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News Roundup: Volkswagen Shows Off Sedric the Level-5 Autonomous Car in China, Major Players Weigh In on California’s Proposed Driverless Testing Policies, and More

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A look at some of the biggest news stories to come out of the driverless and connected-car world this past week:

Major players weigh in on California’s proposed self-driving testing policies

Representatives from major players in the autonomous drive game, such as Apple, Uber, Tesla Motors and Ford, have been sending comments to California officials on what changes they would like to see made in the Golden State’s proposed policies for testing self-driving vehicles. In particular, Apple wants to change the way companies report “disengagements,” which we assume refers to accidents or collisions. Tesla wrote that they disapprove of the idea of barring testing of vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 pounds. Uber said it should be allowed for people to pay to ride in an autonomous vehicle with a driver behind the wheel in order to provide the company with honest feedback. Tesla also warned that restrictive policies would encourage developers to leave the state. Read more from Business Insider.

 

What to do with the ‘ocean of data’ connected and driverless cars will create each day?

Barclays analyst Brian Johnson said recently that as more and more cars are outfitted with sensors, cameras and LiDAR, the more data they will begin to generate. In fact, a single autonomous car will be capable of generating as much as 100 gigabytes of data per second. “Assuming the entire U.S. fleet of vehicles - 260 million vehicles - has a similar data generation, it would create an ocean of data. To put it in context, one hour’s worth of raw data across the entire U.S. fleet would be around 5,800 exabytes in size,” Johnson said. One exabyte is equivalent to one million terrabytes. That presents a wealth of problems when it comes to the storage, management and analysis of that much data. Many big companies like Tesla, Delphi and Intel have ideas about how to tackle this problem. One idea is “edge analytics,” where information is analyzed close to the sensor itself rather than being sent elsewhere through the cloud. Read more from CNBC.

 

Volkswagen wows with ‘Sedric’ Level 5 autonomous concept car in Shanghai

We first saw “Sedric” the Level-5 autonomous car in March, when Volkswagen showed off renderings of the concept car. Now, Volkswagen is showing off the real thing. The company recently took Sedric to China to show it off at the Auto Shanghai 2017 show. The car is capable of full Level-5 self-driving, and in fact executives said all a passenger has to do it climb in, press a single button to start the car, and then control it throughout the rest of the trip via voice commands. The car has no brakes, controls or pedals. In fact, the car features no “cockpit” at all. See more from Automotive Tires and Parts.

Photo: Interior of Volkswagen’s ‘Sedric’ car / Credit: Volkswagen

 

News Roundup: BMW to Release Car With 3 Levels of Autonomy in 2021, Dubai Developer Orders 25 Driverless Vehicles to Drive Its Residents Around, and More

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Jennifer van der Kleut

A roundup of some of the biggest headlines to come out of the driverless and connected-car worlds over the past week:

BMW announces intent to release Level 3, 4 and 5 autonomous vehicles in 2021

BMW’s senior vice president of autonomous driving announced this week that the automaker will be releasing its “i” model in 2021, and that it will be Level-5 autonomous, meaning it will be capable of operating in any situation or condition without human assistance. The company said the 2021 model will be capable of three varying levels of autonomy — Levels 3, 4 and 5. BMW recently partnered with Intel and Mobileye (and, we just learned, Intel is in the process of acquiring Mobileye) to develop autonomous systems. BMW said the car will be inspired by the Vision Next 100 concept car it unveiled last year, which implies the car will most likely be a standalone creation rather than an upgraded version of one of its current models. Read more from Reuters and the Normangee Star.

 

Australian university wants you to name its new fully-autonomous bus

Australia’s Curtin University has built its own fully autonomous shuttle bus, and has launched an online contest to name it. The shuttle is 100-percent electric and can carry up to 11 passengers. It can travel at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour and finds its way through input digital programming, GPS navigation and and remote sensors. Though a “chaperone” currently rides in the bus to monitor things and can take over the controls manually if needed, Curtin University representatives say it is fully capable of operating without a driver. Beginning at the end of March, the bus will begin a regular route on the Curtin campus, transporting people between buildings. Read more and see a video of the shuttle bus on Curtin University’s website.

 

Dubai developer purchases 25 autonomous vehicles

Dubai-based developer Meraas has awarded a contract to 2getthere, out of the Netherlands, to build 25 driverless vehicles to transport passengers around its Bluewater Islands development. The group rapid transit vehicles (GRTs) will each carry 24 passengers, and will be used to transport passengers 2.5 km each way between the development, the harbor and the Metro station. Representatives say they expect the GRTs will be capable of transporting between 3,ooo to 5,000 people per hour between the three high-traffic spots. Similar 2getthere vehicles are already being used to make similar trips in Abu Dhabi and the Netherlands. Read more from MEED.

Photo: Curtin University autonomous shuttle, courtesy photo

News Roundup: Volkswagen Unveils ‘Sedric,’ Its New Level 5 Autonomous Car, Truck Drivers Push Back Against Autonomous Trucks, and More

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Jennifer van der Kleut

A look at some of the most interesting news to come out of the driverless transportation industry this week:

Volkswagen unveils ultra-modern-looking Level 5 autonomous car

No, this isn’t a giant Pokémon on wheels-it’s Volkswagen’s new fully autonomous concept car, named “Sedric” (a mashup of the term “self-driving car”), just unveiled this week. Volkswagen is hailing it as a Level 5 autonomous car, “capable of operating any driving mode in any environmental condition, allowing passengers to sit back and enjoy the ride.” The concept is evident by the car’s interior, designed to look more like a mobile lounge than the interior of a car. The car will be optimized for shared mobility, meaning passengers will have a “universal mobility ID” and be able to hail a Sedric from anywhere with their smartphones. Sedric will automatically recognize and remember each passenger when it arrives, allowing the passengers to talk to them in any language naturally, including with slang. Passengers will also be able to choose whether to look at the world passing by through the windshield, or choose entertainment like a movie or TV while they ride. Read more and see photos from SlashGear.

 

Trucking companies push back against autonomous trucks

The Alliance for Driver Safety and Security recently voiced its opposition to claims that autonomous trucks will soon take over the industry and cost truck drivers their jobs. Representatives say that the “accountability” of human drivers is too important to fully hand over to a machine, and that drivers should not be worried about losing their jobs to technology anytime soon, at least in the next few years. “A change to driverless vehicles will occur gradually-if at all,” the Alliance said recently. The organization represents major trucking companies like J.B. Hunt, Knight Transportation and KLLM Transportation, among others. “Truckers, after all, are not just operators but also cargo monitors and a key point of communication for logistics providers,” they explained. Read more from Supply Chain Dive.

 

Toyota unveils new autonomous concept car

The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) unveiled its new autonomous concept car, called the Toyota Advanced Safety Research Vehicle (TASRV), at the company’s annual Prius Challenge in Sonoma, California recently. The vehicle consists of Toyota’s plug-and-play autonomous system on a Lexus LS 600hL. Toyota representatives say the “flexible” system will be easy to upgrade often as the technology continues to advance. The on-board technology in the TASRV “focuses heavily on machine vision and machine learning and includes an array of layered and overlapping LIDAR, radar and camera sensors that reduce the need to rely on high-definition maps.” Toyota reps said they believe the technology will have invaluable applications throughout the industry as it helps bring driverless technology to areas without high-definition mapping. The car will also be able to share data with and gathered from other cars. Read more from Kelley Blue Book.

News Roundup: California DMV Proposes More New Mandates for Driverless Vehicles, Tesla Plans Level 5 Autonomy By Next Year, and More

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Jennifer van der Kleut

A roundup of interesting headlines to come out of the driverless and connected-vehicle industry this week:

Companies are once again concerned that California DMV rules will delay autonomous transportation progress

It seems California still can’t strike an effective balance when it comes to laws governing the manufacture and testing of autonomous vehicles. Previously, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said it was relieved and happy when the federal government released official policies and guidelines for states regarding self-driving vehicles, because the state felt it did not have the expertise or technical knowledge to design its own rules. Yet, despite the recent release of the federal government’s new policies, the California DMV this week held a public workshop about state rules, and industry folks say they were blind-sided by even more new state mandates, which make them concerned that once again, progress in the state will be hampered. The Los Angeles Times reports that under new rules, manufacturers would also have to obtain an ordinance or resolution from local authorities “that specify the roadways, speeds and other conditions that their vehicles are designed to operate in to ensure that communities have input on where testing occurs.” Perhaps even more surprisingly, E&T Magazine reports that companies would have to submit a full year’s worth of driverless data before being allowed to apply for a testing permit. Read more from the LA Times and E&T Magazine.

 

Tesla News: By end of next year, all cars will be fully autonomous-but we will only take responsibility for accidents in certain cases

A lot of news came out of the Tesla camp this week. First, on Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk announced that all new Tesla models will be capable of complete autonomy-that, is Level 5. All current Tesla owners will also be able to update their car’s software to turn their semi-autonomous cars into Level 5 vehicles, which Musk said will require no interaction from the “driver” at all. Musk said the company hopes the Level 5 updates will be ready by the end of 2017, barely one year from now. In other news, though, Musk blasted the media for making such a big deal over the few recent Autopilot crashes that have taken place, one of which killed the driver of the vehicle. He said the few accidents should not overshadow the numerous miles Teslas have driven safely while in Autopilot. Based on that, Musk said, Tesla as a company will only be taking responsibility for crashes caused by “design flaws.” That declaration comes amid a still-brewing argument within the auto industry over where liability for crashes in semi-autonomous or fully autonomous vehicles should fall. Read more about Tesla’s announcements from the Business Journal and WIRED magazine.

 

Moscow still sees self-driving buses as 5-10 years away

Russia broached the subject of driverless transportation this week, suggesting that the nation is still wary of the concept. Representatives from the Department of Transport said they still see self-driving transit buses as being at least five to 10 years away, “after they have been recognized as safe and beneficial in other countries.” In particular, officials pointed to Singapore as a country they are following with interest. Singapore is in the process of rolling out connected-vehicle bus control systems, and just recently starting testing self-driving robot taxis in a small downtown area. Moscow isn’t ruling out the concept of driverless transportation completely, though-officials said research and development is already underway involving driverless car sharing and artificial intelligence systems for vehicles, as well as semi-autonomous features such as emergency braking and driver fatigue monitoring. Read more from Mos.ru, the Moscow City news website.