Walter Huang was involved in a 2018 fatal crash on a California highway. The family of a man killed in a crash last year is suing Tesla over its Autopilot system and its widely publicized “driverless” capabilities. Walter Huang was driving a Tesla Model X on Highway 101 in Mountain View, California, near Tesla’s headquarters, when… Continue reading Family Of Man Killed In Tesla Sues Over Claimed Autopilot Flaw
Tag: Autonomous
RideCell expands funding round to $60 million – TechCrunch
RideCell, a transportation software startup, has doubled its previously announced Series B funding round to $60 million, a sign that investors believe demand for cloud-based mobility platforms will grow as more companies try to scale up car-sharing, ride-hailing and even robotaxi businesses. The company, which has developed a platform designed to help car-sharing, ride-sharing and autonomous… Continue reading RideCell expands funding round to $60 million – TechCrunch
Ford Motor Company to Share Details on Mobility Business at Citi’s 2019 Car of the Future Symposium
DEARBORN, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On Thursday, May 9, Sundeep “Sunny” Madra, vice president of Ford X, Ford Mobility’s business incubator and accelerator, will participate in a fireside chat moderated by Itay Michaeli at Citi’s 2019 Car of the Future Symposium in New York. Madra is the co-founder and former CEO of Autonomic which was acquired by Ford… Continue reading Ford Motor Company to Share Details on Mobility Business at Citi’s 2019 Car of the Future Symposium
Tesla faces lawsuit in fatal Model X crash on Autopilot
Tesla Model X crash, Hwy 101 Mountainview, California
The family of a driver killed in the crash of a Tesla Model X driving on Autopilot filed a lawsuit April 26 against Tesla over the crash, Bloomberg reported.
Software engineer Walter Huang, 38, was killed March 23, 2018, when his 2017 Model X drifted out of the left lane of Highway 101 in Mountain View, California and struck a concrete median divider.
The NTSB investigated the crash and issued a preliminary report June 7 and noted that Huang had the car's Autopilot system engaged and set to a cruise speed of 75 mph on the highway. The report showed that Huang had his hands off the steering wheel for the last six seconds prior to the crash and had held the wheel for 34 of the 60 seconds prior to the crash. The system gave Huang three warnings in the 15 minutes prior to the crash.
READ THIS: Investigators: Autopilot sped up before fatal Tesla Model X crash
According to the report, the car slowed down to 65 mph behind a lead vehicle and steered left toward the barrier, disengaged from following the lead vehicle and accelerated (toward its preset 75 mph) before it struck the barrier. The crash attenuator at the end of the barrier was previously damaged by another accident a week earlier.
The lawsuit also names the state of California as a defendant for not repairing the crash attenuator before Huang hit the barrier.
The lawsuit alleges that Tesla knew or should have known that the car could leave travel lanes and strike fixed objects, likely causing injury to its occupants “when used in a reasonably foreseeable manner.”
It says that Tesla should have recalled the cars or provided a warning in light of this risk.
CHECK OUT: Report: Tesla kicked out from official investigation over fatal Model X crash
In response to the initial crash, Tesla issued a statement and said, “Tesla is extremely clear that Autopilot requires the driver to be alert and have hands on the wheel. This reminder is made every single time Autopilot is engaged.”
In a statement announcing the lawsuit, the family's lawyer, B. Mark Fong accused Tesla of “beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers.
“The Huang family wants to help prevent this tragedy from happening to other drivers using Tesla vehicles or any semi-autonomous vehicles,” Fong said.
Tesla has since released extensive updates to its Autopilot system, expanding its capabilities, installing a more capable processor chip, and rebranded its self-driving as Full Self-Driving Capability. Last month, the company detailed the system's updated capabilities and features, and announced that by the end of this year it expects the system to be “feature complete” for self-driving, although self-driving cars aren't yet allowed by law.
Geely Auto Opens Research & Development Centre in Germany
Geely Auto to recruit 300 engineers to work on new energy solutions at Raunheim facility near Frankfurt 2019 May 16, Frankfurt/Hangzhou. Geely Auto Group (Geely Auto), China’s leading privately-owned automotive company, has formally opened a new research and development facility at Raunheim, Germany, to accelerate innovation in new propulsion systems and next-generation mobility technology. The… Continue reading Geely Auto Opens Research & Development Centre in Germany
Ridecell and Dataspeed Partner to Enhance Autonomous Vehicle Safety – PRNewswire
SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Ridecell Inc., the leading platform for shared and autonomous mobility operators, and Dataspeed Inc., a globally established drive-by-wire solution provider, announced a strategic partnership to enhance autonomous vehicle (AV) safety. The companies will begin leveraging each other’s technology and testing new technologies in real world conditions to improve vehicle… Continue reading Ridecell and Dataspeed Partner to Enhance Autonomous Vehicle Safety – PRNewswire
DRIVE Labs: How We’re Building Path Perception for Autonomous Vehicles
Editor’s note: No one developer or company has yet succeeded in creating a fully autonomous vehicle. But we’re getting closer. With this new DRIVE Labs blog series, we’ll take an engineering-focused look at each individual open challenge — from perceiving paths to handling intersections — and how the NVIDIA DRIVE AV Software team is mastering… Continue reading DRIVE Labs: How We’re Building Path Perception for Autonomous Vehicles
Velodyne Leads in Lidar Technology and Standardization
April 30, 2019 Velodyne is taking a leadership role in not only advancing lidar technology but also in advocating for autonomous vehicle (AV) community cooperation in addressing safety and standardization requirements for lidar sensors. Writing in Autonomous Vehicle International, Dieter Gabriel, marketing manager, Velodyne Europe, detailed Velodyne’s latest lidar sensors and discussed Velodyne’s call for… Continue reading Velodyne Leads in Lidar Technology and Standardization
Uber adds real-time public transport data for London
From today, Uber has added public transport to its app in London, incorporating real-time information on the city’s Underground, Overground, train and bus network, as well as other trams, shuttle, river boat and the DLR’s driverless trains. Last summer the ride-hailing giant was granted a provisional 15-month license to operate in the U.K. capital —… Continue reading Uber adds real-time public transport data for London
NextGenAM – pilot project for automated metallic 3D printing proves a complete success
Joint project between Premium AEROTEC, EOS and Daimler demonstrates huge potential for the production of replacement parts and series-production components Production of truck parts begun. Potential for further components for conventional and electric cars is being assessed. Cost of manufacturing parts could be reduced by up to 50 percent Industry 4.0 in Varel: fully automated… Continue reading NextGenAM – pilot project for automated metallic 3D printing proves a complete success