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News Roundup: Singapore Adds Hybrid Buses to Its List of Driverless Options, Fisker Teases Its Answer to Tesla’s Model 3, and More

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Jennifer van der Kleut

A look at some of the most interesting headlines to come out of the driverless, connected-car world this week.

Driverless taxis and shuttles test so well, Singapore moves on to buses

After public tests of self-driving taxis and shuttles have gone so well, Singapore is already planning to expand its driverless transportation offerings. This week, news outlets like TechCrunch, Engadget and ChannelNewsAsia gave a sneak peek of designs for driverless hybrid buses that feature Lidar, V2X capabilities and even night-vision. An initial pilot launch will apparently consist of two full-size buses that will transport passengers between Nanyang Technological University and CleanTech Park, and potentially even beyond to Pioneer MRT station. The first route has been tested with a driverless shuttle since 2013, TechCrunch reports. See maps of the routes and read more information about the buses and testing on TechCrunch.

 

Henrik Fisker posts teaser photo of driverless car he says will give Tesla a run for its money

Renowned automotive designer Henrik Fisker teased fans this week by posting twfisker-driverless-caro photos of what he says is his forthcoming autonomous-capable car that will give Tesla’s Model 3 a run for its money. The first photo is dark and only shows the front bumper, but was enough to get people excited. The second photo is a dark silhouette of the entire car with its wing-style doors up. Fisker said the long-range electric car will eventually have full autonomous capabilities, and that he is teaming up with a top automotive supplier for the autonomous system, though he declined to state which one. Read more from the Business Journal.

 

Wanis Kabbaj’s TED Talk: What a driverless world would look like

Transportation geek Wanis Kabbaj thinks we can find inspiration in the genius of human biology to design the transit systems of the future. In his recent TED Talk, Kabbaj asks, what if traffic flowed through our streets as smoothly and efficiently as blood flows through our veins? Get a closer look at Kabbaj’s vision and hear his TED Talk on Ted.com.

 

Images courtesy of Henrik Fisker

Goodyear Shows Off ‘Eagle-360’ Spherical Tires for Self-Driving Cars

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Jennifer van der Kleut

As industry experts theorize, it makes sense that since self-driving cars require a whole new redesign of cars themselves, then the tires are going to need to be different too.

That’s why the tire-selling giants at Goodyear dreamt up a whole new tire for self-driving cars-one with a spherical shape.

The tire, which they are calling the “Goodyear Eagle-360,” looks like a giant black basketball.

Car and Driver explains why the tires would be effective and safe, particularly in a self-driving car where an intelligent computer can determine the safest mode of driving based on road conditions and traffic, all within milliseconds:

“A wide central sipe could spin perpendicular to the direction of travel when roads are dry and parallel to the road when it rains, providing a channel to evacuate standing water from under the tire. Sensors built into the tire would detect road conditions and available friction, relaying that information to the car’s computers so it knows when it’s necessary to travel below the speed limit.”

Interestingly, Goodyear explains that the tires wouldn’t be attached to the car the traditional way, through axles; rather, they would link to the car via “magnetic levitation.”

GizMag explains the many benefits of this design, including the fact that it would allow the car to move in any direction possible.

“…It can rotate on any axis in any direction. This makes the car ultra-maneuverable and could pave the way for smaller carparks and more efficient use of road space, because the Eagle-360 allows the car to move sideways,” the magazine explains.

However, Car and Driver points out that the magnetic levitation design also introduces a particularly big hurdle-the weight it would add to the car.

“Designers openly admit that the necessary permanent magnets would add thousands of pounds to the vehicle’s weight as the tech exists today,” Car and Driver says.

As far as other benefits go, GizMag also applauded the advanced tread of the Eagle-360.

“Even the tread is advanced, with a 3D-printed biomimetic design that imitates the pattern of brain coral. According to Goodyear, this allows the tread to act like a natural sponge , so it stiffens in dry conditions and softens in the wet to reduce aquaplaning and improve handling.”

See the Goodyear Eagle-360 tire in the company’s video below: