Author: Futurism_Magazine Online News

Soon California’s Autonomous Cars Will Drive All on Their Own

In Brief California’s DMV just lifted restrictions prohibiting manufacturers from testing driverless vehicles without a human behind the wheel. This move puts us one step closer to a future in which human drivers are no longer a part of the transportation equation. Fully Driverless Vehicles California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is making it easier… Continue reading Soon California’s Autonomous Cars Will Drive All on Their Own

Tesla Hit With Lawsuit Claiming They Willingly Sold Defective Vehicles

In Brief A former Tesla employee is claiming that the company knowingly sold defective vehicles in the past, and fired him for reporting the alleged practice. Tesla is being hit with a lawsuit put forward by a former employee, who claims the company sold defective vehicles and fired him because he knew about it. The… Continue reading Tesla Hit With Lawsuit Claiming They Willingly Sold Defective Vehicles

Hyundai’s Hydrogen-Powered, Self-Driving SUV Runs on Level 4 Autonomy

In Brief Hyundai recently showcased that their latest autonomous SUV, Nexo, can deliver Level 4 autonomy. The South Korean carmaker believes this breakthrough in self-driving vehicles was possible because Nexo’s electric motor runs on hydrogen fuel. When it comes to the future of clean and safe transportation, all bets seem to be on electric autonomous… Continue reading Hyundai’s Hydrogen-Powered, Self-Driving SUV Runs on Level 4 Autonomy

Elon Musk Wants to Ship Tesla Parts Using a Boring Company Underground Tunnel

In Brief In a recent Tesla earnings call, CEO Elon Musk discussed building an underground tunnel using The Boring Company to improve the production of their vehicles. If implemented, the tunnel would connect Tesla’s plant to a parts factory about 1.6 km (one mile) away. Despite making plans to boost production of its Model 3,… Continue reading Elon Musk Wants to Ship Tesla Parts Using a Boring Company Underground Tunnel

A $245 Million Settlement Has Brought the Waymo v. Uber Legal Battle to a Close

In Brief Uber has agreed to pay Waymo, Google’s autonomous vehicle company, $245 million in equity for stealing trade secrets. Uber also agreed not to use any of Waymo’s hardware or software ideas even though Google is now essentially an investor in Uber. Uber Pays for Stolen Secrets After spending nearly a week in the… Continue reading A $245 Million Settlement Has Brought the Waymo v. Uber Legal Battle to a Close

Elon Musk Calls Out LIDAR Tech as “A Crutch” in Autonomous Vehicles

In Brief Waymo and Uber’s self-driving systems use LIDAR technology to navigate traffic. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk says cameras — not LIDAR — are the way to go. Vision of the Future Elon Musk recently reiterated his stance that Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology is not a critical component of autonomous driving systems.… Continue reading Elon Musk Calls Out LIDAR Tech as “A Crutch” in Autonomous Vehicles

A New Report Predicts That Nearly the Majority of Public Buses Will Be Electric By 2025

Triple the Electric Buses The total number of electric buses servicing the public will more than triple by 2025, according to a new report released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). In 2017, there were 386,000 electric buses in service. The BNEF report predicts that number will balloon to about 1.2 million in the next seven… Continue reading A New Report Predicts That Nearly the Majority of Public Buses Will Be Electric By 2025

An Autonomous Vehicle Project Sets Its Sights On a 200-Mile Test Drive in 2019

Go the Extra Mile Designing a self-driving car that can travel short distances is already an achievement in itself, but a new initiative aims to really put self-driving technology to the test in a long distance journey in the United Kingdom (UK). The HumanDrive Initiative, as it’s somewhat ironically called, plans to deploy an autonomous vehicle… Continue reading An Autonomous Vehicle Project Sets Its Sights On a 200-Mile Test Drive in 2019

Google’s Self-Driving Division Is Expanding Its Fleet of Autonomous Vehicle

Striking a Deal Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle wing, just struck a legendary deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA): Fiat will supply the self-driving car ride service with thousands of Chrysler Pacifica hybrids for an undisclosed amount of money. These new vehicles will join the 600 Pacificas that are already active in Waymo’s test cities, such as Phoenix, Arizona.… Continue reading Google’s Self-Driving Division Is Expanding Its Fleet of Autonomous Vehicle