Uber Advanced Technologies Group has officially resumed on-road testing of its self-driving vehicles in Pittsburgh, nine months after the company halted its entire autonomous vehicle operation after one of its vehicles struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. The relaunch follows the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation decision to authorize Uber ATG… Continue reading Uber reboots its self-driving car program
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
Grab is messing up the world’s largest mapping community’s data in Southeast Asia
Grab, Southeast Asia’s top ride-hailing company, has hit a roadblock in its efforts to improve its mapping and routing service after running into trouble with OpenStreetMap, the world’s largest collaborative mapping community, through a series of blundering edits in Thailand. Grab, which gobbled up Uber’s local business in exchange for an equity swap earlier this… Continue reading Grab is messing up the world’s largest mapping community’s data in Southeast Asia
Listen to a Tesla make 6 farting noises on demand
One of Tesla’s big selling points is the company’s ability to wirelessly push software updates to its electric vehicles. It’s what allows these vehicles to improve over time long after they’ve been purchased by customers. This week, one of those improvements was to deliver a few Easter eggs — as promised by CEO Elon Musk… Continue reading Listen to a Tesla make 6 farting noises on demand
Did unicorns like Lyft and Uber wait too long?
It was several years ago, at a tech conference in Laguna Beach, Ca., that the venture capitalist Bill Gurley issued one of what would become repeated warnings that startups were staying private too long. Comparing companies that refuse to go public to undergrads whose college careers extend several years past the point that they should,… Continue reading Did unicorns like Lyft and Uber wait too long?
Uber loses another appeal against drivers’ rights in UK
Uber has lost another appeal against a landmark 2016 UK employment tribunal ruling that found a group of drivers to be workers, rather than self-employed, meaning they’re entitled to benefits such as holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage. The court of appeal today upheld previous decisions classifying the drivers as workers. Although the ruling… Continue reading Uber loses another appeal against drivers’ rights in UK
Tesla’s China factory and the missed growth opportunity
Chandrasekar Iyer Contributor Tesla made its ambition for world domination known when it announced its intention to build a factory in China. The move makes sense — China is the world’s largest automotive market. But it might be shortsighted. By continuing to go after the higher tiers of an established market, Tesla will engage in… Continue reading Tesla’s China factory and the missed growth opportunity
Levandowski’s Pronto.ai plans to ship automated driving systems for trucks in 2019
Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer and serial entrepreneur who was at the center of a trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, has taken his newest autonomous vehicle technology company out of stealth mode with a product aimed at the commercial trucking industry. Technically, Levandowski involvement in a self-driving trucking company was first revealed by… Continue reading Levandowski’s Pronto.ai plans to ship automated driving systems for trucks in 2019
Nuro deploys autonomous delivery cars without safety drivers
A few months after Nuro href=”https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/16/nuro-and-kroger-are-deploying-self-driving-cars-for-grocery-delivery-in-arizona-today/”>deployed self-driving cars to deliver groceries in partnership with Kroger, the autonomous delivery startup is deploying its custom delivery bots. Up until now, Nuro was relying on Prius vehicles and safety drivers. Now, its delivery service in partnership with Kroger will be completely driverless and without a safety driver on board. Nuro has… Continue reading Nuro deploys autonomous delivery cars without safety drivers
Skip unveils scooters with cameras and locks
Under the guidance of Shalin Mantri, a former product lead at Uber for its advanced technologies group, Skip is gearing up to make its scooters smarter and improve its businesses unit economics. “When I think about opportunities to figure out our unit economics,” Mantri, who joined Skip from Uber in November, told TechCrunch. “It’s no… Continue reading Skip unveils scooters with cameras and locks
Uber looks to improve JUMP’s unit economics with next-gen bikes
As Uber continues to expand the footprint of JUMP bikes, it’s aiming to make the fleet of bikes smarter and easier to unlock, ride and charge. At Uber’s Pier 70 offices in San Francisco, JUMP Head of Product Nick Foley showed off the new bikes, which are aesthetically similar but should improve unit economics thanks to… Continue reading Uber looks to improve JUMP’s unit economics with next-gen bikes