Autonomous cars : Consumer excitement soars despite barriers

 

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Consumers believe autonomous cars will take on a larger role in their daily lives, going beyond the act of driving to also have autonomy in running errands and completing chores.

Consumer preference for riding in self-driving cars is set to double within the next five years. While only 25% of consumers would prefer to ride in a self-driving car over a traditional vehicle in 12 months’ time, over half (52%) say driverless cars will be their preferred mode of transport by 2024.

These findings have been published in Capgemini Research Institute’s report “The Autonomous Car: A Consumer Perspective.” The positive response from consumers suggests that they see huge benefits with autonomous vehicles in terms of fuel efficiency (73%), reduced emissions (71%) and saving time (50%). Such is the sense of optimism and anticipation, over half of the consumers (56%) say they would be willing to pay up to 20% more for an autonomous vehicle over a standard one.

Continue reading… “Autonomous cars : Consumer excitement soars despite barriers”

The USPS test out self-driving trucks for hauling mail

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Self-driving truck developer TuSimple is running a two-week pilot project
with the US Postal Service, moving mail between Phoenix and Dallas.

THE UNITED STATES Postal Service has a lot of ways to move the 484.8 million pieces of mail it handles every day. In rural Alaska, postal workers run hovercraft, prop planes, and the occasional parachute. They pilot boats in the Louisiana bayou and snowmobiles in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Utah, and Wisconsin. To reach the Havasupai Indian Reservation town of Supai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, they go by mule train. And now, to carry the mail from Phoenix to Dallas, they’re letting robots do the work.

Starting Tuesday, self-driving trucks built by startup TuSimple will haul trailers full of mail and packages all by themselves. Well, mostly by themselves: The 18-wheelers will have a certified driver and safety engineer aboard, who will handle the driving on surface streets and take control from the robot as needed. The pilot project will last two weeks and include five round trips between the cities’ distribution hubs.

Continue reading… “The USPS test out self-driving trucks for hauling mail”

Amazon’s new fulfillment center machines pack boxes up to 5x faster than humans

From drone deliveries to checkout-free brick-and-mortar stores, Amazon has made no secret of its desire to automate as many parts of the retail experience as possible. While Amazon employs thousands of people in its fulfillment centers, it may be because it hasn’t yet figured out a way to automate their role. Until now, that is. Things could be about to get even more dicey for human workers as Amazon is reportedly rolling out machines capable of boxing up customer orders.

Continue reading… “Amazon’s new fulfillment center machines pack boxes up to 5x faster than humans”

25 ton self-driving trucks to be tested on British roads for the first time

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The government is testing driverless trucks on the A14 highway

Self-driving trucks that could help to speed up roadworks are being tested on Britain’s highways for the first time.

A 25-tonne autonomous truck, capable of moving huge amounts of earth without human supervision will take to the roads on a stretch of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon as part of a trial by Highways England.

The trucks, capable of carrying a load of 40 tonnes, can be programmed remotely to follow a pre-determined route along road work sites and can detect and avoid obstacles, like other vehicles, along the route as they drive.

Continue reading… “25 ton self-driving trucks to be tested on British roads for the first time”

At these factories, robots are making jobs better for workers

729083BA-5659-46B4-A5A1-E335B843A105A worker leads a large industrial robot at the BMW Group Plant Regensburg, Germany.

Any minute now, some speculate, workers around the world will be asked to make way for robots.

Their arrival may be welcome in some cases. Our latest research suggests that when robots—or automated manufacturing technology—take over jobs that are oriented around repetitive tasks, operators are able to move onto more exciting and productive work.

This was the case at 16 “lighthouses of manufacturing,” which were identified as part of a joint McKinsey and World Economic Forum project presented at Davos.

Continue reading… “At these factories, robots are making jobs better for workers”

Walmart unveils an AI-powered store of the future, now open to the public

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Walmart this morning unveiled a new “store of the future” and test grounds for emerging technologies, including AI-enabled cameras and interactive displays. The store, a working concept called the Intelligent Retail Lab — or “IRL” for short — operates out of a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Levittown, N.Y.

The store is open to customers and is one of Walmart’s busiest Neighborhood Market stores, containing more than 30,000 items, the retailer says, which allows it to test out technology in a real-world environment.

Similar to Amazon Go’s convenience stores, the store has a suite of cameras mounted in the ceiling. But unlike Amazon Go, which is a grab-and-go store with smaller square footage, Walmart’s IRL spans 50,000 square feet of retail space and is staffed by more than 100 employees.

Continue reading… “Walmart unveils an AI-powered store of the future, now open to the public”

Waymo picks Detroit factory for self-driving fleet, to be operational by mid-2019

2C1818AF-E393-412E-A36A-D679054226BDWaymo CEO John Krafcik speaks on stage during the annual Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Waymo said on Tuesday it had chosen a factory in Detroit to mass produce self-driving cars, looking to the historical heart of the auto industry to build the vehicles of the future.

The company’s chief executive, John Krafcik, said in a blog post that Waymo would partner with American Axle & Manufacturing to lease and repurpose an existing Detroit facility that will be operational by mid-2019.

Waymo said in January it had chosen Michigan for its first production facility, adding it would receive incentives from the public-private partnership agency, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and create up to 400 jobs over time exclusively related to self driving.

Continue reading… “Waymo picks Detroit factory for self-driving fleet, to be operational by mid-2019”

Watch 10 Boston Dynamics’ robot dogs pull a truck in a slightly terrifying display of raw power

C0A0F61C-890C-4E40-A5CD-E30602650460How many robot dogs does it take to pull a massive truck? Apparently 10. Boston Dynamics

  • Boston Dynamics is back with another bizarre video starring its animal-like robots.
  • The latest video features 10 of the dog-like “SpotMini” robots pulling a truck across the company’s parking lot.
  • Unlike some of the sillier videos from Boston Dynamics, this one demonstrates the raw power of the company’s robots.

The doglike robots from Boston Dynamics are back with another video, but this time the video is less about virality and more focused on demonstrating the machines’ raw power.

Continue reading… “Watch 10 Boston Dynamics’ robot dogs pull a truck in a slightly terrifying display of raw power”

7-Eleven unveiled a store of the future complete with scan-and-go tech, craft beer, and tacos as it prepares to fend off Amazon Go

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The store’s also got made-to-order smoothies. Courtesy of 7-Eleven

7-Eleven launched a lab store in Dallas on March 22.

The store features plenty of new additions, like in-store baked cookies and a craft beer station.

“7-Eleven stays at the forefront by pushing the boundaries and being unafraid to try new things,” Chris Tanco, 7-Eleven’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Via BusinessInsider

 

 

Dockworkers battle driverless trucks plan

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Los Angeles – A fierce struggle over automation has erupted at the Port of Los Angeles, as local union officials representing some 12,000 dockworkers demand that one of the world’s largest shipping firms abandon a plan to introduce driverless electric cargo trucks.

Shouting, whistling and jeering, more than 1,200 union members, local business owners and community activists packed a four-hour hearing Thursday before the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. The board voted to postpone a construction permit for the automated system after an offer by Mayor Eric Garcetti to mediate the dispute.

“The decision before the board may have far-reaching impacts on the pace of automation at our port and could define how the port will compete and sustain jobs into the foreseeable future,” Garcetti wrote in a letter unveiled at the hearing.

Continue reading… “Dockworkers battle driverless trucks plan”

Self-driving cars will change over 30 industries in the long run

 

51D166DC-8723-4705-BB4E-E2E0213ED693 Self-driving cars were just s sci-fi-like idea 10 years back, but today it is a reality. They have caused a commotion in the market, affecting a great number of industries with the revolutionary AV technology. It is said that with this technology driverless cars will save more than half million of lives between 2035 and 2045.

Still restricted in many parts of the world, driverless cars are being tested in California as the regulations allowing the testing of self-driving cars on the streets of California is contributing to the growth and development of companies and manufacturers such as Tesla and Alphabet.

In the meanwhile, Uber, a rideshare provider preparing to g public with the forthcoming IPO, is also working with AV.

Continue reading… “Self-driving cars will change over 30 industries in the long run”

Domino’s adds in-car ordering to its tech lineup

 

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Dive Brief:

Domino’s has partnered with Xevo, which provides in-vehicle commerce and services for automakers, to provide an AnyWare pizza ordering platform, according to a press release.

Customers can order via Easy Order and track it using the Domino’s Tracker. They also can find their local stores and call in an order from the in-car interface.

The ordering feature will be automatically loaded into millions of cars with the Xevo platform starting later this year.

Continue reading… “Domino’s adds in-car ordering to its tech lineup”

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