Due to the fact that self-driving cars rely on things like cameras and sensors to navigate, obviously driving about on a clear sunny day would provide the most ideal conditions. However, that isn’t always reality as the weather can shift, where it can get cloudy, it can snow, and it can rain, all of which presents challenges to the abilities of self-driving cars.
At the moment, no one really knows what Apple has planned for its self-driving cars. However, it seems that despite the secrecy surrounding the project and Apple’s plans, the company seems to be progressing rather nicely with whatever it is they are doing because according to reports, Apple has expanded on its self-driving car team.
Apple’s plans for their own electric/self-driving is an open secret, although it was earlier this year that it was suggested that the company’s car project could be scrapped. Whether or not they have is unclear as Apple has yet to confirm or deny anything, but it seems that things could be progressing as intended.
Waymo’s self-driving vehicles have driven some 10 million miles on actual roads and that’s an incredible milestone but it only represents a fraction of what the company’s autonomous driving system has driven in simulation. The company has revealed that the self-driving system has driven over 10 billion miles in simulation.
The California Public Utilities Commission has awarded Waymo a permit to take part in the state’s self-driving vehicle passenger service pilot program. This means that Waymo will be able to pick up passengers with its self-driving cars. However, Waymo may not charge drivers during this pilot program and there must always be a human safety driver behind the wheel.
Many are probably already familiar with the fact that Apple has a self-driving car division. In recent times, it has been suggested that the company could be looking to downsize the division with layoffs, but that does not appear to be the case because Apple has since confirmed that they have acquired a self-driving car startup.
Waymo, Nissan, and Renault have teamed up to bring self-driving cars to France and Japan, the companies announced today. They have inked an exclusive agreement to explore all aspects of driverless mobility services for both passengers and deliveries in these countries. The announcement is a little light on details about any concrete plans to launch self-driving taxi services, for example.
Self-driving cars have come a long way, but for the most part, we still don’t really know how the tech will fare in day-to-day situations. This is why despite there being hundreds, if not thousands of hours of testing having been done, the general rule is that a human backup driver is required to be in the car at all times.
The delivery of our mail and packages have come a long way from back in the day, and while the logistics used by delivery companies has improved leaps and bounds, they are still mostly reliant on humans to do the driving and the delivery. However, USPS is hoping to improve on their efficiency and have announced plans to test self-driving mail trucks.
At the moment, Tesla is pretty much the only car company that has cars that you can buy that kind of have self-driving capabilities, thanks to the Autopilot feature found in the company’s cars. It seems that Tesla is really pushing the tech because more recently, the company’s CEO Elon Musk has revealed their plans to launch cars without a steering wheel within the next 2 years.
One of the features of Tesla cars would be its Autopilot feature where it is more of an enhanced cruise control feature that also has the ability for the car to steer itself, meaning that it can be used on curved roads where the sensors on the car would allow it to continue to remain in its lane without driver input.
You may not want self-driving cars on public roads to drive as if they’re competing in a grand prix. That’s why companies that are working on this technology have gone to great lengths to ensure that their autonomous cars are overly cautious on public roads. What if the self-driving car is on a race track, could it drive like a race car driver? That’s something that the folks at Stanford […]
One day in the future, self-driving cars will become commonplace. There are many benefits to self-driving cars, such as reduced accidents and also potentially reduced traffic jams since these cars can regulate themselves. However we imagine that future is still several years away, but in the meantime self-driving shuttles could help us make that transition.