News
Driverless cars speed up traffic flow by working together
Researchers from Cambridge University have shown that a fleet of driverless cars working together to keep traffic moving can improve overall traffic flow by at least 35%. During the project, the team programmed a fleet of miniature robotic cars on a multi-lane track to observe how traffic flow changed with different driving behaviours.
driverlessguru.com
Automated vehicles
TuSimple and USPS collaborate on self-driving truck service
Self-driving truck company TuSimple has announced a contract with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to perform five round trips hauling USPS trailers between distribution centres in Phoenix, Arizona and Dallas, Texas. TuSimple expects the route to become a central one for the company because of strong customer demand for freight runs between Arizona and Texas.
driverlessguru.com
Policy
UK Autodrive consortium releases final report
The UK Autodrive consortium, which concluded its work last year with the world's first multi-modal journey featuring connected and autonomous road- and pavement-based vehicles, has released its final report. The report highlights a number of challenges the partners believe will need to be addressed in the future development of autonomous vehicle technology.
ukautodrive.com
Opposition to GM's driverless car petition
General Motors has run into opposition to its petition to federal regulators for permission to put up to 5,000 driverless cars – without steering wheels or pedals – on public roads, reports The Detroit News. Groups representing car dealers, insurers and road safety advocates have reportedly taken issue with GM's plans for its Cruise automated vehicle fleet.
detroitnews.com
Investment
Aurora to acquire LiDAR firm Blackmore
Self-driving vehicle technology developer Aurora has announced plans to acquire Montana-based LiDAR company Blackmore. The company believes that Blackmore's advanced LiDAR technology, which draws on hardware proven in the optical fibre communications industry, is part of the 'ultimate' sensing system for self-driving cars.
medium.com
Jobs
New CEO for autonomous software developer Oxbotica
UK-based autonomous vehicle software company Oxbotica has announced a change of CEO, appointing Ozgur Tohumcu to replace Dr Graeme Smith, who will move to a new role as the company’s Senior Vice President of External Affairs. “For the past five years, I’ve had the best job in the world,” said Smith.
oxbotica.com
Learning
Udacity expands self-driving car partnership with Mercedes-Benz
Online learning provider Udacity announced this week that it is expanding its learning partnership with Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America (MBRDNA) to train the next generation of engineering talent in self-driving car technology. Udacity has announced a new program – the Sensor Fusion Engineer Nanodegree program – that will see students learn from the autonomous driving team at Mercedes-Benz.
driverlessjobs.com
Deliveries
California DMV to hold public hearing on light-duty autonomous delivery vehicles
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will hold a public hearing next week on proposed regulations for companies seeking to test or deploy light-duty autonomous delivery vehicles in California. The hearing will take place at its Sacramento headquarters on Thursday 30th May.
ca.gov
And finally...
Fold-up robot for self-driving cars
While self-driving vehicles are often touted as a way to meet rising demand for e-commerce deliveries, there's one problem that hasn't quite been solved: how to get a package from the vehicle to the consumer's door.
Carmaker Ford believes it may have the answer, after teaming up with Agility Robotics to explore how its two-legged robot 'Digit' could be used in conjunction with a self-driving vehicle to deliver packages to the home.
The robot, which is designed to walk like a human, can go up and down stairs, cross uneven terrain and fold up to fit into the back of a self-driving vehicle, says Ford, making it ideally suited to carrying out the final step in the delivery process.
Ford sees a future where Digit can draw on detailed mapping data from its self-driving vehicle to navigate the best route to a shopper's front door. And if it does hit an unexpected obstacle? The robot can "react to things like being bumped without losing its balance and falling over," promises Ford...
medium.com