Robotics & Automation News

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Autonomous Vehicles

Beep and Local Motors gives 10,000 passengers shuttle rides at Yellowstone National Park

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Beep, a developer of multi-passenger, electric, autonomous mobility solutions, has released ridership results following the “highly successful” completion of Yellowstone National Park’s first-ever autonomous shuttle program.

The Electric Driverless Demonstration in Yellowstone (TEDDY), named as an ode to Teddy Roosevelt, gave a total of 10,000 passengers a lift in and around the national park, racking up 4,000 vehicle trips and 2,100 miles.

The shuttle pilot enabled the National Park Service to test the feasibility and sustainability of autonomous mobility in a national park. [Read more…] about Beep and Local Motors gives 10,000 passengers shuttle rides at Yellowstone National Park

AutoX claims it operates ‘China’s largest driverless taxi service area’

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AutoX claims it now operates China’s largest service area for fully driverless RoboTaxis across 65 square miles (168 square kilometers) of Shenzhen, China’s leading tech hub. (See video below.)

AutoX is one of the front runners in Level 4 fully autonomous RoboTaxis in China. Its main competition is Baidu Apollo.

Being able to navigate all the public roads in the Pingshan District in Shenzhen, AutoX has become the first RoboTaxi service to cover an entire district in a Chinese megalopolis. [Read more…] about AutoX claims it operates ‘China’s largest driverless taxi service area’

Baidu Apollo wins approval for commercialized autonomous car service on open roads in Beijing

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Baidu Apollo has received approval for the commercial operation of its autonomous car service in Beijing, as the company’s Apollo Go, known as Luobo Kuaipao in China, was authorized to provide paid service in China’s first-ever demonstration zone for commercial autonomous driving.

With the service’s first-ever commercial deployment on open roads, Apollo Go marks a further step in its accelerating progress towards large-scale commercial operation.

The autonomous vehicle commercial permit granted by the head office of the Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area (BJHAD) today allows Baidu to charge fees for autonomous services offered to the public in a designated area. Baidu was among the first service providers to receive such authorization. [Read more…] about Baidu Apollo wins approval for commercialized autonomous car service on open roads in Beijing

Autonomous driving software startup Helm.ai raises $26 million in new funding

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Helm.ai, creator of next-generation AI software for autonomous driving, today announced it has raised $26 million in series B funding.

This funding will help Helm.ai better serve its rapidly growing customer base, and accelerate product expansion of its highly scalable approach to autonomous driving software.

Additional funding in this round was from JM Partners, Base Capital Funding, and Freeman Group, with additional participation from Nicolas Berggruen, ACVC Partners, OneWay Ventures, Binnacle Partners, Nadia Asoyan, Vlad Tenev, Mark Leslie, Jeff Rothschild, and Neil King. [Read more…] about Autonomous driving software startup Helm.ai raises $26 million in new funding

Honda tests prototype autonomous vehicle at Black & Veatch solar construction site

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Honda and Black & Veatch say they have successfully tested the prototype Honda “Autonomous Work Vehicle” at a Black & Veatch construction site in New Mexico. (See video below.)

During the month-long field test, the second-generation prototype of the fully-electric Honda AWV performed a range of functions at a large-scale solar energy construction project, including towing activities and transporting construction materials, water, and other supplies to pre-set destinations within the work site.

While Honda previously performed testing with an earlier generation of the Honda AWV, this field test was the first to deploy multiple units working collaboratively to support construction use cases. [Read more…] about Honda tests prototype autonomous vehicle at Black & Veatch solar construction site

Goodyear invests in autonomous trucking company Gatik

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Goodyear and Gatik have agreed a multi-year collaboration with a goal to advance the development of mobility solutions for the autonomous business-to-business short-haul logistics industry.

The collaboration will contribute to safer, more sustainable goods movement while reducing costs for Gatik’s customers in the B2B short-haul market nationwide.

Gatik has established the first autonomous middle mile logistics network in North America and is rapidly expanding its fleet of Class 3-6 autonomous box trucks for customers in multiple markets, including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Ontario. [Read more…] about Goodyear invests in autonomous trucking company Gatik

aiMotive opens Munich office

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aiMotive, a supplier of automated driving technologies, has opened a new office in Munich, Germany.

Beyond supporting business operations, the new office will include a workshop to enable testing and data collection in Germany.

László Kishonti, founder and CEO of aiMotive, says: “Munich is an important center of the European automotive industry and a transportation hub in the middle of the continent. A perfect location for our second European office.” [Read more…] about aiMotive opens Munich office

Motional and Lyft to launch fully driverless ride-hail service in Las Vegas – and other cities

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Motional, a developer of driverless technology, and ride-hailing app Lyft are planning to launch a fully driverless public ride-hail service in Las Vegas, the first city in a multimarket rollout.

Motional’s next-generation robotaxis, the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5-based robotaxi, will be available on the Lyft app in Las Vegas, starting in 2023. The implementation is part of a partnership between Motional and Lyft which started last year.

The service will be the first time fully driverless cars for use in a ride-hailing service are available to the public in Nevada. Launched by Aptiv in 2018 and now as Motional, the company has operated a public self-driving service with Lyft in Las Vegas for over three years. [Read more…] about Motional and Lyft to launch fully driverless ride-hail service in Las Vegas – and other cities

Perrone Robotics selects Ouster as ‘preferred lidar supplier’ for autonomous vehicles

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Perrone Robotics has selected Ouster as its preferred lidar supplier to scale the company’s autonomous vehicle implementations.

Under the agreement, Ouster is to deliver hundreds of OS digital lidar sensors for Perrone’s autonomous vehicle kit.

Ouster is a specialist provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors describes the partnership as a “strategic customer agreement” with Perrone Robotics. [Read more…] about Perrone Robotics selects Ouster as ‘preferred lidar supplier’ for autonomous vehicles

Local Motors selects Ouster lidar for its next-generation autonomous shuttles

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Ouster, a provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, has signed a strategic customer agreement with electric autonomous vehicle company, Local Motors.

The agreement includes a binding commitment for over one thousand OS digital lidar sensors through 2023 and a non-binding forecast of over 20,000 sensors through 2025 which will be used to meet production demand for Local Motors’ next-generation shuttles.

Local Motors intends to equip its next-generation 3D printed autonomous shuttles with the full suite of Ouster OS sensors. This includes wide field of view, mid-range, and long-range digital lidar sensors for complete coverage as Local Motors aims to meet demand for Level 3 autonomous vehicles operating on mapped routes within campuses, city centers, and municipalities. [Read more…] about Local Motors selects Ouster lidar for its next-generation autonomous shuttles