Autonomous – Page 2595 – I wish I had more to offer

Start of production for new BMW 7 Series Sedan

Dingolfing. Production of the new BMW 7 Series Sedan got underway at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing just a few days ago. Roughly three-and-a-half years after the sixth generation was launched, the BMW brand’s top model has been thoroughly revised and given greater presence. “The BMW 7 Series has defined our identity at this site for… Continue reading Start of production for new BMW 7 Series Sedan

China Digest: Baidu leads $450m round in Weltmeister; Orchid Asia backs Hunliji

March 11, 2019 Chinese internet group Baidu Inc has led a $450-million Series C round into Weltmeister Motor while Orchid Asia has led a $70-million round into Chinese wedding services provider Hunliji. Baidu Inc leads $450m Series C round into Weltmeister Motor Electric vehicle maker Weltmeister Motor has raised RMB 3 billion ($450 million) in a Series C round led by… Continue reading China Digest: Baidu leads $450m round in Weltmeister; Orchid Asia backs Hunliji

Tesla Drops 1st Real Image Of The Model Y As Event Invites Go Out

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on March 9th, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Tesla Drops 1st Real Image Of The Model Y As Event Invites Go OutTwitterLinkedInFacebookMarch 9th, 2019 by Kyle Field

Tesla casually dropped a new teaser image into the invites for the Tesla Model Y reveal event that went out last night, several hours and thousands of email refreshes after CEO Elon Musk tweeted to confirm that invites would be sent out that day. The reveal event is set for March 14th at 8pm at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, which is also where Tesla revealed the Model 3 nearly 3 years ago (click that link for completely exclusive video footage of the test track on that night).
The new image gives us the first look at the actual exterior of the car (sort of) and shows off similar headlight accent lights to those used in the Model 3. It also previews the higher ride height of the Model Y compared to the Model 3, while still maintaining the wide, stable posture of a Tesla.
We expect the Model Y to follow in the same footsteps as the Model X did compared to the Model S, in this case building a higher SUV body on top of the existing Model 3 platform. However, this product addition will come without all the one-off, headache-inducing innovations Tesla crammed into the X (like the falcon-wing doors). In fact, we know those are definitely out of scope for the Model Y, which will instead have normal doors — presumably, doors just like the Model 3 but a bit taller. For example, look for the manual door handles from the Model 3 to make another appearance as lower cost, functional alternatives to the electrified versions used on the S and X. (To chat all about these possibilities, jump over to our brand new Tesla Model Y Club forum.)
Elon has previously said that the Model Y will have 76% of parts in common with the Model 3. The new Model Y teaser image gives us the first real insight into where the sharing might come from. Actually, at ~76%, the question is what is not shared. Being taller, the doors will be taller and a different shape, but otherwise, the burning question is what Tesla will need to change for the body type and perhaps as an improvement over the current Model 3.

The rEVolutionary event will be televised (er, livestreamed) on Tesla’s newly minted Model Y page. There has been no mention of the reservation process for the Model Y to date, but there are expectations that will go live for $1,000 per reservation just before the event as hundreds of thousands of customers look to get their own next-generation electric crossover. That said, CleanTechnica Director Zach Shahan asked Elon Musk in the middle of last year if the reservation process would be the same as with the Model 3 and Elon indicated they hadn’t thought much about it yet and weren’t sure.
As a CUV, the expectation is that the Model Y will be in higher demand than the Model 3. Add onto that the increased awareness of Tesla’s brand thanks to the success of the Model 3 and Tesla could have another powerful storm on its hands as hundreds of thousands (or even millions?) of reservations flood the Tesla website. We should find out soon.
If you want to jump into wild speculation about what we’ll find out in 5 days, here’s a reminder that we have a brand new Tesla Model Y Club forum online, and it uses the new Model Y teaser image now as well. 😀
Update: Here’s a nice little photo shop from a reader putting the Model 3 nose on the Model Y teaser image:
Update: Marques Brownlee found that playing with the dark image Tesla sent revealed a license plate on the teaser image that reads “NICE TRY.” Classic Tesla Easter Egg on a trick they knew people would pursue in the quest to learn as much as possible about Tesla’s latest automotive creation.

About the AuthorKyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor.

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ZF Expands Its R&D Capacities in Friedrichshafen

“The new testing center for drive technologies is the fitness center for mobility of the future. This is where all of ZF’s vehicle drives are technologically fine-tuned to get them in peak condition,” announced Chief Executive Officer of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Wolf-Henning Scheider, on Wednesday in his speech for the opening of the testing center… Continue reading ZF Expands Its R&D Capacities in Friedrichshafen

Tesla Opens Up Ordering On The $35,000 Standard Range Model 3!!

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on February 28th, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Tesla Opens Up Ordering On The $35,000 Standard Range Model 3!!TwitterLinkedInFacebookFebruary 28th, 2019 by Kyle Field

Tesla just officially announced that it is opening up ordering for the Standard Range Model 3 today, following a brief Twitter tease about a big announcement today at 2pm Pacific.
The Standard Range Tesla Model 3The new Standard Range Model 3 will come to the market with the expected 220 miles of range and be available at the $35,000 price point. Combining that with the available federal, state, and local rebates makes the new Standard Range Tesla Model 3 one of the most affordable, feature-packed long-range electric vehicles in the world.
The Standard Range Model 3 will have a lower top speed of a still lofty 130 miles per hour and maintain a 0–60 mph time of 5.6 seconds. The beautiful part about the Standard Range Model 3 is that, while the range is lower, the bones of the car remain the same. It looks and feels like a Tesla. It drives like a Tesla. And it will still accelerate like a Tesla.

Standard Range…PlusTesla also surprised us with a new Standard Range Plus configuration that offers buyers a bit more range — 240 miles of range — that brings with it an improvement in performance. The Standard Range Plus configuration can go from 0–60 mph in just 5.3 seconds and has a top speed of 140 miles per hour. That’s damn fast and is only $2,000 more than its little brother, at $37,000. The Standard Range Plus also comes with “most premium interior features,” which is a nice bonus and serves as the cherry on top of what looks like the sweetest deal in the family.
At the top of that list is safety. Tesla’s three vehicles, including the Model 3, have achieved the highest safety ratings in their respective classes, and that holds true for the Standard Range Model 3. It retains its 5-star crash rating, as enabled by its low center of gravity, thanks to the skateboard battery design, supplemented by its advanced active safety systems.
The Standard Range and Standard Range Plus are both available for ordering on Tesla’s website today, though orders will be processed and delivered based on the place in line for reservation holders.

Interestingly, in addition to the current configurations, including the Mid Range, Long Range All-Wheel Drive and Model 3 Performance builds, Tesla is bringing back the Model 3 Long Range, Rear-Wheel Drive in the U.S.. That amounts to a lot of different base configurations for a vehicle that was designed from the ground up to simply the supply chain and manufacturing processes. Expect some pruning of these configurations in the next few weeks as Tesla works through its existing inventory of parts, with the Mid-Range first on the chopping block.
Affordable AutopilotTucked into the news of the Standard Range Model 3 was an update on Autopilot. Tesla slashed the up front price of Autopilot from $5,000 to $3,000, making the system much more affordable for buyers to get into. It also re-introduced the option to purchase Full Self-Driving up front, for $5,000.

To make the numbers work, Tesla shifted some of the more significant features previously included in Autopilot up to its Full Self-Driving package including Navigate-on-Autopilot, Summon and Autopark. That comes as a bit of a bummer, but considering that the total price for Autopilot and Full Self-Driving drops from $10,000 to $8,000, it feels like a fair compromise. The lower bar of entry for Autopilot itself will also help to lure more buyers into the promise of Full Self-Driving as Tesla starts pushing out FSD updates.
InteriorBeyond the battery, Tesla is adding two new offerings for the interior of the Model 3. Starting with the roof, which we really didn’t know what Tesla was going to do and it turns out that they aren’t going to do anything. All Model 3s at all trim levels will come with the glass roof as the standard roof, which is a relief because that glass roof is just beautiful and is a drastic improvement on the in-car experience.
All configurations will also include auto-dimming, power folding, heated side mirrors. This will help the Model 3 in dense cities where cars without folding mirrors essentially have a built-in monthly fee to pay for the inevitable mirrors being sheared off by parking on tight streets. Custom driver profiles and bluetooth media streaming are also included in all Model 3s.
Tinted glass roof with ultraviolet and infrared protectionAuto dimming, power folding, heated side mirrorsMusic and media over Bluetooth ®Custom driver profilesStandard InteriorThe Standard Range Model 3 will come with a Standard Interior that takes away a few of the more luxurious options for the interior in exchange for more basic offerings. That starts with the seat and steering which both revert to manual adjustments in the Standard Interior.

Cloth seats and a more basic trim help keep costs down on the fabric side of things while the audio system is, as expected, offered with a basic audio system. The center console actually keeps its 4 USB ports, which is a nice surprise as the two rear ports were widely expected to disappear in the base configuration. The Standard Interior does not include the smartphone docks that are included in the two higher trims,
Manual seat and steering adjustmentCloth seats and base trimBasic audioStandard maps and navigationCenter console with storage and 4 USB portsPartial Premium InteriorFor the Standard Range Plus model, Tesla is introducing a new Partial Premium Interior that comes with some of the features of the Premium interior, but not all of them. Power seats are a nice addition and the seats themselves come in the premium seat material and trim that all Model 3s to date have shipped with.
Partial Premium also gets an upgraded audio system that’s more fleshed out than the basic audio system that comes with the Standard Interior, but doesn’t deliver the full-blown experience that comes with the Premium Interior.
12-way power adjustable heated front seatsPremium seat material and trimUpgraded audio – immersive soundStandard maps & navigationLED fog lampsCenter console with storage, 4 USB ports and docking for 2 smartphones100% Online SalesThe cost cutting required to deliver the low cost $35,000 Standard Range Model 3 was severe and will see Tesla moving all of its automotive sales online. Said another way, Tesla is closing all of its sales centers. Some will transition into showrooms where people can come to look at and see the vehicles, but to buy one, they will have to head online on a computer or even on a phone.

Elon said that it took less than a minute to buy a Tesla online, which is actually a bit of a scary prospect if you ask me. Drunk dialing is one thing, but what about the first person to order a Tesla while intoxicated? On that note, Tesla is extending its return policy to a full 7 days after purchase to give online buyers more peace of mind that they can always just return it if they don’t like it.
AvailabilityThe Standard Range Model 3 goes on sale today at Tesla.com for $35,000 or you can spring for the Standard Range Plus for $37,000. Elon said that orders that go in today should expect to get their car by the end of June, or by the end of the next tax credit cliff, when the federal tax credit for Tesla buyers in the US gets slashed in half again.

Overseas buyers will understandably have to wait a bit longer, with orders opening up online in 1-2 months and deliveries firing off in 3-6 months. For many buyers, the news likely resets the clock on their wait time for their new vehicle, but when that comes with the opportunity to save $10,000, and a much lower price for Autopilot it’s not all bad news.
The new Standard Range and Standard Range Plus configurations give buyers an amazing value at great price points. I personally think that the Standard Range Plus is the best value in Tesla’s lineup today and couldn’t imagine not spending the extra $2,000 considering all that you get for the money.

We were shocked by the news that the Standard Range Model 3 went on sale today, but it’s a good kind of surprise. This is the car we have all been waiting for and it is finally here. Hitting the $35,000 price point opens up Tesla’s vehicles to millions more buyers around the world and opens up the possibility of driving an electric vehicle to new customers who simply could not afford a long range electric car until today. The future is now.
To learn more about the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range and Standard Range Plus, head over to Tesla’s website but be warned: you can buy one in less than a minute and they are contagious. There’s also a nice post on Tesla’s official blog that broke the news about the new configurations to the world.

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Google to sell car tech it fought Uber on

Google spin-off Waymo plans to sell the sensors it uses on its self-drive cars to other industries. The technology behind them was at the heart of legal action last year, with Google accusing taxi app company Uber of stealing trade secrets. In a blogpost, Waymo said it was targeting its Lidar (light detection and ranging)… Continue reading Google to sell car tech it fought Uber on

The Tesla Model 3 I Bought 8 Months Ago Just Got Even Better (& Cheaper!)

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on March 1st, 2019 | by Kyle Field
The Tesla Model 3 I Bought 8 Months Ago Just Got Even Better (& Cheaper!)TwitterLinkedInFacebookMarch 1st, 2019 by Kyle Field

Tesla just announced that after several years of hard work, the Model 3 Standard Range is finally here. The news came in concert with a tsunami of smaller updates that will take some time to pick through.
Amidst the flood of updates that was pushed out was news that the Long Range, Rear Wheel Drive Model 3 will get an increase in range per charge from the current 310 miles (500 kilometers) to 325 miles (523 kilometers). The update also comes with a 5% boost in performance that results in a lower 0–60 mph time of just 5.0 seconds.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on the press call announcing the news that, “We do find ways over time, and we’ve done this many times in the past, where we’re able to improve the efficiency of the drive inverter or the motor or we get a bit more comfortable with how much energy you can extract safely from the battery pack without causing long-term damage.”
The updates will be pushed out to owners for free as part of the March 15th software update for the Model 3. The very same update is also slated to bring a host of other improvements, including the ability for the car to change lanes automatically on the freeway without confirmation when using “Navigate on Autopilot.”
The approach at Tesla to its vehicles represents a sharp detour from traditional automakers in that it does not focus on short-term profits, but on building, delivering, and maintaining the best vehicles they can make with the hardware they have. This mindset translates to Tesla pushing out as many features as it can to all of its vehicles, new, used, or otherwise.
“As we get more road validation and we’re able to find optimizations and people get more comfortable widening the margins, we just update the car and make it better for free,” Musk said. “That’s been our philosophy for years.”

At the same time, Tesla continues to slash prices on its new vehicles, passing savings from one area of the company directly on to the customer. When Tesla eliminated the referral program earlier this year, it passed the savings resulting from the elimination directly on to new customers in the form of lower prices. The company is doing the same today, by passing the savings coming from eliminating its sales stores and staff on to customers of all Tesla vehicles.
The price reductions are significant. In the 8 months since we purchased our Tesla Model 3, the price has come down from $49,000 to $43,000. It feels strange, but I was happy with the price I paid when I bought it and the car has not changed one bit — aside from the improvements Tesla keeps pushing out to it. In that sense, it is a better car than it was on the day that I bought it, which is nice.
On the press call announcing the Standard Range Model 3, Musk said that, “I think this is the lowest we can possibly sell this car at.” He went on to say that, “it’s excruciatingly difficult to make this car $35,000 and still be financially sustainable.”
That doesn’t mean that the prices and margins won’t improve over time, because they inevitably will. It just shows how much muscle Tesla had to put into the Model 3 to squeeze out every penny in order to get the price down to $35,000. Musk called it a “Game of Pennies,” as a play on the popular book and TV series Game of Thrones — and effort at Tesla to squeeze every last discretional penny out of every single part in the car.

Tesla has performed a minor miracle delivering the Model 3 at $35,000, but just because the prices have fallen in recent months, don’t expect the price to keep going down anytime soon. He said that he could envision a future where Tesla introduced lower cost models, but that it would be 2–3 years away at the earliest. Then again, would he really announce a lower priced Tesla on the horizon, knowing how it would force even more buyers to hold off? Time will tell, but for now, the Tesla team is likely taking a well deserved 5 or 10 minute break before getting back to achieving the impossible.
Tesla is on a mission to take down internal combustion automakers, but it’s not doing it for profit or out of a desire to gain more market share. Tesla’s desire to make the best EVs in the world, push them out of its factories by the tens of thousands per month, and get them into the hands of customers around the world is driven by a fierce desire to slash emissions stemming from transportation and help stop more catastrophic, society-threatening global heating and climate change.

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AEye Advisory Board Profile: Luke Schneider

We sat down with each of our Advisory Board Members to ask them why they’re excited about working with AEye…
Mr. Schneider was most recently the CEO of Silvercar. Acquired by Audi in 2017, Silvercar has offerings in the rental car segment (Silvercar by Audi), auto dealership fleet management (Dealerware) and vehicle subscriptions (Audi select). Prior to joining Silvercar in early 2012, Schneider served as CTO of Zipcar, the world’s largest car-sharing company. He came to Zipcar by way of Flexcar, the United States’ first car-sharing company, where he served as CTO and VP of Strategy. Schneider conceived and drove development of new products, including the award-winning Zipcar iPhone app, which he debuted during a keynote presentation at Apple’s 2009 Worldwide Developer Conference.

Schneider began his career at Ford Motor Company in 1992. Luke earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a MBA with specialization in Operations and Strategy from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

Q: What in your past experience ultimately drew you to the autonomous vehicle arena?
For the better part of 25 years, I have worked at the intersection of transportation and technology. Starting as a powertrain engineer at Ford Motor Company, and through executive tenures at Flexcar, Zipcar and Silvercar, I have seen the industry begin the most profound, tectonic shift in its 120 year history. You need to do little more than look at the accelerating pace of change in vehicle product development — beginning with the shift from vacuum systems and mechanical linkages, to semiconductors and electronics — to appreciate how dramatically personal transportation is changing. Add to that the evolution of the consumer model, consistent with what we’ve seen in countless other categories (buy what you want, pay for what you need, and do it on your phone), and it’s clear the revolution is not coming, it is upon us!

For me personally, as I seek a convergence point for the many disparate aspects of the automotive ecosystem, I am certain that the future will be indelibly shaped by 4 primary drivers: autonomous, electric, shared, and connected. Of all of those, the one that inspires the most hope, excitement, and wonder is autonomous. Autonomy has the power to all but eliminate 40,000 fatalities per year in the US alone, and hundreds of thousands of injuries. It will make our journeys faster, less stressful, and more enjoyable. And, it will make our ever more crowded cities more livable, walkable, and sustainable. I want to live in a world like that.

Q: Why AEye?
AEye has a fantastic set of technologies that they’ve combined in a new way to deliver breakthroughs in perception. I’m also very impressed with the unique history of the leadership team. They have a tremendous amount of experience with LiDAR from their work in aerospace. It is unusual to find a start up in the United States with this kind of experience, and a team that has worked with LiDAR for decades.

Q: Where do you see ADAS solutions, autonomous vehicles, and/or artificial perception, heading within the next few years? The next decade? Beyond? How do you see AEye playing a pivotal role in this vision?
The first thing anybody notices about AEye is the exceptional caliber of people who comprise the place. They have attracted such a talented, diverse team — and not only scientists, engineers and developers. It’s clear to me that the staff is drawn in by a brilliant central concept at the heart of the company: recasting a daunting problem in an entirely new light.

Successful technology companies take real-world problems, apply fresh, innovative thinking to them, and tum those problems into business opportunities. The rarest of the rare are able to not only conceive and theorize, but also build and grow. It is harder than it looks to take a complicated technology concept and properly characterize it in a way that accurately describes it without oversimplifying it. But, at the same time, to paraphrase Dr. Richard Feynman: “If you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it.”

One of the things I admire most about AEye is the way the company lives this statement, commanding the respect of customers, employees, and industry veterans. With its compelling technology case, dedicated team, and vast reach into the expertise of advisors, investors, and customers, how not AEye?

Q: Where do you see ADAS solutions, autonomous vehicles, and/or artificial perception, heading within the next few years? The next decade? Beyond? How do you see AEye playing a pivotal role in this vision?
Already, ADAS is penetrating the automotive world at a pace not seen by any technology in my career. As cars get safer, whole industries change or are disrupted. The auto insurance and car rental industries are obvious early examples. I am excited, encouraged, and hopelessly optimistic about the direction we are headed, led by AEye and other kindred spirits. Besides making personal transportation safer, artificial perception — coupled with machine learning, AI, and a dozen other technologies — will begin to re-shape an industry model that is desperately in need of evolving.   As a society, we have solved the personal transportation problem in the most expensive way imaginable — financially, socially, and environmentally. It may have worked for the first 100 years, but it won’t work for the next. Our cities have become less livable, even as their populations continue to swell.

In this next decade, I believe we will begin to see the first concrete examples of artificial vehicle perception accelerating the pace of change for the benefit of all. Imagine what happens to profitability in the ride share business when the cars can drive themselves. Think about what choices we will have during our morning commutes when our bandwidth isn’t fully consumed in the act of driving. Imagine how much cleaner, more walkable, less congested our cities will be using vehicles equipped with this innovative technology.

AEye finds itself defining, even accelerating, the arrival of this future state. I can’t think of a more exciting place to be (and a better equipped group of people) to make it a reality.

AEye Advisory Board Profile: Luke Schneider — AEye’s iDAR Shatters Both Range and Scan Rate Performance Records for Automotive Grade LiDARAEye Advisory Board Profile: Elliot GarbusAEye Advisory Board Profile: Tim ShipleThe Future of Autonomous Vehicles: Part I – Think Like a Robot, Perceive Like a HumanDeconstructing Two Conventional LiDAR MetricsAEye’s $40M Series B Includes Numerous Automotive Leaders Including Subaru, Hella, LG, and SKBlair LaCorte Named President of AEyeAEye Extends Patent Portfolio, Creating Industry’s Most Comprehensive Library of Solid-State Lidar Intellectual PropertyHella and AEye Extend Strategic Partnership to Deliver Sensing and Perception Solutions for ADAS and Autonomous DrivingAEye Advisory Board Profile: Scott Pfotenhauer

World’s first driverless pods trial for disabled people launches in Brighton – Telegraph.co.uk

Blind veterans are poised to become the first people to test driverless pods ahead of plans to roll them out on British streets. Former soldiers with visual impairments will be among those able to travel in the four-seat pods during a six-month programme of testing that will start in April in Brighton. Aurrigo, a Coventry-based autonomous… Continue reading World’s first driverless pods trial for disabled people launches in Brighton – Telegraph.co.uk

Nissan was led astray by Ghosn’s success, CEO says – Nikkei Asian Review

TOKYO — Nissan Motor‘s “total dependence” on Carlos Ghosn, its former chairman, left the Japanese carmaker open to corporate malfeasance, CEO Hiroto Saikawa said in an interview with Nikkei, marking the 100th day since the arrest of the man once regarded as the company’s savior. Saikawa acknowledged that there had been little discussion over governance. He admitted… Continue reading Nissan was led astray by Ghosn’s success, CEO says – Nikkei Asian Review