All posts tagged: driverless

A Waymo nearly hit me, but I’m still optimistic about driverless cars

A Waymo nearly hit me, but I’m still optimistic about driverless cars

Published by skeptic

Waymo driverless cars are in London, but is this a positive move for road safety? Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty images Waymo’s driverless cars have been rolling through London for months, although they aren’t taking passengers yet and a human sits ready to seize control if needed. Every time I’ve encountered them, they have seemed cautious and predictable. But recently, I had a near miss. I was circling a roundabout as I cycled home from work and a Waymo was about to pull onto it in front of me. I had priority, but it didn’t seem to be slowing and looked to be heading straight for me, then suddenly stopped. It wasn’t the scariest incident I’ve had on a bike – it wasn’t even the worst one that day. I didn’t feel in serious danger; I had seen it happening and was ready. The incident only stood out among the dozens of tense moments that happen on every commute because it was AI behind the wheel, not a person. Out of curiosity, I sent Waymo …

Waymo Pauses Driverless Car Service in Atlanta and Texas Ahead of Potentially Dangerous Storms

Waymo Pauses Driverless Car Service in Atlanta and Texas Ahead of Potentially Dangerous Storms

Published by Sam Flores

ATLANTA (AP) — Waymo has suspended driverless car services in Atlanta and Texas after one of its vehicles was stranded by flooding during heavy rains that will likely also hinder travel in a large swath of the U.S over the holiday weekend. Severe thunderstorms with large hail and gusty winds were possible Friday in Texas and other parts of the Southern and Central Plains, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters warned of possible flash flooding along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana on Saturday, when rain and thunderstorms were expected across much of the central and eastern U.S. The Waymo vehicle got stuck during a downpour in Atlanta on Wednesday that flooded streets and even part of a downtown highway. The vehicle was not occupied and was later recovered, the company said in a statement. At least one other Waymo vehicle was waylaid during the storm. Waymo serves only the city of Atlanta in Georgia, and services several cities in Texas. The company paused service in Texas “out of an abundance of caution for …

Nuro secures California driverless permit for Lucid Gravity Uber robotaxis

Nuro secures California driverless permit for Lucid Gravity Uber robotaxis

Published by skeptic

Nuro has received a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to test its Lucid Gravity SUVs without a human safety driver on public roads — a critical milestone before the company can launch Uber’s planned robotaxi service later this year. The updated permit covers testing in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties at speeds up to 45 mph, day or night, clearing the way for fully driverless testing of the vehicles that Uber plans to deploy in a fleet of at least 35,000 robotaxis. From safety drivers to fully driverless The permit marks a significant upgrade from Nuro’s current testing operations. Since April, Uber employees have been able to request Lucid Gravity robotaxi rides through the Uber app in the Bay Area, but those rides have all operated with safety drivers behind the wheel. Now, Nuro can begin removing the safety driver entirely — at least in testing. The Lucid Gravity vehicles are equipped with high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar, and radar sensors, all running on Nuro’s autonomous driving stack built on NVIDIA’s …

Nuro receives driverless testing permit ahead of Uber robotaxi service launch

Nuro receives driverless testing permit ahead of Uber robotaxi service launch

Published by skeptic

Nuro has been granted a permit to begin driverless testing of Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with its autonomous tech on California public roads — vehicles that will eventually be used in Uber’s premium robotaxi service. But the Silicon Valley-based startup, backed by Nvidia and Uber, says it isn’t quite ready to begin. The California Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency that regulates the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles in the state, confirmed to TechCrunch on Tuesday that it modified Nuro’s driverless AV permit to include Lucid Gravity vehicles. Nuro has held a driverless permit for six years, but it only applied to operate a low-speed delivery vehicle — a program that was scrapped when the startup pivoted its business model to focus on licensing its technology to companies like Uber. This latest driverless permit allows Nuro to test the Lucid vehicles without a human safety operator behind the wheel. Nuro spokesperson David Salguero told TechCrunch the company expects to begin driverless testing later this year, without providing further information on timing. The driverless permit …

Waymo Is Trying to Crack Down on Solo Kids in Driverless Cars

Waymo Is Trying to Crack Down on Solo Kids in Driverless Cars

Published by skeptic

By law, autonomous vehicles aren’t allowed to carry unaccompanied minors in California. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving-car company, doesn’t allow kids under 18 to ride alone anywhere outside of metro Phoenix, Arizona. But that hasn’t stopped some time-strapped parents from using their own accounts to transport their kids to school, extracurricular activities, and even social outings. Some have reported that the lack of drivers makes them feel safer. Waymo is working to crack down on the practice, the company confirmed Friday, after reports of new mid-ride age-verification checks began to float around on social media. The company has “policies in place” to help it identify violations of its terms of service, Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli wrote in a statement to WIRED. “We are continuing to refine our system and processes for accuracy over time.” Violating its terms of service can lead to temporary or permanent suspension of an account, Waymo says. The company uses cameras inside its cars to check that riders aren’t violating its rules. Its privacy policy notes that the company records video inside the …

Driverless Cars Will Be Subject to Moving-Violation Tickets in California Soon

Driverless Cars Will Be Subject to Moving-Violation Tickets in California Soon

Published by skeptic

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles is enacting new regulations that mean cars without drivers, such as Tesla Robotaxis and Waymo rideshare cars, will be subject to police ticketing — even though there’s no driver in the car to accept it. The change is part of a rollout of 2024 legislation on autonomous vehicles and part of a set of new requirements approved on April 28 by the state’s DMV. The ticketing would be a “notice of AV (autonomous vehicle) noncompliance” issued to the manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle.  Other requirements involve testing self-driving cars before they hit the road: 50,000 miles of testing in each phase of development for light-duty vehicles and 500,000 miles for heavy-duty vehicles like semi trucks. The rules include more control over self-driving cars during emergencies. “These updates support the growth of the AV industry by enhancing public safety and transparency while adding additional accountability for AV manufacturers,” the DMV’s director, Steve Gordon, said in a statement. Waymo cars got some unwanted attention when they stalled during a San Francisco power outage …

AV Companies Might be in Trouble Now As Cops Start Ticketing Driverless Cars

AV Companies Might be in Trouble Now As Cops Start Ticketing Driverless Cars

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Autonomous vehicles have an accountability problem. Because there’s no driver, there’s nobody to hold liable when the car misbehaves. This means that when a Waymo blocks an ambulance on its way to an emergency, or a Tesla robotaxi speeds past a stopped school bus, traffic authorities have no recourse to impose a penalty. For years, this created a bifurcated system where for-profit companies could break traffic laws that would land individuals in hot water, though that may not be the case much longer. In California, at least, the Department of Motor Vehicles has now ruled that AVs are no longer exempt from traffic citations, which could have huge implications for the companies pumping city streets full of self-driving cars. Per the San Francisco Standard, the first-of-its-kind regulation likewise mandates that AVs comply with emergency personnel within 30 seconds of being given an instruction, under penalty of having their permits suspended. Ideally, regulators hope the new directive will prevent …

Waymo ‘driverless’ taxi ploughs into London crime scene after double stabbing

Waymo ‘driverless’ taxi ploughs into London crime scene after double stabbing

Published by Sam Flores

A Waymo “driverless” taxi drove into a crime scene in west London as it was being tested on the streets of the capital. Dramatic video posted on TikTok shows the moment the vehicle careers into a police cordon in Harlesden as officers investigate a double stabbing. The white car – which is designed to be full autonomous – can be seen crashing into the crime scene, seemingly oblivious of a police vehicle’s flashing lights and siren and ‘Do Not Cross’ tape stretched across the road. After the car brakes sharply to a stop, two police officers are seen engaging in conversation with a person sitting in the car before it reverses away. A spokesman for Waymo told the Daily Mail the car was being manually driven at the time – and that the driver involved had been suspended. He said “initial analysis suggests” the car would have identified the danger and stopped had it been in automated mode. The firm added: “We sincerely apologise for any disruption caused by this validation driver, who was operating …

How driverless vehicles can be made safer for deaf and hard of hearing people

How driverless vehicles can be made safer for deaf and hard of hearing people

Published by skeptic

Self-driving cars are very much a reality and no longer a vision from science fiction. In the UK, automated vehicles (AVs) such as self-driving shuttles are already being tested on public roads. Self-driving taxi services are expected to launch in 2026, and the Automated Vehicles Act is scheduled for implementation in 2027. This act establishes the legal groundwork for driverless cars to operate on Britain’s roads. As these vehicles move from research labs to our streets, one question becomes critical: how will they communicate safely with the people around them? Researchers and designers have proposed installing equipment on the vehicles called external human–machine interfaces. These are designed to help driverless vehicles signal their behaviour to pedestrians and other road users (cyclists, wheelchair users and human drivers). The driverless vehicles would employ pulsing lights around the vehicle, text displays showing the car’s intentions, and auditory cues that announce forthcoming actions, such as “I’m stopping” or a truck-like reversing sound. However, much of this research still overlooks people with disabilities, including pedestrians with hearing loss. When accessibility …