Self-Driving Cars | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 04 Aug 2020 07:14:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Self-Driving Cars | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Baidu is ready to produce computers for self-driving cars https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/christopher-nohall/baidu-is-ready-to-produce-computers-for-self-driving-cars/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/christopher-nohall/baidu-is-ready-to-produce-computers-for-self-driving-cars/#respond Mon, 03 Aug 2020 14:11:03 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=479897 Baidu is reported to have taken a big step towards making self-driving cars more widely available. The Chinese company is reported to have completed a computer designed for self-driving cars.  In July, we reported that Intel-owned Mobileye had received the necessary permissions to try out its self-driving cars on German roads. Now, as reported by Engadget, Baidu, …

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Baidu is reported to have taken a big step towards making self-driving cars more widely available. The Chinese company is reported to have completed a computer designed for self-driving cars. 

In July, we reported that Intel-owned Mobileye had received the necessary permissions to try out its self-driving cars on German roads. Now, as reported by Engadget, Baidu, the Chinese company behind the search engine with the same name, has revealed the “Apollo Computing Unit” – an autonomous driving computer.


Image credit: Baidu/Apollo

The self-driving car powering computer from Baidu is equipped with five cameras and twelve ultrasonic radars. There is also a Xilinx processor and microcontrollers, all of which work together to make the calculations needed for safe, autonomous driving.

Baidu will reportedly kick off its self-driving car services with ‘Apollo Valet Parking', which will have the car pick up the driver automatically in a streamlined valet service.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Many companies are working hard to bring self-driving technology into more commercial cars. This is a very competitive field, with the likes of Nvidia, Apple, Intel, Google and other tech giants all investing into developing the necessary hardware. 

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Intel-owned Mobileye starts testing self-driving vehicles in Germany https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/christopher-nohall/intel-owned-mobileye-starts-testing-self-driving-vehicles-in-germany/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/christopher-nohall/intel-owned-mobileye-starts-testing-self-driving-vehicles-in-germany/#respond Fri, 17 Jul 2020 13:00:49 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=477404 The Intel owned company, Mobileye, has received a testing permit to perform AV testing anywhere in Germany with a driving speed of up to 130 kilometres per hour or about 80 miles per hour. Back in 2017 Intel acquired the Mobileye’s self-driving car firm for $15 billion with the aim to push the company's self-driving car efforts forward. …

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The Intel owned company, Mobileye, has received a testing permit to perform AV testing anywhere in Germany with a driving speed of up to 130 kilometres per hour or about 80 miles per hour.

Back in 2017 Intel acquired the Mobileye’s self-driving car firm for $15 billion with the aim to push the company's self-driving car efforts forward. Now yet another major step has been taken. TÜV SÜD (English: Southern Technical Inspection Association), has enabled Mobileye to obtain approval from the German authorities to perform AV testing anywhere in Germany, including urban and rural areas as well as the Autobahn.

Image credit: Intel

“With the TÜV SÜD AV-permit we bring in our broad expertise as a neutral and independent third party on the way to safe and secure automated mobility of the future,” sais Patrick Fruth, CEO Division Mobility, TÜV SÜD. “Our demanding assessment framework and test procedure considers state-of-the-art approaches to safety and combines physical real-world tests and scenario-based simulations.”

Mobileye also plans to expand the AV testing to areas outside of Germany and expects to scale open-road testing in other countries before the end of 2020. The company has the goal to work with various automobile manufacturers, to collect data from 25 million vehicles by 2025. The reasons given for the research are to minimise emissions, traffic congestion and create equal and affordable access to mobility.

KitGuru says: Self-Driving Vehicles can be seen as somewhat of scary concept. Yet, the technology has the potential to be safer than human drivers. What are your thoughts on Self-Driving Vehicles and when do you think that we can start seeing it on a wider scale?

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Apple scales back autonomous car efforts, cutting 200 employees from Project Titan https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/damien-cox/apple-scales-back-autonomous-car-efforts-cutting-200-employees-from-project-titan/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/damien-cox/apple-scales-back-autonomous-car-efforts-cutting-200-employees-from-project-titan/#respond Thu, 24 Jan 2019 13:08:28 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=401913 Although the road to self-driving cars is still a long way off, competition between Tesla, Google, Samsung, Intel and more has kept the technology steadily moving forward. In an unexpected move, Apple seems to be taking a step back from its efforts, cutting more than 200 employees from its very own Project Titan amid a …

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Although the road to self-driving cars is still a long way off, competition between Tesla, Google, Samsung, Intel and more has kept the technology steadily moving forward. In an unexpected move, Apple seems to be taking a step back from its efforts, cutting more than 200 employees from its very own Project Titan amid a restructure.

Apple has been working on its own autonomous vehicles for the past five years, at one point hitting heights of approximately 5,000 employees contributing to development in some way. Reportedly headed by Ford veteran Bob Mansfield, the company hasn’t had the easiest time after a data breach came to light mid-way through last year.

Former employee Xiaolang Zhang found himself formally charged by the FBI for supposedly stealing up to 40GB-worth of data on Project Titan. He denied accusations that he planned to sell the data to a Chinese car manufacturer in an attempt to avoid a $250,000 (£189,000) fine and a jail sentence as high as 10 years. No new information has come to light since this development.

Despite poaching many of Tesla’s alumni, such as engineering VP Doug Field and designer Andrew Kim at the end of last year, development seems to have come to a halt. In an interview with CNBC, Apple states that it “continues to believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems” and that this is just a result of restructuring under new leadership, but this does not instil confidence that the iPhone maker is serious about the technology.

Other employees outside of the 200 that have been made redundant will remain at Apple, moving to other areas outside of Project Titan. It isn’t certain when development on the project will continue, if it will carry on at all.

KitGuru Says: Hopefully this doesn’t set a precedent for others to stagnate or drop autonomous efforts entirely, as Apple is a big player in the field and carries a lot of influence.   

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Alleged Apple thief pleads not guilty to stealing self-driving car secrets https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/alleged-apple-thief-pleads-not-guilty-to-stealing-self-driving-car-secrets/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/alleged-apple-thief-pleads-not-guilty-to-stealing-self-driving-car-secrets/#respond Tue, 17 Jul 2018 12:14:09 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=380032 Last week, authorities apprehended a suspect that was believed to have stolen confidential data pertaining to Apple’s autonomous cars. It was reported that the former employee supposedly admitted the crimes when taken into custody, but has since pleaded ‘not guilty’ during Monday’s trial. Ex-Apple employee Xiaolang Zhang was formally charged by the FBI for allegedly …

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Last week, authorities apprehended a suspect that was believed to have stolen confidential data pertaining to Apple’s autonomous cars. It was reported that the former employee supposedly admitted the crimes when taken into custody, but has since pleaded ‘not guilty’ during Monday’s trial.

Ex-Apple employee Xiaolang Zhang was formally charged by the FBI for allegedly stealing trade secrets relating to Apple’s self-driving cars. Subsequently planning on relocating to China, Zhang was apparently planning to use the secrets with a local car manufacturer.

Using his access to Apple’s confidential database, Zhang is said to have downloaded and transferred over 40GB of Apple’s data which has since been seized by the Bureau. This included a 25-page blueprint for a circuit board geared towards driverless vehicles, which Zhang supposedly used to cement his placement at Xiaopeng Motors. It is unknown whether Zhang was under any form of employment from the Chinese company, as Xiaopeng Motors has yet to issue a statement.

Evidence against Zhang is seemingly stacked, comprised of the data that authorities have seized, his attempt to flee to China on July 7th after Apple raised the allegations to authorities and his own previous admissions. Despite this, Reuters reports that Zhang has since pleaded not guilty at his hearing on Monday. If courts do find Zhang guilty, however, he could face a fine up to $250,000 (£189,000) and a jail sentence as high as 10 years.

KitGuru Says: When it was first revealed what Zhang allegedly did, it seemed like an open and shut case of potential corporate espionage, but this could likely drag out the legal process significantly. Still, Apple isn’t likely to relieve the pressure any time soon given the supposed crimes.

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Former Apple employee caught stealing self-driving vehicle trade secrets https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/former-apple-employee-caught-stealing-self-driving-vehicle-trade-secrets/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/former-apple-employee-caught-stealing-self-driving-vehicle-trade-secrets/#respond Thu, 12 Jul 2018 10:20:47 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=379588 Throughout the past couple of years, Apple has focused its efforts on the rising technology of autonomous ‘self-driving’ cars. A former Apple engineer has since been arrested by the FBI for allegedly committing corporate espionage that could have seen trade secrets fall into the hands of Chinese car startup, Xiaopeng Motors. Xiaolang Zhang started his …

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Throughout the past couple of years, Apple has focused its efforts on the rising technology of autonomous ‘self-driving’ cars. A former Apple engineer has since been arrested by the FBI for allegedly committing corporate espionage that could have seen trade secrets fall into the hands of Chinese car startup, Xiaopeng Motors.

Xiaolang Zhang started his position with Apple back in December 2015, working to “develop software and hardware for use in autonomous vehicles,” according to the FBI’s filing. Throughout his time at Apple, Zhang designed and tested circuit boards to analyse data on the self-driving cars, giving him access to particularly sensitive information surrounding power requirements, battery system and drivetrain suspension mounts.

Zhang attempted to end his employment upon returning from one month’s worth of paternity leave in April 2018, stating that his wished to spend more time with his family back in China. He added that he would not be returning, and instead would take up a job offer closer to home, with Xiaopeng Motors. Fortunately for Apple, his supervisor deemed his evasiveness suspicious, prompting a member of Apple’s New Product Security Division to conduct a thorough investigation.

After turning in his two work phones and laptop, Zhang’s network activity was found to have “increased exponentially compared to the prior two years of his employment,” particularly in the run up to his resignation. The majority of his activity was conducted on the Apple campus, pertaining to “bulk searches and targeted downloading copious pages of information” from confidential databases that he had access to.”

Backed by CCTV footage of Zhang leaving the campus while on paternity leave with “computer keyboard, some cables, and a large box,” Zhang admitted that he had taken the information and had transferred over 40GB of data onto his wife’s laptop, which has since been seized.

Zhang’s employment was voluntarily terminated on May 5th, with Apple pursuing a complaint with the FBI in its aftermath. The FBI responded with a warrant to search Zhang’s home on June 27th, in which he admitted the same information he had previously told Apple.

On July 7th, 2018, Zhang was caught trying to flee the company with a round ticket from San Jose, California to Beijing. The FBI intercepted the culprit at the security checkpoint of San Jose International Airport, with Zhang now facing punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment with a $250,000 fine. Xiaopeng Motors, also known as Xpeng and XMotors has remained unavailable for comment on the matter.

“Apple takes confidentiality and the protection of our intellectual property very seriously,” an Apple spokesperson said. “We’re working with authorities on this matter and will do everything possible to make sure this individual and any other individuals involved are held accountable for their actions.”

KitGuru Says: While it’s entirely possible that Zhang committed corporate espionage on behalf of Xiaopeng Motors, it’s similarly possible that he was an opportunist looking for a way to coerce the company into hiring him. Until investigations are conducted and Xpeng addresses the issue, it should be assumed that Zhang was working alone for personal gain.  

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Nvidia takes a step back on self-driving cars in the wake of Uber and Tesla accidents https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/nvidia-takes-a-step-back-on-self-driving-cars-in-the-wake-of-uber-and-tesla-accidents/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/nvidia-takes-a-step-back-on-self-driving-cars-in-the-wake-of-uber-and-tesla-accidents/#respond Thu, 29 Mar 2018 16:18:54 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=368831 For quite some time, Nvidia has been a part of the self-driving car race, attempting to perfect vehicle automation to rid the need of a driver and, in turn, human error. In the wake of fatal accidents from tests involving Uber and Tesla, the company has since suspended all of its own tests to try …

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For quite some time, Nvidia has been a part of the self-driving car race, attempting to perfect vehicle automation to rid the need of a driver and, in turn, human error. In the wake of fatal accidents from tests involving Uber and Tesla, the company has since suspended all of its own tests to try and learn from the mistakes that have been made.

Calling it “good engineering practice” to take a step back and learn from the catastrophic mistakes of other in the field, Nvidia isn’t backing away from the self-driving vehicle market entirely. Instead, it is simply stopping all tests on public roads and opting to continue collecting sensor data from manually driven vehicles in the meantime.

This feels like a necessary move after a self-driving Uber SUV fatally collided with a woman on Sunday 18th March, followed by a similar incident on the 23rd involving Tesla testing its autonomous Model X car.

Image: Nvidia

Uber has just barely managed to avoid a lawsuit from family members of the victim, opting to settle out of court on undisclosed terms. Following the incident, Uber immediately suspended its own self-driving tests and stated that it did not plan to reapply for a permit to test autonomous vehicles in the state of California.

The car involved in the collision was confirmed to be running Nvidia GPUs as per an agreement between the two companies announced in January, however Nvidia claims that it wasn't using its DRIVE technology, built to serve autonomous vehicles.

Tesla, however, applies its ‘Autopilot’ system in all of its modern vehicles, allowing for the cars to drive themselves while the drive is urged to remain alert and can effortlessly take control at any time. Investigators are still trying to determine whether this system was activated at the time of its collision.

Although Nvidia has had no part in the accidents, its decision to take a step back has resulted in its biggest decline in shares since 2011. Still, the company isn’t willing to take chances when people’s lives hang in the balance.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This could take its toll on self-driving technology, setting development back a few years. Companies are still swearing that it will be safer than manual driving, but it seems we’re still a long way from achieving that goal. Are you comfortable with self-driving vehicles on public roads or do you think it’s best for companies to go back to the drawing board?

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Intel is buying Mobileye’s self-driving car firm for $15 billion https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/intel-is-buying-mobileyes-self-driving-car-firm-for-15-billion/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/intel-is-buying-mobileyes-self-driving-car-firm-for-15-billion/#comments Mon, 13 Mar 2017 13:36:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=324928 Following a slew of rumours published on the web earlier this morning, Intel has confirmed its plans to acquire Mobileye, a company that specialises in self-driving cars and has teamed up with the likes of Tesla and BMW in the past. The Israeli firm will be bought in a deal currently valued at $15.3 billion and …

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Following a slew of rumours published on the web earlier this morning, Intel has confirmed its plans to acquire Mobileye, a company that specialises in self-driving cars and has teamed up with the likes of Tesla and BMW in the past. The Israeli firm will be bought in a deal currently valued at $15.3 billion and will push Intel's self-driving car efforts forward quite a bit.

Intel and Mobileye have teamed up in the past, putting together around 40 autonomous vehicles for testing on public roads later this year in both Europe and the US. RIght now, Intel is estimating that the vehicle systems, data and service market will hit around $70 billion by 2030, so it is hopping on the train early with this acquisition.

Image Credit: Intel/Fran Ashcroft

With this acquisition, Intel and Mobileye will form a new organization under Intel's Automated Driving Group, with a HQ based in Israel. All current contracts currently under Mobileye for automotive OEMs will be retained under this new company.

Speaking about the deal, Intel's CEO, Brian Krzanich said that the acquisition of Mobileye will “bring together the assets of Intel's Xeon processors, FPGAs, 3D XPoint memory and 5G modems with the world leader in automotive computer vision”. He also described the move as merging the “intelligent eyes of the autonomous car with the intelligent brain that actually drives the car”.

KitGuru Says: With competing chip makers like Qualcomm and Nvidia also competing in the autonomous vehicle space, it makes sense for Intel to start applying some pressure with technology of its own. 

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Self-driving taxis will begin trials in Japan next year https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/self-driving-taxis-will-begin-trials-in-japan-next-year/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/self-driving-taxis-will-begin-trials-in-japan-next-year/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2015 15:31:39 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=270402 While Google has made excellent progress with its self-driving car over the last few years, it seems that Japan is swiftly catching up, as trials of the ‘Robot Taxi' are set to begin in the country next year. These will be entirely automatic, self-driving taxis, picking customers up and driving them wherever they need to …

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While Google has made excellent progress with its self-driving car over the last few years, it seems that Japan is swiftly catching up, as trials of the ‘Robot Taxi' are set to begin in the country next year. These will be entirely automatic, self-driving taxis, picking customers up and driving them wherever they need to go. Tests will kick off in the Kanagwa prefecture on the outskirts of Tokyo.

The trial will be quite limited, with only 50 people set to take part in the first trial. A human will be present in the car prepared to take over manually should anything go seriously wrong as well. Google has held similar trials with its own cars and drivers this year, though it didn't drive members of the public around as part of a commercial service.

robottaxi

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGEomEOPVKc']

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Robot Taxi wants to have its service fully operational by 2020, with the idea that such a service would help tourists, or those who live in areas where public transport is sparse.

Robotics is a big focus in Japan, the idea is to build machines that can do more leg work for people, particularly since a third of Japan's population is over the age of 60 and may need the extra assistance.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The service is just being trialled for now, with full commercial availability not expected until 2020 so we are still a few years off. With so many companies now focussing on automated cars, things may advance at a faster rate over the next few years.

Source: WSJ
Via: Engadget

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Nvidia: 50 companies use Drive PX platform to develop self-driving cars https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/nvidia-50-car-makers-are-using-drive-px-platform-to-develop-self-driving-cars/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/nvidia-50-car-makers-are-using-drive-px-platform-to-develop-self-driving-cars/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2015 11:22:08 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=262797 Earlier this year Nvidia refocused its Tegra business from consumer electronics to automotive industry. Sales of Nvidia’s system-on-chips for vehicles are growing rapidly, but still represent only a small fracture of the company’s revenue. But going forward a lot may change. Nvidia said this week that as many as 50 companies are using Nvidia Drive PX …

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Earlier this year Nvidia refocused its Tegra business from consumer electronics to automotive industry. Sales of Nvidia’s system-on-chips for vehicles are growing rapidly, but still represent only a small fracture of the company’s revenue. But going forward a lot may change. Nvidia said this week that as many as 50 companies are using Nvidia Drive PX platform for their autonomous driving efforts. Moreover, some of them are already developing self-driving cars.

“In addition to our infotainment cockpit business, we are working with more than 50 companies interested in using Nvidia Drive PX in their autonomous driving efforts,” said Colette Kress, chief financial officer of Nvidia, on the company’s earnings conference call with investors and financial analysts.

nvidia_drive_px

The Nvidia Drive PX is a development platform for automakers interested in producing self-driving cars. The Drive PX features two Tegra X1 system-on-chips that deliver around 2.3TFLOPS of FP16 compute performance, has inputs for up to 12 high-resolution cameras, and can process up to 1.3 gigapixels of visual data per second.

One of the key advantages of the Drive PX is its sensor fusion technology – a combination of hardware and software – that enables cameras, lidar, radar and sonar sensors to work together. This enables the platform to run advanced driver assistance features, including collision avoidance, pedestrian detection, mirror-less operation, cross-traffic monitoring and driver-state monitoring, to run simultaneously. Another key feature of the Drive PX is its deep learning capabilities that allow the software to be trained, and retrained for any possible eventuality.

audi_a3_1

While the Drive PX can potentially be used in commercial vehicles, it is primarily a development platform. Many deep-learning-related capabilities will require considerably higher amount of compute horsepower than two Tegra X1 can offer. However, automakers are already developing self-driving cars due in four or five years from now, which is why they need appropriate development platforms.

“We are developing autonomous driving vehicles with many of them at the moment,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia. “I expect the car business to continue to grow.”

tesla_model_s

At present it is impossible to say when exactly Nvidia-based self-driving cars hit the market. Moreover, even Nvidia does not know how many of the 50 companies (the vast majority of which are actual automakers) currently using the Drive PX platform for research will actually use Tegra inside their commercial cars. Nonetheless, if 50 manufacturers use the Drive PX, it means that the company will have better chances to win actual designs.

Sales of Nvidia Tegra for vehicles rose to $71 million, or by 76 per cent year-over-year, in the second quarter of the company’s fiscal 2016.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Nearly 50 automakers developing self-driving cars with Nvidia? Basically, it indicates that every decent car manufacturer in the world is developing autonomous vehicles.

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Google’s self-driving cars are officially on public roads https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/googles-self-driving-cars-are-officially-on-public-roads/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/googles-self-driving-cars-are-officially-on-public-roads/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2015 10:58:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=256238 It has taken a while to get to this point but Google's self-driving cars have finally hit public roads in Mountain View, California, for the first time, cruising around next to traditional cars and drivers. The new prototype cars were announced just last month, along with the public testing. As you would imagine, there are …

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It has taken a while to get to this point but Google's self-driving cars have finally hit public roads in Mountain View, California, for the first time, cruising around next to traditional cars and drivers. The new prototype cars were announced just last month, along with the public testing.

As you would imagine, there are safety regulations involved, for a start, even though the car is self-driving, a safety driver is placed in the vehicle with control over it should a manual override be needed. the cars are also capped at a 25 mile per hour speed limit so accidents should be easily avoidable.

Google

The cars present on the road were all built by Google in-house. Google noted the first public tests on its official page for the project: “These prototype vehicles are designed from the ground up to be fully self-driving. They’re ultimately designed to work without a steering wheel or pedals, but during this phase of our project we’ll have safety drivers aboard with a removable steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal that allow them to take over driving if needed.”

Public testing was announced a month ago so this has been known about for some time. This is the first public test to take place and assuming everything goes well, we can expect more to follow as Google continues to refine its technology for public use.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Google's self-driving cars have been interesting to follow throughout development. It will be interesting to see how well the first public tests go, after all, this is a pretty big step. I imagine in twenty years time these autonomous vehicles will be fairly commonplace in some places. 

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Google has a small team working to build better batteries https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/google-has-a-small-team-working-to-build-better-batteries/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/google-has-a-small-team-working-to-build-better-batteries/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2015 13:34:58 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=244793 It seems that smartphone makers are finally starting to take a serious look in to improving batteries. We already know that Apple has a team working on new technology and now it looks like Google is doing the same thing, with a small team working out of the secretive Google X division. Better batteries have …

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It seems that smartphone makers are finally starting to take a serious look in to improving batteries. We already know that Apple has a team working on new technology and now it looks like Google is doing the same thing, with a small team working out of the secretive Google X division.

Better batteries have the potential to improve such a large amount of consumer devices, most notably smart mobile devices and electric cars. Unfortunately, in recent years there have not been many advances in battery technology, although some companies have learned some clever software tricks to try to conserve battery life for as long as possible.

google1-e1424524503913

Now Google is looking to change that, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The report makes mention of a team inside of the Google X lab working to develop new battery technology to power its hardware for longer.

Obvious devices that would benefit from better batteries include the Google Glass, which is also in development at Google X, as well as the Nexus line of smartphones. However, Google is likely going to be pushing technology in all areas, rather than just focusing on mobile devices. This will include self-driving cars, as well as healthcare, robotics and communications.

Battery tech isn't the number one priority right now at Google though. The WSJ report also notes that only four people are currently on the battery team, one of whom formerly worked at Apple.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Better battery life will do wonders for not just smartphones, but wearables and electric cars as well. Hopefully with so many companies currently focussing on building better batteries, we will see some advancements in the area sooner rather than later.

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Google looking to partner up with manufacturers for self driving cars https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/google-looking-to-partner-up-with-manufacturers-for-self-driving-cars/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/google-looking-to-partner-up-with-manufacturers-for-self-driving-cars/#respond Mon, 22 Dec 2014 14:28:41 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=227678 Google is reportedly looking for manufacturers to partner up with to help create its self-driving cars. So far, Google has produced its own cars but the company had no intention to produce large numbers of them single-handed, as you would probably expect. “We don’t particularly want to become a car maker,” Chris Urmson, Director of …

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Google is reportedly looking for manufacturers to partner up with to help create its self-driving cars. So far, Google has produced its own cars but the company had no intention to produce large numbers of them single-handed, as you would probably expect.

“We don’t particularly want to become a car maker,” Chris Urmson, Director of Google’s self-driving car project said while speaking to The Wall Street Journal. “We are talking with and looking for partners”.

The director didn't give away too much information, so we don't know which car manufacturers Google is currently in talks with but he did confirm that work has begun on a new ‘beta one' prototype.

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The upcoming ‘Beta One' car will apparently move the whole project on by three generations over the basic cars we are already familiar with. These cars are set to be road tested early next year and will be designed for use in city centers, being limited to speeds of 25 miles per hour.

Google will apparently only continue to pursue this project if it can do so with no half measures. The company is insisting on a car entirely devoid of any driver input: “A partially automated car doesn’t help a blind man get lunch or help an aging widow get to her social events.”

Google isn't the only company working on automated vehicles though, the UK government confirmed earlier this year that driverless cars are due to be tested in four different UK cities in January next year.

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KitGuru Says: It will be interesting to see who Google partners up with to help create its automated vehicles. Which car manufacturer would you guys like to see partner up with Google?

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Google’s self-driving cars are capable of breaking the speed limit https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/googles-self-driving-cars-are-capable-of-breaking-the-speed-limit/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/googles-self-driving-cars-are-capable-of-breaking-the-speed-limit/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:49:59 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=208289 Google has confirmed that its self-driving robot cars are capable of breaking the speed limit but only as a safety measure. The company's studies have shown that if its self-driving cars were to stick to the speed limit in areas where everybody was speeding, it could have a negative impact on safety. Speaking to Reuters, …

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Google has confirmed that its self-driving robot cars are capable of breaking the speed limit but only as a safety measure. The company's studies have shown that if its self-driving cars were to stick to the speed limit in areas where everybody was speeding, it could have a negative impact on safety.

Speaking to Reuters, Dmitri Dolgov, the lead software engineer on the driverless car project, confirmed that Google's vehicles are only programmed to go up to 10 mph over the US national speed limit as long as the driving conditions at the time permit it. “Thousands and thousands of people are killed in car accidents every year. This could change that.”

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There are still some concerns surrounding driverless vehicles though. Christian Gerdes, Faculty Director of Stanford University’s REVS Institute for Automotive Research, recently rose some interesting questions:

“Should a car try to protect its occupants at the expense of hitting pedestrians?”. He then added, “Will we accept it when machines make mistakes, even if they make far fewer mistakes than humans? We can significantly reduce risk, but I don't think we can drive it to zero.”

Google's self-driving car project has been in the works for a long time and it only recently began testing on a couple of public roads in the US. Robot vehicles are still years off from being a regular thing but it's cool to see that it is slowly becoming a reality.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Driverless cars are becoming a reality and could be seen on public roads within the next ten years. However, I think I'd rather see hoverboards come first. What do you guys think about driverless cars?

Source: Reuters, TR

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