vehicles

Wed
08
Nov
John Lister's picture

Driverless Cab Service to Launch in Arizona

Google's sister company has revealed it has sent vehicles driving on Arizona roads with nobody at the wheel. It plans to start using the vehicles as a driverless cab service in the next few months, albeit only with invited test customers. Waymo ... chief John Krafcik announced today that the company has been testing the minivans on public roads in fully autonomous mode since October 19. During the tests, both the driver and passenger seats are empty. A Waymo employee sits in the back of the vehicle and can hit an emergency brake button, but otherwise has no control. It appears to be the first ... (view more)

Wed
21
Dec
John Lister's picture

Uber Defies Ban on Self-Driving Cars

Taxicab-rival Uber says it will ignore orders to stop using self-driving cars to pick up passengers. It disputes a Department of Motor Vehicle statement that it requires a test permit to use such vehicles. Uber has long caused controversy with its ... attitude to regulations. Its service uses an app to let customers book a vehicle driven by a private individual, with Uber handling the payment, providing navigation directions and taking a commission. That set-up often means it doesn't face the same level of regulation as licensed taxi cabs, which can pick up customers on the street without a ... (view more)

Thu
07
Jul
John Lister's picture

Google Self-Driving Cars Tweaked for Cyclist Safety

Google's self-driving cars now have the ability to recognize hand signals from cyclists. They have also been programmed to err on the side of caution when considering passing a rider. The cars, which are now being tested on public roads in four ... states, use a wide range of technologies to safely maneuver the roads. These include cameras, proximity sensors, radar and lasers to detect and recognize objects around the car. The vehicles also use Google's own map database to get information on upcoming intersections and the likely traffic they'll encounter. One of the big challenges is ... (view more)

Tue
01
Mar
John Lister's picture

Google Self-Driving Car at Partial Fault for Crash

Google has confirmed that one of its self-driving cars was partially responsible for a minor crash with a bus. It's the first time the company has taken a share of the blame for a prang. The cars operate through a range of technologies including ... sensors, cameras, lasers, GPS and map data. The theory is that these allow them to track the activity of other vehicles on the road and more reliably avoid crashes than cars which are subject to human driver error. California allows companies such as Google which meet set criteria to operate self-driving or "autonomous" vehicles on ... (view more)

Wed
28
May
John Lister's picture

Google Driverless Car: Seats Two, No Steering Wheel

Google is set to build its own fleet of self-driving cars from scratch. The new autonomous cars will have no steering wheel, which will present significant legal hurdles in order to get them on the streets. To date, Google has been working with ... traditional auto-makers to make what are effectively modified versions of existing vehicles, retrofitted with autonomous technology. The cars, which have been tested on public roads, have the usual steering wheel and pedals; pressing an emergency button allows the driver to take over the controls from the computer instantly. How the Self-driving Cars ... (view more)

Thu
02
Aug
Dennis Faas's picture

GM WiFi Direct App Keeps Pedestrians Safe

Most city-dwellers have had at least one scare while crossing the street or riding a bicycle through traffic. But General Motors now believes it can prevent pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities with a new smartphone application. According ... to GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2010 more than 4,000 pedestrians and more than 600 cyclists lost their lives after being struck by a moving vehicle. Clearly, something needs to be done to prevent such tragedies from occurring. (Source: csmonitor.com ) WiFi Tech: Vehicles, Smartphones Interact GM has been working for ... (view more)

Mon
22
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Disgruntled Employee Hacks 100 Vehicle Computers

Here at Infopackets, we sometimes talk about hackers' drive-by attacks , and invasions of unsuspecting victims' PCs via unauthorized download. However, it's very rare that a case presents itself whereby the hacker's conduct has an impact on actual ... driving. And yet, that was the situation in Austin, Texas, where over 100 vehicles were recently disabled by a dealership's disgruntled former employee. Automobile Hacker Causes Headaches for Car Owners Recently, Austin residents who'd purchased vehicles at the local Texas Auto Center started experiencing strange issues with their cars. Some started ... (view more)

Mon
30
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

UConnect Turns Chrysler Vehicles into Mobile Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Chrysler is planning to introduce a new feature in most of their 2009 models which will transform their vehicles into a traveling hot spot for mobile web access. This will be the first time WiFi will be available in vehicles on a mass scale. If you ... have even been stuck waiting for a train to pass or parked in front of those early-morning, never-ending red lights, you know what a frustrating time-waster each of these interruptions are. In these situations people may very well turn to cursing, playing the bongos on the steering wheel, or honking their horn at no one in particular. But what if ... (view more)

Thu
26
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

CNET Names Greenest Cars

Last year, former Vice President and one-time presidential hopeful Al Gore ushered the once subtle fear of global warming into the mainstream. Although we all knew the earth was getting warmer as a result of our messy, polluting little lives, Gore's ... documentary slammed home the importance of beginning a "greener" existence NOW. One of the most alarming contributors to global warming, unexpectedly, are car emissions. Now that the word is out, more and more consumers are interested in those vehicles that limit their impact on the environment. (Source: cnn.com ) Recently, CNET took a close look ... (view more)

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