Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

driverless

Nuro awarded ‘first ever’ autonomous vehicle permit in California

by

Nuro claims it has become “the first company” to receive a permit to deploy autonomous vehicles on public streets from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

This permit will allow its vehicles to operate commercially on California roads in two counties near Nuro’s headquarters in the Bay Area.

Nuro says it will soon announce its first deployment in California with an established partner. The service will start with its fleet of Prius vehicles in fully autonomous mode, followed by its custom-designed electric R2 vehicles. [Read more…] about Nuro awarded ‘first ever’ autonomous vehicle permit in California

Motional and Lyft to launch fully driverless rideshare service

by

Motional, a driverless technology developer, and rideshare service provider Lyft have agreed joint plans to launch a multimarket robotaxi service in major US cities, beginning in 2023.

Motional says its next generation, fully driverless vehicles will be integrated, operationalized, and implemented on the Lyft network.

The two companies claim this agreement marks the largest robotaxi partnership for a major ridesharing network. It follows an ongoing and successful three-year partnership, in which Motional and Lyft operate the world’s longest-standing commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas. [Read more…] about Motional and Lyft to launch fully driverless rideshare service

AutoX puts fully driverless RoboTaxis on the roads in China

by

AutoX has rolled out fully driverless RoboTaxis on the roads of downtown Shenzhen, marking the first time a completely autonomous fleet without accompanying safety drivers or remote operators is introduced in China.

The leading autonomous driving technology company has been conducting driverless stress tests in the Tier 1 city – which has the highest population density in China – for the past half a year.

A video has also been released to share how the vehicles navigate around downtown Shenzhen. (See video below.) [Read more…] about AutoX puts fully driverless RoboTaxis on the roads in China

Motional and Via partner to launch platform for public, on-demand shared robotaxi rides

by

Motional, a driverless technology developer, and Via, a public mobility solutions provider, have agreed a partnership that they say will “serve as a blueprint for the future of on-demand, shared robotaxis”.

Motional and Via seek to use learnings from the partnership to inform how driverless vehicles can be integrated into mass transit networks, and optimized for pooled rides.

The partnership’s first service – shared robotaxi rides, available to the public – is expected to launch in one of Motional’s existing US markets in the first half of 2021. The initial launch market will be announced at a later date. [Read more…] about Motional and Via partner to launch platform for public, on-demand shared robotaxi rides

4 Ways Self-Driving Cars Will Change Our Lives

by

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

Avnet poised to play key role in next-generation automotive technology

by

The automotive industry is undergoing an historic transformation which will fundamentally shift the way vehicles are manufactured as well as change the way we look at and use cars, and possibly all road-going automobiles.

In-keeping with the widespread trend, Avnet, one of the world’s leading distributors of electronic components, is taking a leading position in developing the technologies required to make the future a reality.

A number of predictions are being made for the automotive industry, and many of them may have sounded outlandish in the past, but now that the public at large has accepted driverless cars as a realistic concept, anything is possible – even flying cars. [Read more…] about Avnet poised to play key role in next-generation automotive technology

Survey suggests public has safety concerns about autonomous vehicles

by

Motional, the driverless vehicle development company created by Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, has released its inaugural Motional Consumer Mobility Report, which examines Americans’ perceptions of driverless vehicles.

The study found that one-fifth of Americans are more interested in driverless vehicles than they were before the pandemic.

The survey was carried out from July 17-21, 2020, and considered 1,003 responses from US consumers sampled using a blind online panel recruitment. The overall margin of error for the research is +/- 3.02 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval). [Read more…] about Survey suggests public has safety concerns about autonomous vehicles

SkyDrive launches ‘world’s smallest flying car’

by

A Japanese startup company called SkyDrive has unveiled what it claims is the world’s smallest flying car. (See video below.)

Designed to carry one person, the vehicle could be said to be the aerial equivalent of a motorcycle.

SkyDrive says it can put the what we’ll call the “airbike” into mass production in just two years’ time, by which time there should be more regulations about aerial vehicles. [Read more…] about SkyDrive launches ‘world’s smallest flying car’

Michigan to redesign road network to accommodate driverless cars

by

The State of Michigan is planning to redesign its road network to accommodate driverless cars, according to a report on CNN.

Authorities in the state refer back to the area’s history as the home of some of the world’s largest automotive companies and factories.

The city of Detroit, Michigan used to known as “Motor City” in decades gone by, inspiring the name of the famous record label “Motown”, which launched the careers and made global stars of singers such as Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Queen Latifah, Erykah Badu, and Michael Jackson. [Read more…] about Michigan to redesign road network to accommodate driverless cars

Hyundai and Aptiv launch new autonomous driving joint venture Motional

by

The autonomous driving joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv has been given a name and brand identity: Motional. (See video below.)

Launched virtually to its employees around the world, the the companies say they are “making driverless vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality”.

Formed by Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers offering smart mobility solutions, and Aptiv, one of the industry’s most innovative technology providers, the joint venture was established in March 2020 to advance the development and commercialization of the world’s highest-performing and safest autonomous vehicles. [Read more…] about Hyundai and Aptiv launch new autonomous driving joint venture Motional