How Confused Are Consumers About Self-Driving Cars?
Posted on May 9, 2018
A recent study that polled more than 1,000 consumers about self-driving vehicles concluded that the general public is very confused on the topic. A key component of the survey noted that almost half the participants have a hard time discerning the difference between a semi-autonomous vehicle and a fully autonomous vehicle. Another item that stood out in the survey is the government’s role in the development of self-driving vehicles. Over 60% of respondents believe the government should be involved while 34% believe it should be left up to the manufacturers.
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Autonomous Vehicle Project Reaches Landmark With First Public Demonstration
Posted on May 3, 2018
Driven, a group researching autonomous vehicles, launched its first public demonstration involving two cars driving on their own at its headquarters at the Culham Science Centre in Abingdon. The two vehicles used their cameras, computers and sensors to navigate the track which included basic traffic, cyclists and pedestrians. The Driven group is comprised of a number of companies, including XL Catlin, who is developing a risk assessment tool that will enable the users of autonomous vehicles to make decisions about what level of autonomy and speed is appropriate for what driving conditions,...
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BMW Announces Solid-State LiDAR System For Self-Driving Vehicles
Posted on Apr 30, 2018
BMW announced it will use solid-state LiDAR system for the company’s self-driving vehicles, which they plan to put into production by 2021. Israeli startup, Innoviz Technologies, along with Magna, will provide the technology that utilizes solid-state LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors with computer vision technology. The BMW contract is one of the first in the automotive industry involving a solid-state system, potentially opening the door for the technology and indicating a new scheme of cheaper autonomous driving.
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England And Michigan To Work Together On Driverless Cars
Posted on Apr 24, 2018
Michigan governor Rick Snyder and UK business minister Richard Harrington signed a contract of understanding allowing agencies and businesses in Detroit to work with organizations in the UK on new technologies and new rules related to the development of autonomous vehicles and smart roads. British organizations will be able to share experiences with their counterparts in Michigan and make use of MCity and the American Center for Mobility, two driverless car testing grounds.
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Alibaba Joins Baidu And Tencent In China’s Autonomous Car Race
Posted on Apr 19, 2018
Alibaba has joined rival internet giants Baidu and Tencent—which are collectively known as BAT—in the artificial intelligence-driven industry. The company is looking to hire 50 more self-driving specialists for its AI research lab and is now running road tests of autonomous cars on a regular basis. The company has capabilities for open road trials with a goal of achieving Level 4 autonomous capability, meaning cars can self-drive in most conditions without human intervention. Baidu, which was previously identified by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology as national champion in China’s...
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Jaguar Land Rover To Test Cars That See Through Obstacles
Posted on Apr 18, 2018
Jaguar Land Rover is leading project “AutopleX” to develop self-driving cars that have the ability “see” at blind points and through obstacles. AutopleX will aim to use technology to deliver information earlier to self-driving vehicles allowing communication with road users and detection of obstacles when no direct view is available. This should allow the vehicles to safely merge lanes, traverse roundabouts and safely advance around blind turns. AutopleX will develop the technology through simulation and public road testing both on motorways and in urban environments.
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BMW Opens Campus to Develop Autonomous Vehicles
Posted on Apr 12, 2018
BMW recently opened an autonomous driving campus in Bavaria, allowing a centralization of development of fully automated driving. Fifteen months ago, BMW decided to pool together its development resources in the fields of vehicle connectivity and highly and fully automated driving at a single location, according to a BMW announcement. The campus will house more than 1,500 employees and is near the Research and Innovation Center and motorway network. The company is recruiting software developers in the areas of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analysis. The theory behind...
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Head Of Self-Driving Cars at Audi Leaves Company
Posted on Apr 11, 2018
Audi’s Senior Vice President of Automated Driving has left the company. Alejandro Vukotich had been the head of Audi’s autonomous efforts since January 2017. While he led Audi’s research into advanced driver assist systems [ADAS], Vukotich is best known for his role in developing Audi’s new A8, a model the company claims is the first production car to offer Level 3 automated driving capabilities. The A8 is the first series model to offer a lidar scanner. Vukotich and his team had worked to develop a comprehensive sensor and processor network involving no fewer than 23 pieces of hardware. It...
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Do People Want Self-Driving Cars In Their Neighborhoods?
Posted on Apr 9, 2018
A recent survey of 1,100 California residents found that more than half of all residents surveyed (57%) said they don’t want autonomous vehicles on the streets of their neighborhoods. Less than one in four (23%) said it would be OK, and about one in five (19%) said they weren’t sure. State residents expressed similar views when asked about the relative safety of self-driven cars. More than half (57%) said they would feel “unsafe” or “very unsafe” riding in such a car, 28% said they would feel “safe” or “very safe,” and 15% said they were not sure. Finally, a Pew Research poll released in...
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Indonesia Requires Registration of Ride-Hailing Companies
Posted on Apr 4, 2018
The government of Indonesia recently announced that ride-hailing companies in that country could not be registered as technology companies, but must be registered as transportation companies. This transition would give more protection to the companies’ drivers. Currently, the regulation applies only to cars, but motorcycle-taxi drivers would like the rules to be expanded for their protection as well. The biggest companies affected by the change are Go-Jek and Grab, the latter of which recently acquired the southeast Asian business of Uber.
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Self-Driving Trucks on the Road in Arizona
Posted on Mar 8, 2018
Uber recently revealed that it has been operating self-driving trucks to carry shipments for commercial customers in Arizona. The company has two transfer hubs on opposite sides of the state. According to the company, the self-driving trucks operate between transfer hubs: for example, a regular truck will deliver a shipment to a transfer hub, where an Uber self-driving truck (with a human driver inside, for now) will pick up the trailer. The self-driving truck will then take the shipment to the other transfer hub, and a regular truck will pick it up and deliver it to the final destination....
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Trade Wars and European Cars
Posted on Mar 6, 2018
President Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on European cars imported to the United States. The United States currently imposes a 2.5% tariff on foreign cars, and a 25% tariff on foreign trucks and commercial vans, while the European Union charges as 10% tariff on cars from the United States. The President complained about the tariffs imposed by the European Union and the effect on business in the United States. However, it remains to be seen whether these or any tariffs on imported automobiles will actually go into effect.
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Driving Through Red Lights — Coming Soon?
Posted on Mar 5, 2018
The Utah legislature may soon be voting on a bill that would allow drivers to run a red light. More accurately, the bill would allow drivers to drive through a red light after stopping and safely looking in all directions to confirm no other vehicles, cyclists, or pedestrians are coming. A similar law allows bicycles to run red lights in certain circumstances. The Utah Department of Transportation opposes the bill, however, arguing that it is unsafe for drivers to go through a red light and that signals on state roads are able to detect vehicles waiting at the light.
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Study Finds Americans Still Wary of Autonomous Vehicles
Posted on Mar 2, 2018
In a recent Gallup poll, nearly 60% of the more than 3,000 survey participants said they would be uncomfortable riding in an autonomous vehicle. Survey participants were even more reluctant to share the road with driverless trucks, with nearly 70% stating that they would be uneasy. The responses varied by age, with those over 66 least likely to accept autonomous vehicles. Nearly 70% of those over age 66 said that they would be unlikely to use an autonomous vehicle, compared only 41% of millennials. For the time being, companies working on autonomous vehicles are investing heavily in research...
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