Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), the newly formed mobility joint venture between Honda and Sony (earlier post), held a press conference announcing its establishment and outlining its direction and approach to becoming a software-oriented “Mobility Tech Company” providing high value-added products and services. The new company’s defines its EV concept as... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group announced a new global strategy to transform all vehicles to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) by 2025. The initiative, presented during the Group’s Unlock the Software Age global online forum, will give customers the freedom to upgrade the performance and functionality of their vehicles remotely. The Group also shared... Read more →

Wisk Aero, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, revealed the first self-flying, all-electric, four-passenger vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. As Wisk’s go-to-market aircraft, Generation 6 represents the first candidate for type certification by the FAA of an autonomous eVTOL. Generation 6 combines autonomous technology and software, human oversight... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company won its first Luminary honor at Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2022 with its Trailer Drone fully autonomous hydrogen mobility concept. (Earlier post.) The Luminary honor is the highest level of recognition accorded at the Red Dot Award: Design Concept, selected from among Red Dot’s ‘Best of... Read more →

UK-based connected vehicle data company Wejo Group unveiled DLIVEREE, an AV prototype that is being used to develop and demonstrate Wejo’s Autonomous Vehicle Operating System (AV-OS), software that will use live, real-time connected vehicle data to support development, testing, and operation of AVs for the future. The AV prototype allows... Read more →

Pony.ai, a leading global autonomous driving technology company, plans to begin testing its autonomous vehicles in Tucson, Arizona, with trained safety drivers behind the wheel of the vehicles. Pony.ai is partnering with Pima Community College and will base its operations at the new Automotive Technology & Innovation Center, located at... Read more →

The Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium (AVCC), a global group of automotive and technology industry leaders cooperating on expediting the delivery of automated and assisted driving compute solutions, and SEMI announced an alliance to drive autonomous vehicle innovation. Per the terms of the agreement, leadership and members of the two organizations... Read more →

Daimler Truck subsidiary Torc Robotics, a developer of self-driving vehicle technology, announced it is working with Schneider toward implementing a pilot program utilizing Torc’s autonomous test fleet. As part of the agreement, Schneider will provide freight loads for Torc’s pilot operations and unique insights on truckload freight that will help... Read more →

NVIDIA introduced NVIDIA DRIVE Thor, its next-generation centralized computer for safe and secure autonomous vehicles. DRIVE Thor, which achieves up to 2,000 teraflops of performance, unifies intelligent functions—including automated and assisted driving, parking, driver and occupant monitoring, digital instrument cluster, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and rear-seat entertainment—into a single architecture for... Read more →

General Motors electric delivery vehicle subsidiary BrightDrop is expanding its business and product portfolio with the launch of a new temperature-controlled eCart that helps streamline order fulfillment and pickup for online grocery purchases. Online grocery is a rapidly expanding market that’s expected to reach $240 billion by 2025. Kroger, America’s... Read more →

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $5.0 million to the University of Michigan to enable academic researchers and students nationwide to access the world’s first cloud-based, augmented-reality testbed for connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies. The award will expand the university’s original CAV proving ground, known as Mcity... Read more →

Rio Tinto and Volvo Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a strategic partnership where Rio will supply responsibly sourced low-carbon products and solutions to Volvo Group and the companies will work towards decarbonizing Rio Tinto’s operations through piloting Volvo Group’s sustainable autonomous hauling solutions. The multi-materials... Read more →

Ford Motor Company launched BlueCruise 1.2 and Lincoln ActiveGlide 1.2 Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) with new features—including hands-free lane changing—and system updates to create more of a human-like driving feel. The available new systems starts arriving on vehicles from the factory this fall beginning with the Ford Mustang Mach-E.... Read more →

Gatik will collaborate with Cummins to integrate Gatik's autonomous driving system with Cummins’ advanced powertrain solution in Gatik’s fleet of medium-duty trucks. Cummins delivers powertrain solutions that provide leading performance and fuel economy through the integration of hardware and software. Gatik is the market leader in autonomous middle-mile logistics, and... Read more →

Acura unveiled the Acura Precision EV Concept previewing the brand’s future design language as it prepares to enter the electrified era starting in 2024 with a dynamically styled all-electric SUV. The concept model was created by the Acura Design Studio in Los Angeles. The Acura Precision EV Concept expresses Acura’s... Read more →

Baidu, Inc., a leading AI company with strong internet foundation, has secured the first permits in China to offer commercial fully driverless robotaxi services to the public on open roads. Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service, is now authorized to collect fares for robotaxi rides—completely without human drivers in the... Read more →

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) robotics researchers working with Ford Motor Company have found a way to tell an autonomous vehicle which cameras to use when navigating. Professor Michael Milford, Joint Director of the QUT Center for Robotics and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and senior author, said the research... Read more →

Newly founded Rheinmetall subsidiary MIRA GmbH is pooling the expertise of multiple Group companies in offer a modular, scalable system of certified hardware and software for teleoperated driving—the remote-control of vehicles on public roads. MIRA is aalready able to meet the challenges facing local public transport, logistics and industry by... Read more →

Michigan will enable four new mobility services to help address challenges across the state related to sustainable transit, roadway safety, parking and staffing shortages in the service industry. In partnership with key universities, four companies—Bluecity, GEKOT Inc., Mouvit and Nimbus—will receive $285,000 in total funding through the Michigan Mobility Funding... Read more →

Newcastle University research has shown that women respond more quickly and exhibit more stable takeover control than men in automated cars. The open-access study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, focused on level 3 automated vehicles (L3 AVs), which allow drivers to be completely disengaged from driving and perform non-driving related... Read more →

General Motors announced that Super Cruise, the hands-free driver assistance technology, will soon be expanded so that it works on even more roads, giving customers greater accessibility to hands-free driving. By doubling the Super Cruise road network, hundreds of thousands of additional miles of roads in the US and Canada... Read more →

Nissan Motor is launching a sustainable finance framework to help fund its next-generation electrified vehicles, batteries, environmental technologies, and new mobility services. Proceeds from the Nissan Sustainable Finance Framework will also be used to support projects in Nissan’s use of renewable energy, clean manufacturing systems, EV re-charging infrastructure, battery re-use,... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group presented the HMG Smart City master model at the 2022 World Cities Summit in Singapore. The model represents the Group’s vision for smart cities and illustrates how it will empower them with sustainable and smart mobility solutions. The model will serve as a guideline for developing smart... Read more →

Autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai announced a strategic joint venture with SANY Heavy Truck (SANY), a subsidiary of SANY Heavy Industry, China’s number-one heavy equipment manufacturer and the third-largest heavy equipment manufacturer globally. Pony.ai and SANY will collaborate to create a world-leading autonomous truck brand. The two companies will deeply... Read more →

The Group is presenting the first two track sections for testing autonomous vehicles and assistance systems at the new BMW Group Future Mobility Center in Sokolov, the Czech Republic. At the new test site, the BMW Group will continue to advance electrification, digitalization and automated driving. The proving ground in... Read more →

NXP Semiconductors signed a memorandum of understanding with Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) jointly to develop platforms for a new generation of smart connected vehicles. Hon Hai (Foxconn), the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and a leading technology solution provider, will leverage NXP’s portfolio of automotive technologies and its longstanding expertise... Read more →

The BMW Group is launching a unique project that will see cars maneuver around production without requiring a driver. The Automated Driving In-Plant project (Automatisiertes Fahren im Werk, AFW) is being realized in collaboration with two startups and will enhance the efficiency of new-vehicle logistics in plants and distribution centers.... Read more →

At the end of Q2, Aurora Innovation, Inc. delivered its Beta 3.0 product update and demonstrated its Fault Management System—specifically the Aurora Driver’s ability to detect system issues and respond by safely pulling over to the side of the road without any human involvement. A reliable Fault Management System is... Read more →

CARIAD, the Volkswagen Group’s software company, has selected BlackBerry QNX technology as one component of its software platform VW.OS. Announced as part of Volkswagen Group’s NEW AUTO strategy, CARIAD is developing a unified software platform that consists of VW.OS, the Volkswagen Cloud VW.AC and a scalable, unified end-to-end electronic architecture.... Read more →

Einride, a freight technology company providing digital, electric and autonomous shipping, has received approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to operate its Autonomous Electric Transport (AET) vehicles on US public roads. With this approval, Einride will conduct a public road pilot to support operational flows for customer... Read more →

BlackBerry Limited announced that Strategy Analytics, a leading independent research firm, has determined BlackBerry QNX software is now embedded in more than 215 million vehicles worldwide, an increase of 20 million from the year before. BlackBerry provides safety-certified embedded software for automotive OEMs and Tier 1s including BMW, Bosch, Continental,... Read more →

Memory solutions company Micron has received the first International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 26262 Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) D certification of memory for its low-power double data rate 5 (LPDDR5) DRAM, which is based on its first-to-market 1α (1-alpha) process node. With next-generation advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) applications requiring... Read more →

TTTech Auto and BlackBerry Limited will integrate BlackBerry’s QNX Neutrino Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) and TTTech Auto’s safe vehicle software platform MotionWise for advanced driver assistance systems and software-defined vehicles. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving systems impose increased functional safety and performance requirements. To address the computing... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group will pilot a RoboRide car-hailing service in Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea, utilizing IONIQ 5 battery-electric vehicles (BEV) with in-house developed level 4 autonomous driving technology. The pilot RoboRide will be the first car-hailing service with autonomous driving vehicles to operate in Gangnam, one of the most... Read more →

Uber Freight and Waymo Via announced a long-term strategic partnership to connect their technologies and deploy autonomous trucks at scale on the Uber Freight network. This partnership brings together the power of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology with the scale of Uber Freight’s network and leading marketplace technology, unlocking a roadmap... Read more →

Real-Time Innovations (RTI), the largest software framework company for autonomous systems, is collaborating with Renesas, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions for the automotive industry. RTI Connext Drive, the ISO-26262-certified communications framework for autonomous and electric vehicles, runs on Renesas System-on-Chips (SoC), providing OEMs with a trusted development platform.... Read more →

Geespace, a wholly owned subsidiary of Geely Technology Group and China’s first privately owned developer, operator, and mass producer of low-orbit commercial satellites, has successfully launched its first nine satellites into low earth orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Rendering of Geely Future Mobility Constellation Geespace’s terrestrial base station... Read more →

SafeAI, a global leader in autonomous heavy equipment, announced a collaboration with Siemens today to create an autonomous, zero emission heavy vehicle fleet for Obayashi Corporation. SafeAI and Siemens will work with Obayashi Corporation, a Japan-based global leader in construction, to create smarter, safer, more sustainable and productive construction sites.... Read more →

Automated Mercedes-Benz trucks are being used in the Brazilian sugar cane harvest since 2019. Mercedes-Benz do Brasil has configured the Mercedes-Benz Axor specifically for automated harvesting operations as part of a development partnership with the Brazilian agricultural technology manufacturer Grunner. By the end of this year, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil will... Read more →

LiDAR technology (Light Detection and Ranging) offers high potential for machine perception in automated driving and currently available comfort- and safety features due to its precise distance sensing and three-dimensional point cloud image generation. A growing number of new and established sensor manufacturers have thus been working on LiDAR sensors... Read more →

Toyota Motor North America (Toyota) announced that its Michigan-based production development teams have been modifying Indiana-produced 2022 Sienna minivans, adding a vehicle control interface, to create a new vehicle platform compatible with third-party autonomous driving kits and sensors (“Autono”) for use in Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) applications. The resulting vehicle is called... Read more →

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have found that autonomous vehicles can be tricked into an abrupt halt or other undesired driving behavior by the placement of an ordinary object on the side of the road. The team recently A box, bicycle or traffic cone may “scare” a driverless... Read more →

WeRide, a Level 4 autonomous driving technology company, announced a strategic investment from Bosch. The two parties have signed a strategic cooperation agreement and will jointly develop autonomous driving (AD) software. This cooperation will accelerate the process of developing Bosch China’s advanced driving solution, moving SAE Level 2-3 AD towards... Read more →

NI and key partners have deployed a fleet of vehicles in Europe, the United States and China that will enable ADAS/Autonomous Driving engineering teams to address top challenges related to data volume, quality, access and utilization. The vehicles are equipped with the high-performance in-vehicle data recording and storage solution from... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) reaffirmed its commitment to expand investment in the US to further its goal to provide sustainable and smart mobility solutions to its US. The Group’s plans, which involve an investment of more than US$10 billion, are designed to accelerate innovation and mobility electrification. Last week, Hyundai... Read more →

Test and measurement company TOYO Corporation announced that a major US automotive manufacturer recently selected TOYO’s vehicle-in-the-loop simulator (ViLS) for testing and validating its next generation of electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles. The ViLS allows automotive engineers to perform a wide variety of vehicle, environmental, and road testing under... Read more →

Aurora Innovation Covenant Logistics Group are collaborating to explore ways t#o optimize Covenant’s long-haul operations with Aurora’s autonomous trucking product. The two companies will explore the integration and deployment of Aurora Horizon within Covenant’s operations. Part of Covenant’s diversified services is long-haul trucking, making the benefits of autonomous technology in... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company launched a global manifesto campaign called ‘Innovation Begins, from Very Human Things’ to share its vision for self-driving robotaxis. Motional, formed in March 2020 as an autonomous driving joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, will work in partnership with ride-hailing services to deploy the Level... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz’ DRIVE PILOT system for conditionally automated driving (SAE Level 3) can be ordered in Germany from 17 May as an optional extra for the S-Class for €5,000 and for the EQS for €7,430 (Driver Assistance Package Plus: €2,430 and DRIVE PILOT: €5,000) excl. VAT. This makes Mercedes-Benz the first... Read more →

Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS), a Volvo Group company, will offer a new hub-to-hub autonomous transport solution, designed to serve four main customer segments: shippers; carriers; logistics service providers; and freight brokers. Each solution will be configured to suit the business needs of the specific segments while addressing the growing demand... Read more →