Driverless cars are no longer restricted to the realm of sci-fi thanks to companies like Waymo deploying commercial robotaxi services in multiple cities. And a number of automakers, big and small, are trying to bring that same level of autonomy to personally-owned vehicles over the next few years. If that happens, what kinds of things… Continue reading Zevo wants to add robotaxis to its car-share fleet, starting with newcomer Tensor
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
Rivian goes big on autonomy, with custom silicon, lidar, and a hint at robotaxis
Rivian detailed Thursday how it plans to make its electric vehicles increasingly autonomous — an ambitious effort that includes new hardware, including lidar and custom silicon, and eventually, a potential entry into the self-driving ride-hail market, according to CEO RJ Scaringe. The announcements at the company’s first “Autonomy & AI Day” event in Palo Alto,… Continue reading Rivian goes big on autonomy, with custom silicon, lidar, and a hint at robotaxis
Baby delivered in Waymo continues proud tradition of not making it to the hospital
A pregnant woman in San Francisco gave birth inside a Waymo robotaxi Monday night en route to UCSF Medical Center, marking the latest milestone in the driverless car saga that no one saw coming — except everyone with more than six months of experience behind the wheel of a ride-share vehicle. According to The SF… Continue reading Baby delivered in Waymo continues proud tradition of not making it to the hospital
Investor letter reveals skyrocketing growth of Waymo’s robotaxi rides
Six months ago, Waymo disclosed it was providing 250,000 robotaxi rides a week across its service areas, an ever-growing list that includes Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The Alphabet-owned self-driving company has been coy ever since, simply stating it is providing many hundreds of thousands of weekly rides. Now,… Continue reading Investor letter reveals skyrocketing growth of Waymo’s robotaxi rides
The accelerator is on the floor for autonomous vehicles
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Another week, another round of announcements about robotaxis either launching or planning to in cities. Let’s take stock. Waymo started testing… Continue reading The accelerator is on the floor for autonomous vehicles
Waymo to issue software recall over how robotaxis behave around school buses
Waymo plans to voluntarily issue a software recall with federal safety regulators related to how its robotaxis operate around school buses, the Alphabet-owned company told TechCrunch. The voluntary software recall will be filed early next week, according to the company. Waymo said as soon as the issue was identified it updated its software on November… Continue reading Waymo to issue software recall over how robotaxis behave around school buses
New ‘KnoWay’ robotaxis cause chaos in upcoming Grand Theft Auto Online DLC
The latest expansion to Grand Theft Auto Online includes robotaxis from a fictional-yet-familiar company dubbed “KnoWay,” whose sole purpose appears to be wreaking havoc. A trailer released Friday shows KnoWay vans adorned with lidar sensors swerving through city streets, wrecking other cars, and crashing through a billboard for the made up company. While that’s all… Continue reading New ‘KnoWay’ robotaxis cause chaos in upcoming Grand Theft Auto Online DLC
Feds ask Waymo about robotaxis repeatedly passing school buses in Austin
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked Waymo for more information about its self-driving system and operations following reports from the Austin School District that its robotaxis illegally passed school buses 19 times this year. In a December 3 letter sent to Waymo, regulators requested detailed information about its fifth-generation self-driving system and operations.… Continue reading Feds ask Waymo about robotaxis repeatedly passing school buses in Austin
Musk says new Tesla software allows texting and driving, which is illegal in most states
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an X post Thursday that owners can text and drive with the latest version of his company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver-assistance software, despite the fact that it’s illegal to do so in most states. Musk replied to another user who had noticed the newest update to the software, known… Continue reading Musk says new Tesla software allows texting and driving, which is illegal in most states
Autolane is building ‘air traffic control’ for autonomous vehicles
The rapid succession of robotaxi deployments from companies like Waymo and Zoox have people in the industry, once again, dreaming about how autonomous vehicles might change our daily lives. That includes driverless taxi rides, sure, but also headier ideas like sending an autonomous vehicle to fetch groceries or pick up dry cleaning. If those things… Continue reading Autolane is building ‘air traffic control’ for autonomous vehicles