News
Waymo and Volvo partner on autonomous driving
Waymo and Volvo Car Group have announced a partnership that sees Waymo become the exclusive Level 4 autonomous driving partner for the carmaker. The collaboration will see the partners work to integrate the Waymo Driver – the self-driving technology developer’s combination of hardware, software and compute – into a mobility-focused electric vehicle platform for ride-hailing services.
driverlessguru.com
Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA team up on automated driving
Carmaker Mercedes-Benz and chipmaker NVIDIA have announced plans to work together on an in-vehicle computing system and AI computing infrastructure that they say will be the most sophisticated and advanced computing architecture ever deployed in a car. The partners plan to roll it out across the carmaker's fleet starting in 2024, enabling automated driving capabilities that customers will be able to purchase and add through over-the-air software updates.
daimler.com
Amazon acquires Zoox
Amazon has signed an agreement to acquire California-based autonomous ride-hailing developer Zoox. While the company's announcement did not detail its plans for the acquisition, recent speculation has suggested Amazon could use Zoox's technology for autonomous deliveries or to set up its own autonomous ride-hailing fleet.
aboutamazon.com
Didi robotaxi service begins Shanghai operation
Didi Chuxing has launched its on-demand robotaxi service in Shanghai, China, allowing passengers to start requesting free autonomous vehicle rides within a designated area of the city. The company has deployed its own vehicle-to-everything (V2X) hardware at main junctions within the test area as part of the pilot project, and each vehicle will have a mandatory safety driver on board, with the fleet also supported by a remote safety control centre.
didiglobal.com
Automated vehicles
UN Regulation adopted by 60 countries
A United Nations Regulation allowing for the safe introduction of automated vehicles in certain traffic environments has been adopted by 60 countries, establishing strict requirements for Automated Lane Keeping Systems that take over primary control of a passenger vehicle. The new Regulation, the first binding international regulation on Level 3 vehicle automation, was adopted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations and will enter into force in January 2021.
unece.org
Connected vehicles
UN adopts connected vehicle cybersecurity and software update regulations
The United Nations this week adopted two new regulations on cybersecurity and software updates for connected vehicles. The measures will establish clear performance and audit requirements for car manufacturers to help tackle the cybersecurity risks of hackers seeking to access electronic systems and data, threatening vehicle safety and consumer privacy.
unece.org
Investment
AImotive secures $20m investment round
Automated driving software supplier AImotive announced this week that it has become the largest VC-backed company developing automated driving technology in Europe, following a new investment round of US$20 million. The company will continue to expand internationally and use the funding to accelerate its efforts to make automated driving widely available.
aimotive.com
DriveU.auto raises $4m for autonomous vehicle teleoperation connectivity
DriveU.auto, the developer of a connectivity platform for autonomous vehicle teleoperation, has raised $4m after demonstrating strong market traction through customer engagements in the US, Europe, Japan and Israel. The company noted that remote human oversight and the ability to intervene are mandatory in many regions where companies are seeking to deploy autonomous vehicles.
prnewswire.com
Safety
New radar allows cars to spot hazards around corners
Researchers at Princeton University have developed an automated radar system that they say will allow self-driving vehicles to see around corners and spot oncoming hazards. The system uses Doppler radar to bounce radio waves at an angle off surfaces such as buildings and parked cars, which go on to strike objects hidden around the corner, before some of the signal bounces back to car-mounted detectors.
princeton.edu
And finally...
Self-driving hospital beds
Companies around the world have been doing their bit to help those most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, one firm, Digital Concepts Engineering, has drawn on its experience in robotics and unmanned ground vehicles to design a self-driving hospital bed, reports Verdict. The company's 'Helios' system is designed to safeguard medical staff and reduce the risk of hospital porters being exposed to the virus when moving patients. It can be retrofitted to a hospital bed, allowing the bed to follow a nurse around the building, freeing up porters to focus on other tasks.
verdict.co.uk