Robotics & Automation News

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Transportation

RoboSense provides lidar for all-weather autonomous driving shuttle bus

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RoboSense, a lidar perception technology solutions firm, has provided cold-resistant all-weather lidar for the world’s first autonomous driving shuttle bus.

The bus, named Gacha, is equipped with RoboSense’s  cold-resistant 16-beam mechanical lidar environment perception system for operating vehicles in harsh winter and other severe weather conditions.

The shuttle bus was designed in collaboration with Finnish autonomous driving company Sensible 4, which provided software for positioning, navigation, and obstacle detection; Muji, which provided expertise in design and user experience; and RoboSense.

[Read more…] about RoboSense provides lidar for all-weather autonomous driving shuttle bus

Denso invests $5 million in Airbiquity connected vehicle technology

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Denso has taken a $5 million stake in Seattle-based Airbiquity, a connected vehicle services company and a pioneer in the development of automotive telematics technology.

The investment will accelerate the development of over-the-air (OTA) systems for wirelessly updating automotive software from a remote location.

OTA systems have been increasingly commercialised to update the software of multimedia products, such as car navigation systems. This is critical for automakers as the industry quickly moves toward electrification and autonomous vehicles.

[Read more…] about Denso invests $5 million in Airbiquity connected vehicle technology

Hyundai develops smartphone-based digital car-key

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Hyundai Motor Group has developed a ‘Digital Key’, which allows users to unlock and start their Hyundai vehicle via their smartphone.

Replacing a traditional physical key, the new Digital Key can be downloaded via an app and used by up to four authorised people.

The Digital Key can be downloaded via a cell phone application and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology detects the presence of an authorised Digital Key-enabled cellphone in close proximity to the vehicle door.

[Read more…] about Hyundai develops smartphone-based digital car-key

Nissan and Docomo test Invisible-to Visible technology using 5G in a moving vehicle

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Nissan and NTT Docomo are putting Nissan’s Invisible-to-Visible technology through its field test in a moving vehicle, using Docomo’s fifth-generation mobile communications connectivity.

The technology, first revealed at the CES trade show in Las Vegas in January, is being tested at Grandrive, Nissan’s proving ground in Yokosuka, Japan.

Invisible-to-Visible, or I2V, is a future Nissan Intelligent Mobility technology that merges the real and virtual worlds.

[Read more…] about Nissan and Docomo test Invisible-to Visible technology using 5G in a moving vehicle

ZF expands its R&D capacities in Friedrichshafen

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ZF Friedrichshafen AG has opened the doors of its new testing centre for drive technologies. This centre provides extended capacities for testing electric, hybrid and combustion engine drives in Friedrichshafen.

The company also took the opportunity to announce its future plans for the R&D Centre site with the construction of a new office building next to the testing centre, designed to create additional working space for the developers who work there.

“The new testing centre for drive technologies is the fitness centre for mobility of the future. This is where all of ZF’s vehicle drives are technologically fine-tuned to get them in peak condition,” said Chief Executive Officer of ZF, Wolf-Henning Scheider.

[Read more…] about ZF expands its R&D capacities in Friedrichshafen

Toyota and Carmera partner on HD maps for automated vehicles

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Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development, Inc. TRI-AD and Carmera, Inc. are joining forces to conduct a proof of concept on developing camera-based automation of high definition (HD) maps for urban and surface roads.

This is the first step towards making TRI-AD’s open software platform concept, known as Automated Mapping Platform, to support the scalability of highly automated driving, by combining data gathered from vehicles of participating companies to generate HD maps.

Automated driving requires highly reliable road information based on HD map data. While the creation of highway HD maps is under way, this coverage represents less than 1% of the worldwide road network.

[Read more…] about Toyota and Carmera partner on HD maps for automated vehicles

Maps show charging points for electric cars on journeys across the US

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One of the main reasons for the slow growth of the electric car market in the past few decades was the lack of availability of charging points.

Now, in the past year or two, not only have more automotive giants developed electric car models as serious market propositions rather than novelties, many companies have also been developing electric vehicle charging technologies and networks.

Prices of electric vehicles are still relatively high, but they will come down as demand leads to economies of scale in manufacturing.  [Read more…] about Maps show charging points for electric cars on journeys across the US

Volkswagen opens electric platform to third parties

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The Volkswagen Group is opening its Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) to other manufacturers.

It says the purpose is to achieve a significant reduction in the cost of e-mobility through the widest possible deployment of the MEB and the associated economies of scale, thus enabling broad access to individual mobility to continue in future.

The Volkswagen Group is currently projecting a first wave of some 15 million pure electric vehicles based on the MEB.

[Read more…] about Volkswagen opens electric platform to third parties

How in-car technology has brought the motoring world into the 21st century

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In-car technology is becoming more and more advanced, with the number of vehicles fitted with the gadgets increasing all the time too.

Whether you’re behind the wheel of an eye-catching Lamborghini or a nimble city car, there’s a good chance that you have experienced some of these handy features at work.

In this guide though, we’ve looked to showcase five pieces of in-car technology which has significantly improved life behind the wheel…  [Read more…] about How in-car technology has brought the motoring world into the 21st century

Volvo partners with Singapore university to launch ‘world’s first’ 12-metre fully electric autonomous bus

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Global automaker Volvo has partnered with a Singapore university to launch what they say is “the world’s first 12-metre fully electric autonomous bus”. (See video below.)

Volvo Buses and the Nanyang Technological University and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority say the new autonomous bus is the first of two buses they plan to operate.

They add that the vehicle has “completed rigorous testing and is ready for trials on designated public roads”.  [Read more…] about Volvo partners with Singapore university to launch ‘world’s first’ 12-metre fully electric autonomous bus