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self-driving

Motional and Lyft to launch fully driverless rideshare service

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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

The impact of self-drive cars on the insurance industry

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When you think about it, the year 2021 sounds quite futuristic, doesn’t it?

If the film 2001: A Space Odyssey is anything to go by, we should be a further two decades of technology on from immersive interplanetary space travel by now – but unfortunately, we’ve underachieved a little on those goals.

While the sci-fi fantasists of the 1960s might be somewhat disappointed in what we currently have to offer, one mind bending technology that is making palpable and commercially viable strides forward is the self-driving car. [Read more…] about The impact of self-drive cars on the insurance industry

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

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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

The Self-Driving Future

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As we put more and more emphasis on AI and automation, in the near future we can expect to see the growth in self-driving cars to incline exponentially.

While there is a lot of skepticism as well as the general questioning of this growing trend of being a healthy one for society as a whole, self-driving automated vehicles do have a variety of advantages that they can offer to the world.

Unfortunately, not many people realize this and choose to overlook these benefits in favor of a more dour and depressing outlook on the future. However, these benefits do exist and they can help us in many ways. [Read more…] about The Self-Driving Future

4 Ways Self-Driving Cars Will Change Our Lives

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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

Robotic and Automation News Review: Kassow Robots, Walmart, Wilson Logistics and much more…

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Robotics and Automation News Review Friday 25 September 2020

This is a new, weekly column which rounds up all the most interesting news from the robotics and automation industry in the past seven days, in brief form.

This Robotics and Automation News Review is also available to view on our YouTube channel. (See video below.)

Please support our website by subscribing to our YouTube channel, by sharing the stories we publish on your social media pages, and by purchasing premium subscriptions to RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, as well as through corporate sponsorships and advertising.

[Read more…] about Robotic and Automation News Review: Kassow Robots, Walmart, Wilson Logistics and much more…

Survey suggests public has safety concerns about autonomous vehicles

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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

Peachtree Corners launches ‘world’s first fleet of self-driving e-scooters’ as part of styling itself as a smart city

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Peachtree Corners, a tiny city in the state of Georgia, USA, is launching what it believes is the “world’s first fleet of self-driving e-scooters” as part of styling itself out as a smart city.

Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners is on a mission to solve many of the technology issues facing cities and municipalities around the country. For many, the term “smart city” is an unclear concept.

For Peachtree Corners, Georgia, it’s about empowering the latest in emerging technologies to solve real-world problems. [Read more…] about Peachtree Corners launches ‘world’s first fleet of self-driving e-scooters’ as part of styling itself as a smart city

The Future of Self-Driving Construction Equipment

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The global self-driving vehicle market is expected to reach $1 million this year, with a projected growth rate of $1.6 million by 2025, according to Allied Research Market.

We have seen driverless shuttles being utilized in exhibition areas, logistics, and even in transporting goods.

In the construction industry, the development of on-site equipment is incorporating robotics and AI technology to make them more efficient when used on construction sites. [Read more…] about The Future of Self-Driving Construction Equipment

Math experts use drones to show it’s possible to ‘see’ perfectly using sound

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The discovery’s potential applications include self-driving cars, smartphones that can guide the visually impaired and drones that can help firefighters at night

As the industry for self-driving cars, robots and other unmanned vehicles quickly evolves – and engineers work to overcome the limitations of sensors that use visual, infrared or thermal information – math experts at Purdue University and the Technical University of Munich have proven there’s another, equally viable solution: using sound. 

Mireille “Mimi” Boutin, associate professor of mathematics at Purdue University, and Gregor Kemper, professor of algorithmic algebra at Technical University, found that a drone equipped with four microphones and a loudspeaker can precisely reconstruct the wall configuration of a room by listening to echoes, similar to how bats use echolocation to orient themselves.

Their work is significant because it demonstrates the feasibility of using sound for navigation in unmanned systems, leading to many potential applications such as cars, drones, underwater vehicles or even devices that people can carry, such as a smartphone.  [Read more…] about Math experts use drones to show it’s possible to ‘see’ perfectly using sound