Cruise robotaxis now run 24/7 in San Francisco

Cruise has announced that it’s now operating 24/7 in San Francisco, marking a significant milestone in its journey.

However, the wider public is currently only able to use the service in around one-third of the city between 10pm and 5:30am. Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt has promised that this will soon change as Cruise moves closer to launching a fully-fledged robotaxi service open to the public around the clock.

Vogt said the systems that power the robotaxi network in San...

27 April 2023 | Connected Vehicles

DiDi is di-veloping its own robotaxis

Chinese ride-hailing company DiDi Global is collaborating with Chinese carmakers to develop robotaxis.

DiDi is developing the robotaxis with multiple car manufacturers, including electric vehicle makers, and is aiming to begin putting them into service by 2025.

The company plans for the new vehicles to be domestically produced, with controllable supply chains and key components that are produced nationally.

A robotaxi concept was showcased by DiDi called Neuron...

14 April 2023 | Connected Vehicles

Apple has over 200 people testing self-driving cars

Apple appears to be gradually accelerating its self-driving car program and now has over 200 people testing its vehicles.

Data from the California DMV (via macReports) indicates that Apple has 201 people testing autonomous driving features on public roads. Apple currently has a fleet of 67 vehicles.

The overall size of Apple’s self-driving fleet hasn’t changed much since 2021 but its number of testers is gradually increasing. Apple added 51 testers in 2022 and an...

23 March 2023 | AI

Beijing lifts restrictions on DiDi ridesharing service

DiDi Chuxing’s difficulties may be coming to an end as Beijing lifts restrictions on the ridesharing service.

Beijing targeted DiDi after the company raised $4 billion from selling its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In the days following the listing, Beijing launched a data security probe into DiDi on the basis that it was “illegally collecting user data”.

Amid increased US-China tensions, Beijing has sought to clamp down on Chinese firms listing in...

17 January 2023 | Applications

Oxbotica raises $140M to expand its B2B autonomous vehicle platform

B2B autonomous vehicle platform developer Oxbotica has raised a further $140 million.

The Oxford-based firm plans to use the funds to advance its goal of creating “universal autonomy” around the world.

Paul Newman, CTO and a Founder of Oxbotica, said:

“Oxbotica was founded eight years ago on the vision of Universal Autonomy—providing safe and sustainable autonomy that is independent of workplace and vehicle type.

With the greatest engineering...

11 January 2023 | Connected Vehicles

Japanese firms team up to protect connected cars

NTT Communications and DENSO are joining forces to respond “to the threat of increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks against vehicles.”

The companies are developing the Security Operation Center for Vehicles (VSOC).

Hackers target connected cars for numerous reasons, including location tracking, data gathering, and causing physical harm.

NTT brings to the partnership its vast knowledge and solutions in fields such as networking and cloud computing....

18 October 2022 | Connected Vehicles

Ex-Apple engineer pleads guilty to stealing autonomous car secrets

A former Apple engineer has pled guilty to stealing hardware and schematics for the company’s autonomous car project.

Xiaolang Zhang was arrested at San Jose International Airport back in 2018 while attempting to catch a last-minute flight to China.

Zhang was accused of stealing circuit boards and a Linux server from Apple’s secret development labs. He also allegedly transferred a 25-page document to his wife’s laptop that included technical manuals and engineering...

23 August 2022 | Connected Vehicles

Uber begins testing bus and train bookings in the UK

Uber has begun testing a feature that allows UK citizens to book rail and bus transport.

By allowing users to book alternative transport types at the same time as their traditional car rides, Uber hopes to become a one-stop shop for journeys.

"We’re excited to launch our new travel offering this summer, allowing a seamless door-to-door travel experience across the UK," said Andrew Brem, GM of Uber UK, in a statement.

For the feature, Uber has teamed up with...

3 August 2022 | Applications

China to hit mobility giant Didi with a $1B fine

Chinese authorities are set to hit mobility giant Didi with a $1 billion fine, a move that could end a torrid period for the firm.

Didi has been in the spotlight of the Chinese government after the company raised $4 billion from selling its stocks in New York.

Beijing launched a data security probe into Didi in the days after its New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing; claiming that it was “illegally collecting user data”. However, both the country’s regulators and...

20 July 2022 | Connected Vehicles

Cisco and Verizon demo millisecond C-V2X connectivity using MEC

Cisco and Verizon have partnered up to demonstrate millisecond C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) connectivity.

The partners used a proof-of-concept demo in Las Vegas to show how cellular and MEC (mobile edge compute) technology can be combined to unlock innovative new solutions for connected vehicles.

“This test is a huge milestone in proving that the future of connectivity for IoT applications can be powered by cellular,” said Krishna Iyer, Director of Systems...

31 March 2022 | 4G