A new report commissioned by Aurora and conducted by the Steer Group has found that autonomous freight is already contributing billions to the US$1tn US trucking industry, with even greater economic potential expected over the next decade. In response, Aurora Innovation is committing US$1m to its Aurora Works initiative to help prepare the US workforce.

The analysis, titled Economic Impacts of Self-Driving Freight in the US,  highlights that autonomous trucking, despite being in early stages of deployment, currently supports 17,000 jobs and US$3.3bn in total economic output.

The report projects that by 2035, autonomous trucking will contribute US$70bn to US GDP, becoming a highly efficient growth driver for long-haul transportation.

Continue reading Autonomous trucking to account for US$70bn of US GDP by 2035, industry report finds at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Safety plays a critical role in autonomous vehicle deployment. Any incident involving an AV is likely to attract the attention of luddites and click-seeking commentators. But while people expect machines to perform flawlessly, exceeding mere human limitations, current AV sensor systems cannot satisfy those expectations. 

Don Wilkins, a retired aerospace systems engineer, challenges these expectations and calls for a rethink of how autonomous systems are developed and evaluated 

Adverse weather such as heavy rain, thick snow and impenetrable fog, and wide variations in lighting can blind AV sensors.

Continue reading OPINION: How V2X communication supports autonomous vehicle development at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

The automotive sector is experiencing rapid growth in connected services. However, this expansion is constrained by reliance on terrestrial networks with uneven and sometimes vulnerable coverage. Univity has introduced a very low earth orbit (VLEO) constellation, operating below 375km, designed for interoperability and enabling OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to integrate space-based connectivity as a standard 5G service without proprietary lock-ins or dependence on a single provider.

Critical connectivity needs

Car makers and suppliers are increasingly expected to provide homogeneous, continuous and reliable coverage. This requirement becomes essential as in-vehicle applications shift toward data-intensive services that are highly sensitive to latency.

Continue reading Extending automotive connectivity beyond terrestrial networks at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

A top European passenger original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has selected Aeva as its exclusive lidar supplier for its global series-production vehicle platform to enable Level 3 automated driving. This follows the successful completion of a joint development program with the global Top 10 passenger OEM and marks a significant step toward bringing Aeva Atlas Ultra 4D lidar technology into large-scale production. The multi-year program spans the next decade and is expected to support multiple vehicle models across the OEM’s global platform outside of China.

The OEM will standardize its Level 3 system on Aeva’s sensing and perception technology for deployment across its global vehicle platform.

Continue reading Top European OEM picks Aeva’s 4D lidar for global level 3 program at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

WeRide has announced that its one-stage end-to-end advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) solution, jointly developed with leading Tier 1 supplier Bosch, has achieved start of production (SOP) after only seven months.

WePilot 3.0 builds on WeRide’s breakthroughs in one-stage end-to-end large model architecture, system-level integration and software-hardware collaboration. The system enables vehicles to safely see and act at the same time, while supporting high-, mid-, and low-compute platforms, multi-modal sensor fusion and pure vision perception. This enables WePilot 3.0 to safely navigate complex traffic scenarios, including interactions with pedestrians, other vehicles and mixed traffic conditions, as well as help original equipment manufacturers rapidly develop, integrate and mass-produce advanced ADAS solutions.

Continue reading WeRide and Bosch achieve SOP for one-stage end-to-end ADAS platform at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

The following feature is a shortened, edited version of a rough draft extraction from 7FM Design for Functional Safety, the Concept Design Phase, by John Lindland, presented in association with ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International, and available to download in its original, full length, here.

This section will show how to define and link each of the vehicle level function’s (VLF’s) failure modes/fault states to each National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) pre-crash scenario. The NHTSA patterns are all ‘after-the-fact’ groupings of scenarios as to what immediately precedes a crash.

Continue reading FEATURE: Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA) – Defining crash avoidance requirements and safety goals (Part 3 of 3) at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

The iExoddus project, coordinated by Virtual Vehicle Research and funded by the EU, focuses on advancing autonomous vehicle technology and expanding the capabilities of operational design domains (ODDs) for automated driving systems. This enhances AV performance in complex environments such as roadworks and tunnels, improving traffic safety, and reduces environmental impact.

The project aims to address operational constraints within ODDs, including issues in sensing, behavior prediction and reliability, that limit the potential of automated vehicles. An ODD is fundamental for the safety of connected and automated mobility (CCAM). It describes the specific operating conditions under which CCAM can be used safely.

Continue reading Virtual Vehicle begins iExoddus project to drive innovation in CCAM technologies at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group have launched their new joint venture, Rivian and VW Group Technologies, through which they aim to bring next-generation electrical architecture and software technology for their future EVs.

The joint venture will be headed by Wassym Bensaid (Rivian) and Carsten Helbing (Volkswagen Group), with developers and software engineers from both companies joining the JV. Teams will be based in Palo Alto, California, initially, and three other sites are also in development in North America and Europe. The companies plan to reduce development costs and scale new technologies more quickly by combining their expertise.

The JV will use existing Rivian’s existing electrical architecture and software technology stack, enabling the launch of Rivian R2 in the first half of 2026 followed by the expected launch of the first Volkswagen Group model as early as 2027.

Continue reading Rivian and Volkswagen Group launch partnership for next-gen SDV platforms at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

New procedures and technology to better assess ADAS and ADS are being explored by Euro NCAP and NHTSA in a bid to ensure test protocols keep up with today’s safety systems, discovers Trinity Francis, in an exclusive feature first published in the September 2024 issue of ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International magazine.

In the 10 years since Euro NCAP introduced autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist and lane-departure warning testing, ADAS has become commonplace in modern cars. As the technology has evolved, Euro NCAP has adapted its framework to include separate vulnerable road user (VRU) and safety-assist scores within its five-star rating.

Continue reading FEATURE: NHTSA and Euro NCAP look to update test procedures and technologies at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Unikie and Rocsys have announced a long-term technology partnership to integrate Rocsys’s hands-free charging solution (including the ROC-1 robot and the Rocsys API) with the Unikie Marshalling Solution.

Aimed at fully autonomous fleet operations, the partnership will initially be implemented in bus and logistics depots, with a view to implementation on other depots in the future (the use of Rocsys’s API means future Rocsys hardware will also be compatible with the Unikie system).

An initial test deployment has been carried out at Unikie’s site in Turku, Finland, which explored how the companies’ combined technology can be applied to bus operations, promoting sustainability in public transportation.

Continue reading Unikie and Rocsys partner on hands-free charging at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.