Automotive manufacturer Lexus has partnered with the TED Fellows program, a global multidisciplinary group of thought leaders, to develop new designs for autonomous vehicles which it claims prioritize people over technology.

TED senior fellows neuroscientist Greg Gage and artist Sarah Sandman debuted their designs for human-centric autonomous vehicles at a recent event, and two short films spotlighting their ideas have been produced.

As a neuroscientist and engineer, TED senior fellow Greg Gage believes autonomous vehicles and long commutes make for the perfect environment for neurotechnology to create a “brain-car” interface that allows the automobile to be integrated directly into how the driver feels.

Continue reading Lexus partners with TED in human-centric AV development at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Israeli startup Foretellix is working with Vires to improve the quality of ADAS and AV testing through data-driven automation.

The integrated workflow connects Foretellix’s Foretify platform with the Vires Virtual Test Drive simulation software.

Foretify was developed to produce a Measurable Scenario Description Language to describe scenarios and coverage goals, automate generating scenarios, aggregate coverage data from all testing platforms, and analyze data.

Vires’s software is a simulation suite to test ADAS and automated driving systems. It can create 3D environments and scenarios to simulate complex traffic.

It connects with third party software and hardware to enable SiL, DiL, ViL and HiL testing with test rigs, training simulators or sensors.

Continue reading Foretellix and Vires to improve testing at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Nuro is deploying its autonomous vehicles to deliver prescriptions for CVS Pharmacy across three zip codes in Houston, Texas.

Customers in the pilot area can place prescription orders along with non-prescription items on the CVS website or app.

If the autonomous delivery option is selected, one of Nuro’s Toyota Priuses will deliver the order to the curbside at the customers address within three hours.

Customers will need to confirm their identity to unlock the delivery when the autonomous vehicle arrives at the curbside.

Priuses will be used in the pilot stage before Nuro’s custom-built delivery bot, the R2, is introduced.

Continue reading Nuro delivers prescriptions for CVS at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Otto Motors has raised US$29m in Series C funding to develop its autonomous mobile robot platform (AMR).

The investment was led by Kensington Private Equity Fund with participation from BMO Capital Partners, Export Development Canada and previous investors iNovia Capital and RRE Ventures.

The funding will be used to expand Otto’s network of delivery partners and further develop its products.

Otto Motors is a division of Clearpath Robotics. Clearpath CEO and co-founder Matthew Rendall said mobile robots are a necessity in the warehouse, and AMRs will improve worker safety and supply chain resilience.

He said, “As enterprises adapt, AMR demand will accelerate globally.

Continue reading Otto Motors raises US$29m for autonomous robots at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Optimus Ride’s self-driving vehicles have taken on a new role providing delivery services at a life plan community in Fairfield, California.

Paradise Valley Estates had been rolling out the self-driving vehicles, letting residents reserve or schedule rides, before going into lockdown on March 18 due to COVID-19.

Passenger access was stopped but Optimus Ride started delivering meals and has since made more than 3,200 deliveries.

Optimus says it will continue delivering meals to residents as long as needed and will resume passenger services when possible.

Ryan Chin, CEO and co-founder of Optimus Ride, said, “As the pandemic subsides, self-driving logistics will be an increasingly important service in life plan communities across the US and beyond.”

Continue reading Optimus assists life plan community at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

The fourth-generation of self-driving cars has been unveiled by Yandex and Hyundai Mobis – and it’s set to be trialled in Russia’s capital city, Moscow.

The new tech operates on the 2020 Hyundai Sonata platform and the prototypes will join an existing test fleet of more than 100 self-driving Toyota Priuses. By the end of 2020, more than 100 Sonatas will be in circulation, and the vehicles will be integrated into Yandex’s existing robo-taxi program in Innopolis, Russia, as well as its fleet in Michigan, USA.

In this latest update of their self-driving tech, Yandex engineers have added three additional cameras with a variety of focal lengths, while the radar system has been moved from the bumper to the roof.

Continue reading Moscow testbed for Yandex/Hyundai AV at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

VW Group’s Audi has signaled its intent in the AV market by establishing a dedicated AV business unit called Artemis.

Headed by Alex Hitzinger, who’s CV includes a spell at Apple and who has most recently been the senior vice president with responsibility for autonomous driving at Volkswagen Group, the new unit’s first task is to create an electric autonomous car by 2024. The project will work globally with digital services being provided by the group’s car.software.org platform based in Ingolstadt, Germany.

Markus Duesmann, who took over as CEO of Audi two months ago, said the move is designed to help the company “pioneer an AV model quickly and unbureaucratically” and that the division will be “as agile as a racing team.”

Continue reading Audi creates dedicated AV business unit at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Idriverplus is the latest company to join the Automated with Velodyne ecosystem. The collaboration sees Velodyne work with Idriverplus to “innovate and promote its autonomous vehicles including street cleaners, passenger cars and logistics vehicles,” the two companies having signed a multi-year sales agreement for Idriverplus to use Puck sensors for autonomous vehicles.

In the first instance, two Puck sensors are to be installed in Idriverplus’ street cleaning vehicle, the WOXIAOBAI, which is in service in Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the US.

Anand Gopalan, CEO of Velodyne Lidar, said, “Idriverplus autonomous vehicles provide a showcase example of how our lidar sensors enable companies to achieve the performance and scalability needed for mass commercialization.”

Continue reading Automated with Velodyne gains another customer at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Amazon is in talks to acquire self-driving company Zoox in a move that Amazon bosses reckon could save the e-commence giant billions of dollars in shipping expenses every year. The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal values Zoox at less than 2018’s $3.2bn valuation.

Zoox was founded in 2014 by Tim Kentley-Kray and Jesse Levinson and is based in Foster City, California. Alistair Richmond, director of corporate trading at Osaka Matsui Management, said, “Shipping charges are one of Amazon’s biggest expenses and could exceed US$90bn in the coming years. Having an autonomous service could save the company over US$20bn a year.”

Michael Carter, head of global equities at Osaka Matsui Management, added, “Other firms in the automotive and chip industries have also held negotiations with Zoox about a possible investment.

Continue reading Amazon looks to ramp up its AV activity at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

DiDi Chuxing has raised over US$500m to develop autonomous driving technology and testing. The funding was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and is the single largest fundraising round in China’s autonomous driving sector.

DiDi started working on AVs in 2016 and upgraded its autonomous driving unit into an independent company in 2019.

The Chinese mobility and convenience platform is aiming to use the investment to launch autonomous fleet operations in China and build a digital infrastructure network based on 5G, AI and IoT technologies.

Data from its platform is already running simulation tests to improve efficiency of research and development, and DiDi is applying experience from its ride-hailing business to its autonomous vehicles.

Continue reading Chinese AV development gets US$500m investment at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.