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Autonomous vehicles: Are they really safer than human-driven vehicles?

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With more than 90 percent of road traffic accidents coming down to human error, the importance of autonomy and its potential safety benefits cannot be overlooked.

As the industry moves into a new era of autonomous driving technologies, safety benchmarks and standards are evolving, forcing car companies to adopt new technologies to keep their cars competitive.

IDTechEx’s report Autonomous Cars, Robotaxis and Sensors 2024-2044 provides market outlooks for the next twenty years.

[Read more…] about Autonomous vehicles: Are they really safer than human-driven vehicles?

Robotaxis: The revolutionary mobility choice of the future

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Every 24 seconds, one person dies in a road accident, according to United Nations (un.org) in its road safety fact sheet published in 2021. It is also stated that more than 90 per cent of car accidents occur due to human errors.

Transportation accounted for 37 per cent of CO2 emissions from end‐use sectors in 2021, as per International Energy Agency.

The above figures talk aloud about the two biggest challenges the transportation industry is facing today:

  1. passenger safety; and
  2. emissions.

Countries world over are putting efforts in terms of changes in policies, subsidies, incentives, and what not, to put a brake on these two issues which see no signs of abatement in the short time period. [Read more…] about Robotaxis: The revolutionary mobility choice of the future

Motional chooses Ouster as exclusive supplier of long-range lidar for its autonomous vehicles

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Motional, a specialist developer of driverless cars, has selected Ouster as the exclusive provider of long-range lidar sensors for its all-electric Ioniq 5-based robotaxis. 

The serial production agreement will see Ouster supply Motional with Alpha Prime VLS-128 sensors through 2026.

A culmination of ten years of lidar development and learning from millions of road miles, the Alpha Prime long-range sensor is specifically designed for autonomous driving and advanced vehicle safety at highway speeds. [Read more…] about Motional chooses Ouster as exclusive supplier of long-range lidar for its autonomous vehicles

Motional to add new features to its robotaxi service

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Ride-hail passengers in Las Vegas can now take an autonomous ride in a Motional IONIQ 5 robotaxi at night

“Las Vegas is a city that really comes alive once the sun goes down, so extending our service to match rider demand is a critical step forward in the evolution of our vehicle,” says Akshay Jaising, Motional’s vice president of commercialization.

“We’re happy we can now spend more hours everyday introducing passengers to our technology, and helping them travel safely and comfortably where they need to go.”

Night driving is one of three passenger-friendly service upgrades making their way to Motional’s fleet of all-electric IONIQ 5 robotaxis, which have been carrying public passengers in Las Vegas since August. [Read more…] about Motional to add new features to its robotaxi service

Baidu aims to create ‘world’s largest fully driverless ride-hailing area’

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Baidu, an AI company with strong internet foundation and often referred to as China’s equivalent of Google, has embarked on a major expansion of its commercialized fully driverless robotaxi service in Wuhan.

The new expansion would triple the size of its current operation area, increasing the number of robotaxis in service and expanding operating time to include key evening hours.

The move marks a major milestone on Baidu’s ambitious autonomous ride-hailing roadmap, as the company plans to put an additional 200 fully driverless robotaxis into operation across China in 2023, aiming to cover “the largest fully driverless ride-hailing service area in the world” by the end of the year. [Read more…] about Baidu aims to create ‘world’s largest fully driverless ride-hailing area’

Baidu granted China’s ‘first-ever’ permits for commercial driverless ride-hailing services

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Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google, has secured the first permits in China to offer commercial fully driverless robotaxi services to the public on open roads.

Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service, is now authorized to collect fares for robotaxi rides – completely without human drivers in the car – in Chongqing and Wuhan, two of China’s largest megacities.

Amid increasing regulatory approval of the expansion of autonomous vehicles (AVs), the permits reflect regulatory authorities’ strong recognition and trust in the strength of Baidu’s autonomous driving technology. [Read more…] about Baidu granted China’s ‘first-ever’ permits for commercial driverless ride-hailing services

Pony.ai becomes ‘first’ autonomous driving company to receive taxi license in China

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Pony.ai, an autonomous driving technology company, claims it has become the “first and only autonomous driving company to obtain a taxi license in China”.

Pony.ai was awarded a permit to operate 100 autonomous vehicles as traditional taxis in Nansha, Guangzhou.

In May, Pony.ai will start charging fares in the entire 800 square kilometers of Nansha with 100 robotaxis and intends to gradually expand the scale and scope of service to other areas of Guangzhou to benefit more residents. [Read more…] about Pony.ai becomes ‘first’ autonomous driving company to receive taxi license in China

DeepRoute.ai unveils ‘most advanced robotaxi fleet’

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DeepRoute.ai, an international autonomous driving technology company, announces a leading-edge robotaxi fleet equipped with its distinctive Level 4 autonomous driving solution, Driver 2.0.

Engineered for mass production and adoption by automakers, this advancement in autonomous vehicle technology previews what’s to come in the transportation industry and the future of L4 consumer vehicles.

Composed of 30 SAIC Motor Marvel R SUVs, the robotaxi fleet will deploy in Shenzhen, China, in the coming months. [Read more…] about DeepRoute.ai unveils ‘most advanced robotaxi fleet’

AutoX expands robotaxi operation zone to 1,000 km

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Alibaba-backed AutoX, a developer of Level 4 fully autonomous cars, or “robotaxis”, now claims to operate “China’s largest autonomous driving area”.

The total area covers 1,000 square kilometers, including a 168-square-kilometer fully driverless zone. AutoX robotaxis are able to navigate all the public roads inside the 1,000 square kilometer area.

Expanding the total autonomous driving area to over 1,000 square kilometers is an important step towards making the robotic taxi service a reality in the daily lives of people in China. [Read more…] about AutoX expands robotaxi operation zone to 1,000 km

Autonomous vehicle development will be stalled by technological and regulatory barriers, says report

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Autonomous vehicles are currently more hype than substance, given the significant technological, financial, and regulatory barriers to their widespread use, according to GlobalData.

In its latest report, Tech, Media, & Telecom Predictions 2022, the data and analytics company predicts that focus will shift onto “lower-level” autonomous vehicles that require greater human supervision, while mergers and acquisition activity will continue to be driven by transport technology such as robotaxis.

Amrit Dhami, thematic analyst at GlobalData, offers her view on these predictions. She says technological barriers will shift focus onto lower-level autonomous vehicles. [Read more…] about Autonomous vehicle development will be stalled by technological and regulatory barriers, says report