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Sony showcases new concept car with tech for autonomous driving

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Sony has showcased a number of new technologies at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and one of them was a concept car packed with the company’s sensors and other components that provide a package that supports autonomous driving.

Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony president and CEO, says: “It’s not an exaggeration to say that mobile (communication) has been the mega-trend of the last decade. I believe the next mega-trend will be mobility.”

Yoshida formally unveiled the prototype vehicle, which incorporates imaging and sensing technologies that Sony says “contribute to safer and more reliable autonomous driving”. [Read more…] about Sony showcases new concept car with tech for autonomous driving

NXP launches new chip with ‘10 times more processing power’ to support autonomous cars

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NXP Semiconductors has launched a new processor with “10 times more processing power” to support autonomous driving functions.

NXP is believed to be the world’s largest supplier of automotive semiconductors.

The company says the new S32G vehicle network processors mark a “significant turning point” in the way vehicle architectures are designed and implemented.

As the latest offering from NXP’s S32 family of processors, the S32G processors enable the automotive industry shift to high performance domain-based vehicle architectures and provide reduced software complexity and enhanced security and safety. [Read more…] about NXP launches new chip with ‘10 times more processing power’ to support autonomous cars

IAM Robotics to open new HQ and showroom in Pittsburgh

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IAM Robotics, inventor of an autonomous mobile manipulation robot, is opening a new, headquarters and showcase innovation center.

The new 30,000 square foot facility will be located in the emerging high tech area of Pittsburgh known as Robotics Row, a stretch of land that has become a hotbed for robotics and technology companies along the Allegheny River.

The IAM Robotics Showcase Innovation Center will feature a distribution center environment where visitors will experience the company’s high tech robotic labor system in action. [Read more…] about IAM Robotics to open new HQ and showroom in Pittsburgh

BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor

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BlueBotics, the global reference in natural feature navigation for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has further strengthened its footprint in Asia by announcing a new distribution agreement with South Korean motion and control pioneer MacPion.

BlueBotics’ Autonomous Navigation Technology (ANT) is being integrated by an ever-growing number of industrial vehicle original equipment manufacturers and system integrators across the globe, having been applied across a wide range of applications – from shop floors to warehouses, clean rooms, hospitals and more – over the past decade.

Nicola Tomatis, the CEO of BlueBotics, says: “Our ANT technology is fast becoming the localization and navigation solution of choice for Asia’s autonomous vehicle producers. [Read more…] about BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor

Aceinna launches ‘smallest’ high-precision localization tech

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Automotive electronics company Aceinna has launched the new OpenRTK330L, which it describes as a “low cost, state-of-the-art, high-performance” triple-band RTK/GNSS receiver with built-in triple redundant inertial sensors.

Designed to replace the expensive and bulky precision RTK/INS systems used in today’s autonomous systems, this compact navigation solution meets the challenging performance, reliability and cost requirements of the automotive market along with the needs of robot, drone, construction and agriculture systems.

Mike Horton, CTO of Aceinna, says: “The combination of a triple-band GNSS receiver and a high-precision IMU has enabled us to make a remarkably accurate, small, reliable and cost-effective GNSS/INS solution. [Read more…] about Aceinna launches ‘smallest’ high-precision localization tech

Autonomous buses and shuttles reflect ‘strong societal trends’, says report

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Autonomous buses and robotic shuttles reflect “strong societal trends”, such as ageing populations who are less mobile and the record numbers of people moving to cities, according to a new report.

These are among the findings of a study by IDTechEx, Robot Shuttles and Autonomous Buses 2020-2040, said to be the first in-depth report on the subject.

Robot shuttles are an important new, reconfigurable form of transportation for goods and people that may even function as mobile offices, workshops, restaurants and more. [Read more…] about Autonomous buses and shuttles reflect ‘strong societal trends’, says report

SAIC showcases first autonomous truck at Shanghai port

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A 5G-based “intelligent” – meaning autonomous – heavy duty truck developed by Chinese auto giant SAIC Motor made its debut at Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, the largest cargo port in the world.

The demonstration was conducted as part of SAIC exhibition at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which took place in Shanghai, China recently.

The SAIC 5G truck completed a task through the use of 5G and artificial intelligence technologies, which is the first time such an operation was successfully conducted in the world. [Read more…] about SAIC showcases first autonomous truck at Shanghai port

Volvo invests in autonomous car software developer Apex

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Volvo Group Venture Capital has invested in Apex.AI, a developer of software for autonomous cars and mobility.

Volvo says the investment will fund the development of a “safety-certified software framework for autonomous systems”.

Apex, a Palo Alto, California-based company founded in 2017, is building an automotive-grade version of Robot Operating System, an established open source software framework commonly used in robotics and autonomous systems research. [Read more…] about Volvo invests in autonomous car software developer Apex

Emerging trends in the world of autonomous vehicles

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By Swamini Kulkarni

The last few years have been favorable for the autonomous vehicle technology. Developing a driverless car has been a shared dream for Google, Apple, Tesla, Uber, and Lyft.

For Uber and Lyft, autonomous cars are one of the means of cutting costs. However, saving big bucks are not the only benefits of autonomous cars.

Factors such as lowering fuel consumption, reduce CO2 emission, and reduction in congestion are some of the major benefits of autonomous vehicles. [Read more…] about Emerging trends in the world of autonomous vehicles

Sidewalk last-mile delivery robots: Billion-dollar market by 2030?

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Last mile delivery is the most expensive part of the delivery chain, often representing more than 50 percent of the overall cost. This is mainly because it is the least productive and automated step. As such, many are seeking to bring automation into the last mile.

In recent years, many companies around the world have been innovating to utilize autonomous mobile robots, drones, and autonomous vehicle technology. In this article, we focus on ground-based autonomous robots.

A report by IDTechEx, Mobile Robots, Autonomous Vehicles, and Drones in Logistics, Warehousing, and Delivery 2020-2040, covers the use of mobile robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles in delivery, warehousing, and logistics. It provides a comprehensive analysis of all the key players, technologies, and markets. [Read more…] about Sidewalk last-mile delivery robots: Billion-dollar market by 2030?