autonomous cars

#232, Cruise driverless ride share debuts in San Francisco

After several years of negotiation and testing, Cruise was at the front of the autonomous line last week. It became the first driverless taxi service in San Francisco to charge for its services. The limited service area program features solo occupants getting rides in Chevrolet Bolts. The system is currently geofenced to the Northwest corner of the city of San Francisco, mostly residential areas in a grid of low-speed streets. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with Jackie Shannon, Director of Product Management at Cruise, in this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. The episode was taped the day after Cruise’s debut. We were curious to hear about the company’s feedback from passengers the day after its first night

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Self-driving cars are among us but drivers beware

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT Self-Driving Cars Self-driving cars are the biggest advancing development in the auto industry. Tesla brought the technology to the mainstream market, offering cars that can drive themselves while the driver just sits behind the wheel. The ideas of a self-driving car and its the technology began with several manufacturers offering self-parking technology. Self-driving technology is exciting, but as it advances, a few misconceptions have circulated. Here are several things you absolutely can’t do behind the wheel of a self-driving car (and some permissible conditions): Sleeping Some people think self-driving cars are great as they allow people to take naps” while driving. The idea is that while a driver naps while driving, the car is in charge; it takes

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Nvidia GTC GTU Tech Conference set (virtually only)

Danny Shapiro, Senior Director of Automotive at Nvidia Corporation in Santa Clara, is as knowledgeable as anyone in the autonomous automotive segment. It’s a good thing because the industry is accelerating as quickly as a Tesla. The autonomous driving future is among the more recent challenges for Nvidia, which started in the gaming industry. But the technology company is at the forefront of delivering solutions to automakers for self-driving cars, infotainment, digital instrument clusters, rear-seat entertainment and advanced driver assistance systems. Not much of the ever-changing automotive technology world won’t be examined in Nvidia’s GTC GTU Technology Conference. It’s just that this year, it will be a virtual conference. Conference organizers, citing the uncertainty of the coronavirus, have changed the

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#114, Indianapolis Motor Speedway set for driverless race

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:48 — 43.7MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreThe Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been the home to many of motorsports’ greatest drivers and races. In less than two years, the renowned racetrack will host another iconic racing event — without drivers. The speedway (IMS) and Energy Systems Network (ESN) recently announced a two-year, $1 million prize competition that will culminate in a head-to-head, high-speed autonomous vehicle race Oct. 23, 2021, around the Speedway’s famed 2.5-mile oval. Matt Peak, director of mobility at Energy Systems Network, is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Peak talks with co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia about the pending event, The Indy Autonomous

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#79 Autonomous future featured at GPU Technology Conference

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:54 — 34.2MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreThe huge truck cab couldn’t have been any more conspicuous. It dominated the back of the main showroom at the recent GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California, and attracted plenty of attention. The all-electric prototype from TuSimple is aimed at providing cheaper, more-efficient long-hauling trucking. TuSimple, with offices in China and the United States, is among numerous startups working to automate parts of the long-haul trucking and parcel delivery industries. As part of the technology, semi-trucks would be allowed to operate beyond the 11-hour daily restriction for human drivers. Bruce Aldrich and James Raia, co-hosts of The Weekly Driver Podcast, interview with Xiaodi

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Episode 30, The strange case of death by Uber in Arizona

Nearly two weeks after a woman was killed by an autonomous Uber vehicle while walking her bicycle across the street at night and outside of a crosswalk in Tempe, Ariz., much is still unknown about the accident. What is known is that the Governor of Arizona has ended the state’s autonomous vehicle testing program. The auto-parts maker that supplied the radar and camera on the Volvo SUV that killed the woman has stated they had disabled the standard collision-avoidance technology in the vehicle. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been investigating the case since. The local police chief initially called the incident “unavoidable.” But opinions changed after the release of a crash

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Uber halts self-driving program after pedestrian fatality

The Uber autonomous driving program has been suspended after a 49-year-old woman in Tempe, Arizona, was killed after she was hit by a car as she crossed the street. Self-driving cars have been involved in multiple accidents, but the pedestrian fatality is believed to be the first in the autonomous realm. Uber said it had ceased its autonomous program throughout North America. The accident, according to law enforcement accounts, occurred late in the evening on March 19 when the vehicle was autonomous mode. The vehicle also had a driver. Elaine Herzberg, the victim, wasn’t using a pedestrian crossing. She was transported to a local hospital where she died. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety

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California’s new highway stripes herald self-driving cars’ arrival

SPONSORED CONTENT Self-driving cars are unlikely to be a common sight on America’s roads for several years. But that hasn’t stopped the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for preparing for their arrival. Caltrans will be placing six-inch stripes along Interstate 5, between Orland, California, and the Oregon border. The work will be performed through June 2018, and new strips will replace the current four-inch stripes. The longer stripes will help self-driving vehicles to read and navigate roads in the coming evolutionary shift. The new stripes’ makeup varies between a thermoplastic material and another similar tape. the former has a longevity of between two and three years; the latter is expected to last five years; Both materials are made with miniscule

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Episode 23 (Part 2), Everything’s autonomous in CES madness

The recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas had several themes. Autonomous and electric vehicles, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, pending 5G technology, 3D television, personal mobility and every entrepreneurial gadget feasible were in the mix. The CES gathering was held in five locations on the Las Vegas strip. Flash flooding greeted visitors on opening day; a power outage occurred on the second day. The estimated attendance for the week was 250,000, and the showroom floors were crowded. Nonetheless, an estimated 1,700 vendors showcased their wares with flash and fast-talking, expertise and wishful thinking. In episode 23 of The Weekly Driver Podcast, co-host Bruce Aldrich and I discuss the concept vehicles automakers like Toyota and BMW hope will be autonomous vehicles

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Will Tesla be the first to offer affordable autonomous cars?

What company will be the first to make autonomous cars readily available in the United States? Will it be Tesla, Google or the Apple self-driving car? Or might it China and its manufacturers’ efforts? It’s hard to know what to expect or who will be at the front of the pack. Beyond pending infrastructure and legal issues, the successful company will likely be at the forefront with its design, functionality and affordability. Functionality involves ensuring the car can do what it is expected to do without failure. But how? Machine learning is a technology that allows machines to learn and adapt without specific programming based on data input from others. The more sources of input, the better and faster the

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2017 Auto Trends: Driverless shuttle Olli, no more shifts

You’ve coordinated an outing with friends or a business meeting with colleagues at a restaurant. Parking options are limited. Perhaps alcohol will be served, and supplies or equipment are needed for the occasion. The best solution: Phone Olli. Call it an autonomous chartered shuttle, a friendly neighborhood mobility solution or forward-thinking transportation. The 12-passenger vehicle with the unusual nickname is at your disposal via a smartphone app. It will transport the group to its desired location and back — without human navigation Unveiled in June by Local Motors, an Arizona-based innovation company, the autonomous electric vehicle utilizes the integration of cognitive computing. The advanced technology includes IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) for Automotive. It improves the passenger experience and

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Watch out for driverless Audi in control, New York bound

Watch out for an Audi SQ5 near you. It’s driverless and it’s now making its way from San Francisco to New York utilizing Delphi autonomous car technology. Jump-starting the long-planned and heavily promoted claims by Tesla one of its electric cars will also be driven across the country on autonomous technology, Audi hopes its experiment will prove successful in time for the New York Auto Show. The Audi‘s trek, which began March 22, is planned for about 3,500 miles. In addition to the vehicle, the Audi voyage began with a few engineers and a “driver.” Stints of six-to-eight hours are planned with the driver in the car. The SQ5 is one of four vehicles Delphi has modified for autonomous driving

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Driverless Cars? Let’s Slow Down In High Tech Fast Lane

Autonomous vehicles, commonly known as driverless cars, have been portrayed in futuristic movies for years. And dating nearly 100 years, automakers have experimented periodically with various vehicles not needing drivers. But what once was Hollywood fantasy is now on the not-too-distant horizon. Directors’ imaginations could be the daily driving reality for soccer moms and traveling salesmen. In recent years, major carmakers — BMW to Volvo to Toyota — and technology monoliths like Google have ramped up their driverless car research. They’re testing driverless technology at least in part via new legislation in several states allowing the testing of autonomous cars on public roads. The new driverless technology, most notably unveiled in prototypes by Audi and BMW at the 2014 Consumer

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Driverless cars: Real deal or the apocalypse?

Autonomous vehicles, commonly known as driverless cars, have been portrayed in futuristic movies for years. And dating nearly 100 years, automakers have experimented periodically with various vehicles not needing drivers. But what once was Hollywood fantasy is now on the not-too-distant horizon. Directors’ imaginations could be the daily driving reality for soccer moms and traveling salesmen. In recent years, major carmakers — BMW to Volvo to Toyota — and technology monoliths like Google have ramped up their driverless car research. They’re testing driverless technology at least in part via new legislation in several states allowing the testing of autonomous cars on public roads. The new driverless technology, most notably unveiled in prototypes by Audi and BMW at the 2014 Consumer

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BMW drives itself better than some drivers drive BMW

BMW doesn’t have the first autonomous car prototype, but its modified 2014 M235i Coupe sure looks impressive. Several manufacturers have predicted the public will be driving driverless cars by 2020, and a few states have legalized the vehicles under certain conditions. In the meantime, BMW (and others) are showcasing their autonomous cars on tracks and doing so impressively. They corner well and pilot through cones at high speed. The BMW new ActiveAssist feature can bring a vehicle “back into line in demanding driving situations without any input from the driver”, using 360-degree radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors. The German manufacturer revealed a modified version of the M235i Coupe at the recent 2014 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. The car

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