Ride-hailing service Lyft is nudging its way into the world of self-driving cars, announcing today that it will soon be offering rides in autonomous vehicles to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area. [More]
autonomous cars
“Driverless” Van Includes Driver Dressed As Car Seat, For Science
By 8.8.17
A “driverless” van that has been spotted cruising the streets of Arlington, VA, isn’t actually operating autonomously: There’s a man behind the wheel — but he’s dressed as a seat. And though it may sound like a prank, it’s all in the name of science. [More]
Apple’s Tim Cook Sees Self-Driving Cars As “Mother Of All AI Projects”
By 6.13.17
Ever since we heard the first whispers that Apple was working on some kind of car project, people have wondered whether the electronics company would actually produce a vehicle, or if it was focusing more on the technology side of things. Now we have an answer, straight from the mouth of CEO Tim Cook. [More]
Lyft To Start Self-Driving Car Program In Boston
By 6.6.17
Ride-hailing service Uber may be the one that got to splashy headlines about self-driving cars first, but Lyft hasn’t exactly been sitting around, either. The company has finally announced where it will first take autonomous vehicles to the street: the notoriously tricky roads of Boston. [More]
Is The Honeymoon Over For Pittsburgh & Uber’s Driverless Car Program?
By 5.22.17
Compared to Uber’s ugly, contentious one-week test of self-driving cars in San Francisco , the ridesharing company’s nine-month-old self-driving program in Pittsburgh has been rather peaceful. But after a number of broken promises, some city leaders are reportedly regretting this arrangement. [More]
The Real Problem With Self-Driving Cars: They Actually Follow Traffic Laws
By 5.11.17
In the century or so that people have been driving, two different sets of rules have developed: The official laws that we’re supposed to obey, and the unofficial code of the road that bends and often breaks those laws. For example, we all know — whether we like it or not — that many highway drivers are going to exceed the speed limit. But what happens when you introduce self-driving cars that are designed to always follow the rules and don’t understand why other drivers are extending their middle fingers in their direction? [More]
Google’s Waymo Sues Uber For Stealing Trade Secrets About Self-Driving Cars
By 2.24.17
It’s no secret that self-driving car tech is a growing, multi-billion-dollar, highly competitive new space. What is supposed to be secret, however, are confidential design documents about how each company makes their autonomous cars work. Google, however, says that roughly 10 GB of those secrets — in the form of 14,000 files — walked out the door with a former employee who took them with him to Uber, swiping Google’s work and designs for the competition. [More]
Uber Signs Deal To Add Mercedes-Benz Vehicles To Self-Driving Fleet
By 1.31.17
For its first generation of self-driving cars, Uber partnered with automakers Ford and Volvo, and used the driving technology that it has developed itself on cars that it now owns. The transportation network company has now made a deal with Daimler AG to add the company’s Mercedes-Benz autonomous vehicles to the Uber fleet once they’re ready. [More]
Uber Claims It Doesn’t Need California’s Permission For Self-Driving Cars
By 12.16.16 — Updated: 12.20.16
The public slapfight between Uber and the California Department of Motor Vehicles continued on Friday afternoon, with the ridesharing service declaring that it’s new self-driving cars don’t need a special permit to operate in San Francisco. [More]
Self-Driving Ubers Run Red Lights In San Francisco; Company Blames Humans
By 12.15.16
You know those self-driving SUVs that Uber has unleashed on San Francisco? The ones that the state of California says are illegal and wants off the roads, since the company didn’t seek approval yet? Yesterday, others on the roads noticed one of the vehicles running a red light, which Uber blames on the car’s human operator. [More]
California Says Self-Driving Uber Cars In San Francisco “Illegal”
By 12.15.16
Yesterday, Uber announced that it is now offering rides in self-driving vehicles for users in San Francisco — an announcement that apparently came as a surprise to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which has advised the ridesharing service that it is breaking the law by operating this autonomous cars without DMV approval. [More]
Report: Apple Taking A Big Step Back From Electric Car Plans
By 10.17.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
A little over a year ago, Apple was speeding up its quest to join the electric car market, announcing that it hoped to have a vehicle ready by 2019. Fast forward to today, and the company is reportedly putting the brakes on that plan. [More]
GM President: You Won’t Have Your Own Self-Driving Car Right Away
By 10.10.16
People looking ahead to the future of automobiles realize that car ownership might not work the same way in the near future as car ownership now. Cars with semi-autonomous features like emergency braking and adaptive cruise control are common, and autonomous cars and trucks will available to the public soon. You’ll just be hailing one before you buy one, at least if you want a car from General Motors. [More]
Americans Pretty Sure Autonomous Cars Are Safer, Want To Keep Driving Anyway
By 9.28.16
In just a few short years, self-driving cars have made the shift from being the stuff of science fiction to actually hitting the road. Right now the tech is still largely in the testing stage, and human drivers sit in the front seat ready to take control. But as automakers, ride-hailing companies, and tech giants bring all their AI drivers onto the highways, one big question looms: will anyone actually want to buy a car that drives itself? Or are we just too in love with the American mythos of a steering wheel and the open road? [More]
Tesla Says Driver Took Hands Off Wheel In Latest “Autopilot” Crash
By 8.10.16
Once again, high-end electric car maker Tesla is in the spotlight following a crash by a driver who was using the company’s “Autopilot” feature. However, the company says the driver was taking the term “autopilot” too literally. [More]
State Farm Already Figuring Out How To Insure Autonomous Cars
By 7.27.16
If error by fallible human drivers causes 90% of car crashes, what will happen in the future when most or all of the cars on the road are autonomous? Insurance companies are already working on the answer to that question, and one of them, State Farm, had a few years’ head start. [More]
NHTSA Is Looking Into Fatal Crash Of Tesla Model S In Autopilot Mode
By 6.30.16
Last fall, Tesla released a beta version of Autopilot, a software upgrade that would let the car take over some driving functions, including steering, cruise control, and lane changes. Today, the company announced some sad news: the first fatal crash in of one of the company’s vehicles while in autopilot mode happened in northern Florida in May. [More]
A Switch To Shared Self-Driving Cars Means We’d Buy Fewer Cars, Wear Them Out Faster
By 3.28.16
Most Americans aren’t comfortable yet with the idea of riding in an autonomous car, but at one time, horseless carriages and electricity in our homes were scary, too. Technology companies and automakers are both working to make autonomous cars happen, but wouldn’t self-piloting cars mean that we would share vehicles or pay fares? That would dramatically shrink demand for cars, hurting automakers. Right? [More]
