Driverless cars – Impact Lab (2024)

Waymo, the autonomous driving technology company, has received approval from California regulators to expand its self-driving robotaxis operations in select areas of Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) greenlit Waymo’s expansion plans, allowing its vehicles to navigate local roads and highways at speeds of up to 65mph in authorized zones. Despite this advancement, Waymo asserts that it will proceed with caution, emphasizing a careful and incremental approach to its expansion and clarifying that there are no immediate plans to extend service to highways.

This decision comes after a temporary halt on Waymo’s expansion last month, prompted by concerns raised by various San Francisco city agencies and advocacy groups regarding the safety of driverless vehicles. Recent incidents, including a Waymo car colliding with a bicyclist and a Cruise vehicle striking and dragging a pedestrian, have heightened scrutiny over autonomous vehicle safety.

Continue reading… “Waymo’s Self-Driving Expansion Granted Approval Amid Safety Concerns”

As someone who once reveled in the joy of playing with Transformers as a child, stumbling upon the Xpeng Aeroht booth at CES 2024 ignited a nostalgic and futuristic thrill. The booth showcased the Xpeng Aeroht supercar concept, which ingeniously transforms into a flying car with propellers emerging from the vehicle’s rear.

This Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) Flying Car is designed to offer “effortless navigation through congested areas and obstacles when conditions permit.” While the feasibility of such conditions may be subject to debate, the concept of soaring above traffic jams is undeniably appealing. Xpeng Aeroht, self-proclaimed as the largest flying car company in Asia, positions its eVTOL Flying Car as a solution for short-distance, low-altitude travel.

Continue reading… “Xpeng Aeroht Unveils Futuristic Flying Car Concept at CES 2024”

In a recent report, Waymo, the autonomous driving technology company, has asserted that its Waymo Driver self-driving vehicles exhibit a remarkable safety record, surpassing the performance of human drivers in terms of crashes and injuries.

Data Highlights Superior Safety Performance

According to Waymo’s data, its self-driving vehicles have achieved a substantial 57% reduction in crashes reported to the police and an even more significant 85% reduction in crashes resulting in bodily injury. The data is based on 7.14 million rider-only miles and is compared to benchmark human driver crash rates in the same areas, covering parts of San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.

Continue reading… “Waymo’s Autonomous Triumph: Data Reveals Remarkable Safety Performance of Waymo Driver”

In a significant leap forward, Mercedes introduces the Drive Pilot, redefining the landscape of autonomous driving. Unlike other driving assistance systems, such as Tesla’s Full Self Driving and General Motor’s Super Cruise, Mercedes’ Drive Pilot allows drivers the unique advantage of taking their eyes off the road continuously, engaging in activities like surfing the Internet or playing games on the car’s center screen.

Unprecedented Autonomy

While traditional systems necessitate constant driver attention, the Drive Pilot employs sensors to ensure wakefulness, granting drivers the freedom to divert their attention until the system alerts them to resume control, especially in situations like changing traffic speeds.

Continue reading… “Mercedes Innovates with Drive Pilot: A Closer Look at Autonomous Driving Advancements”

Autonomous driving technology heavily relies on sensors to gather essential data for safe vehicle navigation. However, when these sensors develop scratches that hinder their performance, it raises concerns regarding the safety of self-driving cars. Addressing this predicament, researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology have introduced a groundbreaking self-healing lens material that can effectively mitigate the safety risks associated with damaged sensors.

The research team emphasized the recurring occurrence of traffic accidents caused by recognition and malfunctions of vision systems, such as LiDAR sensors and image sensors in self-driving cars. As a result, confidence in the safety of autonomous vehicles has remained relatively low. In response to this challenge, the team developed a transparent lens material capable of restoring scratches on sensor surfaces, thereby preventing signal distortion and prolonging the product’s lifespan.

Continue reading… “Revolutionary Self-Healing Lens Material Boosts Safety of Autonomous Driving Technology”

Traffic lights could become obsolete in 20 years, an engineer supporting a groundbreaking self-driving cars trial said.

According to an engineer, self-driving cars could render traffic lights obsolete in the next 20 years. Mr. John Miles, a professor of engineering at the University of Cambridge, said that the “autonomous vehicles will need fewer rules than cars driven by humans”. In an interview with The Times, he stated, “A future without traffic lights is feasible as autonomous vehicles become more prevalent and connected.”

Mr. Miles further elaborated on the benefits of such a future, saying that it would lead to fewer accidents and better traffic flow. He also stated that the current system of traffic lights is outdated and that “it’s time for a change”.

However, not everyone is convinced that this is the way forward. Mr. Greg Wilson, a former Formula One engineer, said that the idea of getting rid of traffic lights was “absurd”. He stated that even if self-driving cars become more prevalent, there will still be a need for some form of regulation at junctions and roundabouts.

Continue reading… “Self-driving cars could make traffic lights obsolete in 20 years – engineer”

Riders in Austin, Texas can now select an autonomous vehicle in theLyftapp to help them get around their city.

BYMARK ALLINSON

This marks the first time that a commercial autonomous service is available in Austin, Texas and marks the third city where Lyft riders can hail an autonomous ride along with Miami, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Most people’s first autonomous vehicle experience will be on a ride hailing network like Lyft. For riders in Austin, this new ride mode looks just like any other Lyft ride. Riders can hail an autonomous vehicle (a Ford self-driving car powered by Argo AI technology) directly in the Lyft app for the same price as a normal Lyft ride.

Riders will be able to control their ride without the assistance of a driver. When their vehicle arrives, the rider can unlock the doors, start their ride, and even contact customer support all from within the Lyft app.

At this time, a rider will also be accompanied by two safety operators, as Lyft says it prepares for a “fully autonomous future”.

Continue reading… “Lyft plans ‘fully autonomous future’ as it starts driverless car rides to customers in Austin, Texas”

Every commercial airplane carries a “black box” that preserves a second-by-second history of everything that happens in the aircraft’s systems as well as of the pilots’ actions, and those records have been priceless in figuring out the causes of crashes.

Why shouldn’t self-driving cars and robots have the same thing? It’s not a hypothetical question.

Federal transportation authoritiesare investigating a dozen crashesinvolving Tesla cars equipped with its “AutoPilot” system, which allows nearly hands-free driving. Eleven people died in those crashes, one of whom was hit by a Tesla while he was changing a tire on the side of a road.

Yet, every car company is ramping up its automated driving technologies. For instance, even Walmart is partnering with Ford and Argo AI to testself-driving cars for home deliveries, and Lyft is teaming up with the same companies to test afleet of robo-taxis.

But self-directing autonomous systems go well behind cars, trucks, and robot welders on factory floors. Japanese nursing homes use “care-bots” to deliver meals, monitor patients, and even provide companionship. Walmart and other stores userobots to mop floors. At least a half-dozen companies now sellrobot lawnmowers.(What could go wrong?)

Continue reading… “Should self-driving cars come with black box recorders?”

Self-driving cars could generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from mobile internet services and products, even if occupants spend only a fraction of their free time on the web, according to a new study by McKinsey & Company.

Self-driving cars could generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from mobile internet services and products, even if occupants spend only a fraction of their free time on the web, according to a new study by McKinsey & Company.

The study, released Thursday, also projects that widespread adoption of self-driving cars could lead to a 90 per cent reduction in US vehicle crashes, with a potential savings of nearly $200 billion a year from significantly fewer injuries and deaths.

In addition, the McKinsey study warns of several risks to established companies, including vehicle manufacturers, dealers and even insurance companies.

Continue reading… “Self-Driving Cars Could Generate Billions in Revenue: Study”

y Rita Liao

There are plenty of autonomous driving vehicles testing on the roads of Shenzhen today: Pony.ai, Baidu, DeepRoute, AutoX, you name it. But these vehicles are not really the unmanned vehicles that tech upstarts envision for the future, as they have been required to operate with a safety driver behind the wheel.

A set of provisions introduced by the Shenzhen government is bringing the industry one step closer to a driverless future.The “Silicon Valley of China” that’s home to the likes of Huawei, Tencent and DJI is historically known for its progressive economic policies, so it’s unsurprising that the city just became the first in China to have laid out comprehensive rules governing smart and connected vehicles.

Theregulation, which is set to take effect on August 1, grants permission for autonomous driving vehicles to operate without a human in the driver’s seat — though only within areas designated by the city’s authorities.

Continue reading… “Real driverless cars are now legal in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub”

China’s Baidu, Inc. has unveiled its next-generation fully autonomous vehicle (AV) Apollo RT6, an all-electric, production-ready modelwith a detachable steering wheel. Designed for complex urban environments, Apollo RT6 will be put into operation inChinain 2023 on Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service.

The steering wheel-free design frees up more space to allow the installation of extra seating, vending machines, desktops, or gaming consoles.

Apollo RT6 integrates Baidu’s most advanced L4 autonomous driving system, powered by automotive-grade dual computing units with a computing power of up to 1200 TOPS.

The vehicle utilises 38 sensors, including 8 LiDARs and 12 cameras, to obtain highly accurate, long-range detection on all sides.

Apollo RT6 is the first vehicle model built on Xinghe, Baidu’s self-developed automotive E/E architecture specially for fully autonomous driving.

Continue reading… “Baidu Unveils Next-Gen Autonomous Vehicle With Detachable Steering Wheel”

_{As Jonathan Bartlett notes, the recent Frisco foul-up shows the need for roads adapted to include self-driving cars}

The future was here, briefly at least. The driverless cars of GM’s autonomous driving unit, Cruise, started charging fares early last month in a limited area in San Francisco. Google’s Waymo also operates driverless cars in Frisco but hasn’t yet started charging fares. With the regulators and the tech media, it certainly seemed likeall systems were go:

The era of commercial autonomous robotaxi service is here — Cruise officially became the first company to offer fared rides to the general public in a major city as of late Wednesday. The milestone comes after Cruise received official approval from the California Public Utilities Commission in early June to operate driverless in a commercial capacity.

Initially, Cruise’s driverless autonomous offering will operate only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and only on designated streets in the city.

DARRELL ETHERINGTON, “CRUISE’S DRIVERLESS AUTONOMOUS CARS START GIVING RIDES TO PAYING PASSENGERS” ATTECHCRUNCH(JUNE 24, 2022)

But then,less than a week later,

Continue reading… “DRIVERLESS CARS NEED SMARTER ROADS: A TALE FROM SAN FRANCISCO”