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Samsung is testing self-driving car technology in South Korea
Samsung's ambitions to be a player in the self-driving car space aren't new, but today the company hit a big milestone. The company's home country of South Korea has approved Samsung's plans to test self-driving cars on real roads, not just test courses. According to the Korea Herald, Samsung isn't building cars itself. Instead, the company is working on developing sensors and computer parts that are backed up by its artificial intelligence and deep learning software.
Verizon thinks it can be a serious player in self-driving cars
Verizon has long had a strong interest in connected cars, and it's no surprise as to why: it stands to make a lot of money if your ride is constantly transmitting drive data or streaming music. It would only make sense that the telecom wants in on self-driving cars, then. To that end, Verizon's venture wing has invested in Renovo, an automotive startup that has lately turned its attention to creating a platform that would help manage a whole fleet of autonomous vehicles. Renovo wouldn't be taking Tesla head-on with this tech -- it would be focused more on ridesharing and other services where driverless cars would need to work in harmony.
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.
Amazon is interested in self-driving vehicles, too
Apple and Alphabet aren't the only tech heavyweights branching out into self-driving vehicle technology. Amazon wants in on the action, too. Wall Street Journal sources hear that Amazon formed a small (roughly 12 people) team about a year ago to explore the possibilities of autonomous vehicles. This doesn't guarantee you'll see Amazon-made driverless vans roaming the streets, to be clear. Rather, the group is an "in-house think tank" looking at ways to take advantage of self-driving tech for the company's online shopping business. With that said, smarter delivery vehicles are a real possibility.
Another startup promises self-driving taxis 'soon'
Popular online learning service Udacity already trains engineers for work in the fast-growing autonomous vehicles field, but now the company is ready to harness all that talent and launch its own self-driving taxi company. Led by CEO (and former Udacity Vice President) Oliver Cameron, the new spin-off company will be called Voyage and has given itself the goal of getting autonomous taxis to "real users" in less than five years.
Mercedes and Bosch want you in a self-driving taxi ASAP
Mercedes parent Daimler has put aside its own project to develop a self-driving car and will now collaborate with automotive supplier Bosch. The two companies plan to deliver fully autonomous "level 5" tech by the "beginning of the next decade," with a focus on city driving and autonomous car-sharing. "It will allow people to make the best possible use of their time in the vehicle and open up new mobility opportunities for people without a driver's licenses," Daimler said in a press release.
Uber resumes self-driving car tests following crash (updated)
Uber's freeze on self-driving car tests following the Arizona crash was very short-lived. The ridesharing firm tells Engadget that it's "resuming our development operations" in San Francisco as of this morning -- you should see test cars back on the streets very shortly. The Arizona and Pittsburgh cars are still idle as of this writing, but they're expected to go back into service soon.
