Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 18.18
…is the “flying car” company that’s financially backed by Google founder Larry Page, and today it has published the first video of its prototype aircraft (see video above). The company describes the Kitty Hawk Flyer as an “all-electric aircraft” that is designed to operate over water and doesn’t require a pilot’s license to fly. Kitty Hawk promises people will be able to learn to fly the Flyer “in minutes.” A consumer version will be available by the end of this year, the company says. The video is part commercial and part test footage, starting with a lakeside conversation between friends…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.41
…on the losing side of a case filed by Google’s self-driving car project, Waymo. And the case, which alleges Uber’s autonomous driving system designs were created as the result of brazen theft by a former Waymo employee, doesn’t look good for Uber at all. Uber’s been roiled by one controversy after another - from allegations of sexual harassment, to video evidence of its CEO acting like a jerk, to the alleged use of a tool in the ride-hailing company’s app specifically aimed at subverting regulators - but it’s the lawsuit filed last month by Waymo that’s currently front-and-center. The suit,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.48
…computer vision capabilities for cars. $2 Trillion Alphabet Inc.’s Google has clocked more than 2 million self-driving test miles on public roads, Tesla has gathered data from 1.3 billion miles of data from Autopilot-equipped vehicles, and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG has partnered with Uber Technologies Inc. Google, which separated its self-driving car project into a new unit called Waymo last year, plans to start a ride-sharing service using semi-autonomous minivans made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV as soon as the end of 2017. Volkswagen AG is rolling out Moia, a new division that will focus on ride-sharing and other mobility…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 15.19
…self-driving trucks and buses. Last week, another self-driving truck startup was at the center of a lawsuit filed by Google parent Alphabet Inc, whose Waymo self-driving car unit accused ride services startup Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] and its autonomous trucking subsidiary Otto of trade theft. Uber acquired Otto, founded by two former Google executives, last summer. Related: Self-Driving Technology for Commercial Trucking Download the Paper: Technological Disruption and Innovation in Last-Mile Delivery
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.68
…the U.S., regulators need convincing before they give Amazon, Google, and others permission for expanded use. Bloomberg Technology has a fascinating article titled “Crashing Drones Into Test Dummies for Safety” which clearly identifies how the small- and medium-sized drones flooding the U.S. market can seriously injure or even kill someone. Researchers at Virginia Tech - home to both a Federal Aviation Administration-designated test site for unmanned aircraft systems and a world-renowned injury biomechanics group - are developing methods to evaluate the risk posed by small unmanned aircraft to anyone on the ground. This research is key to enabling flights over…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.87
…for potential license to other companies. Founded by former Google and Uber leaders, Argo AI is bringing together some of the most experienced roboticists and engineers working in autonomy from inside and outside of Ford. The team of experts in robotics and artificial intelligence is led by Argo AI founders Bryan Salesky, company CEO, and Peter Rander, company COO. Both are alumni of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Center and former leaders on the self-driving car teams of Google and Uber, respectively. “The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile, and autonomous vehicles will have as…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.46
…FedEx shipment by talking to your Amazon Echo or Google Home virtual assistant device. “FedEx is considering vehicles that could drive around neighborhoods and make deliveries without human drivers”Rob Carter, FedEx’s chief information officer Carter says that FedEx has created an AI-enabled Alexa app that would eventually understand commands like “Alexa, prepare a shipment.” “You [will be able to] just talk your way through and [Alexa will] ask the right questions to make sure you’ve completed the work and then you can expect a truck to roll up to the front door of your office, pick up the shipments, and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.42
…recent headlines, major companies like Kellogg Co., UPS and Google are executing large sustainable and “green” goals not only to benefit the company’s bottom line, but to accommodate consumers. An online study by Nielsen found that three-out-of-four millennials are willing to pay extra for sustainable products. Companies that market their sustainability practices are more likely to build brand reputation and grow loyalty among younger consumers. Three popular ways to “go green” in the workplace are to reduce carbon emissions, purchase green products, and implement automation into your warehouse. Adding automation, like an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), to a…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.23
…in a very real way. As the likes of Google and Apple pour resources into the development of driverless technology, the decreased price and improved performance of the vehicles are benefiting the makers of driverless industrial vehicles. Already, Amazon is poised to become one of the biggest users—and suppliers—of automatic guided vehicles in the warehousing and distribution space. But AGVs aren’t just for those with big budgets and massive operations. In fact, AGVs aren’t even always AGVs. The “guided” part of that acronym, familiar from decades of autonomous vehicles designed to follow magnetic tapes, wires and other fixed paths, is…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.76
…(FAST) Act. New entrants in the auto industry, like Google and others, are not granted the same right under the FAST Act. The Cupertino company argues that the best way to maximize safety benefits for autonomous vehicles, ensure fair competition and encourage innovation is for the NHTSA to amend policy to state that seeking exemptions isn't necessary for internal development vehicles on public roads. The other half of the letter, which is dated November 22, addresses the Federal Automated Vehicles policy and a proposed data sharing program. “Apple agrees that companies should share de-identified scenario and dynamics data from crashes…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.70
…report, some of the world’s biggest corporations - Apple, Google, Daimler-Benz and countless others - are behind the fast-moving technology that is pushing driverless vehicles. Read: Possibility of Driverless Trucks Offers Hope for Truck Driver Crisis Currently now well beyond the initial testing phase, driverless trucks hold promising technology that can increase highway safety, reduce human error and perhaps ease the chronic driver shortage plaguing the trucking industry. “I do not think driverless trucks are a pie in the sky”John White, chief marketing officer for U.S. Xpress But that also comes with some built-in obstacles, too. And as with other…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.82
…place to introduce self-driving vehicles at scale. Companies like Google, Tesla and Uber are still testing, whereas our self-driving vehicles are commercially available today.” Companies including GE and John Deere have deployed OTTO’s material handling equipment in their facilities. “The market for self-driving passenger vehicles will be over $80 billion by 2030,” Rendall said. “We believe the market for self-driving materials handling vehicles will be equally significant. Clearpath has a big head start, and this new funding will allow us to further accelerate the development of the best self-driving software in the industry – and bring more OTTOs into the…