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Opinion: Will autonomous cars ever gain regulatory approval to operate freely on public roads?

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The news that General Motors has decided to fold Cruise into its overall business should send shock waves through the industry. If Cruise can’t do it, with all its money and giant parent’s backing, who can?

Cruise is a relatively new startup which had huge optimism around it because several billion dollars were invested into it and a lot of people still believe autonomous cars are the future of global road traffic.

But after burning through $10 billion and only generating $500 million in revenue, Cruise seems to have lost its parent company’s confidence and has now been absorbed into the historic automotive giant, with its technology being repackaged into GM production cars as, essentially, an advanced driver assistance system called “Super Cruise”. [Read more…] about Opinion: Will autonomous cars ever gain regulatory approval to operate freely on public roads?

General Motors to shut down autonomous car developer Cruise despite $10 billion spend

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General Motors is planning to close down Cruise, its autonomous vehicle technology development business, after the startup had racked up expenses of approximately $10 billion while generating revenues of only $500 million.

The way GM announced the closure on its website was that it plans to “realign its autonomous driving strategy and prioritize development of advanced driver assistance systems on a path to fully autonomous personal vehicles”.

GM will build on the progress of Super Cruise, the company’s hands-off, eyes-on driving feature, now offered on more than 20 GM vehicle models and currently logging over 10 million miles per month. [Read more…] about General Motors to shut down autonomous car developer Cruise despite $10 billion spend

Is Waymo Safer than Cruise?

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According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute, 42,939 drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and others died in 2021 across the U.S. and Puerto Rico as the result of 39,508 crashes involving 61,322 vehicles. The estimated national economic impact exceeded $340 billion.

Data from previous decades revealed fewer yearly crashes, vehicles and related deaths. Although the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent distractions and adverse events likely increased the 2021 numbers, experts believe an increase in the world population might lead to a pattern of ever-increasing crashes every year going forward.

That said, the rate of crash deaths out of 100,000 people remains low. In fact, the 2021 numbers were 39% lower than similar data in the 40 years prior. As a result, proponents of self-driving tech believe their vehicles will reduce overall yearly deaths and injuries, while offering convenience and other benefits. [Read more…] about Is Waymo Safer than Cruise?

Finland university aims to solve cruise liner passenger safety issues with ‘coughing robot’

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Finland’s Healthy Travel project, based at the Åbo Akademi University, is aiming to offer the global cruise industry a lifeline as cruise lines aim to set sail safely once again – through the use of a “coughing robot”.

In the multi-disciplinary initiative, Finnish academic researchers, cruise companies, shipyards, and subcontractors are coming together to develop and implement science-based solutions that will improve health and safety on cruise ships and in terminal buildings.

Finland’s Ambassador to the United States, Mikko Hautala, and his team are now connecting American cruise companies with their Finnish counterparts to ensure that the US cruise industry – the largest in the world – is an active participant in the recovery and future of the global cruise industry. [Read more…] about Finland university aims to solve cruise liner passenger safety issues with ‘coughing robot’

Cruise and GM partner with Microsoft to commercialize self-driving vehicles

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Cruise and General Motors have entered a long-term strategic relationship with Microsoft to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles.

The companies will bring together their software and hardware engineering excellence, cloud computing capabilities, manufacturing know-how and partner ecosystem to transform transportation to create a safer, cleaner, and more accessible world for everyone.

Dan Ammann, Cruise CEO, says: “Our mission to bring safer, better, and more affordable transportation to everyone isn’t just a tech race – it’s also a trust race. [Read more…] about Cruise and GM partner with Microsoft to commercialize self-driving vehicles

GM’s Cruise Automation unveils new driverless electric vehicle

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Cruise Automation, the driverless car startup acquired by General Motors, has unveiled its first vehicle.

The Cruise Origin, as it is called, is electric, autonomous, driverless with no steering wheel, and designed to carry several people – about six in spacious comfort.

The company says the Origin is the answer to the many problems of motoring today. Cars today use fossil fuels which pollute the atmosphere, and are designed in a way that limits the space available. [Read more…] about GM’s Cruise Automation unveils new driverless electric vehicle

Hyundai develops ‘world’s first’ machine learning-based cruise control technology

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Hyundai says it has developed “the world’s first machine learning-based Smart Cruise Control” system. Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence. 

The automaker says the SCC-ML technology incorporates the driver’s patterns into its self-driving behavior, creating a custom experience for the driver.

The technology, an industry first, incorporates artificial intelligence within the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) feature. The system is planned for implementation in future Hyundai Motor Group vehicles. [Read more…] about Hyundai develops ‘world’s first’ machine learning-based cruise control technology

GM’s autonomous driving business Cruise raises another $1.15 billion

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The autonomous driving business which General Motors acquired three years ago, Cruise, has raised more than $1 billion in its latest funding round, bringing total capital raised to approximately $7 billion.

Cruise says the equity investment of $1.15 billion is from a group comprising institutional investors, including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, and existing partners GM, SoftBank Vision Fund and Honda.

Dan Ammann, Cruise CEO, says: “Developing and deploying self-driving vehicles at massive scale is the engineering challenge of our generation.

[Read more…] about GM’s autonomous driving business Cruise raises another $1.15 billion

UTC begins work on hybrid electric aeroplane

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United Technologies (UTC) has recently launched the advanced projects group within the company, which moves at speed to build and pilot ambitious product and service demonstrators.

The group’s first product demonstrator is a hybrid-electric X-plane under the project name, Project 804.

The number “804” represents the straight-line mileage between the Pratt & Whitney facility in Longueuil, Québec, and the Collins Aerospace facility in Rockford, Illinois.

[Read more…] about UTC begins work on hybrid electric aeroplane

Honda, Cruise and GM team up to build new autonomous vehicle

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Cruise and General Motors have joined forces with Honda to pursue the shared goal of transforming mobility through the large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicle technology.

Honda will work jointly with Cruise and General Motors to fund and develop a purpose-built autonomous vehicle for Cruise that can serve a wide variety of use cases and be manufactured at high volume for global deployment.

In addition, Cruise, General Motors and Honda will explore global opportunities for commercial deployment of the Cruise network.

[Read more…] about Honda, Cruise and GM team up to build new autonomous vehicle