Autonomous – Page 2570 – I wish I had more to offer

Factbox: Elon Musk on Tesla’s self-driving capabilities

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc will focus on its autonomous driving system when it hosts its investor day on Monday. FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory groundbreaking ceremony in Shanghai, China January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Elon Musk, the electric vehicle company’s chief executive officer, has touted the company’s self-driving… Continue reading Factbox: Elon Musk on Tesla’s self-driving capabilities

CATL Partners With Huawei For Future Battery Expansion

1 H BY GASGOO CATL continues expansion. Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), Chinese leading power battery maker, signed a cooperation agreement with Huawei, a China-based global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, on April 17 in Shanghai. Focusing on R&D, production and marketing of new energy vehicle (NEV) power battery system and energy storage… Continue reading CATL Partners With Huawei For Future Battery Expansion

Breaking — Tesla Model S & X Refresh Production Test Run Is About To Start

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Published on April 21st, 2019 |

by Chanan Bos

Breaking — Tesla Model S & X Refresh Production Test Run Is About To Start

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April 21st, 2019 by Chanan Bos

As has been mentioned in previous articles, it has been rumored Tesla is about to refresh the Model S & X. While at this point we don’t know exactly what this refresh will include, we did just find out one very specific detail. Tesla has just shipped hundreds of new drive units from Gigafactory 1 as part of “Project Raven,” a source close to the project just informed CleanTechnica.

Does this mean that the Model S and X are about to get 2170 battery cells? Not at all, since that too would have to come from the Gigafactory and there is no evidence to suggest that. (In fact, word is: these batteries are a Model 3 bottleneck.) The new drive units are similar to those used in the Model 3 since they utilize permanent magnets. This translates into a gain in efficiency which will increase the range of the Model S and X. In addition to that, the new drivetrain is likely to be rated for a million miles just as the one for the Model 3 is, since this is an important goal for Tesla.

Many questions remain, like whether these new drive units will allow the new versions of the Model S/X to accelerate faster than the previous ones or whether Tesla will start giving people the option to choose between more range and higher acceleration. The Model S and X lines are highly manual compared to the Model 3 General Assembly 3 line. This could potentially mean offering more options, even if that goes contrary to Tesla’s long-standing effort to simplify production. Some might wonder whether reducing Model S and X options could have been a stepping stone to make the Model S and X refresh easier.

What else will this refresh potentially include? The refresh is likely to allow for higher Supercharger speeds that were recently made available via an update for the Model 3.

It is rumored that the Model S and X will get an interior very similar to the Model 3 and Y which would be a very logical step to help Tesla meet its autonomy goals for the “Tesla Autonomous Network.” A horizontal screen will help if people want to watch movies while the car drives people to where they need to get or even before full autonomy during Supercharger recharges. Who knows when exactly you will be able to browse the Netflix Supercharger subcategory of series with episodes around 20 minutes — but the sooner, the better! Unfortunately, there’s no way for us to know at this point whether the drivetrain refresh will also include the new interior or whether that refresh will happen at a later date (presuming it happens at all).

Is Tesla going to introduce an exterior refresh? Personally, I don’t think so since the current design is just absolutely amazing and it would require massive changes within the Fremont factory body and paint shop with little clear benefit.

For now, all we know is that the first few hundred drive units have been shipped from the Gigafactory, and our source indicated the S/X refresh was “imminent.” Because it’s a few hundred and not a few thousand units, though, it’s possible that this is just a test run and that it might still be months until Tesla announces the refresh. It’s hard to know how long any testing processes might take. In the meantime, we will keep our eyes peeled for any further updates or leaks.

About the Author

Chanan Bos Chanan grew up in a multicultural, multi-lingual environment that often gives him a unique perspective on a variety of topics. He is always in thought about big picture topics like AI, quantum physics, philosophy, Universal Basic Income, climate change, sci-fi concepts like the singularity, misinformation, and the list goes on. Currently, he is studying creative media & technology but already has diplomas in environmental sciences as well as business & management. His goal is to discourage linear thinking, bias, and confirmation bias whilst encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and helping people understand exponential progress. Chanan is very worried about his future and the future of humanity. That is why he has a tremendous admiration for Elon Musk and his companies, foremost because of their missions, philosophy, and intent to help humanity and its future. He sees Tesla as one of the few companies that can help us save ourselves from climate change.

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Hyundai • Kia Invest Additional US$250 Million in Grab

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Grab, Hyundai and Kia will create a Southeast Asia-wide electric vehicle (EV) partnership aimed at driving the adoption of EVs in the regionHyundai Motor Group’s automotive affiliates Hyundai and Kia join Grab’s current financing round, which has raised US$2.7 billion to dateHyundai Motor Group is committed to promoting zero-emission mobility services in Southeast Asia Hyundai Motor Group and Grab Holdings Inc. (Grab), Southeast Asia’s leading O2O (online to offline) mobile platform, today announced an agreement under which Hyundai Motor Company (“Hyundai”) and Kia Motors Corporation (“Kia”) will invest an additional US$250 million into Grab and establish a partnership to pilot EV programs across Southeast Asia. Under the EV partnership, Grab and the Hyundai Motor Group affiliates will bring together stakeholders from the EV industry to collaborate on measures to improve EV adoption and awareness in Southeast Asia. “As home to one of the world..

GM’s Cruise is preparing for a self-driving future in the cloud – VentureBeat

According to marketing firm ABI, as many as 8 million driverless cars will be added to the road in 2025. Meanwhile, Research and Markets is predicting that in the U.S. alone, there will be some 20 million autonomous cars in operation by 2030. How realistic are those numbers? If you ask Adrian Macneil, not especially.… Continue reading GM’s Cruise is preparing for a self-driving future in the cloud – VentureBeat

GM files ‘Bolt EUV’ trademark – hinting at new electric car

General Motors (GM) has filed for a trademark for a vehicle named ‘Bolt EUV’ – hinting at a new electric car based on the Chevy Bolt EV platform. On October 2, 2017, GM outlined its “All-Electric Path to Zero Emissions” and announced a new electric offensive with 20 new all-electric vehicles to launch by 2023. The automaker… Continue reading GM files ‘Bolt EUV’ trademark – hinting at new electric car

Hyundai-Kia Announce Leadership Appointments at Overseas Operations

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Appointments to enhance capabilities of overseas businessesNew leadership to help companies cope with shifts in global business environmentHyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation have announced leadership appointments at key overseas operations to strengthen organizational agility to adapt to a rapidly-changing business environment. The appointments will take effect December 1. Hyundai Motor Company Executive Vice President Seung Jin Kim, head of Global Future Strategy TFT, has been appointed to Head of Hyundai Motor Global Operation Division. In his new role, Kim will oversee Hyundai Motor’s sales outside of Korea. Senior Vice President Seon Seob Kim, head of Business Operations Strategy Division, will become Head of Hyundai Motor India Headquarters. Kia Motors Corporation Senior Vice President Seung Kyu Yoon, the current Kia Motors America President, will expand his role to serve as Head of Kia’s North America Headquarters. Senior V..

UPDATE 1-Uber’s self-driving unit valued at $7.25 bln in new investment

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Uber’s autonomous vehicle unit has raised $1 billion from a consortium of investors including SoftBank Group Corp, giving the company a much-needed funding boost for its pricey self-driving ambitions on the eve of its public stock offering. FILE PHOTO: Uber’s logo is displayed on a mobile phone in London, Britain, September… Continue reading UPDATE 1-Uber’s self-driving unit valued at $7.25 bln in new investment

Apple reportedly talking to third-party suppliers for self-driving car sensors

Apple has never discussed its electric car project publically. Image via Pixabay Apple is currently in talks with at least four companies as possible suppliers of lidar sensors, intended to be used in self-driving cars, a report published in Reuters claimed. While it is not yet clear if Apple really wants to launch its own… Continue reading Apple reportedly talking to third-party suppliers for self-driving car sensors

Phantom Auto closes Series A funding, expands plans for remote-controlled autonomous vehicles

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Vehicles in traffic travel northbound on Highway 101 in Mountain View, California, U.S.

Phantom Auto, a start-up firm in Mountain View, California developing software for the teleoperation of autonomous vehicles, has closed its first major round of fundraising.

The company said it raised approximately $19 million in Series A financing led by venture capital firm, Bessemer Venture Partners.

The money will help Phantom Auto expand development of technology that allows remote drivers to operate vehicles or robots from thousands of miles away.

Since its founding in 2017, the company has worked with firms testing and developing autonomous vehicles that drive on public roads. While that remains a focus of Phantom, the start-up is also working with logistics firms to allow remote drivers to control autonomous vehicles in a variety of environments like shipping centers or industrial parks.

“If you see a delivery robot in public, there is a solid chance it is using our teleoperation software,” said Phantom co-founder Elliot Katz in a statement announcing the Series A financing.

Phantom has partnered with yard truck manufacturer Terberg to test the operation of yard trucks in Atlanta from remote control center 2,500 miles away.

Teleoperation of autonomous vehicles could be a key link in the deployment of self-driving vehicles.

Cameras and Lidar radars — or sensors that help autonomous vehicles recognize their surroundings — allow the “brains” of self-driving cars and trucks to handle the vast majority of traffic situations. But there will likely be moments, such as an unannounced road closure or major accident, where autonomous vehicles could become confused and unsure how to proceed.

In such cases, a teleoperator who is sitting in a cockpit with a steering wheel, and watching the images fed via cellular networks by cameras in the autonomous cars, will be able to take control of the vehicle and steer it through tricky situations.