Uber’s working with Volvo to further its autonomous driving initiative

Uber and Volvo have announced a new industrial partnership to help with the ride-hailing company’s autonomous driving program. Volvo has already sent some of the 100 cars they plan to send Uber before the year ends, plus they are working to create new vehicles designed to incorporate autonomous driving technology. But Volvo won’t be supplying the self-driving tech, Uber will be using the technology they’ve developed on their own, which the company plans to start public trials soon.

The new autonomous they will be working on will be using Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture, which is the same platform used by its XC90, S90, and V90 cars. This will be the main focus of the collaboration between the two companies. And both will be using said vehicle for their own autonomous vehicle development.

Source: The Verge

Meet Mercedes-Benz’s semi-autonomous bus

While there are ride-hailing apps and self-driving cars, there is still a need for public transport, especially since these can fit more people in. But there’s also a need for it to evolve and that’s what Mercedes-Benz is trying to do with the semi-autonomous Future Bus program. It follows a route from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport to the town of Haarlem, which is a route that has a number of bends, traffic lights, and tunnels. The Future Bus was able to navigate this route of over 20 kilometers. It has a top speed of 70km/h and promises to drive gently and smoothly so it’ll still be a safe ride for standing passengers. Yes, it still has a human driver ready to take over in case of an emergency. But Mercedes-Benz believes the technology called CityPilot in the Future Bus makes the ride both safe and efficient.

CityPilot technology is adapted from the software they use for their autonomous trucks made under the Daimler name. The bus can detect objects on the road and bus stops. And it can connect to the city’s infrastructure network so it can get information like when traffic lights will change as well as collect data for the city using its cameras to see things like road wear and tear. Inside of the bus gets so tech upgrades too as there are things like wireless charging spots in them.

Source: Daimler

Land Rover wants to take autonomous vehicles to all terrains

Self-driving car research is moving along on nice, paved roads. But it hasn’t really made any progress off-road. And that’s what Land Rover is working on. They’re working on all-terrain, self-driving technology that will allow the cars to be used on varied surfaces. This technology makes use of cameras, radar, ultrasonic sound, and lidar to sense the terrain their driving on and adapt accordingly. It can even account for low-hanging branches as well as other obstacles that can ruin the ride or put you in danger.

Another feature is allowing cars to be linked together in an “off-road connected convoy” so the cars will share everything from location to things like suspension and wheel positions. If, for example, the lead car gets stuck, then the others can stop or change course to not fall into a similar predicament. There isn’t any specific timeline yet when we’d see these driverless off-road vehicles but we’d love to see them soon..

Source: Engadget

BMW now steps closer to producing its autonomous car thanks to new partnerships

While Tesla is being investigated following a driver’s death while under Autopilot control, BMW is pushing ahead with its autonomous vehicle initiative with the new partnerships the brand has entered into. BMW is planning on delivering its iNEXT autonomous car by the year 2021 and to help make that happen, they’ve partnered with Intel and Mobileye. They’re working towards developing “future-proof solutions that will allow the drivers to completely shut off behind the wheel.

Intel will be providing the processors needed to handle the constant stream of information the sensors and cameras bring in. Meanwhile, Mobileye will help BMW create systems that can produce an accurate picture of what’s happening around the iNEXT. In case you didn’t know, Mobileye developed the technology behind Tesla’s AutoPilot system.

Source: Gizmag