Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

driverless

AutoX autonomous vehicle navigates through China’s urban villages

by

AutoX, a developer of Level 4 fully autonomous RoboTaxis founded by e-commerce giant Alibaba, has released a new video this week showcasing how its fully driverless RoboTaxis handle the challenging rush hour conditions of China’s “urban villages” in what is described as the “ultimate autonomous driving challenge”.

Unique to China, urban villages are ultra high-density residential neighborhoods in major cities, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou, that are typically surrounded by skyscrapers, transportation infrastructure, and other modern urban developments.

The public roads in urban villages are extremely busy, chaotic and overcrowded, especially in the early evening. [Read more…] about AutoX autonomous vehicle navigates through China’s urban villages

AutoX launches new version of its fully driverless system production for ‘RoboTaxis’

by

AutoX has launched the production of its latest “Gen5 system for fully driverless RoboTaxis”.

The AutoX Gen5 was launched at the Crowne Plaza Shanghai Anting recently when AutoX founder and CEO, Dr Jianxiong Xiao, unveiled the technology behind the Gen5 system.

The Gen5 system has 50 sensors in total, as well as a vehicle control unit of 2,200 TOPS computing power. [Read more…] about AutoX launches new version of its fully driverless system production for ‘RoboTaxis’

ASRock Industrial and Dynamis PRC to provide autonomous car technology for 2022 Formula Student Championship

by

ASRock Industrial is currently collaborating with Dynamis PRC, providing its latest Intel 10th Gen CPU motherboard IMB-1222 to power up the prototype’s autonomous driving system and participate in the 2022 Formula Student Championship.

Formula Student is one of the world’s most competitive international automobile design competitions for students among university teams. Each team designs and builds a formula-style competition vehicle to enter the race.

Among many great teams, Dynamis PRC from Italy has achieved 4th place globally and ranked 1st nationally after years of competitions and successes. [Read more…] about ASRock Industrial and Dynamis PRC to provide autonomous car technology for 2022 Formula Student Championship

Baidu Apollo to launch fully driverless ride-hailing services in Beijing

by

Baidu Apollo will launch fully driverless robotaxi services to the public in Beijing starting from May 2, 2021.

This will be China’s first paid autonomous vehicle service where users can hail a robotaxi without a safety driver behind the steering wheel, marking a landmark step on the road to commercialization of autonomous driving.

The fully driverless Apollo Go Robotaxi service will first be launched in Beijing’s Shougang Park – one of the venues for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics – and will soon be transporting visitors at the games. [Read more…] about Baidu Apollo to launch fully driverless ride-hailing services in Beijing

Honda and AutoX test autonomous cars on public roads in China

by

Honda China is collaborating with AutoX on autonomous driving research in China through vehicle testing on public roads. Honda will provide Accord and Inspire vehicles that will utilize AutoX’s autonomous vehicle technology.

AutoX is the frontrunner of Level 4 autonomous driving in China. In this partnership, Honda will adopt and leverage on AutoX’s cutting-edge technology and rich experience in the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles in the most populated cities in China.

Through the test, Honda aims to deepen understanding of China’s traffic environment, establish the public acceptance and safety of autonomous driving technology, as well as to seek new autonomous driving technology solutions. [Read more…] about Honda and AutoX test autonomous cars on public roads in China

Motional and Lyft agree ‘world’s largest’ robotaxi partnership

by

Motional and Lyft have signed what they describe as “the world’s largest robotaxi deployment partnership” in a deal that has the potential to make driverless vehicles a reality for millions of Americans.

Starting in 2023, consumers in select markets will be able to book a Motional robotaxi through the Lyft app. For many, this will be their first experience with driverless technology.

In a statement, Motional said: “Today, we unveil a key part of that experience. We’re excited to announce that the celebrated Hyundai Ioniq 5 will be the vehicle platform for Motional’s next-generation robotaxi.” [Read more…] about Motional and Lyft agree ‘world’s largest’ robotaxi partnership

Baidu receives green light to demonstrate commercialized autonomous vehicles in China

by

Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google and a developer of autonomous vehicles, has received qualifications for 35 of its “Apollo” vehicles to demonstrate commercialized autonomous driving operations, and qualifications for 10 vehicles to conduct driverless testing, by traffic authorities in Cangzhou city, in China.

These qualifications will allow Baidu to be the first company in China to experiment with various monetization mechanisms for autonomous driving services, marking a landmark step on Baidu Apollo’s road to commercialization.

With these qualifications, Baidu Apollo will be able to roll out commercialized demonstrations of its smart transportation services in Cangzhou, and explore various mechanisms for charging customers, such as discounts, trial tickets, and voluntary payments from riders, for the first time by any autonomous driving company in China. [Read more…] about Baidu receives green light to demonstrate commercialized autonomous vehicles in China

Motional operates driverless vehicles on public roads in Las Vegas

by

Motional is operating driverless vehicles on public roads, becoming one of the world’s first companies to do so. The inaugural testing took place in Las Vegas this month and consisted of multiple driverless vehicles safely navigating intersections, unprotected turns, and interactions with other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

In pursuit of this milestone and a future of safer roads, Motional set a high bar for the industry. The company’s driverless operation follows decades of innovation, 1.5 million miles, and a two-year self-imposed safety evaluation process that took hundreds of employees more than 100,000 hours to complete.

During this process, Motional proactively sought external review. TÜV SÜD, a world-leading independent technical service provider with extensive experience assessing driverless technology, was given access to the company’s proprietary systems, technology, and operations. [Read more…] about Motional operates driverless vehicles on public roads in Las Vegas

Baidu Apollo receives driverless vehicle test permit in California

by

Baidu Apollo has now been approved by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to test driverless vehicles without a safety driver behind the wheel on public streets.

This makes Baidu the first permit holder in the state to receive driverless test permits for two different vehicle models due to the “robustness” of its AI driver system, according to the company.

Baidu says California will partner in its ongoing driverless testing program which began last year. [Read more…] about Baidu Apollo receives driverless vehicle test permit in California

AutoX launches fully driverless RoboTaxi service to the public in China

by

Autonomous driving company AutoX has launched a “fully driverless” RoboTaxi pilot program to the public in Shenzhen, China after its taxis completed final testing last month. (See video below.)

This marks the first time that the general public will be able to book a completely autonomous RoboTaxi without accompanying safety drivers in China.

Members of the public can sign up for the pilot program through AutoX’s RoboTaxi registration page. Selected pilot users can use AutoX membership credits for the RoboTaxi rides. [Read more…] about AutoX launches fully driverless RoboTaxi service to the public in China