Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Autonomous vehicles

Autonomous car from Italian university wins the racing challenge

by Leave a Comment

A team called PoliMOVE, from Politecnico di Milano in Italy, has won the second annual Indy Autonomous Challenge @ CES.

The team’s car reached a maximum speed of 180 mph (290Km/h), a new autonomous speed world record for a racetrack.

Pushing boundaries of head-to-head autonomous-racing, PoliMOVE competed at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway against a field of nine teams from 17 universities spanning six countries, seeking to break autonomous racing records. [Read more…] about Autonomous car from Italian university wins the racing challenge

ZF partners with Beep to bring autonomous shuttle to US market

by Leave a Comment

ZF has unveiled its next generation shuttle for autonomous driving in urban environments and mixed traffic at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas/ Nevada, USA. The next generation complements the established model, which is primarily designed for use in segregated lanes.

For the new shuttle generation ZF announces a strategic partnership with US mobility services provider Beep. The agreement aims to deliver several thousand shuttles to customers over the coming years, combining ZF’s ATS with Beep’s mobility services and service management platform into a single-source autonomous mobility solution.

Torsten Gollewski, executive vice president, autonomous mobility systems at ZF, says: “In order to reduce traffic-related emissions in metropolitan areas, a reduction in motorized individual transport and a simultaneous expansion of more sustainable, efficient, comfortable, and affordable mobility options are required.” [Read more…] about ZF partners with Beep to bring autonomous shuttle to US market

Baidu aims to create ‘world’s largest fully driverless ride-hailing area’

by Leave a Comment

Baidu, an AI company with strong internet foundation and often referred to as China’s equivalent of Google, has embarked on a major expansion of its commercialized fully driverless robotaxi service in Wuhan.

The new expansion would triple the size of its current operation area, increasing the number of robotaxis in service and expanding operating time to include key evening hours.

The move marks a major milestone on Baidu’s ambitious autonomous ride-hailing roadmap, as the company plans to put an additional 200 fully driverless robotaxis into operation across China in 2023, aiming to cover “the largest fully driverless ride-hailing service area in the world” by the end of the year. [Read more…] about Baidu aims to create ‘world’s largest fully driverless ride-hailing area’

Indy Autonomous Challenge returns to CES

by Leave a Comment

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) returns to CES 2023 to push the boundaries of head-to-head autonomous racing and showcase the future of autonomous mobility.

The IAC will have a significant presence throughout CES 2023 with the Autonomous Challenge @ CES at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on January 7; an exhibit in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) in the LVCC West Hall booth #3601; a tabletop at CES Unveiled on January 3 and a press conference at CES Media Days on January 4. [Read more…] about Indy Autonomous Challenge returns to CES

Arcimoto, Faction, and GoCar Tours partner on development of driverless electric vehicles for tourism rentals

by Leave a Comment

Arcimoto, a maker of electric vehicles, has formed a partnership with Faction Technology and GoCar Tours to develop up to 310 driverless electric vehicles, powered by Faction’s DriveLink and TeleAssist technologies and GoCar’s patented GoCar Network technology, which allows users to explore select cities on their own schedule at their own pace.

The partnership calls for an initial 20-vehicle pilot program to begin at GoCar Tours Las Vegas in 2023.

Upon successful completion of the pilot, GoCar will begin a phased deployment of an additional 290 vehicles to GoCar locations in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and San Diego, California, and later in Barcelona, Spain, and Lisbon, Portugal. [Read more…] about Arcimoto, Faction, and GoCar Tours partner on development of driverless electric vehicles for tourism rentals

Embark provides first autonomous truck to Knight-Swift

by Leave a Comment

Embark Trucks, a developer of autonomous technology for the trucking industry, and Knight-Swift Transportation, one of North America’s largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, have agreed a technology test partnership.

As part of the agreement, Embark has initiated handover of the first Embark-powered truck as part of the Truck Transfer Program.

TTP marks the first public initiative where a carrier will directly own and operate a truck with select features of Embark’s automated driving software, allowing Embark to gain valuable insight from having its system components operating in a carrier customer’s duty cycle. [Read more…] about Embark provides first autonomous truck to Knight-Swift

Motional mobility study shows ‘consumer trust in autonomous vehicles is growing’

by Leave a Comment

Autonomous mobility developer Motional has released new findings from its third annual Consumer Mobility Study, which looks at shifting consumer perceptions toward autonomous vehicles (AVs), as well as preferred AV use cases across generational and gender demographics.

The study found that only one-third (33 percent) of Americans feel uncomfortable with the level of safety, security, and accuracy of AV technology – a shift from 2021 when consumers reported safety (67 percent) as the number one concern related to driverless technology.

Leading the charge in the increasing acceptance of AVs are younger consumers, with a majority of Gen Z survey respondents (67 percent) believing that AVs are safer than human drivers. [Read more…] about Motional mobility study shows ‘consumer trust in autonomous vehicles is growing’

SafeAI raises $38 million funding to develop autonomous heavy equipment

by Leave a Comment

SafeAI, a developer of autonomous solutions for heavy equipment, has raised $38 million in its Series B round of funding with key investors including Builders VC, McKinley Management, George Kaiser Family Foundation, and Energy Innovation Capital.

Additionally, Moog Inc joined the round as a strategic investor. SafeAI retrofits construction and mining vehicles with aftermarket hardware and proprietary autonomy software that delivers significant gains in increased worksite productivity, safety and cost savings.

The company will use the funding to accelerate their autonomous vehicle technology roadmap, and to scale operations globally to service and deploy their growing customer base. [Read more…] about SafeAI raises $38 million funding to develop autonomous heavy equipment

US Army awards Kodiak Robotics $50 million contract for autonomous trucks

by Leave a Comment

Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving trucking company, today announced it has been awarded a $49.9 million, 24-month United States Department of Defense (DoD) agreement to help automate future US Army ground vehicles led by the Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) program.

This effort will be in support of vehicles designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, and other high-risk missions.

Through this award, which started in October 2022 and was awarded by DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) on behalf of the Army’s RCV program office, Kodiak will leverage its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for driverless vehicles that further strengthen national security. [Read more…] about US Army awards Kodiak Robotics $50 million contract for autonomous trucks

Motional launches first robotaxi service on the Uber network

by Leave a Comment

Motional’s new all-electric IONIQ 5 robotaxis will be available on UberX and Uber Comfort Electric in select markets, contributing to Uber’s 2030 zero emissions goal.

Motional and Uber today announced the launch of their public robotaxi service in Las Vegas, Nevada. For the first time ever, Uber customers are able to hail an autonomous ride using Motional’s all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5-based robotaxis.

Motional and Uber are launching with vehicle operators now to lay the groundwork for a fully driverless commercial service, with the goal of launching the driverless service to the public in 2023. [Read more…] about Motional launches first robotaxi service on the Uber network