[volkman10]

World’s Largest Parade Of Autonomous Cars - feat happened in China, creates Guinness world Record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZldmMNpIyk

[Jeroen]

How often does the driver of an autonomous car need to intervene? Read and weep. No dozing away behind the wheel of any autonomous car any time soon.

On some of these, you are just waiting for the thing to miss something.

https://thelastdriverlicenseholder.c...inary-results/

Whatever you do, don't get a car powered by Apple, you might as well drive yourself!

[dailydriver]

ATI Motors, a Bengaluru based company has come up with an autonomous cargo vehicle capable of handling weights up to 500kgs. Although the concept is not completely novel or revolutionary, it is a matter of pride that the vehicle is mostly indigenous. Also, one of the co founders is a sixteen year old boy who is said to be a class 5th school dropout.

https://youtu.be/IlmZpO01gzg

https://youtu.be/hBFGQ1F70gY

Disclaimer: No affiliations or interests whatsoever. Just sharing a piece of information.

[JS Kwt]

Virtual pedestrians pave way to safer roads for driverless cars

A "virtual human" suddenly steps out at a blind bend, but the engineer in the Volvo car's driving seat on the test track doesn't flinch, leaving it to software to take evasive action.

Private test tracks like the one owned by Sweden's AstaZero are playing an increasing role as manufacturers like Volvo put self-driving cars through their paces following high-profile setbacks on public roads, auto executives say.

Automakers and technology companies are locked in a race to bring these vehicles into commercial use by 2022, but their efforts on public roads stumbled last year when an Uber test car hit and killed a pedestrian.

"Everybody has revised the protocols a little bit after that kind of crash because we cannot have that again," Dennis Nobelius, head of Volvo Cars' Zenuity driverless software joint venture, told Reuters.

"The industry ... has really been made to do one more loop ... not only (to) make the end product safe enough but also make the testing secure," Nobelius said from the backseat of the autonomous Volvo car at AstaZero's track.

Public road testing has become more challenging for driverless vehicles as software which controls brake and steering is trialled, unlike previously when people controlled breaking and steering and software the other functions.


TRUCK TESTING

Trucks which drive themselves are even tougher to test than cars because of their size and weight and truckmakers say they are running tests at enclosed sites like warehouses, harbours and mines where human access can be restricted for safety.

Zenuity uses AstaZero's virtual recreation to test cars using data from Malaysia, aiming to deliver software which is safe anywhere in the world.

Start-up Einride uses one of the tracks to check whether a person in Barcelona can use Ericsson's 5G network to remotely steer its driverless electric truck, which gives a warning and stops when it encounters a moose or other roadblock.

The idea is eventually to allow customers like DB Schenker, which has already begun using Einride's truck on Swedish roads, to be able to monitor a fleet of such trucks from a control room and a person there to be able to switch any truck that encounters an obstacle to remote control and navigate it safely.

Source

[volkman10]

Honda and Toyota create alliance to develop autonomous driving technology.

Following BMW and Mercedes, it is time for Japan's Honda and Toyota to unite to develop standalone car services in Japan. According to Honda, the partnership will be 250 million yen (about US $ 2.27 million) in the joint -venture Monet Tecnologies, assuming a 10% stake in the business. The partnership still stands out for its challenges that brands face in the development of new transport services. The partnership between Honda and Hino (Toyota's truck brand) is yet to develop an artificial intelligence software for autonomous driving with SoftBank's technology conglomerate. The new investment from Honda and Hino would leave SoftBank with a 40.2% stake in Monet, ante just over 50 percent when the venture was formed. Toyota will hold a 39.8% stake.

Link

[vvijay]

Interesting Bloomberg article on a comprehensive scorecard of who would win the self-driving car race and where in the autonomous development do each of the auto-makers stand:

In the race to start the world’s first driving business without human drivers, everyone is chasing Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo.

The Google sibling has cleared the way to beat its nearest rivals, General Motors Co. and a couple of other players, by at least a year to introduce driverless cars to the public. A deal reached in January to buy thousands of additional Chrysler Pacifica minivans, which get kitted out with sensors that can see hundreds of yards in any direction, puts Waymo’s lead into stark relief. No other company is offering for-hire rides yet, let alone preparing to carry passengers in more than one city this year.

GM plans to start a ride-hailing service with its Chevrolet Bolt — the one with no steering wheel or pedals, the ultimate goal in autonomous technology — late next year, assuming the U.S. government has protocols in place by then. SoftBank Vision Fund, the gigantic Japanese tech investor, backed that plan on May 31 by dropping $2.25 billion into GM Cruise Holdings, the automaker’s autonomous drive unit. Most of the others trying solve the last remaining self-driving puzzles are more cautious, targeting 2020 or later.
The road to autonomy is long and exceedingly complicated. It can also be dangerous: Two high-profile efforts, from Uber Technologies Inc. and Tesla Inc., were involved in crashes that caused the death of a pedestrian (in the first known case of a person killed by a self-driving vehicle) and a driver using an assistance program touted as a precursor to autonomy. One of Waymo’s autonomous vans was involved in a collision just last week. But the perceived stakes are so enormous, with the promise of transport businesses needing little in labor costs, that many players are racing to master the technology and put it to work.

Without drivers, operating margins could be … more than twice what carmakers generate right now

In the next three years, almost all of these contenders will be able show off cars capable of navigating city streets at casual speeds along firmly fixed routes. Most of the companies now building autonomous vehicles can already handle basic driving at low speeds. This can give an impression of parity and sameness. Yet despite being in its infancy, autonomous driving has leaders starting to emerge.

“Waymo has developed a phenomenal system and is ahead of the pack,” said Brian Collie, head of Boston Consulting Group’s U.S. automotive practice, who singled out the top two. “But that’s very different from being able to manufacture an autonomous vehicle. You have to look at GM. In Europe, Daimler is leading the pack.”

The finish line isn’t just reaching Level 4 on the five-step scale of autonomous driving. That’s the threshold at which a car can drive on pre-mapped routes and handle anything on its planned course without the intervention of a driver. Only Waymo has tested Level 4 vehicles on passengers who aren’t its employees — and those people volunteered to be test subjects. No one has yet demonstrated at Level 5, where the car is so independent that there’s no steering wheel.

The victors will also need to pioneer businesses around the technology. Delivery and taxi services capable of generating huge profits is the end game for all. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts that robo-taxis will help the ride-hailing and -sharing business grow from $5 billion in revenue today to $285 billion by 2030. There are grand hopes for this business. Without drivers, operating margins could be in the 20 percent range, more than twice what carmakers generate right now. If that kind of growth and profit come to pass — very big ifs — it would be almost three times what GM makes in a year. And that doesn’t begin to count the money to be made in delivery.

Why does it matter who gets there first? To make a driverless business work takes a big fleet to establish service in major markets, as well as a brand name that becomes as synonymous with getting a ride as Uber is today. Observers expect the field to narrow.

Read the full article here:


Cheers,
Vijay

[namanski]

Video Link

Stanford Engineers equip a DeLorean to drift autonomously at the "MARTYkhana" course.

[volkman10]

Honda Beats Tesla To First Level 3 Autonomous Car.

Honda's Sensing safety suite already includes a plethora of advanced driver assists available for models such as the Civic, including automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and traffic sign recognition.
Now, Honda has launched an even more advanced safety suite known as Honda Sensing Elite. Currently, these driver assists are only available in Japan for the Honda Legend Hybrid EX, which is Japan's version of the Acura RLX, but they likely preview safety technology that will be available in future US models.

One of the highlights of Honda Sensing Elite is a new Traffic Jam Pilot function with hands-free Level 3 autonomous driving technology that can take control of the car in certain conditions such as driving through heavy traffic on a highway.

Honda's Sensing Elite also includes capabilities like hands-off active lane-change assist, lane-keeping assist, and an emergency stop assist feature that will slow down the vehicle if the driver becomes unresponsive to requests to take control. Blue accessory lights are fitted to the exterior to distinguish the Legend with Level 3 autonomy. The driver is still required to be behind the wheel to intervene if required, but this is a huge step forward for self-driving tech in production cars after companies like Mercedes decided it would no longer chase Level 5 autonomy.

Link