Driverless Features

News: Drama Amongst the Driverless—Did Waymo Unnecessarily Drag Uber into Its Lawsuit?

It's no secret Uber has had a pretty rough year, in no small part to being sued by Google. But Google doesn't seem to have intended a full lawsuit against Uber from the get-go, as news today shows Waymo pushed for arbitration against their former employee last fall, months before the news broke that they were suing Uber.

News: Uber's Self-Driving Program Faces Potential Shutdown

Uber's chance at driverless domination may be ripped away as its legal battle with Waymo escalates. The company's self-driving program is now under threat of closure if the allegations of premeditated theft are proven

News: Nissan Joins Mobileye's Real-Time Map System for Self-Driving Cars

One thing you don't see often in the driverless industry are partnerships. When automakers are in the news together, it usually means drama. However, an important partnership between Nissan and Mobileye was announced today. One that has the potential to make driverless cars on the road better and safer.

Today's Top News: A Multibillion-Dollar Investment by Softbank Could Revive Uber's Uncertain Driverless Program

The status of Uber's driverless program remains a big unknown amid the company's recent woes, but a reported multibillion-dollar shot in the arm by Japanese tech giant Softbank could change all that.

Today's Top News: Volvo Goes All-Electric, Joins Full-Court Press Against Tesla

Google quickly learned over five years ago electric vehicles (EVs) were the powertrain of choice for its then fledging driverless car program and the industry has since followed its lead.

News: Disney Does Driverless in the Sunshine State

Disney is gearing up fully autonomous vehicles that will shuttle you and your family from the parking lot to the amusement park, stress-free. Well, as stress-free as you can get while introducing grandma to the concept of a car with no driver. No, grandma, Satan is not "steering this contraption." At least, we don't think he is ...

Today's Top News: The Point of No Return for Carmakers

The automotive industry is traditionally very conservative, so when a carmaker says it will launch a particular model or feature by a certain date, it means a lot.

News: Uber Engineer Officially Booted from Their Driverless Program by No-Nonsense Judge

Engineer Anthony Levandowski has officially been kicked off Uber's driverless program by a judge as the company's legal war with Waymo continues.

News: Intel Steps Up to Driverless with $15 Billion Acquisition of Mobileye

In a race to make self-driven cars mainstream, Intel announced today that they've bought Israeli microchip technology company Mobileye for $15.3 billion, setting the stage for Intel to dominate a large portion of the driverless market.

News: Nvidia VP Makes Case for Driverless-Friendly Laws at Senate Hearing

Much work needs to be done before laws and regulations no longer block driverless' rollout in the US, Rob Csongor, vice president and general manager of Nvidia's automotive division, said today during a US Senate committee hearing.

News: Is Verizon Getting into the Driverless Game?

Verizon could be getting in on the autonomous vehicle party, judging by its recent investment in driverless software company Renovo Motors.

News: Self-Driving Cars Are Coming to New York, but Only for a Limited Time

The east coast is becoming a hotbed for driverless. Sure, the west coast has all of its fancy tech companies testing self-driving cars, but we've got the goods too. Uber has brought the technology to Pennsylvania and will soon do the same in Toronto. (Stratford, Ontario, has plans to test out driverless too!) And today we got some great news: Governor Andrew Cuomo just approved of driverless testing in New York.

News: Apple Finally Enters the Driverless Fray After Years of Rumors About 'Project Titan'

The race to the driverless finish line just got more challenging as Apple seems to have joined the pack. Friday, the global superpower secured a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles that allows them to test autonomous cars in the state.

News: Baidu's AI & Driverless Expert Resigns

Baidu's self-driving car unit has had a tough week. Today, the company's leading artificial intelligence (AI) expert, Andrew Ng, announced in an optimistic blog post that he would be leaving the Chinese search engine company to pursue AI research on his own.

News: Waymo Just Moved to Shut Down Uber's Driverless Trials with Court Injunction

The big Waymo versus Uber trial isn't scheduled until May, but the heat between Uber and Waymo is rising fast; Waymo wants Uber's driverless trials shut down by a court injunction, unless ex-Google employee Anthony Levandowski testifies in court.

News: Driverless Nissan Leaf Could Launch This Year

The new Leaf with Nissan's ProPilot driverless feature could launch as soon as this year, following a teaser image and video the Japanese carmaker released of its flagship EV yesterday.

News: Baidu Teams Up with Leading Chinese Tier-Ones for Driverless

Baidu signed a cooperation agreement on June 7, the first day of the CES Asia conference, with multiple companies in the autonomous vehicles industry. The companies listed in the press release include Desay SV, United Automotive Electronics, and Hangsheng Electronics, as well as possibly additional auto manufacturers. Baidu plans to "jointly develop" upcoming intelligent driving production plans.

News: Uber Engineer Accused of Data Theft Is Pleading the Fifth as Judge Demands Explanation

A federal judge wants answers after an Uber engineer accused of data theft pleaded the Fifth in the ongoing Waymo versus Uber battle. This privilege would protect the accused, Anthony Levandowski, of self-incrimination and handing over specific documents demanded in a previous subpoena and forthcoming deposition.

News: Jaguar Land Rover Leans Towards Driverless Fleets in $25 Million Deal with Lyft

The $25 million development alliance Jaguar Land Rover's mobility unit InMotion has formed with US-based ride-share firm Lyft reflects how the British luxury carmaker is leaning towards a fleet service business model for its driverless offerings.

News: Ford Appoints Self-Drive Chief as CEO

After Ford's CEO Mark Fields' three-year tenure failed to keep up with the driverless industry and resulted in a 40% drop in shares since Field's took over in 2014, Ford is going in a new direction. Jim Hackett, who was previously chairman of Ford's self-driving division, has succeeded Fields as the company's new CEO.

News: Texas Okays Driverless Tests After Google Backlash

Texas has become the 18th state to pass a bill into law regarding autonomous vehicles, the third this month to do so.

Today's Top News: Congressional Republicans Push Bill to Let Silicon Valley & Detroit Lead the World in Driverless

The laws and regulations in place in the US for driverless vehicles are a mess, but Republican congressional members say they can fix it.

News: Waymo Driverless Minivans Are Offering a Free Spin in Arizona

The sun-drenched people of Phoenix can now sign up to ride in an automated car, for free, courtesy of Waymo. The Alphabet affiliate announced its "early ride program," which will (hopefully) demonstrate how self-driving cars will fit into people's everyday lives. Highlighting a challenge Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has spoken about that faces the driverless industry.

News: Uber Ordered to Give Potentially Incriminating Documents to Waymo

When will the drama end? The lawsuit between Waymo and Uber is back in the news with no signs of stopping. Today the court denied yet another request from Uber to shield itself with the fifth amendemnent, securing a small victory for Waymo.

News: Uber in More Hot Water with Pittsburgh Officials as Driverless Deal Sours

Things aren't looking good for Uber after its driverless experiment in Pittsburgh soured relations with local authorities. Surprised? Me neither.

News: Uber's Six-Step Program to Absolve Itself from Waymo's Lawsuit

Uber and Waymo's lawsuit is starting to pan out. Following a ruling on Monday, May 15, Judge Alsup, who called Waymo's patent infringement claims "meritless," ordered Uber to perform a series of actions and duties for Waymo. Without further ado, here's what Uber must do to begin to put this lawsuit behind them (well, maybe):

News: UK Government Invests $38 Million in Driverless Cars

With the British exit from the European Union looming, the UK is looking to the auto industry to help boost their economy and secure jobs through the upcoming years. Today, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Transport Minister John Hayes announced the government investment of $136.7 million (£109.7 million) across 38 different automobile projects, as a part of the Plan for Britain.

News: Judge Calls Waymo's Patent Infringement Claims Against Uber 'Meritless'

It has been a long road for Uber throughout the duration of its lawsuit with Waymo, especially with a judge who seemed significantly against Uber with almost every argument made. Monday's ruling was, while not necessarily a win for Uber, less punishing than many would have thought.

News: GM Is Pushing Anticompetitive Legislation to Slow Uber & Waymo

Lately, the biggest news in driverless has been the raging lawsuit between two autonomous spearheads, Uber and Google's Waymo. A new bill back by General Motors, however, could take them both out of the race towards driverless.

News: Uber Fires Driverless Engineer at Center of Waymo Dispute

It wasn't too long ago that Uber threatened to fire star engineer Anthony Levandowski. Eleven days to be exact. If Levandowski didn't turn over the documentation he allegedly stole from Google's autonomous car division, Uber informed Levandowski that they would take "adverse employment action." Today, The New York Times reported the ride-sharing firm has delivered on that threat. In a memo sent to employees Tuesday morning, Uber announced Lewandowski's official departure from the company "eff...

News: Uber Goes North to Expand Driverless Program

Oh, Uber. It's not often to hear your name in the news and have it mean something good. You're being sued, you're crashing, your driverless program is falling behind. But I have to hand it to you; when the world is crumbling around you, you continue to fight against it. You've even made it to Canada.

News: Trump's Promised Revisiting of Driverless Guidelines Is Happening Now, DOT Says

The US Department of Transportation says it is actively completing a previously promised revision of voluntary guidelines for driverless vehicles originally drafted by President Obama's administration.

News: Industry Anxiously Awaits Trump DOT's Revisions to Driverless Guidelines

Stakeholders in the driverless industry are anxiously awaiting changes the US Department of Transportation (DOT) is making to self-driving vehicle guidelines.

News: Driverless Shuttles to Come to the University of Michigan This Fall

Researchers are putting driverless shuttles on campus next year at the University of Michigan and the rides are free for students and teachers.

News: Waymo Snatches Former Tesla Hardware Development Chief

Waymo's hardware development team for self-driving vehicles will now be led by Satish Jeyachandran, previously director of hardware engineering at Tesla.

News: Mainstream Carmakers Slow to Adopt Life-Saving Automatic Braking

Nissan said Thursday it will add automatic emergency braking (AEB) capabilities to one million models of its cars and trucks in the US by 2018. But the Japanese carmaker largely remains an exception among mainstream automakers by offering the system as standard.