California’s Department of Motor Vehicles established new rules announced Monday that will allow tech companies and others working on driverless vehicle systems to begin trialling their cars without a safety driver at the wheel. The new rules go into effect starting April 2. Until now, the DMV has allowed companies approved for autonomous vehicle testing to run their cars on the roads,… Read More
Category: autonomous cars
California to allow testing of self-driving cars without a driver present
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles established new rules announced Monday that will allow tech companies and others working on driverless vehicle systems to begin trialling their cars without a safety driver at the wheel. The new rules go into effect starting April 2. Until now, the DMV has allowed companies approved for autonomous vehicle testing to run their cars on the roads,… Read More
Driverless cars, without a driver this time, to be tested on California roads
It’s the Wild West on California roads.
On Monday, the state Department of Motor Vehicles announced it will allow autonomous cars on public roads without an approved driver.
That means cars with no one in the driver’s seat can start being tested and …
Uber’s new CEO could probably win at 10 dimensional chess
The courtroom has been cleared, the lights are off in the spillover room on the 19th floor and the initial takes are in on the Uber vs. Waymo trial. Uber will give Alphabet, the parent company of both Waymo and the search giant Google, some $244 …
View More Uber’s new CEO could probably win at 10 dimensional chessAurora will power Byton EV’s autonomous driving features
Aurora, the self-driving startup founded by Google self-driving car project alum Chris Urmson, along with Tesla Autopilot developer Sterling Anderson, CMU robotics expert and Uber vet Drew Bagnell, and a team of industry experts, will be making the autonomous smarts for Byton’s forthcoming electric vehicle. Byton, a startup that had a splashy debut at CES earlier this year.… Read More
Waymo gets to the heart of its case
Attorneys for Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle spinout, are nearing the end of their plaintiffs presentation against Uber in a trial that is likely to have broad ramifications for the common Valley practice of acqui-hiring talent.
The case hinges on whether the jury believes Uber’s assertion that the technology used in its autonomous car project was developed and acquired… Read More
In an alternate universe Lyft may have bought Otto
The Uber vs. Waymo trial took a turn for the the weird today when testimony revealed that Otto, the company whose acquisition is at the center of this lawsuit, was entertaining bids from other suitors.
For a bit of background, Otto is the self-driving truck company that Anthony Levandowski co-founded with Lior Ron. Both men previously worked at Google/Alphabet/Waymo — Levandowski on… Read More
California DMV disengagement report reveals self-driving improvements
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles releases an annual report detailing the number of disengagements reported by companies it has licensed to test autonomous vehicles on public roads in the state. This year, the report reveals some interesting details about the progress of some of those companies, including Waymo, GM’s Cruise and Tesla (sort of – you’ll see what… Read More
We were in an accident during an automated driving tech demo
As a transportation reporter, I’ve been in a lot of cars using either autonomous or semi-automated Advanced Driver Assistance (ADAS) features, both on public and private roads, and yet I’d never been in an accident during a demonstration drive for any of these features before now. On Tuesday, January 30, myself and two TechCrunch video production staff were riding in a modified… Read More
Waymo orders thousands of Pacificas for 2018 self-driving fleet rollout
Waymo has ordered thousands of new Chrysler Pacifica minivans from FCA to help populate its autonomous ride-hailing fleet, which it will open to the public in 2018, the company says. The public launch of its Pacifica-based self-driving ride haili…
View More Waymo orders thousands of Pacificas for 2018 self-driving fleet rolloutFord files a patent for an autonomous police car
If the fourth season of Black Mirror didn’t throughly freak you out, buckle up! Ford has filed for a patent on an autonomous police car. While patent filings don’t always come to fruition, the mere fact that this idea is in development is mildly unnerving. The patent, first spotted by Motor1, describes an autonomous police vehicle that would be able to detect infractions performed… Read More
Udacity opens applications for its Flying Car Nanodegree program
If you want to learn how to build flying cars, then your options in terms of getting an education are kind of limited. Enter Udacity, the online education platform founded by Google self-driving car pioneer Sebastian Thrun. It’s now accepting applications for its Flying Car Nanodegree program, which it announced last year along with a new Introduction to Self-Driving engineering course.… Read More