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Tesla Ramps Up Quest For Driverless Cars With Acquisition Of DeepScale

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Autonomous Vehicles

Published on October 2nd, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

Tesla Ramps Up Quest For Driverless Cars With Acquisition Of DeepScale

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October 2nd, 2019 by Steve Hanley

Don’t think of self-driving cars as autonomous. Think of them as horizontal elevators. No one thinks it’s strange to get on a modern elevator, press a button, and be whisked to the floor of your choosing. Only if you are 85 years old and remember the days of elevator operators do you think self service elevators are at all unusual.

Credit: DeepScale

Autonomous cars can reduce congestion in world cities, eliminate most motor vehicle injuries and deaths, and free us up to play Tetris on our touchscreens as over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go. They also may prove to be hugely profitable for the companies that operate them.

No company on Earth has a more single-minded emphasis on self-driving cars than Tesla. You might think it has the best and brightest minds in the world of robotic transportation on its payroll, but apparently there are other companies out there who have people with equal or greater skill. Tesla has just acquired one of them, a company known as DeepScale.

According to CNBC, DeepScale was founded by Forrest Iandola, who obtained a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley, “where he worked on deep neural nets that could work on mobile devices with relatively small amounts of memory.” DeepScale’s technology is designed to help automakers use low wattage processors — the kinds that are now standard in most cars — to power very accurate computer vision. These processors work with sensors, mapping, planning, and control systems to allow cars to make sense of what’s going on around them.

On his LinkedIn page, Iandola announced he has joined Tesla as a senior staff machine learning scientist. “I joined the Tesla #Autopilot team this week. I am looking forward to working with some of the brightest minds in #deeplearning and #autonomousdriving,” he said.

CNBC points out that Tesla has suffered a brain drain of sorts in its self-driving unit recently. In May, Stuart Bowers, who headed the company’s self-driving program, departed for greener pastures after Elon Musk critiqued him and his group for not getting the results Musk wanted fast enough. Subsequently, according to The Information, 11 other members of the team — about 10% of the total — left Tesla as well after telling Musk they could not meet the timelines he demanded of them.

Sources tell CNBC that Tesla has acquired DeepScale in its entirety, although no details about how much Tesla paid for the tech startup have been revealed. Reportedly it had raised nearly $20 million in funding from prominent venture capital groups.

Tesla has not been shy about acquiring companies it thinks will help it achieve its mission of converting the world’s transportation system to electric vehicles. Previously it bought Grohmann Engineering, one of Germany’s most highly regarded engineering companies. More recently it acquired Maxwell Technologies, a company with vast experience with supercapacitors.

Elon Musk is relentless at pushing his people to achieve impossibly difficult results in unbelievably short periods of time. With DeepScale now in the fold, expect dramatic progress toward full self-driving cars to occur quickly — or else!

About the Author

Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. His motto is, “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away!” You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

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City of Birmingham Selects Via for On-Demand Bus Service

Published September 24, 2019 7:35 pm, Via NYC
City of Birmingham Selects Via for On-Demand Bus Service
The partnership will extend access to public transportation with on-demand microtransit technology

September 25, 2019 (Birmingham, AL)– Via, the world’s leading provider and developer of on-demand public mobility solutions, announced today a partnership with the City of Birmingham and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham for a six-month dynamic, on-demand shared ride service that will complement, extend and fill the gaps in existing public transit infrastructure in select areas of the city that need it most.

“We’re delighted to partner with the City of Birmingham to provide an affordable, convenient, and reliable transportation option for residents,” said Daniel Ramot, co-founder and CEO of Via. “Via’s powerful passenger matching and vehicle routing algorithm is the solution to improving access in transportation deserts, seamlessly integrating into the existing public transit infrastructure to connect residents to work, education, healthcare, and opportunities in their communities.”

“We have been looking for additional layers of service to support the transportation needs of our residents. Through this partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, we are confident Via’s innovative transportation system will offer an additional option for on-demand transportation to our residents with an emphasis on connecting them with the services they need on a daily basis,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “We are proud to add another tool to our toolbox as well as joining more than 80 cities and partners who have worked with Via to provide innovation to public transportation.”

Via’s advanced algorithm enables multiple riders to seamlessly share a single vehicle. The powerful technology directs passengers to a nearby corner – a virtual bus stop – for pick up and drop off, allowing for quick and efficient shared trips without lengthy detours, or inconvenient fixed routes and schedules. The service zone was specifically designed to provide affordable and efficient transportation for high-need and underserved communities, and will operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Riders can request a wheelchair accessible vehicle should they indicate it is needed.

“The on-demand and curbside service allows more flexibility and convenience for me in traveling from my home to the doctor and shopping,” said Amy Thornton of Elyton Village. “I’m particularly pleased that it will also service disabled travelers as well.”

“I’m particularly happy this will serve the western communities,” said Dora Sims, president of the Five Points West Community. “We have a number of seniors who can really benefit from it. It enhances our mobility to get to jobs and important visits like doctor’s appointments. This is a big plus.”

Via has been tapped by cities and transportation players around the world to help re-engineer public transit from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via now has more than 80 launched and pending deployments in nearly 20 countries, providing more than 60 million rides to date.

About Via:
Via is re-engineering public transit, from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via’s mobile app connects multiple passengers who are headed the same way, allowing riders to seamlessly share a premium vehicle. First launched in New York City in September 2013, the Via platform operates in the United States and in Europe through its joint venture with Mercedes-Benz Vans, ViaVan. Via’s technology is also deployed worldwide through dozens of partner projects with public transportation agencies, private transit operators, taxi fleets, private companies, and universities, seamlessly integrating with public transit infrastructure to power cutting-edge on-demand mobility. For more information, visit www.platform.ridewithvia.com.

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