General Motors-backed Cruise’s self-driving cars have been testing on San Francisco streets for years with a safety driver up front, and now it has started sending out its autonomous Chevy Bolt EVs with no one in the vehicle.

Show full article

California’s DMV has granted the state’s first Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Permit to Nuro, which will begin operating a commercial autonomous vehicle service in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties soon, using Toyota Prius cars. Its courier vehicle R2 will be used later.

Show full article

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit says it will pull the human backup drivers from its vehicles in San Francisco by the end of 2020, based on a permit from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

Show full article

With the unveiling of its latest autonomous test vehicle, the Escape SUV, Ford believes it’s one step closer to offering a commercial self-driving car service in 2022. Ford plans to start field testing the vehicle this month in Austin, Detroit, Miami, Palo Alto, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. , joining its fleet of about 100 other test vehicles.

Show full article

The Norwegian city of Trondheim is pioneering a zero-emissions, self-driving electric ferry in 2021. The ferry works like an elevator. Passengers on each side of the canal that separates the port and city center can press a button to call the boat to their side. The boat handles 12 passengers and bicycles, taking less than a minute to cross and saving pedestrians a 15-minute walk.

Show full article

Waymo will soon expand its driverless, 3-400 vehicle ride hailing service from the several hundred “early riders” to anyone in Phoenix, Arizona who happens to want a ride through its Waymo One app.

Show full article

The Google subsidiary, Waymo, is road testing a driverless fleet of 13 Peterbilt 18-wheelers complete with cameras, lidar, and on-board computers. The trucks will always have a safety driver onboard.

Show full article

Moving goods by water could reduce pressure on roads and cut emissions, yet Europe’s shipping industry is held back by labour shortages. Automated shipping, working like autonomous cars, is an option once safety and regulatory hurdles are overcome. The project AUTOSHIP has two tests: a carrier that delivers fish feed along the west coast of Norway, and an inland cargo barge operating in Flanders.

Show full article

TuSimple and several big name partners, including UPS and Penske, have plans for an autonomous freight network of self-driving trucks throughout the US with digitally mapped routes, terminals, and a central operations system to monitor the lot. The trucks will have a human in the cab (for now). 

Show full article

Uber’s self-driving cars are back on San Francisco’s streets in full autonomous mode after a two-year hiatus, after one of the company’s cars was involved in a fatal accident in Arizona in 2018. Uber will start with 2 Volvo XC90 self-driving cars, each with a safety driver in the front seat, driving on select public streets during daylight hours without passengers.

Show full article

A specially modified 2017 electric Nissan LEAF travelled autonomouslyfrom the car firm’s base in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK, to the brand’s manufacturing plant in Sunderland – self-navigating itself 370km without attracting attention from passing motorists. It tackled country lanes with no or minimal road markings, junctions, roundabouts and motorways.

Show full article

Since May 2018, Lyft has partnered with Dublin, Ireland-based Aptiv (formerly Delphi) to launch a fleet of autonomous vehicles on Lyft’s ride-sharing network in Las Vegas on an opt-in basis. They’ve now passed 100,000 driverless rides with 98% of customers leaving a five-star rating. The cars now service over 3,400 destinations in the Las Vegas area.

Show full article

A 57-page report including current industry attitudes, the top 3 companies, ethical and legal issues, communication and connectivity technologies, home delivery, and impact on car ownership. Sectors affected include shipping and logistics, energy, agriculture, transportation, construction, and infrastructure.

Show full article

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship will use IBM’s servers, AI, cloud and edge technologies to travel from Plymouth, UK to Plymouth, USA.

Show full article

Bell Helicopter’s all-electric APT 70 can carry up to 70 pounds, cruise at 75 mph, and cover 35 miles with a fully charged battery.

Show full article

In May 2019, a cargo ship (‘Maxlimer’) delivered oysters and beer from Britain to Belgium, operating under remote and autonomous control – a first for commercial shipping. The 40′ ship is capable of carrying 2½ tons of cargo, navigating busy shipping channels via a remote human operator, and open water autonomously.

Show full article

UPS is working with autonomous trucking San Francisco startup TuSimple on a pilot project delivering supply-chain cargo along a 115-mile stretch between Tucscon and Phoenix, Arizona using self-driving trucks with a safety driver and engineer, who likely will be needed until late 2020. TuSimple installs 9 cameras and 2 LIDAR sensors in Navistar trucks.

Show full article

The 10 million miles Waymo’s self-driving vehicles have driven in the real world is dwarfed by the 10 billion virtual miles in simulations of multiple real driving scenarios. Thus its self-driving technology learns without the risk of causing road traffic accidents.

Show full article

As the comfort and safety of driverless cars become more accepted, a research study showed how people will choose them to replace air travel – or to cut out layovers.

Show full article

The Vera autonomous, electric truck from Volvo’s trucking subsidiary is totally self-driving. Its inaugural job: Moving goods packed in cargo trailers from a logistics center to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Show full article

Airbus has the technology to fly passenger planes without pilots at all – and is working on winning over regulators and travelers to the idea. Airbus hopes to be selling hybrid or electric passenger jets by around 2035.

Show full article

18-wheeler self-driving trucks built by startup TuSimple will haul trailers full of mail and packages for a USPS test with a certified driver and safety engineer aboard. The pilot project will last two weeks and include five round trips between Phoenix and Dallas distribution hubs. The USPS is working with the University of Michigan on a self-driving truck to handle rural routes.

Show full article

Panasonic is preparing for a future where autonomous and electric cars upend the auto industry, and most cars are sold to ride-sharing companies like Uber or Lyft, who are already placing large orders with the same specifications. Car ownership is reducing substantially amongst millennials, especially those living in cities. Costs are being reduced by integrating more components into a single module.

Show full article

Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and Volvo Buses have launched a driverless electric bus stretching 12 metres long that can accommodate 80 passengers.

Show full article

LG Uplus and Hanyang University have successfully trialled their 5G-connected autonomous vehicle, which rode on the streets of Seoul alongside regular cars. The vehicle rode through roads with heavy traffic, driving 8 km in 25 minutes, while changing lanes and reacting to cars cutting through traffic.

Show full article

Finnish vehicle manufacturer Sensible 4 has developed, Gacha, the first autonomous minibus that can navigate both city streets and small, unmarked suburban roads under all imaginable weather and lighting conditions.

Show full article

Aprilli Design Studio introduces the autonomous hotel room concept, complete with basic sleeping, working and washroom functions, which you order like a Uber, and which takes you to your destination with stops and with drone roof-top deliveries.

Show full article

A description of what it’s like to drive in an autonomous car with the Waymo User Interface.

Show full article

Rolls-Royce has publicly demonstrated what it calls the “world’s first fully autonomous ferry” on a trip between Parainen and Nauvo in Finland. The British company partnered with Finnish state-owned Finferries in May 2018 to optimize ship safety and efficiency through developing and demonstrating autonomous ferry technologies. An auto-docking system enables the ferry to alter its speed and course when coming into port.

Show full article

Major mining corporation Rio Tinto’s autonomous train system in Western Australia has logged >1 million km since July 2018. Trains serve 14 mines, delivering to 4 port terminals, and remotely monitored from Perth. The system reduces the number of stops to change drivers, and runs 6% faster.

Show full article

The company behind Walmart’s giant self-service kiosks has developed a self-driving car that delivers packages to homes and businesses. The car uses a robotic arm to place the packages in pickup lockers outside homes and businesses. Eventually, it will be able to deliver to mailboxes and pickup towers as well.

Show full article

KT Corp. is using 5G technology to bring autonomous buses to South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. During the test, the self-driving bus was able to slow down at traffic lights and change lanes on its own, while driving 2.2 kilometers at 30 kph.

Show full article

Waymo is planning to launch the world’s first commercial driverless car service in early December, operating under a new brand, and competing directly with Uber and Lyft. It will start small—perhaps dozens of authorized riders in the suburbs around Phoenix, covering about 100 square miles. Waymo cars have driven 10 million miles since 2009, with manual intervention only required after about 5,000 miles.

Show full article

Ford’s driverless rides could be less than half the price of today’s ride-share journeys, if the cars were used day and night and carried interactive adverts. They are talking about launching tens of thousands vehicles, profitably. Their autonomous-vehicle service will involve fleet management software, dispatch, routing, and payment systems; a diverse group of delivery customers; and digital content and services for passengers – likely involving commercial sponsorship and in-car advertising.

Show full article

Six autonomous trucks will transport limestone the five-kilometer (three-mile) route through tunnels between a mine owned by a local firm and a processing facility at a nearby port.

Show full article

The Swedish trucking start-up, Einride, is running its all-electric, cab-less truck on a commercial route – moving pallets of goods between warehouses. The absence of a cab means weight-saving, a more aerodynamic design, and more room for batteries.

Show full article

Waymo is the first company in California allowed to test <40 fully-autonomous cars to drive both day and night on city streets, rural highways and highways with posted speeds up to 65 mph. Show full article

Rolls-Royce’s Intelligent Awareness System will serve as the ‘eyes and ears’ of shipping vessels, which can detect objects several kilometers away. Some, but not all, vessel classes, such as tug boats and some ferries, could be controlled by land-based crews.

Show full article

Alphabet’s self-driving car company Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have driven 10 million miles in 25 U.S. cities, and 7 billion miles in simulation of challenging situations. It will shortly launch a commercial ride-hailing service with fleets of self-driving vehicles.

Show full article

The world’s first autonomous tram, 65-feet-long, was developed by Siemens and launched in Potsdam, west of Berlin. Fitted with multiple radar, lidar (light from a laser), and camera sensors, forming digital eyes that film the tram and its surroundings, the tram reacts to trackside signals and can respond to hazards faster than a human.

Show full article

Volvo Trucks has built a new all-electric and autonomous truck without a cab called Vera, primarily for urban transport.

Show full article

A start-up, ‘WiTricity’, will use magnetic resonance to wirelessly charge autonomous vehicles. Electricity is fed into a copper coil on the ground, creating a magnetic field. A 2nd copper coil under the vehicle creates electricity, when it comes within range of the 1st coil, which is used to charge the car’s battery pack.

Show full article

Self-driving shuttles begin service June 27, 2018 in downtown Detroit, carrying Bedrock employees among the company’s offices, parking lots and other destinations. It’s the first commercial use of self-driving shuttles on public streets in the United States, according to May Mobility and Bedrock. The five six-seat electric shuttles will have human attendants to monitor the vehicles and explain the service to passengers.

Show full article

Waymo is partnering with the Phoenix area’s regional public transportation authority, to explore mobility solutions that use self-driving technology to connect travelers with existing buses and light rail.

Show full article

Einride, a Swedish start-up has unveiled an all-electric, driverless logging truck. Logging has the single highest industry fatality rate in America, and is one of the most dangerous industries internationally. The logging truck prototype has a range of about 120 miles on one charge, and can travel about 50 mph fully loaded.

Show full article

Self-driving shuttles begin service June 27, 2018 in downtown Detroit, carrying Bedrock employees among the company’s offices, parking lots and other destinations. It’s the first commercial use of self-driving shuttles on public streets in the United States, according to May Mobility and Bedrock. The five six-seat electric shuttles will have human attendants to monitor the vehicles and explain the service to passengers.

Show full article

Autonomous car company Nuro has created a diminutive ‘bot that drives itself to deliver groceries to people’s homes – and it will avoid collisions with pedestrians even if that mean harming itself.

Show full article

Kroger is partnering with autonomous car company Nuro to introduce driverless cars to its grocery delivery. – one of several investments in expanding its digital and online delivery business. ‘Last mile delivery’ is one of the hardest feats in the delivery of fresh food.

Show full article

Apple is working with Volkswagen on a self-driving van that will be used as an employee shuttle. Self-driving shuttles are already used at the University of Michigan and in Las Vegas. For large businesses, they could make employee travel more efficient than taxis or public transportation.

Show full article

Waymo is adding up to 62,000 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to its self-driving fleet, and its self-driving technology may be added to all Fiat Chrysler cars.

Show full article

A new system, ‘Maplite’, developed by researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory will let autonomous vehicles navigate unmapped roads, relying on a combination of GPS data and sensors.

Show full article

MIT researchers have designed a fleet of autonomous boats that offer high maneuverability and precise control. The boats can also be rapidly 3-D printed using a low-cost printer. The boats — rectangular 4-by-2-meter hulls equipped with sensors, microcontrollers, GPS modules, and other hardware — could be programmed to self-assemble into floating bridges or concert stages in a matter of hours.

Show full article

Two driverless street sweepers are being used in an industrial park in Shanghai, cleaning the park in less than 20 minutes, They use radar sensors and AI to avoid obstacles, pass through traffic lights and park at designated spots.

Show full article

Waymo’s self-driving car service will begin operations by the end of 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. People will download an app to secure rides on autonomous vehicles. Waymo has been operating autonomous vehicles on Phoenix roads since October, 2017. Their sensors provide 360 degree views, and lasers see objects in 3 dimensions, up to 300 meters away. Waymo cars have driven over 6 million miles on the road and 5 billion miles through simulations.

Show full article

PBTS, a joint venture between Canada’s Bombardier Transportation and China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, recently got the contract to supply two driverless straddle monorail trains to Bangkok, Thailand.

Show full article

The California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposal that would allow self-driving car companies to taxi passengers without a human driver present. The rise of autonomous vehicles could lower the cost of business travel for road warriors, and change the automobile industry forever.

Show full article

Pods could be the future of urban transport. They’re quiet, compact, and maneuver easily through winding streets. Since April 2017, London has been trialing these autonomous vehicles. Over 5,000 people have used the service as it ferries people about a 3.4km stretch of the Thames. A recent survey had 43% positive, 46% undecided, and 11% negative.

Show full article

Early discussion about driverless cars has focused on robot taxis, as removing a human driver seems like the quickest path to profitability. But an increasing number of companies—automakers, tech giants, startups, parcel services—are seeing autonomous delivery as the more lucrative venture. Consultant McKinsey & Co. predicts that in less than a decade, 80 percent of all items will be delivered autonomously.

Show full article

Waymo is offering trips to so-called “early riders”—the first people to have signed up to use its robotic Chrysler Pacifica taxis. The minivans don’t have a safety driver behind the wheel, but someone can take control remotely if necessary.

Show full article

Waymo is expanding the scope of its self-driving experiments, announcing that its autonomous trucks would soon begin delivering freight for Google’s data centers in Atlanta. The trucks won’t be completely driverless but will be operating on public roads during the pilot.

Show full article

Uber’s self-driving trucks have been operating via two main transfer hubs in Arizona since January 2018, and have completed thousands of rides. Uber made its first delivery with a self-driving truck in 2016, transporting 2,000 cases of Budweiser in Colorado.

Show full article

Elon Musk says his Boring Company is switching focus to prioritize transportation for pedestrians and cyclists over cars. In his concept, a pod fills up with people at ground level with its destination lit up on front and side. The pod descends into a tunnel below to a track, then speeds to its destination at about 200 km/h.

Show full article

Next Transportation, launched in Dubai in February, uses swarming pods that connect and disconnect while transporting passengers, organizing riders based on upcoming stops. Each pod holds 10 people. When connected, the pods’ interior spaces are combined. Passengers are reassigned from pod to pod based on their end destination. The pods can also operate as a single car.

Show full article

Ford has not taken the route of rivals, including Google’s Waymo and General Motors, who are focusing on developing proprietary fleets of autonomous vehicles but has instead pushed for partnerships. Ford said that a pilot program has been launched in Miami with pizza maker Domino’s. Grocery delivery startup Postmates will be joining the roster in March. Ford and Lyft are already working together on software which will allow the Lyft app to communicate with Ford’s self-driving platform.

Show full article

The California start-up, Nuro, is planning a small, narrow box on wheels (half as wide as a )car, designed to be a lightweight way to get goods from a local business to a customer, or from one person to another within a neighborhood or city.

Show full article

Five autonomous barges, built by Dutch company Port-Liner, will connect the ports of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam in August. The vessel is powered solely by a set of 6 meters (20 ft) long batteries, charged using carbon-free energy, and, while designed to run completely autonomously, will initially be manned. The barges will help replace 23,000 freight trucks.

Show full article

Self-driving cars to be widely adopted by 2020. The cars will eliminate one of the biggest causes of US accidental death and injury and will lengthen people’s life expectancy.

Show full article

Dubai started testing at driverless bus service, using a 10-seat minibus along a 700-metre stretch of road in downtown Dubai. Developed jointly by French group Easy Mile and Dubai-based Omnix, it is powered by an electric motor and can hit speeds of 40 km/h.

Show full article

Select members of the Singapore public began hailing free rides through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup. The service is starting with 6 cars, growing to 12 by the end of the year. The goal is to have a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018, which will help sharply cut the number of cars on Singapore’s congested roads.

Show full article