Tesla Autopilot Was Engaged in 2018 California Crash; Driver's Hands Off Wheel: NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Tuesday that a Tesla Model S was in Autopilot mode and the driver’s hands were off the wheel when it struck a fire truck in Culver City, California.

FutureCar Staff 2019-09-04 06:00 PT

BMW i Ventures Announces Investment in Cartica AI

BMW i Ventures announced today an investment in Cartica AI, a leading automotive visual intelligence platform developing next-generation AI capabilities for the automotive industry that harnesses the computational resources of an average car.

Eric Walz2019-09-03 13:30 PT

Continental Develops a ‘Road AND Driver’ Camera System for Autonomous Vehicles

Global auto parts supplier Continental AG developed what it calls a “Road AND Driver” camera for automated vehicles that monitors both the driver and traffic in front of the vehicle. The dual-camera system continuously detects whether a driver is paying attention to the road, while at the same time monitors the vehicle's surroundings.

Eric Walz2019-08-14 05:30 PT

Didi Chuxing Spins Off its Autonomous Driving Unit as an Independent Company

Didi Chuxing, the world’s largest transportation provider, announced that it has spun off its autonomous driving unit into an independent company. Didi said new unit will continue to focus on research and development, product application, and business development related to autonomous driving technologies.

Eric Walz2019-08-05 12:05 PT

Velodyne Acquires HD Mapping Startup Mapper.ai to Advance its Lidar-based Driver Assist Software

Velodyne Lidar Inc announced on Monday that it acquired the high-definition mapping and localization software, as well as the intellectual property assets from San Francisco-based startup Mapper.ai. Mapper.ai specializes in creating custom, high-definition maps for its clients working on autonomous driving.

Eric Walz2019-07-23 16:10 PT

BMW, Tencent to Open Computing Center in China For Self-Driving Cars

German automaker BMW and Chinese internet technology giant Tencent Holdings are teaming up to launch a computing center in China that will help support self-driving cars in the world’s biggest auto market, the companies said on Friday.

Eric Walz2019-07-19 13:35 PT

Toyota Begins Autonomous Driving Tests on Public Roads in Europe

After successful test runs in the U.S. and Japan, Toyota Motor Europe (TME) announced the beginning of autonomous driving (AD) on public roads in Europe. TME is testing its in-house developed autonomous driving technology in the city center of Brussels, Belgium.

FutureCar Staff 2019-07-16 18:30 PT

BMW China and Beijing-based Mapping Company NavInfo to Develop HD Maps for Autonomous Driving

BMW China is looking to expand its autonomous driving in China and is partnering with Beijing-based navigation company NavInfo to develop high-precision maps necessary for driverless cars.

FutureCar Staff 2019-07-15 16:30 PT

Lidar Startup Luminar Raises $100 Million in Latest Funding Round, Is Working with 12 of the World’s Largest Automotive Companies

Lidar startup Luminar Technologies announced a new $100 million investment and unveiled its new lidar platform called “Iris” for the automotive and commercial truck markets. Iris is a automotive grade low cost lidar solution designed specifically for high-volume production.

Eric Walz2019-07-15 13:00 PT

Volkswagen Investing $2.6 Billion in Ford’s Self-Driving Arm Argo AI and Will Collaborate On Electric & Autonomous Vehicles

In one of the biggest collaborations between two global automakers and a tech startup, the Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG announced today that they will work together on electric and self-driving cars.

Eric Walz2019-07-12 10:10 PT

Automakers Toyota & Geely Join Baidu’s Open Apollo Autonomous Driving Platform

China’s internet search giant Baidu is partnering with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp on areas related to artificial intelligence (AI) for self-driving cars.

FutureCar Staff 2019-07-08 18:49 PT

Waymo is Offering Free WiFi in its Robo-Taxis to Lure in Riders

Waymo is testing complimentary Wi-Fi in its autonomous taxis in the Phoenix area where it is currently testing its Waymo One service.

Eric Walz2019-07-08 13:53 PT

Baidu Announces 'Apollo Lite' a Camera-based Autonomous Driving Technology

Baidu announced its camera-based Apollo Lite this week. Apollo Lite is a vision-based autonomous driving solution that leverages multiple cameras to achieve Level 4 (L4) autonomous driving.

Eric Walz2019-06-21 09:00 PT

Israeli Lidar Company Innoviz Technologies Raises an Additional $170 Million

Venture capital firms continue to pour money into lidar companies, as the laser beam technology is quickly becoming an essential perception tool for driverless cars and other autonomous applications. Innoviz Technologies, an Israeli maker of advanced lidar sensors for self-driving cars, said it raised an additional $170 million in its latest investment round.

FutureCar Staff 2019-06-11 15:08 PT

Silicon Valley Startup Aurora to Work with Fiat Chrysler on a Self-Driving Platform

Silicon Valley-based autonomous driving startup Aurora Innovation Inc, co-founded by three industry veterans in 2017, today announced that it will supply automaker Fiat Chrysler with a self-driving platform.

Eric Walz2019-06-10 13:33 PT

Automotive Vision Sensor Startup TriEYE Raises $17 Million From Intel Capital

Israeli-based automotive sensor startup TriEYE Technologies LTD announced a $17 million investment from Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of chip-maker Intel. TriEYE is developing Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) imaging solutions for autonomous vehicles and other applications.

FutureCar Staff 2019-05-30 05:00 PT

Baidu Denies Planning Spin-off of its Apollo Autonomous Driving Platform

China's Baidu said in a statement Tuesday that rumors about the spin-off of its Apollo open autonomous vehicle development platform are false.

FutureCar Staff 2019-05-22 13:59 PT

The NTSB Determines Tesla ‘Autopilot’ Was Engaged Before Fatal Crash in Florida

After a fatal accident in Florida involving a Tesla Model S operating in “Autopilot” mode, the National Highway Safety Board (NHSB) launched an investigation. The preliminary report determined that the driver engaged Autopilot around 10 seconds before crashing.

FutureCar Staff 2019-05-16 15:00 PT

BMW Signs Deal with DXC Technology to Speed Up Autonomous Driving Development

Last month, German automaker BMW announced that it was building its own data platform called “D3” to help sort and analyze the terabytes of data that will be generated by the automaker’s future autonomous and internet connected vehicles. To help manage all of this data, BMW signed a deal with IT services company DXC Technology to help support and accelerate BMW’s autonomous vehicle development.

Eric Walz2019-04-08 17:31 PT

Baidu Tops the List for the Most Autonomous Miles Driven in China

Officials in China this week released the first ever autonomous vehicle report called the “Beijing Autonomous Vehicles Road Test Report 2018.” The report offers a look at the progress companies are making in autonomous driving in China, the world’s biggest auto market.

Eric Walz2019-04-05 15:16 PT