Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Autonomous Vehicles

Estonian company launches ‘first’ autonomous bus in Greece

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An autonomous bus named “Iseauto” has started its work in Greece, in the city of Lamia. The bus has been developed in Estonia and offers a full-scale autonomous service that was first piloted in the summer in Tallinn, in Ülemiste City.

For the first time in Greek history, a fully street-legal autonomous vehicle is operational in the context of an autonomous public transport pilot project led by Estonians.

The autonomous minibus developed by AuveTech in Estonia is the first “4th category” – or Level 4 – autonomous vehicle that has been pigeonholed “street-legal” in Greece. [Read more…] about Estonian company launches ‘first’ autonomous bus in Greece

Autonomous boats could be your next ride

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Five years in the making, MIT’s autonomous floating vessels get an upgrade in size and learn a new way to communicate aboard the waters

The feverish race to produce the shiniest, safest, speediest self-driving car has spilled over into our wheelchairs, scooters, and even golf carts.

Moreover, recently, there’s been movement from land to sea, as marine autonomy stands to change the canals of our cities, with the potential to deliver goods and services and collect waste across our waterways.

In an update to a five-year project from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Senseable City Lab, researchers have been developing the world’s first fleet of autonomous boats for the city of Amsterdam, and have recently added a new, larger vessel to the group: “Roboat II”. (See video below.) [Read more…] about Autonomous boats could be your next ride

Daimler Trucks and Torc Robotics partner with Luminar to develop autonomous trucks

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Luminar Technologies, an autonomous vehicle sensor and software company, and Daimler Trucks have agreed a strategic partnership to enable highly automated – or autonomous – trucking, starting on highways.

Experts at Daimler Trucks, its US subsidiary, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and Torc Robotics, part of Daimler Trucks’ Autonomous Technology Group, with the experts at Luminar are collaboratively pursuing a common goal of bringing series-produced highly automated trucks (SAE Level 4) to roads globally.

The teams will work closely together in order to enhance lidar sensing, perception, and system-level performance for Daimler trucks moving at highway speeds. To strengthen the partnership, Daimler Trucks has acquired a minority stake in Luminar. [Read more…] about Daimler Trucks and Torc Robotics partner with Luminar to develop autonomous trucks

Locomation completes autonomous truck test involving three states

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Locomation, a startup company providing autonomous trucking technology, has completed an on-road test that involved three different states in America.

The pilot program is intended to showcase autonomous trucking technology for the SmartBelt Coalition (SBC), a collaboration of five transportation agencies and seven research and academic institutions, located throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Over the course of one week, two Locomation trucks performed three separate interstate routes under close observation from representatives of all involved organizations. [Read more…] about Locomation completes autonomous truck test involving three states

Are autonomous cars safe in bad driving conditions?

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Autonomous vehicles are the future and becoming increasingly common on the roads along with many impressive driverless features.

However, as we move along into the winter months, it is worth raising the question of whether or not these cars are safe in the winter conditions.

This particular time of the year has been known to pose extra challenges on the road. [Read more…] about Are autonomous cars safe in bad driving conditions?

Mercedes-Benz pioneers new automated driving software

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Mercedes-Benz stands out among its competitors in the race for autonomy in one important way, reports the Economic Times – in its reliance on its own engineers (rather than the general public) to validate its new advanced driver assistance system.

Most recently, the German firm announced that it has developed a similar system to Tesla’s Fully Self Driving Software. This system is currently being tested and promises to reduce accident rates in a dramatic way, since computers have an ability to react to road hazards much faster than human beings do.

What features does this system promise and when is it likely to appear on public roads? [Read more…] about Mercedes-Benz pioneers new automated driving software

The Self-Driving Future

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As we put more and more emphasis on AI and automation, in the near future we can expect to see the growth in self-driving cars to incline exponentially.

While there is a lot of skepticism as well as the general questioning of this growing trend of being a healthy one for society as a whole, self-driving automated vehicles do have a variety of advantages that they can offer to the world.

Unfortunately, not many people realize this and choose to overlook these benefits in favor of a more dour and depressing outlook on the future. However, these benefits do exist and they can help us in many ways. [Read more…] about The Self-Driving Future

Driving the future: How AI will shape the fleet industry

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is simply an intelligent machine.

Unlike a human’s natural intelligence, AI is where a machine has been programmed to possess intelligence which can help make jobs and tasks easier for us.

It’s used in many industries, but one where it is already present and going to thrive further is in the fleet industry. [Read more…] about Driving the future: How AI will shape the fleet industry

4 Ways Self-Driving Cars Will Change Our Lives

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Automotive technology has come a long way over the years, and as you may know already, autonomous cars will be the next big innovation. Autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars, are vehicles that use advanced technology to drive themselves.

They do not require the input or supervision of a human driver. Some of the giant motor vehicle manufacturers have actually produced dozens of these vehicles by now, but it seems there will be a long wait before we can have these driverless cars everywhere. Nonetheless, here are four ways self-driving cars will change our lives. [Read more…] about 4 Ways Self-Driving Cars Will Change Our Lives

Driverless cars: what technology do they need apart from being ‘driverless’?

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The concept of “driverless” had existed for decades, and as time went on, it became a reality. And it is emerging to be the norm in the next decade.

Especially because of Google’s most surprising startup – Waymo. This company originally started off as a self-driving car project but has made a name of itself.

In fact, Waymo is even launching driverless taxi services in Phoenix. Driverless cars are all the rage now, but so are startups. [Read more…] about Driverless cars: what technology do they need apart from being ‘driverless’?