Uber’s self-driving project could have been a collaborative effort between the ride-hailing giant and a major automaker, according to a report by The Information. In the summer, Uber rejected an acquisition offer for the self-driving unit by an unnamed automaker. That led executives to discuss the possibility of further collaboration with automakers, to offset some… Read more »
Self-driving startup nuTonomy said it hopes to launch a commercial ride service in Singapore by the second quarter of 2018, possibly in partnership with local ride-hailing service Grab. Originally an MIT spin-off, nuTonomy has worked on self-driving software for three years. It started trialling its tech in Singapore in 2016, and expanded its shuttle program… Read more »
The Colorado Department of Transportation has said it will deploy a self-driving truck to protect road crews from speeding vehicles by the end of this fall, potentially extending the program to cover all road maintenance if the trial is a success. The self-driving truck will act as a “crash truck”, which moves slowly behind road… Read more »
Apple is reportedly working on a self-driving shuttle service for its employees, moving them between Palo Alto and 1 Infinite Loop, the company’s headquarters. The shuttle service will use the company’s own self-driving software, which has been in development since the ‘Titan’ project started three years ago. The shuttle will be from a third-party manufacturer,… Read more »
Car ownership is predicted to decline as self-driving cars hit the roads, with more people, especially in cities, opting for a taxi or shuttle. When that happens, Ford wants to be the company supplying taxi operators with vehicles. In a blog post, Ford vice president of autonomous vehicles, Sherif Marakby, said the company is aiming… Read more »
Google’s self-driving division Waymo has announced it will be retiring the Firefly car, the nearly iconic pod-like vehicle that was manufactured in-house to experiment. Waymo is now moving to mass produced vehicles, like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. It received 600 minivans from Fiat Chrysler last year and is in the process of outfitting the vehicles… Read more »
Finland could be the first country to have a regular autonomous shuttle service, with city transportation officials aiming to debut the service this fall. Tests have been ongoing since August 2016, when the shuttle was first deployed on a quarter-mile course with 12 passengers on board. See Also: Scandinavia leaps ahead of everyone in IoT… Read more »
Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Motors are collaborating in the U.K. on a scheme called Autodrive, which is working on communication systems for self-driving cars. The most recent test, held in Nuneaton, a town in Warwickshire, England, looked into several safety systems aimed at reducing accidents. These included emergency warning technology and collision warnings,… Read more »
Facebook-owned Oculus has patented a lightweight smart glasses concept that would be able to “augment views of a physical, real-world environment with computer-generated elements.” The patent shows a pair of glasses that look like basic shades, which would force the electronics to be packed in tightly, similar to the first version of Google Glass. Instead… Read more »
Jawbone, once rivaling Fitbit for the top spot in the fitness wearable market, has begun liquidation proceedings after years of lackluster product launches and job cuts. Hosain Rahman, the CEO and co-founder of Jawbone, has already established a new startup, Jawbone Health Hub, which will work on connected products for the health industry, says The… Read more »
