Ford chooses HERE to enable hands-free driving
Ford has chosen mapping company HERE to support its technology to allow semi-autonomous driving in vehicles. HERE is providing the mapping platform to detail which roads across the US and Canada would be safe for Ford cars to take over control from the driver in what Ford is branding “Hands-Free Driving”. Ford uses the HERE […]
Volvo and Waymo working on electric ride hailing service
Carmaker Volvo has agreed a deal with Google’s driverless car division Waymo to develop an electric driverless ride-hailing service. The companies aim to integrate Waymo’s fully self-driving technology – the Waymo Driver – into what they call “an all-new mobility-focused platform”. Volvo is also including its partners Polestar and Lynk & Co in the project. […]
“Deepfake” tech “brings universal autonomy in sight
The Oxford-based technology firm Oxbotica has announced it’s developed and deployed technology to teach driverless vehicles the “near infinite” variations of a single situation without it having to test in the real world. It says it’s using “deepfake” technology that is capable of generating thousands of photo-realistic images in minutes, employing deep learning artificial intelligence […]
International support for driverless car regulations
60 countries have agreed to sign up to a United Nations Regulation aimed at the safe introduction of automated vehicles in certain traffic environments. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe-led code establishes strict requirements for Automated Lane Keeping Systems for passenger cars which, once activated, are in primary control of the vehicle. However, the […]
Amazon buys driverless company Zoox
Amazon’s spending more than a billion dollars to buy American driverless start-up Zoox. Analysts think the retailer will use the technology to expand into the ride hailing business rather than for autonomous deliveries, although clearly that would be attractive to save costs in the logistics side of its operation. A price has not been disclosed […]
London designers unveil the “quarter car” autonomous concept
Industrial design and innovation company Seymourpowell has revealed details of Quarter Car, which is an autonomous vehicle with four segregated luxury pods. The idea is people can share mobility whilst having their own personal space. Seymourpowell says the concept “envisions the future of the digital ride hailing economy and shared transport through a personalised, autonomous […]
BMW and Mercedes suspend driverless collaboration
Less than a year after they started working together, BMW and Mercedes have announced they’re putting their development cooperation on hold. In a statement, BMW says that the two companies have arrived at a “mutual and amicable” agreement to concentrate on their existing development paths – which may also include working with current or new […]
US introduces voluntary CAV data reporting
American vehicle safety regulators are unveiling a voluntary national scheme to disclose data on autonomous vehicle testing. At the moment the regulation varies state-by-state with California requiring publication of every accident, while other states do not. Reuters reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is unveiling the Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe […]
Ford adds hands-free driving in North America
Carmaker Ford is launching a range of new technology features on its cars, including Active Drive Assist, which allows for hands-free driving on more than 100,000 miles of divided highways in all 50 states and Canada. It says Active Drive Assist on the Ford Co-Pilot360™ Technology is the “next evolution” of Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with […]
Driverless car company gets VW investment to expand to Europe
The American self-driving car company Argo has received a $2.6 billion (approx £2 billion) investment from Volkswagen to expand into Europe. Its CEO Bryan Salesky has blogged that the move to add a centre in Europe “differentiates us as the only self-driving technology platform company with partnerships and commercial agreements for deployment across the U.S. and Europe.” […]