too, was conservative. It stuck to the center of the road, leaving plenty of tarmac on either side as it both entered and exited each corner. Ayrton Senna da Silva, it was not. Still, the drive was a milestone for the British startup. Thousands hugged the track-side hay bales and watched as the car zipped toward the finish line. In a little under two minutes, it had completed the course and returned to its dormant state. The Roborace team could breathe a sigh of relief.
Police chief says Uber 'likely not' at fault in pedestrian accident
Yesterday, Uber called a halt to all self-driving tests after a highly publicized crash in Tempe, AZ, on Sunday evening. Now, it looks as though Uber might not be at fault for the accident. Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir told the San Francisco Chronicle that, based on footage from the vehicle's on-board cameras, "it's very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven) based on how [the pedestrian] came from the shadows right into the roadway."
Lyft will test its autonomous cars in a former military base
In July 2017, Lyft announced that it's joining the autonomous vehicle race and even opened a dedicated research facility in Palo Alto. Now, it's already preparing to put its technology to the test: the ride-hailing firm plans to test its self-driving cars at Gomentum Station in California. It's a 5,000-acre autonomous vehicle proving grounds, which used to be the Concord Naval Weapons Station military base. Testing vehicles at the proving grounds will bring Lyft closer to unleashing its vehicles on public roads -- something it has to do before it can officially release a self-driving fleet.
US will reveal revised autonomous car guidelines this summer
We'll see the latest revised set of guidelines for autonomous vehicles this summer, US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has revealed at the annual Detroit auto show. According to Chao, her agency has been preparing for the arrival of autonomous vehicles, conjuring up ways on how to regulate them to keep everyone safe while promoting innovation at the same time. She said the revised guidelines cover not just autonomous cars, but also "barriers to the safe integration of autonomous technology for motor carriers, transit, trucks, infrastructure and other modes."
GM plans to release cars with no steering wheel in 2019
If the Department of Transportation grants GM's latest Safety Petition, the automaker will be able to deploy its no-steering-wheel, pedal-less autonomous car next year. GM has not only revealed what its Level 4 self-driving vehicle will look like -- in a video you can watch after the break -- but also announced that it filed a Safety Petition to be able to deploy its completely driverless version of Chevy Bolt called Cruise AV in 2019. The company describes it as "the first production-ready vehicle built from the start to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or manual controls."
Intel is making a big bet on autonomous driving in 2018
Now that Intel's MobilEye acquisition is complete, the tech titan is ready to get the ball rolling. In fact, we might see semi-autonomous vehicles powered by MobilEye's Road Experiment Management (REM) system as soon as this year. Intel has signed contracts with 11 carmakers, which will use the Level 2+ autonomous driving tech MobilEye developed, on vehicles slated to be released throughout 2018 and 2019. This particular technology will add semi-autonomous features, such as simple braking, steering and acceleration, to cars. It's worth noting, though, that REM was created to make fully autonomous cars possible, and that's still Intel's ultimate goal.
Audi's Aicon concept car is all about autonomous luxury
At the Frankfurt auto show, Audi unveiled its fully autonomous Aicon concept car. The "design study" showcases the automaker's vision of a world without steering wheels, pedals or the stress of driving.
Waymo teaches its autonomous cars to detect emergency vehicles
Before self-driving cars can truly take over our roads, they have to be able to give way to ambulances and other emergency vehicles. That's why Waymo has begun training its autonomous Chrysler minivans to be able to recognize what they look and sound like in real life situations. Alphabet's autonomous vehicle spinoff has teamed up with Chandler Police and Fire in Arizona to set up an "emergency vehicle testing day." The authorities had ambulances, police cars, motorcycles and firetrucks pass by, trail and lead the Chryslers all day and night while the minivans' sensors collected as much data as possible from all speeds, distances and angles.
Mercedes-Benz is building cars that know the road better than you do
As we approach a blind corner on a twisty mountain road above Sunnyvale, there's a moment when I'm sitting in the passenger seat of a pre-production Mercedes-Benz S-Class and I'm not sure that the updated Intelligent Drive will really slow the car down in time for what's up ahead. It does and continues to do so for every corner it encounters. It's an impressive step in the automaker's march toward an autonomous vehicle.
Baidu wants to work with everyone on self-driving tech
Like many big technology companies, Chinese giant Baidu has been working on self-driving cars for a few years now, even investing with Ford in LIDAR sensor company Velodyne. Collaborations between tech firms and carmakers are now commonplace, but after an unsuccessful marriage with BMW, Baidu is seeking new partners -- or rather, all the partners. In a project Baidu calls "Apollo," the company is offering up its whole self-driving platform to the wider industry, from software to reference vehicles, to give the general pursuit of autonomous cars a NOS-like boost.
Uber's self-driving car tests aren't going as well as planned
Uber has lots of work to do to catch up with its rivals' self-driving car technologies. According to the internal test reports Recode obtained, the company's 43 self-driving cars autonomously drove a total of 20,354 miles during the week ending on March 8th. That's impressive, considering it's four times the number of miles Uber's first 20 autonomous cars drove in January. However, the robotic vehicles also had more help from their human drivers that Uber would have liked.
NVIDIA and Bosch team up for AI-powered autonomous cars
NVIDIA lined up quite a few partners at CES this year, including Audi and Mercedes, to use its powerful upcoming Xavier chip in autonomous vehicles. But days ago, Intel bought MobilEye for $15 billion to develop self-driving software and hardware to use across auto brands. To compete, automotive supplier Bosch announced a partnership today with the graphics chip maker to collaborate on an AI-powered self-driving computer intended for mass-market cars.
VW's 'Sedric' self-driving car could chauffer you or strangers
Volkswagen is planning for the future. Today the automaker laid out its plans for Sedric -- short for "self-driving car" -- a sort of hybrid between car ownership and ride-sharing. The boxy, Level 5 autonomous vehicle (no need for a human driver) is summoned by a remote dubbed "The Button" and from there "a single touch of the button guarantees mobility for everyone, at any time and at any location," according to a press release.
Delphi's autonomous system will be available to automakers in 2019
Automotive supplier Delphi has made a of a habit of showing off its self-driving and other research vehicles at CES in recent years, and 2017 is no different. Except now it's ready to commit to a 2019 launch date for its self-driving suite for automakers. I got to take a ride in a specially outfitted Audi on the streets of Las Vegas and walked away impressed.
The designer behind the Toyota Concept-i talks about being friends with a car
A lot of concept cars are coming out of CES. Most of them are geared toward making the passenger experience more relaxing. Toyota wants riders to also be at ease as well, but it also wants the driver to have a good time. Toyota worked with the design Studio Calty to create the car shown at CES. Chief designer Ian Cartabiano chatted with us about what his team hoped to accomplish with the vehicle's interior and what it means for people who love to drive. Interview edited for length and clarity
A whirlwind tour of Faraday Future's ambitious new SUV
"Just a quick reminder that there are no pictures during today's tour." Faraday Future has had its share of bad press. Right before Christmas it invited a group of journalists to tour its headquarters in Gardena, California. The new company was unveiling its first real car at CES in a few weeks. But instead of wowing the world with its nonstop teaser videos, the company's shedding of executives and reports about its financial turmoil drew the most attention. Faraday needed to make a big impression ahead of CES while also ensuring that the technology-drenched FF 91 SUV and the secret sauce behind it were kept under wraps until its big press conference, scheduled for Jan. 3rd in Las Vegas.
Tesla's superfast P100D offers tech-heavy luxury for the rich
When you drive the $134,000 Tesla Model S P100D, you want to tell the world that it goes from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds. You're like a child excited about a new toy, stopping strangers on the streets to regale them with your tales of wonder. But to many, that staggeringly quick acceleration has little to no meaning. They have no personal barometer to judge it against. They really have to experience it.
Google is moving away from its self-driving bubble cars
Alphabet's Larry Page has decided to tweak Google's ambitious driverless car strategy and make it a lot more feasible, according to The Information. The tech giant has reportedly decided to scrap its plans to manufacture autonomous vehicles with no steering wheels and pedals, like its bubble-shaped prototypes called "koala," at least for now. It's new and more realistic approach involves giving its self-driving tech the Android treatment: it has apparently chosen to collaborate with automakers to create driverless cars with pedals and steering wheels that use Google's technology.
