Self-driving cars will only last four years because they will be used so much, a Ford executive has predicted.
John Rich, operations chief of Ford Autonomous Vehicles, dismissed concerns that demand for cars would wane in the future.
“The thing that worries me least in this world is decreasing demand for cars. We will exhaust and crush a car every four years in this business,” he told The Telegraph.
The Detroit-headquartered car maker plans to establish an autonomous fleet which will be used as a service by other companies, to be used as delivery vehicles or to transport employees.
An Audi 55 e-tron is seen ahead of the company’s annual news conference at its headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, March 14, 2019.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to test how drivers could use cameras to replace traditional rearview mirrors in automobiles, a technology already allowed in other countries, the agency said on Tuesday.
The planned test by the agency known as NHTSA would examine “driving behavior and lane change maneuver execution” in cars with traditional mirrors and camera-based visibility systems, the department said in a notice offering the public a chance to comment.
In March 2014, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers — a trade group representing General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), Toyota Motor Corp and others, along with Tesla Inc, petitioned NHTSA to use camera-based rear or side-vision systems. A similar petition was filed by Daimler AG in 2015 seeking approval for camera use instead of rearview mirrors in heavy-duty trucks. Those petitions are still pending.
While drones and self-driving cars have been making the headlines, Japan has reportedly have cracked the code of making flying cars. Though the car was caged and only hovered for about a minute in the air, it was a successful attempt to make the vehicle fly. In an experiment right out of the sci-fi movies, this has been accomplished by Japan’s NEC Corp. While it is a small development directing towards bigger accomplishments, there is also a debate on whether it really is a flying “car” or just a bigger version of a drone.
What Can The Flying Car Accomplish?
The prototype which was unveiled by Japan’s NEC Corp had four propellers that could smoothly hover for about a minute. It was powered by a battery and could rise to about the height of 3 meters or 10 feet above the ground before setting down again. While the prototype that Japanese electronics maker demonstrated was flown without passengers in it, the company claims that it is capable of doing so in the future.
Because plugging in an electric vehicle is a hassle.
BMW first announced its wireless charging pilot program back in 2017. It works with BMW 530e plug-in hybrid models and the pilot program is helping people test the ability to charge the cars using magnetic induction. The system works in much the same way as we use induction charging for cell phones, except the charging pad is bigger. Parking over the pad starts the charging process automatically and the driver doesn’t have to do anything more. We knew the technology would make it to the US eventually, and now BMW has announced it’s testing it here through a pilot program.
I originally wrote and published a version of this article in September 2016. Since then, quite a bit has happened, further cementing my view that these changes are coming and that the implications will be even more substantial. I decided it was time to update this article with some additional ideas and a few changes.
As I write this, Uber just announced that it just ordered 24,000 self-driving Volvos. Tesla just released an electric, long-haul tractor trailer with extraordinary technical specs (range, performance) and self-driving capabilities (UPS just preordered 125!). And, Tesla just announced what will probably be the quickest production car ever made — perhaps the fastest. It will go zero to sixty in about the time it takes you to read zero to sixty. And, of course, it will be able to drive itself. The future is quickly becoming now. Google just ordered thousands of Chryslers for its self-driving fleet (that are already on the roads in AZ).
In September of 2016, Uber had just rolled out its first self-driving taxis in Pittsburgh, Tesla and Mercedes were rolling out limited self-driving capabilities and cities around the world were negotiating with companies who want to bring self-driving cars and trucks to their cities. Since then, all of the major car companies have announced significant steps towards mostly or entirely electric vehicles, more investments have been made in autonomous vehicles, driverless trucks now seem to be leading rather than following in terms of the first large scale implementations and there’ve been a few more incidents (i.e. accidents).
I believe that the timeframe for significant adoption of this technology has shrunk in the past year as technology has gotten better faster and as the trucking industry has increased its level of interest and investment.
Volvo Trucks North America and FedEx Successfully Demonstrated a Truck Platooning in North Carolina
Truckload carriers and private fleet owners are paying increased attention to truck platooning. In platooning, trucks are connected using direct vehicle to vehicle communication. This allows the rear truck to react nearly simultaneously to the actions of the front truck. By electronically coupling the trucks in this way, the trucks can operate at closer distances. They do this in order to create drafting, which creates fuel savings analogous to what a race car gets when one race car follows another car closely. Peloton claims savings of 7% from platooning – 4.5% for the lead truck, and 10% for the following truck.
Peloton Technology is the leading proponent of the opportunistic model of platooning where trucks find each other on the interstate and initiate a platoon. Peloton is testing two truck platoons. In this system, two truckers affirm that they are ready to platoon via a radio connection. Inside the two trucks, each driver hits a button. A verbal cue indicates the system has authorized the trucks to platoon. Then the follower speeds up, pulling their truck up so it’s tailgating about 70 feet from the leader and the platoon is initiated. The feet of the driver of the trailing truck are not controlling the brakes or the accelerator. But this driver still needs to remain alert and capable of taking over the truck if a problem arises.
Autonomous cars could cut traffic and pollution — or make them worse, planners say
The Los Angeles City Council last year approved a $4.9-billion contract to design, build and operate an automated people mover at Los Angeles International Airport. The elevated system will have driverless electric trains that carry passengers between terminals, a transportation center and the Metro light-rail system. It is expected to be operational in 2023. (Los Angeles World Airports/AP)
As self-driving vehicles begin to transform the way people get around, urban planners around the country are beginning to think about how they will remake cities and change the way we live.
Not since the Model T replaced the horse and buggy have transportation and cities faced such an extensive transformation. Many planners say they see an opportunity to prevent — and correct — the 20th-century mistakes of the auto’s reign: congestion, pollution, sprawl and roads designed to move vehicles rather than people.
Two- and three-wheeler manufacturers are stoutly resisting the government’s e-mobility plan. The government wants to ban internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered three- and two-wheelers (with an engine capacity of less than 150cc) by 2023 and 2025, respectively, and replace them with electric vehicles (EVs).
With the meeting between the NITI Aayog and auto industry executives ending in a stalemate on Friday, the two sides may continue to spar over the road map for e-mobility in one of the world’s most polluted countries..
It’ll be put to use at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
The car’s indicators turn turquoise when the car is operating autonomously, telling pedestrians that there’s no driver behind the wheel.
Back in 2017, Bosch and Daimler teamed up to operate a pilot program for its driverless valet service. Clearly, it worked well enough, because that program has just been given clearance to operate as more than just a pilot.
Apple Maps could make driving easier with augmented reality navigation tips.
Apple is exploring ways to build augmented reality into Apple Maps. Rather than top-down views of roads and intersections, the company is considering overlaying route information onto live views of the road ahead of the car.
Apple Maps has always lagged behind Google Maps. Building in AR could help it jump ahead.
A new form of motor racing got underway this year, one in which the driver is optional. Roborace, a competition for human and artificial intelligence (AI) teams, is on a mission to push the limits of motorsports.
Roborace’s primary goals are to develop new forms of motorsport entertainment and explore the relationship between human and machine drivers, with the research from the sport trickling down into driverless cars for consumers.
Originally announced in 2014, Roborace launched its debut competition, Season Alpha, in April this year. Little is known about these races as they take place in private, with the sport still in its test season. There are three teams taking part in its inaugural season: Arrival, TUM and the University of Pisa.
To start, Volvo’s Vera will ferry goods from a logistics center to a port in Gothenburg, Sweden. But more Veras will eventually mean fewer trucking jobs.
Volvo is ready to put its first autonomous, fully electric truck to the test. With the assistance of shipping company DFDS, the vehicle, known as Vera, will ferry goods from a logistics center to a port in Gothenburg, Sweden.
