lidar technology News

Airbus Tests Electric Truck With Airliner Cockpit to Study Safer Taxiing

Airbus is showing off an unusual vehicle – a truck fitted with basic A350 airliner controls – that it hopes can demonstrate how automated taxiing will make airports safer as concern grows over a spate of jetliners colliding on the …

Tesla Loses Top Safety Rankings From IIHS, Consumer Reports

Two key groups that offer automobile safety ratings are yanking their top endorsements from some Tesla vehicles because the company has stopped using radar on its safety systems. Consumer Reports pulled its “Top Pick” status for Tesla’s Model 3 and …

Tech Firm Luminar, Planemaker Airbus Partner to Test Autonomous Flights

Luminar Technologies Inc. said on Monday it would partner with Airbus SE to test technologies which could increase aircraft safety and ultimately enable an autonomous flight with obstacle detection. The two companies will work on enhancing aircraft sensing and perception, …

Development of Fully Autonomous Vehicles as Complex as Manned Mission to Mars: VW

Fully autonomous vehicles will take at least another five years to perfect, with the cost and complexity of rolling out the technology globally serving to undermine the business case, Volkswagen’s head of commercial vehicles said. Autonomous cars require high-tech infrastructure, …

Uber Cut Back on Safety Sensors on Volvo Involved in Fatal Accidents: Reuters

When Uber decided in 2016 to retire its fleet of self-driving Ford Fusion cars in favor of Volvo sport utility vehicles, it also chose to scale back on one notable piece of technology: the safety sensors used to detect objects …

Driving in Snow: Difficult for Humans and Driverless Cars

A Canadian town known for its annual theater festival is emerging as a hub of “snowtonomous” research, as automakers face demands to produce self-driving cars that can perform in snow and sleet. But testing driverless cars in cold climates brings …

Investor Sues Uber Directors Over $680M Acquisition of Autonomous Car Firm

Uber Technologies Inc. directors were accused of failing to properly review the ride-sharing company’s $680 million acquisition of a self-driving technology firm that wound up being accused of stealing trade secrets from a unit of Alphabet Inc. Uber’s board recklessly …

Self-Driving Delivery Cars, Robot Taxis ‘Will Be Ready to Roll’ in 2018

Self-driving vehicles will be ready to roll next year, though the work to make them affordable to individual consumers is still “in the first inning,” according to the CEO of a company working on the technology. Initial autonomous auto customers …

Chinese Venture Capital Firm, Sinovation Ventures, Boosts Investment in AI

For years, Kai-Fu Lee would share his venture capital firm’s office space in Beijing with startups he was backing so they could get advice and collaborate with each other. But about three months ago, the last of the startups packed …

What is Lidar and Why Are Autonomous Car Makers Fighting Over It?

Spacecraft use it to measure distance. Farmers use it to work out which fields need fertilizer. Archaeologists use it to map topography. And, crucially for Uber Technologies Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, self-driving cars use lidar to navigate. As carmakers …