AutoX to Use the 'Eyeonic Vision Sensor' from California-based SiLC Technologies for its Robotaxi Fleet in China

Autonomous technology developer AutoX, which is rolling out a robotaxi service in China using a fleet of level-4 self-driving vehicles, has selected an advanced vision sensor developed by California-based Silicon photonics developer SiLC Technologies. The company's Eyeonic Vision Sensors were first announced in Dec 2021 and improve the perception of traditional lidar, providing much more depth perception and instantaneous velocity of objects.

Eric Walz2023-01-01 10:30 PT

China's Tech Giant Baidu Plans to Rollout the World’s Largest Fully Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service by Next Year

China's internet technology giant Baidu Inc. held its “Apollo Day” live-streamed technology event on Monday where the company shared its latest progress on autonomous driving. Among the announcements at Apollo Day were Baidu’s plans to launch the world's largest fully-autonomous ride-hailing service aptly named “Apollo Go” by next year and become the world’s biggest robotaxi operator.

Eric Walz2022-11-29 15:00 PT

Here’s How Waymo Uses Hyper-Local Weather Data to Improve the Capabilities of its Self-Driving Vehicles

A self-driving vehicle relies on perception sensors, similar to how a human driver uses their eyes and ears to safely navigate. However, poor weather can be challenging for both humans and autonomous driving systems. In a recent blog post, Alphabet's autonomous driving unit Waymo shared some of the ways its robotaxis will deal with rain, fog and other poor weather conditions.

Eric Walz2022-11-15 15:25 PT

Baidu CEO Believes That SAE Level-4 Autonomous Driving Systems Will the First to Enter Commercial Use After L2, Skipping Over L3

​Robin Li, the co-founder and CEO of Chinese internet technology company Baidu Inc, said it’s more likely that Level-4 autonomous vehicles (AVs), not Level-3 AVs, will be the first to enter commercial use as robotaxis. While automakers will continue to develop L2 systems for passenger vehicles. Li shared his thoughts on the industry in a speech at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2022 (WAIC 2022) this week in Shanghai.

Eric Walz2022-10-09 12:00 PT

Nexar Releases its ‘Driver Behavioral Map Data’ That Can Help Autonomous Vehicles Operate More Like Human Drivers

Computer vision company Nexar, which developed a dash cam application that seeks to rid the world of car crashes, has released its Driver Behavioral Mapping data that can be used to create maps to train autonomous vehicles to operate more like human drivers. This crowdsourced map data, which is collected anonymously by Nexar’s AI-powered dash cams, provide additional insights on how human drivers behave on different road segments and in various weather and road conditions.

Eric Walz2022-10-06 12:00 PT

China’s Baidu Receives the First-Ever Permit to Operate its ‘Apollo Go’ Robotaxi Service in Beijing Without Safety Drivers Onboard

China's Baidu Inc. has received the first-ever permits in China authorizing the company to provide fully-driverless ride-hailing services to the public in Beijing, meaning that no safety drivers will be present in the vehicles. The robotaxi vehicles will offer rides to passengers in a designated area of 60 square kilometers in the city. Baidu aims to be one of the world's first companies to scale and commercialize autonomous driving technology in China.

Eric Walz2022-06-04 08:30 PT

Pony.ai to Launch Robotaxis in China With Ontime, the Ride-Hailing App of Automaker GAC Group

Autonomous driving technology developer Pony.ai is expanding its presence in China in a new partnership with automaker GAC, which is China’s fifth largest carmaker and a longtime Pony.ai partner. As part of the close collaboration with GAC, Pony.ai will deploy its autonomous vehicles on the automaker’s "Ontime" ride-hailing app. The new collaboration with GAC will help to accelerate the commercialization of autonomous mobility in China.

Eric Walz2022-06-02 08:30 PT

Waymo Opens its Fully-Autonomous Ride Hailing Service to Employees in San Francisco Without Safety Drivers Onboard

​Alphabet Inc’s autonomous driving division Waymo opened up its autonomous ride-hailing service called “Waymo One” to its employees in San Francisco. The Waymo vehicles picking up employees will be “fully-autonomous”, meaning that no safety drivers will be behind the wheel.

Eric Walz2022-05-06 11:25 PT

Aurora Innovation Unveils its Self-Driving Toyota Sienna Robotaxi in Texas

Autonomous technology developer Aurora Innovation has revealed its new robotaxi developed in partnership with automaker Toyota. The custom-built Toyota Sienna minivan is outfitted with Toyota's Vehicle Control Interface (VCI) and the automaker’s “Sienna Autono-MaaS” (S-AM) platform. It will be used in Aurora's commercial autonomous ride-hailing service called “Aurora Connect”.

Eric Walz2022-04-29 16:30 PT

GM is Making an Additional $3.4 Billion Investment in Autonomous Driving Technology Developer Cruise, Will Acquires Softbank’s Stake in the Company

​General Motors announced on Friday its acquiring SoftBank Vision Fund’s equity ownership stake in San Francisco-based autonomous driving technology developer Cruise for $2.1 billion. As part of the massive investment, GM is separately making an additional $1.35 billion investment in Cruise, replacing a previous commitment made by the Softbank’s Vision Fund fund in 2018.

Eric Walz2022-04-24 17:00 PT

Toyota-backed Autonomous Driving Startup Pony.ai Closes on the First of its Series D Funding, Valuation Climbs to $8.5 Billion

Autonomous driving technology developer Pony.ai completed its first close of a Series D funding round, which combined with its previous funding, pushed its valuation to $8.5 billion. Prior to the latest funding, The company secured a $400 million investment from Toyota in Feb 2020 and raised $367 in million Series C funding after. Pony.ai plans to commercialize robotaxis and self-driving trucks in China.

Eric Walz2022-04-13 10:00 PT

The Robotaxi Wars Have Begun in California After Waymo & Cruise Are Granted Permits to Collect Fares From Riders in San Francisco

On Monday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued “Drivered Deployment” permits to Cruise LLC and Waymo to start commercial passenger service in autonomous vehicles (AVs) in San Francisco. The permit allows Cruise and Waymo to collect fares from passengers who use the robotaxi services, as well as offer shared rides.

Eric Walz2022-04-07 11:00 PT

China’s XPeng Sets Up a New Autonomous Driving Company for Robotaxis

​Electric vehicle startup XPeng has established an autonomous driving subsidiary named “Guangzhou Pengxu Autonomous Driving Technology Co., Ltd.” that will focus on commercial mobility services, Chinese news outlet Gasgoo reports. During Xpeng’s Q3 financial report conference in Nov 2021, XPeng chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng, said the company plans to launch its own robotaxi service in the second half of 2022.

FutureCar Staff 2022-03-31 17:00 PT

Baidu’s Apollo Go Robotaxis Are Now Deployed in All of China's Top Tier Cities After Launching in Shenzhen

​The Apollo Go robotaxi service launched by China's internet technology giant Baidu Inc. has expanded to Shenzhen’s Nanshan District, providing autonomous robotaxi services to commuters there for the first time. Shenzhen becomes the seventh major city where Baidu has introduced its robotaxi ride-hailing services in China, following previous launches in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Changsha, and Cangzhou.

Eric Walz2022-03-26 17:15 PT

A Look at How Waymo’s Self-Driving Test Fleet Safely Traveled 2.7 Million Miles in San Francisco Last Year

​Autonomous driving developer Waymo plans to launch its autonomous ride-hailing service soon in San Francisco. In preparation for the service, Waymo announced that its fleet of self-driving vehicles has traveled 2.7 million miles on city streets, mapping the city and collecting valuable data to improve its autonomous driving technology stack called the “Waymo Driver”. In a new blog post, Waymo shared how it safely accomplished this.

Eric Walz2022-03-04 14:25 PT

Toyota-backed Startup Pony.ai Builds Autonomous Driving Computing Unit Built on the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin Processor

​Autonomous driving technology developer Pony.ai, which is planning to launch a robotaxi service in China using a fleet of self-driving Toyota Sienna minivans, announced the development of a complete autonomous driving computing unit built on NVIDIA’s powerful Orin system-on-a-chip (SoC). The processor is Pony.ai’s 6th generation autonomous driving system and is designed for automotive-grade mass production.

Eric Walz2022-02-26 12:15 PT

Waymo’s New Robotaxis Will Be Built By Chinese Automaker Geely’s New Premium Electric Brand Zeekr

Autonomous driving developer Waymo, which spun out of Google’s self-driving car project, unveiled its new electric robotaxi vehicle that will be built by Zeekr, the new premium electric brand from Chinese automaker Geely. Zeekr was established in March as a standalone brand to compete with Tesla, XPeng, NIO Inc. and others in the premium EV category in China.

Eric Walz2022-02-04 09:30 PT

Chinese Automaker BYD Forms Joint Venture with Momenta to Develop Autonomous Driving Technology for its Models in China

Chinese automaker BYD and self-driving technology startup Momenta have established a new joint venture to deploy autonomous driving technology across BYD car model lines. The new company, named DiPi Intelligent Mobility Co., combines BYD's capabilities as an automaker and the ability to manufacture vehicles at scale with Momenta's experience in autonomous driving.

Eric Walz2022-02-02 12:20 PT

Autonomous Driving Technology Developer AutoX Unveils its 'Robotaxi Assembly Line' in China

Autonomous driving technology developer AutoX has unveiled its robotaxi assembly line in China, where it plans to produce thousands of self-driving vehicles for autonomous mobility services in China. The robotaxis are being built using Chrysler Pacifica minivans from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which is the same vehicle being used by Waymo in the U.S. for its autonomous ride-hailing service.

Eric Walz2022-01-28 14:30 PT

Toyota-backed Autonomous Driving Developer Pony.ai Gets its Driverless Test Permit Suspended in California After Minor Accident

After a minor accident involving one of Pony.ai's autonomous test vehicles in California, the state has stepped in and suspended the company's deployment permit while it conducts an investigation to find out what happened. It’s the first time that the California DMV suspended an autonomous driving test permit after issuing over 50 of them to companies working on self-driving vehicles in the state.

Eric Walz2022-01-20 13:25 PT