UK proposal gives autonomous car backup drivers accident immunity window

A proposal from the UK’s Law Commission suggests giving backup drivers of autonomous vehicles a window of immunity for potential accidents.

Despite rigorous testing, it’s almost guaranteed that some accidents will occur with self-driving cars⁠—especially with early deployments.

“Even the best designed AVs, which reduce the overall number of accidents, may still cause collisions.” explains the Law Commission.

“The main aim of the Law Commissions is...

21 December 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Musk claims Tesla is ‘very close’ to achieving Level 5 autonomous driving

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a more ambitious timescale in mind for achieving Level 5 autonomous driving than many other experts.

Level 5 self-driving is defined as requiring no human driver at any time, can drive in any city, and in any weather conditions. The previous level is considered “mind off” meaning that a human driver is rarely needed but may be required to intervene if driving in an unprogrammed area or in conditions such as snow.

“We overestimated the...

9 July 2020 | AI

Waymo and Volvo establish partnership to build electric robotaxis

Waymo has formed a partnership with automotive giant Volvo to build electric robotaxis.

The companies announced the "exclusive" collaboration on Thursday which will see Waymo's self-driving software being integrated with an electric vehicle by Volvo designed for taxi purposes.

"Through our strategic partnership, we will first work together to integrate the Waymo Driver into an all-new mobility-focused electric vehicle platform for ride hailing services," the companies...

26 June 2020 | AI

Data about self-driving car tests will be shared publicly through AV TEST initiative

A new initiative called AV TEST (Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing) will see data about self-driving car tests shared publicly.

AV TEST is being launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and pledges to give the public more insight into the ongoing tests of autonomous vehicles.

“Through this initiative, the Department is creating a formal platform for federal, state, and local government to coordinate and share...

16 June 2020 | Connected Vehicles

IIHS: Self-driving cars would only prevent one-third of human crashes

Research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found that self-driving cars may not reduce crashes as much as hoped.

One of the touted benefits of autonomous vehicles is they do not suffer from the same issues as us humans. Tiredness, inebriation, or even a medical condition while at the wheel can often result in injury or fatalities for us mere mortals.

According to automotive safety experts, around 94 percent of crashes are caused by...

5 June 2020 | AI

Waymo will resume self-driving van trials in the Bay Area on June 18th

Waymo has said it will resume trials of self-driving vans in the Bay Area on June 18th.

The company was forced to suspend its autonomous vehicle trials in mid-March following a “shelter-in-place” order issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Back in March, we decided to suspend our driving operations in response to COVID-19 to ensure the safety of everyone involved in our services and local communities,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a...

1 June 2020 | AI

Self-driving cars in the UK will soon be tested on a 200-mile public route

Self-driving cars will soon be seen cruising around a 200-mile public route in the UK as the country prepares for larger deployments.

The Midlands Future Mobility consortium is leading the project which will see the cars driving on roads around central Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, and the University of Warwick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FisPpO1ya1Y

A variety of road types have been included in the route to put the vehicles to the test – including urban,...

27 May 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Study: Americans believe driverless cars are ‘not ready for primetime’

A new study has found that Americans still distrust self-driving cars and believe they are “not ready for primetime”.

The research comes from Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE), a coalition of self-driving car industry players and nonprofits which aim to boost the public’s sentiment towards autonomous vehicles.

Cars provide us with freedom and we often hold a sentimental attachment to them. Combine that with the general tendency of humans to resist...

19 May 2020 | AI

NVIDIA DRIVE shifts to Ampere architecture, supports Level 5 self-driving

NVIDIA is shifting its autonomous car platform DRIVE over to its brand new Ampere architecture.

The capabilities of DRIVE are expanding significantly. DRIVE is no longer just an entry-level ADAS (Advanced driver-assistance systems) solution and can now support complete Level 5 autonomous driving like robotaxis.

DRIVE will now use NVIDIA’s Ampere GPUs which promise to be “the company’s largest leap in performance to date within its eight generations of GPUs,” and...

15 May 2020 | AI