Autonomous and Self-Driving Vehicle NewsAutonomous and Self-Driving Vehicle News Toyota and GAC Collaborate on Advanced Intelligent Driving Toyota and GAC have teamed up to develop autonomous driving technology in China, similar to Tesla’s Autopilot. Uber Freight and Aurora Innovation Pioneer Driverless Trucking Uber Freight and Aurora Innovation have launched Premier Autonomy, a program that grants Uber Freight carriers early access to over 1 billion miles of Aurora’s driverless technology by 2030. Aurora will also be one of Uber Freight’s first customers on the Dallas to Houston route. Verra Mobility Predicts Urban Readiness for Self-Driving Cars Verra Mobility’s survey revealed that 93% of US municipalities expect to be ready for autonomous vehicles on the streets within five years. Additionally, 52% of urban technology leaders want to utilize AI for identifying road safety priorities. Innoviz Unveils Short-Range LiDAR for L4 Autonomous Vehicles Innoviz Technologies has partnered with an OEM to expand its L4 autonomous vehicle capabilities. Innoviz’s new short-range LiDARs will complement the OEM’s Level 4 autonomous driving platform and are expected to be nominated for series production in the near future.
In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news Toyota, GAC, Uber Freight, Aurora and Innoviz.
Toyota and GAC
GAC and Toyota have announced their collaboration in China to develop end-to-end advanced intelligent driving, similar to Tesla’s Autopilot.
Uber Freight & Aurora Innovation Premier Autonomy
Uber Freight And Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ: AUR) are launching Premier Autonomy, a new program that offers Uber Freight carriers early access to more than 1 billion of Aurora’s driverless miles through 2030. The program is the latest in their long-standing partnership to integrate and deploy autonomous trucks into the Uber Freight network, so carriers of all sizes can improve utilization and improve business efficiencies through autonomous technology. Additionally, Uber Freight will be one of Aurora’s first customers on the Dallas to Houston freight route, with driverless transportation for shippers expected to begin in late 2024.
“Uber Freight and Aurora see a great opportunity to democratize autonomous trucks for carriers of all sizes, helping them generate more revenue, scale their fleets and strengthen their bottom lines,” said Lior Ron, founder and CEO of Uber Freight. “Autonomous trucks will make moving goods more efficient, and this industry-first program will help facilitate and accelerate the adoption of autonomous trucks among our carriers. We are proud to work with the great team at Aurora to bring this technology into the hands of carriers and ultimately usher in a new era of logistics.”
The industry’s first Premier Autonomy program
To pave the way for Uber Freight carriers to go driverless in the coming years, the companies are launching Premier Autonomy. The industry-first program offers carriers an early, streamlined path to purchasing and onboarding the Aurora Driver, including:
- Subscription to the Aurora Driver for autonomous freight transport.
- Ability to access over 1 billion self-driving kilometers by 2030.
- High utilization of autonomous trucks through a planned, seamless integration of the Aurora Driver into the Uber Freight platform.
“With Uber Freight, we can provide hundreds of carriers with priority access to autonomous trucking capacity they wouldn’t otherwise have. Partnering with carriers of all sizes is one of the many ways we will transform the industry and see thousands of self-driving trucks on the road,” said Ossa Fisher, president of Aurora. “It’s exciting and affirming that companies like Uber Freight are reserving our long-term capacity for their customers. We all see collective value in this offering.”
Improving business results for carriers of all sizes
Premier Autonomy enables carriers of all sizes to use transformative technology to improve their operations. Today, it takes two to three days for a human-driven truck to move cargo from Dallas to Los Angeles. With the Aurora Driver, that journey can be completed in a single day. Aurora’s research indicates that autonomous trucks can be up to 32% more energy efficient than traditional trucks by optimizing highway speeds, reducing standing and idling miles, increasing vehicle utilization, limiting off-peak trips, driving green, and much more.
Uber Freight and Aurora have moved millions of pounds of freight since pilots began in 2020, providing crucial insights into how to effectively move goods autonomously. The companies are committed to a rigorous approach to driverless implementation so that qualified carriers can seamlessly access dedicated capacity.
The scale and density of Uber Freight’s network, along with its market technology and expertise, make it the platform of choice for autonomous truck deployment. Deep integration of the Aurora Driver into the Uber Freight network will create a seamless and familiar experience for customers. The Uber Freight network will also identify shippers with suitable freight for the Aurora Driver to optimize usage.
Verra Mobility predicts when urban technology leaders will be ready for self-driving cars
Verra Mobility Corporation (NASDAQ: VRRM), a leading provider of smart mobility technology solutions, has released the findings of a new urban mobility technology report which showed that almost all US municipalities (93%) expect to be ready for self-driving autonomous vehicles on the streets within five years.
Additionally, 52% of urban technology leaders surveyed want to use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify road safety priorities.
Verra Mobility’s survey of technology leaders from US cities of all sizes examined how they are addressing revolutionary trends in mobility technology, such as autonomous, connected, electric and shared (ACES) vehicles. The study, conducted by Wakefield Research, also explored how cities are using data, deploying advanced safety technology to reduce road fatalities and their hopes for AI-powered solutions.
“This study confirms that cities must balance many challenges during this exciting period of transition in the transportation sector, and that technology is at the heart of the solution,” it said David RobertsChairman and CEO, Verra Mobility. “Elements of autonomous, connected, electric and shared mobility have already arrived in one form or another and continue to evolve. While AI holds promise, our research shows that cities still struggle to collect or analyze the data they need to make informed mobility decisions. Urban technology leaders must leverage these trends at a crucial time when fatalities on America’s roads are at their highest level in nearly 16 years.”
Other insights from the research included:
- Safety: 55% of municipal technology leaders have “reducing traffic safety incidents” as a top 3 priority for technology-based solutions.
- Electric vehicles: 43% say their jurisdiction has deprioritized supporting EV infrastructure because consumer demand for the technology has not kept up with forecasts.
- Connected vehicles: 81% expect some systems will need to be updated before they are ready to integrate connected vehicle technology into their mobility initiatives.
- Shared vehicles: The influx of e-bikes, e-scooters and other shared vehicles is complicating the technology-oriented mobility efforts of 84% of municipalities.
- Facts: 73% face analytics barriers that prevent them from using their data to implement or improve their mobility and safety initiatives.
“While survey respondents indicated the urgency of preparing for AVs, the reality is that there will still be human-driven vehicles on our roads for decades to come,” Roberts said. “And even as AVs become more common on our roads, we will discover new safety challenges when human drivers interact with advanced machines. Our research results highlight the need for city officials, automakers, technology providers and safety advocates to come together to find ways to make transportation easier, more efficient and much safer than it is now.”
Innoviz Tech L4 Autonomous for OEM
Innoviz Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: INVZ) (the “Company” or “Innoviz”), a leading Tier-1 direct supplier of high-performance automotive-grade LiDAR sensors and perception software, announced a partnership with an automotive OEM to expand its L4 autonomous vehicle capabilities . This agreement adds Innoviz’s new short-range LiDARs to the OEM’s Level 4 autonomous driving platform. The company expects the collaboration to result in a nomination for series production in the coming months, pending agreement on commercial terms.
Innoviz’s Short-Range LiDAR joins the InnovizTwo product platform, which includes InnovizTwo Long-Range and InnovizTwo Slim. Featuring high-resolution sensing and a vertical field of view of over 90 degrees, the new short-range design is based on the InnovizTwo Long-Range architecture. It leverages the product’s industrialization maturity and is designed to meet the requirements for light commercial vehicles, shuttles, robotaxis, and trucks. This new phase of development has been carefully designed over the past six months to meet the OEM’s stringent RFQ (Request for Quotation) requirements. With the OEM planning to integrate multiple short-range LiDARs for each of its L4 autonomous vehicles, the partnership is well-positioned to promote a safe and powerful autonomous driving experience.
“This is an exciting moment for Innoviz as we collaborate with a major global OEM on a new product,” said Omer Keilaf, CEO and co-founder of Innoviz Technologies. “As the L4 market begins to scale, we are pleased to provide a complete set of solutions to meet the needs of OEMs worldwide and support the acceleration of AV adoption across all industries.”
