It was on the motorway near Phoenix, Arizona, that I realised fully driverless cars might be quite a distant dream. And that was because our Google Waymo robo-taxi seemed incapable of leaving that motorway. We were in Arizona to record a radio documentary for the BBC World Serviceabout the progress towards creating autonomous vehicles that would… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Self-driving vehicles
Toyota to invest $500m in Uber in driverless car deal
Japanese carmaker Toyota is to invest $500m (£387m) in Uber and expand a partnership to jointly develop self-driving cars. The firm said this would involve the “mass-production” of autonomous vehicles that would be deployed on Uber’s ride sharing network. It is being viewed as a way for both firms to catch up with rivals in… Read more »
The life of an Uber test driver
A test driver was behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber vehicle when it struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona on Sunday night. Autonomous car companies have test drivers on board so they can take over in case of emergencies. But that safeguard wasn’t enough to prevent the death 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. Tempe police say… Read more »
What Uber Learned from a Year of Self Driving
Ride hailing company Uber took to the streets of Pittsburgh in late 2016 with self-driving cars. Here’s what riders and the company learned from letting robots take the wheel. Source: Wired Magazine Date: January 3rd, 2018 Link: https://www.wired.com/video/what-uber-learned-from-a-year-of-self-driving Discussion 1) Why is a ride-hailing company so focused on self-driving vehicles? 2) Is Uber a tech company, a car… Read more »
San Francisco to restrict goods delivery robots
San Francisco officials have voted to restrict where delivery robots can go in the city, in a blow for the burgeoning industry. Start-ups will have to get permits to use such bots, which will be restricted to less crowded urban areas. Opponents are concerned about the safety of pedestrians, particularly elderly people and children. Walk San Francisco, a… Read more »
Uber signs deal to buy 24,000 autonomous vehicles from Volvo
Uber swung one of the largest deals for autonomous vehicles Monday, ordering 24,000 vehicles from Volvo — a move that is expected to advance the case for self-driving cars on American streets. Passengers can already hail a ride inside a driverless taxi in a small number of U.S. cities — most prominently Pittsburgh — but not… Read more »
Meet the Woman Making Uber’s Self-Driving Cars Smarter, Cheaper
Raquel Urtasun joined Uber to set up a new autonomous-vehicle research lab . She still works one day a week in her old job as an associate professor at the University of Toronto. And she has long argued that that self-driving vehicles can’t reach the masses unless the industry weans itself off lidar. Source: Wired Magazine Date: November 9th,… Read more »
Self-Driving Cars Will Kill People. Who Decides Who Dies?
To understand the trolley problem, first consider this scenario: You are standing on a bridge. Underneath you, a railroad track divides into a main route and an alternative. On the main route, 50 people are tied to the rails. A trolley rushes under the bridge on the main route, hurtling towards the captives. Fortunately, there’s… Read more »
Self-driving garbage trucks would cut wasted time
Source: CNN Date: May 30th, 2017 Link to video: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/future/2017/05/18/self-driving-garbage-trucks-would-cut-wasted-time.cnnmoney/ Discussion 1) Garbage/trash trucks seem like a very logical move for self-driving automation: they follow a set route at a slow speed and have a human outside the truck. This is almost like the beginning of when cars first came out and each car had to have a… Read more »
From cowboys to robots: truckers eye uncertain future
Kings of the road are by turns dismissive and wary of the technology revolution that might one day remove them from their cabs. Source: Toronto Star / Washington Post Date: May 30th, 2017 Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/tech_news/2017/05/26/from-cowboys-to-robots-truckers-eye-uncertain-future.html Discussion 1) “Anything that’s run by a computer is going to get messed up,” Spell said. “They don’t have no bulletproof software.” Do… Read more »
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