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Category Archives: autonomous vehicles
Toyota Research Inst. Claims Advances in Home Use Robotics
As TRI shows in a new video, this system allows robots to make generalizations in a range of scenarios, including in different homes. The somewhat humorous video (comments welcomed here by the non-androids of AutoInformed), released on National Selfie Day, shows these new capabilities on film, as the un-named robot is seen recording itself as it performs these new skills around a house. It is less cranky, humoours and personable than R2-D2, a tough act to follow for anyone competing in the Artoo-Detoo defined field. After all, it was developed by engineers, not Hollywood – Where is George Lucas when you need him? Continue reading
Ford to Up Electrification Spend to $30B by 2025. Wants 40% All-Electric Global Volume By 2030
Well, one wild card is the great unknown about the future of internal combustion engines that Ford is heavily dependent on. Will the change to EVs mean big write offs or mark downs of the value of existing plants, tooling and the elimination of jobs? Another potentially negative is Ford’s dismal record of introducing and then incurring huge warranty costs of complex vehicles with electronics. It has cost stockholders billions of dollars. Fixing these huge warranty costs is potentially worth $1-$2 billion annually given recent history. Continue reading
Volkswagen, Argo AI to Start Autonomous Driving Tests
Current conventional automaker wisdom (wishdom?) has is that light commercial vehicles are the first, logical place for using autonomous transportation of people and goods. “Our aim with the self-driving version of the ID. BUZZ is to ease commercial deployment of transport and delivery services starting in 2025,” said divisional director Christian Senger during a digital press conference. VW Mobility service provider MOIA will first launch autonomous service in Hamburg, Germany. Continue reading
Gaming Technology for Autonomous Vehicles at Porsche?
This – in theory – shortens development times, saves costs and makes mobility safer, according to Porsche. Furthermore, in the nascent Porsche Car Configurator, Game Engines are intended to help the customer in the configuration of her vehicle in retail. In the future, customers in Porsche Centers will see an “almost photo-realistic, three-dimensional simulation of their configured vehicle” via a gaming PC with connected VR glasses. Continue reading
Canadian GM Engineers Can Now Develop Advanced Vehicles on the CTC McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track
The 55-acre operation on the southern-end of the Oshawa Operations expands GM’s Canadian technology footprint to four sites. With campuses in Markham and Oshawa and the Kapuskasing Proving Grounds in northern Ontario, the CTC has grown to become the largest software engineering and development centre for GM outside the U.S. Continue reading
Toyota R&D Patent Leader Among US Automakers Again
“Toyota continues to invest heavily in its robust research and development pipeline and has received more than 1,400 patents related to autonomous vehicle technology since 2003. Every hour, Toyota invests over $1 million in emerging technology globally, and has invested over $1 billion in R&D related to automated vehicles and robotics since 2017,” Toyota said. Continue reading
Lyft and Motional to Deploy Fully Self-Driving Vehicles in 2023
Lyft with abundant self-interest and General Motors backing claims a rideshare network is “vastly important to making AVs become a reality.” This thesis in search of proof will balance AVs operating on Lyft’s network with human drivers and other options including bikes, scooters, and transit. Lyft claims it can ensure riders always have reliable transportation options regardless of where they need to travel. Lyft also claims that riders want a ride to arrive within minutes of requesting one and it’ll take years for AVs to reach the scale and technological sophistication needed to meet this service level for all ride scenarios. Rideshare networks might be where riders experience self-driving technology for the first time. Continue reading
J.D. Power Completes ALG Acquisition
The money involved right now is breathtaking. Determining an accurate residual value – the value of a vehicle at the end of a lease term is the underpinning of auto leasing because it allows dealers and manufacturers to set the most competitive lease terms today, while protecting their profits tomorrow. About one-third of new vehicles sold each year are leased, typically for a three-year term. At any point in time, the value of vehicles in outstanding lease portfolios is estimated at $500 billion by Power. Continue reading
JLR to Use Irish Smart City Hub for Self-Driving Tests?
Timing is everything. Amid the Brexit disaster, Jaguar Land Rover is working with global software, mobility and telecoms companies to create a smart city hub in Ireland. If this ever comes about on the scale envisioned, it will allow real-world testing of connected technology where self-driving vehicles share the streets with cars, pedestrians and cyclists. The testbed will be in the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area at Shannon Free Zone, Shannon, Co. Clare. The future of Irish trade, political sovereignty and access to the EU is dependent on the resolution of Brexit. Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer. Continue reading
General Motors to Add 3000 New Jobs to Advance Virtual Testing and Software Skills
“As we evolve and expand our software expertise and services, it’s important that we continue to recruit and add diverse talent,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “This will clearly show that we’re committed to further developing the software we need to lead in EVs, enhance the customer experience and become a software expertise-driven workforce.” Continue reading
FAW J7+ Autonomous Truck Passes Chinese Certification
China with its own vast market and a Communist central government that can quickly decree and implement policy – think Covid response or Trump’s defeat in the trade war he started – would seem to have an advantage here. It is lucky for western automakers that Chinese industrial policy allowed them to operate there but only with local partners. How the pie is sliced outside of China when and if the exports become voluminous will be subject to much behind the scenes maneuvering and uncomfortable board meetings Continue reading
Covid – Drastic Changes to Commuting Have Slight Effect on Feelings about EVs and Self-Driving Technologies?
While the ongoing Covid plague has drastically changed American lives, what’s not new is that Inexperience and Lack of Knowledge Remain Barriers for Acceptance of EVs and Self-Driving Technologies. Nonetheless, automakers are investing heavily in electrification and self-driving technology despite an absence of substantive consumer interest in either. Continue reading
Hyundai Motor Group Buys Boston Dynamics from SoftBank
“By acquiring Boston Dynamics and securing a leading presence in the field of robotics, the Group takes another major step toward its strategic transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. To propel this transformation, the Group has invested substantially in the development of future technologies, including autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), Urban Air Mobility (UAM), smart factories and robots,” said Hyundai Motor Group. Continue reading →