Computer Vision Developer StradVision to Showcase its Most Advanced Perception Camera for Autonomous Driving & ADAS at Auto Tech 2021

StradVision, a pioneer in AI-based vision processing technology for autonomous vehicles and automotive ADAS systems, will showcase the latest features of its camera perception software named “SVNet” during The China Guangzhou International Automotive Technology Expo 2021, which is being held May 25-27.

Eric Walz2021-05-21 16:00 PT

Baidu to Open China's First Public Commercial Robotaxi Service Without Safety Drivers on May 2

China’s technology giant Baidu Inc. is launching the first commercial robotaxi service in the country on May 2 after months of successful testing using safety drivers. Beginning next week, members of the public can hail one of Baidu’s driverless vehicles without a safety driver behind the wheel.

Eric Walz2021-04-29 10:30 PT

Ride-Hailing Company Lyft Sells its Self-driving Unit to Toyota’s Woven Planet Holdings for $550 Million

Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc is following in the footsteps of its primary rival Uber Technologies and will no longer develop its self-driving technology in house. The San Francisco-based company announced on Monday that its selling its autonomous driving unit Level 5 to Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet Holdings Inc (“Woven Planet”) for $550 million. Woven Planet is tasked with developing autonomous driving and other advanced mobility technology for Toyota.

FutureCar Staff 2021-04-26 15:35 PT

Motional & Derq to Partner on Technology That Provides a ‘Birds Eye View’ to Self-driving Vehicles at Busy Intersections for Safer Navigation

Hyundai's Autonomous driving joint venture Motional announced a new partnership with Derq Inc, a technology company that’s using AI-powered vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology to deliver an unobstructed, 360-degree bird’s eye view of the environment. Derq’s technology uses cameras that are installed above busy intersections to collect data. The cameras are connected to Derq’s AI-powered perception systems and RSUs, which then transmits the data to Motional’s autonomous vehicles in real time.

Eric Walz2021-04-20 13:00 PT

China’s Baidu Inc. Plans to Have its Apollo Autonomous Driving Technology Pre-installed in One Million Vehicles in 3 to 5 Years

During a presentation at Auto Shanghai 2021, China's Baidu Inc shared the latest upgrades to its Apollo autonomous driving platform, including plans to offer customizable versions to automakers for the commercialization of self-driving vehicles at scale. Baidu plans to have its Apollo intelligent driving solutions available in more than one million vehicles in the next three to five years.

Eric Walz2021-04-19 15:15 PT

Autonomous Vehicle Mapping Company DeepMap Named One of the Most Innovative AI Startups by CB Insights

​Silicon Valley-based mapping startup DeepMap has been named as one of the 100 most innovative companies utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) by CB Insights, a National Science Foundation-backed big data company. DeepMap was selected from a pool of over 6,000 companies.

FutureCar Staff 2021-04-09 15:20 PT

Toyota Unveils the First Two Vehicles That Will Offer its “Advanced Drive” Human-Centric Autonomous Driving System

​While electric automaker Tesla focuses on the rollout of its “Full Self-Driving'' feature that is intended to operate without human intervention, Japan's Toyota Motor Corp is taking a different approach to self-driving vehicles. Toyota has developed an AI-powered autonomous driving system called “Advanced Drive” that allows the driver and vehicle to communicate with each other, handing off control of the vehicle seamlessly between driver and vehicle as needed.

Eric Walz2021-04-09 08:00 PT

Augmented Reality & Computer Vision Company StradVision to Supply its Technology to a Leading German OEM and Tier-1 Supplier

South Korean company StradVision, a pioneer in AI-based computer vision processing technology for vehicle ADAS and autonomous driving, has announced two major partnerships with a leading German automotive OEM and Tier-1 supplier. As part of the new partnerships, StradVision is supplying its augmented reality technology, including for use in "surround view monitoring" features.

Eric Walz2021-04-07 17:40 PT

The CEO of Alphabet’s Autonomous Driving Division Waymo Steps Down From His Role

​John Krafcik, the CEO of Waymo for over five years, announced on Friday that he is stepping down from his role. Waymo spun out of Google’s early self-driving car project and is viewed as the leading developer of self-driving technology. He is being replaced by current Waymo CTO Dmitri Dolgov and COO Tekedra Mawakana. The two will lead the company as co-CEOs.

Eric Walz2021-04-02 15:30 PT

China’s EV startup Xpeng is Demonstrating its Autonomous Driving Capabilities with a 7-Day, 3,000 km Road Trip Through China

As a way to promote the enhanced capabilities of its latest autonomous driving hardware and software, Chinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng is embarking on a 7-day road trip through China. The trip will cover a distance of 3,675 km (2,283 miles) across six provinces in China. The journey will be the longest autonomous driving expedition by mass-produced vehicles in China, Xpeng said.

Eric Walz2021-03-19 15:30 PT

California Lidar Developer Luminar & Volvo Partner on a Full Stack Autonomous Driving System

​Silicon Valley-based lidar developer Luminar Technologies said it had struck a deal with the self-driving software subsidiary of Volvo Cars to offer a full stack, autonomous driving hardware and software system that can be sold to other automakers.

Eric Walz2021-03-11 15:25 PT

China’s Tesla Challenger Xpeng Says Drivers Traveled Over 1 Million Kilometers in 25 Days Using its New Autonomous Driving Features

​Chinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng Inc. announced on Monday that drivers traveled a cumulative distance of 1,023,884 kilometers (636,212 miles) since the company released its latest autonomous driving feature called Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP) on Jan 26. NGP is similar to Tesla's Full-Self Driving feature.

FutureCar Staff 2021-02-22 12:40 PT

Toyota Enters into a Strategic Partnership with Silicon Valley Startup Aurora on Autonomous Driving Technology

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp is the latest automaker to partner with a tech startup on the development of autonomous driving technology. On Tuesday, Silicon Valley startup Aurora innovation Inc. announced a strategic partnership with Toyota to add autonomous driving capabilities to its future models, beginning with the popular Toyota Sienna minivan.

Eric Walz2021-02-10 08:30 PT

Qualcomm & Alps Alpine Announce ‘ViewPose’ a Advanced Camera-based Vehicle Positioning Technology

This week, Japanese electronics company Alps Alpine Co Ltd. and Chipmaker Qualcomm announced a new more accurate positioning technology called “ViewPose” that helps address the drawbacks of conventional GPS, especially in urban areas with spotty signals. Alps Alpine developed a new camera-based sensing and positioning system that supports “absolute lane-level vehicle positioning” in virtually all environments and its supported by Qualcomm’s technology.

Eric Walz2021-01-27 12:05 PT

China’s EV Startup Xpeng Unveils the Beta Version of its Advanced Self-Driving Feature Called ‘Navigation Guided Pilot’

Chinese EV startup and Tesla competitor Xpeng is one step closer to goal for self-driving cars. The company unveiled the beta version of its autonomous driving feature called Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP), which is similar to Tesla’s Autopilot and its Full Self-Driving feature. NGP is a key feature of Xpeng’s XPILOT 3.0 autonomous driving platform.

Eric Walz2021-01-15 15:25 PT

HERE Technologies Creates Detailed 3D Models of 75 City Centers to Help Drivers Better Navigate

Mapping company HERE Technologies announced that it created highly detailed 3D models of 75 major cities centers around the world to help drivers find their way around. The models are called “HERE Premier 3D Cities” and are used to visualize cities in 3D. The 3D city models can be accessed via a vehicle's navigation system, giving drivers a real world view of their surroundings while traveling in dense urban areas.

Eric Walz2021-01-13 12:10 PT

AI-Powered Chip Developer Horizon Robotics Raises $400 Million in Latest Funding Round

Beijing-based Horizon Robotics announced on Jan. 7 it raised $400 million in its Series C2 financing, which is led by Chinese battery manufacturer CATL, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of electric vehicle batteries to the auto industry, including Tesla. The startup is seeking to dominate the market for powerful embedded AI-powered chips for the millions of autonomous driving vehicles that the company expects to be on the road in China by 2025.

Eric Walz2021-01-07 11:00 PT

Xpeng Motors Announces its Next-Gen 5G-Powered Autonomous Driving Architecture

Electric vehicle startup Xpeng Motors is emerging as a strong competitor to Tesla in China with its advanced battery-powered vehicles. In addition to building advanced EVs, the company is focused on autonomous driving and vehicle connectivity. The latest result of that work was announced at Auto Guangzhou 2020, when the company announced its next-generation autonomous driving architecture.

Eric Walz2020-11-20 12:15 PT

Velodyne Unveils a New Solid State Lidar Sensor for Driver Assistance Systems & Autonomous Driving

Silicon Valley lidar pioneer Velodyne Lidar Inc​. has unveiled its newest lidar sensor designed to support advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) as well as autonomous driving. The sensor is called the Velarray H800. The company's latest lidar is targeted at automakers and OEMs, enabling them to develop better ADAS systems, such as automatic emergency braking (AEB) and Lane Keep Assist that helps reduce traffic accidents.

Eric Walz2020-11-13 17:05 PT

Honda Becomes the World’s First Automaker to Receive Approval to Build Cars With Level-3 Automated Driving Capabilities

Japan's Honda Motor Co. announced that it has received designation for Level-3 automated driving from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). This approval grants Honda permission to deploy an autonomous driving system on new Honda models that can take over from a human driver in some situations, such as when the vehicle is in traffic on the highway.

Eric Walz2020-11-11 10:40 PT