Friday Fun: Rich kids from China buying high-end cars in Vancouver, license plate readers and experts say AVs are ‘decades away’
By Jeff Sanford Toronto, Ontario — April 14, 2016 — It’s time for another edition of Friday Fun! This week: Hyper-rich kids of the Chinese Communist Party elite super heat the Vancouver high-end car market, license plate readers create private plate databases and all the reasons AVs may be decades away from getting on the […]
Friday Fun: Tailgate thefts, accountants are a poor risk and Toyota’s wooden car
By Jeff Sanford Toronto, Ontario — April 7, 2016 — This week we dip into the rash of tailgate thefts sweeping through Saskatchewan’s capital city, a study out of the UK that shows accountants are the worst drivers by profession and a report from Moody’s that says autonomous vehicles won’t be widespread until 2055. – […]
Report: Annual sales of self-driving cars expected to hit 85 million by 2035
Boulder, Colorado — March 27, 2016 — A new report from Navigant Research analyzes the emerging market for different levels of fully and semi-autonomous driving, with global market forecasts by region for vehicle volume and revenue, through 2035. While autonomous vehicle technology continues to evolve, so does its potential to institute significant changes in safety […]
OEMs to make automatic emergency braking standard by 2022, Toyota jumps ahead of the pack
By Dylan O’Hagan Toronto, Ontario — March 22, 2016 — First it was seatbelts, then air bags and now automatic emergency braking (AEB) could be the latest safety feature to be mandated for all new vehicles in the future. At least 20 large automakers have vowed to make it standard by September 1, 2022. The […]
Friday Fun: Robotics prof says self-drivers ‘not ready,’ the car boom may go bust and one worker says he was fired for his Russian heritage
By Jeff Sanford Toronto, Ontario — March 17, 2016 — It’s time for another edition of Friday Fun, our weekly round-up of the stuff you may have missed in the last week. This time around we find out why one robotics professor says autonomous vehicles just aren’t ready, how the current car boom may go […]
Toyota boosts autonomous team with Jaybridge Robotics
By Mike Davey Cambridge, Massachusetts — March 10, 2016 — Toyota has just increased its autonomous vehicle development by hiring the entire 16-member Jaybridge Robotics team. The staff from Jaybridge Robotics will work under the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), headed up by Gill Pratt. “TRI’s mission is to bridge the gap between research and product […]
BMW to invest in self-driving research and development
By Mike Davey Geneva, Switzerland — March 7, 2016 — This might seem odd for a company that has long billed itself as producing the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” but it looks like BMW is ramping up to enter the autonomous vehicle space. Klaus Froehlich, BMW’s board member responsible for research and development, told a reporter from […]
Nissan to launch Piloted Drive vehicle in Europe in 2017
Geneva, Switzerland — March 6, 2016 — Nissan has announced that its first Piloted Drive vehicle will be available in Europe starting in 2017. Nissan says its 2017 Nissan Qashqai will become the first Piloted Drive vehicle available in Europe. “Autonomous technologies have been part of our R&D activities for a long time, we’ve done […]
Google self-driving car causes accident
By Mike Davey Mountain View, California — March 2, 2016 — It finally happened. One of Google’s self-driving cars has actually caused a crash. It’s been known for months now that the company’s autonomous vehicles have been involved in accidents, but this is the first time that the self-driving vehicle could reasonably be said to […]
Ford CEO says company will triple investment in driver assist
Barcelona, Spain — February 28, 2016 — Ford President and CEO Mark Fields told the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that the company will triple engineering investment in driver assist technology, speeding the roll-out of semi‑automated systems. Fields delivered the keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, focusing on Ford’s transition from an automotive company […]
