Robotics & Automation News

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Autonomous Vehicles

Why We’re Still Decades Away From Self-Driving Cars

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While self-driving cars are becoming a much-discussed piece of technology, experts say that we’re still decades away from seeing cars drive themselves autonomously.

While there are a good number of driving assist safety features in modern vehicles, these are merely rudimentary examples compared to the technology that makes a fully autonomous car possible.

In fact, even when most modern cars are equipped with these safety features, there are still a good number of scenarios like these Tampa car accidents. [Read more…] about Why We’re Still Decades Away From Self-Driving Cars

Cruise and GM partner with Microsoft to commercialize self-driving vehicles

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Cruise and General Motors have entered a long-term strategic relationship with Microsoft to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles.

The companies will bring together their software and hardware engineering excellence, cloud computing capabilities, manufacturing know-how and partner ecosystem to transform transportation to create a safer, cleaner, and more accessible world for everyone.

Dan Ammann, Cruise CEO, says: “Our mission to bring safer, better, and more affordable transportation to everyone isn’t just a tech race – it’s also a trust race. [Read more…] about Cruise and GM partner with Microsoft to commercialize self-driving vehicles

Nuro awarded ‘first ever’ autonomous vehicle permit in California

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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

Mud Race Preparation 101: How To Do It Right

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Mud preparation for your dirt bike can be the difference between nailing a race or being stuck on the track with a bike that won’t start.

That’s why it’s imperative to prep your dirt bike ahead of a mud-race and give yourself the best chance of crossing the finish line.

We will discuss a few important tips in this article to help you get your bike ready for the next mud-race. [Read more…] about Mud Race Preparation 101: How To Do It Right

Fabulos completes autonomous public transport pilot project in Greece

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An autonomous public transport pilot project in Greece, led by an Estonian consortium called the Future Automated Bus Urban Level Operation Systems (Fabulos), has now successfully ended. After two months and 1,930 km driven in the streets of the municipality of Lamia, nearly 400 people used autonomous bus “Iseauto”.

The bus has been developed in Estonia and offers a full-scale autonomous public transportation service in Lamia.

The autonomous minibus developed by AuveTech in Estonia is the first Level 4 category autonomous vehicle that has officially been declared “street-legal” in Greece. [Read more…] about Fabulos completes autonomous public transport pilot project in Greece

South Korea looks to strengthen position in global autonomous vehicles market with billion-dollar investment

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South Korea is looking to strengthen its position in the global autonomous vehicles market with an investment of 1.1 trillion South Korean won, which equates to about $1 billion.

The investment calls for the development of “level 4” autonomous cars, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT, according to a report on the Korean Times website.

Level 4 autonomy – as defined by the SAE – means that a car is capable of driving itself but is designed to be ultimately controlled by a human driver. [Read more…] about South Korea looks to strengthen position in global autonomous vehicles market with billion-dollar investment

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

What Barriers Still Impede Electric Vehicles?

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Electric vehicles have been with us for a long time.

It’s only recently that they’re being touted as a serious replacement for the internal combustion engine and a (partial) answer to our climate crisis.

The UK government says that it’ll ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 – and you can reasonably expect any Labour government to be at least as ambitious, given their slightly greener voter-base.

By then, electric cars will need to be fairly ubiquitous. So what’s stopping this from happening right now? [Read more…] about What Barriers Still Impede Electric Vehicles?

Volvo Penta launches autonomous boat docking system

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Volvo Penta has launched what it describes as “the industry’s first fully integrated Assisted Docking system” at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Volvo says the Assisted Docking system gives the captain better control when docking a boat by automating his or her intentions, compensating for some dynamic variables, such as wind and current, and helping the vessel stay on its intended course.

The technology will be on display at Volvo Penta’s virtual booth at CES from 11-14 January 2021. [Read more…] about Volvo Penta launches autonomous boat docking system

Magna partners with Fisker to expand ADAS business

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Automotive parts and systems company Magna is collaborating with Fisker to develop an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), which will be applied to the Fisker Ocean sports utility vehicle that is expected to launch in late 2022.

This new business win demonstrates Magna’s ability to bring scale and efficiency to the mobility landscape and represents an important expansion of the EV platform sharing, vehicle engineering and manufacturing cooperation the two companies announced last October.

Magna and Fisker will work together to develop industry-unique ADAS features and a suite of software packages powered by a scalable domain controller architecture. [Read more…] about Magna partners with Fisker to expand ADAS business