Industry Intelligence

Phantom Auto was founded in 2017 and initially focused on applying its teleops technology to autonomous vehicles on public roadways such as robotaxis and self-driving trucks. The company’s executive team soon realized that even with its technology, large-scale commercial deployments of driverless vehicles on public roads was decades away. [...] Phantom Auto’s demise is the latest in a long line of startups that popped up as the autonomous vehicle technology industry gained attention and investme

A Tesla Cybercab rider found something in the robotaxi: a manual driving mode. When he got in, the touchscreen was showing a virtual joystick to drive the car by hand. Tesla built the Cybercab with no steering wheel and no pedals. But it apparently still has a way to drive it manually, and you do it by dragging a finger across a screen. more…

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Velodyne Lidar Inc. this week said the new Alpha Prime sensor uses its patented surround-view technology to deliver the combined highest performance specifications for the autonomous mobility industry in one sensor. Alpha Prime is “an unmatched solution in perception, field of view and range for autonomous markets including transportation, trucking, and robotics,” claimed the company. [...] “Here at Velodyne, we take pride in listening to our customers and delivering innovativ

A Tesla Model 3 ran a stop sign in Buena Vista Township, New Jersey, and hit a Honda Civic turning left through the intersection. The Civic’s driver, 82-year-old Stephen Field, was killed. Police reported it as a car that failed to stop. What no one reported is that Tesla’s own data says the car’s driver-assist system was engaged. This is part of an ongoing Electrek investigation matching reported crashes to Tesla’s redacted NHTSA data. more…

Tesla is now asking businesses whether they’d like to buy and operate their own fleets of Cybercab robotaxis on its network. It’s the same pitch Elon Musk has been making since 2019: buy the cars, put them to work, and earn money while you sleep. There’s one problem with it. And it never happened, and you shouldn’t fall for it now. If running a fleet of Cybercabs were actually profitable, Tesla wouldn’t sell you a single one. more…

A company called Glydways is marking two significant milestones in bringing its Automated Transit Network (ATN) of autonomous vehicles to the masses. Glydways has announced new public transit projects in the US and the United Arab Emirates, where it plans to introduce its unique form of guided autonomy. [...] The solution Seeger came up with is as interesting as it is novel. Glydways has introduced a “disaggregated system” consisting of compact, electric, and fully autonomous vehicles that offer

At CES 2020, Aisin Group unveiled the i-mobility Type C-20, an autonomous concept vehicle for community use. Source: Aisin Group San Jose, Calif.-based Pegasus Tech Ventures has $1.5 billion under management and more than 35 corporate limited partnerships. It said it offers a unique venture capital-as-a-service (VCaaS) model for large, global corporations that wish to partner with cutting-edge technology startups. [...] The Robot Report # Aisin Seiki joins StradVision investment for autonomous

AutoX, a Chinese autonomous vehicle pioneer, opened its Level 4 driverless robotaxi service to the public in Shenzhen, China in January 2021. This is the first time the general public in China can pay for a robotaxi that doesn’t have a safety driver. The modified Fiat Chrysler Pacifica minivans use a variety of sensing modalities, including cameras, LiDAR, radar, IMUs and GPS. Shenzhen has the highest level of population density of any city in China. To start, AutoX’s fleet of 25 Pacifica [...]

The CARMERA Autonomous Map provides high-definition (HD) maps and navigation data to autonomous vehicles (AVs) in real time. The company uses data collected by sensors in partner vehicles. It says its “proprietary data pipelines conform to any customer-specific implementation of localization, verification, path planning, and simulation, allowing AVs to know where they are, confirm what they’re seeing, and know where to go next.” [...] “CARMERA was a tenant of the New Lab at the Brooklyn Navy Yar

Uisee said the funding will be used to accelerate the development of its full-stack autonomous driving technology. Founded in 2016, Uisee’s autonomy stack helps create L4 autonomous vehicles for a variety of logistics applications at airports factories, ports and other restricted environments. [...] In December 2019, Uisee partnered with Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) on an autonomous electric tractor (AET). The AET is used on a daily basis, transporting baggage for thousands of passenge