Autonomous Vehicles

We're a tad late to the news on this one, but we're no less excited to bring it to you heavy machinery nerds. Australia's Fortescue is teaming up with Liebherr Mining to develop an autonomous mining truck that will, in addition to driving itself, be the first of its kind worldwide to operate with zero emissions.

Toyota and Stanford University have been pushing self-driving technology beyond the limits of traction for several years now, and they've now released video of two autonomous cars drifting in tandem, getting very sideways with extreme precision.

Vayu Robotics has today unveiled its first delivery robot. The One can follow staff around stores to load up customer orders, before autonomously navigating city streets at speeds up to 20 mph to deliver the goods. Commercial deployment has begun.

Self-driving cars are dependent on sophisticated sensors backed by lots of computing power. A research effort led by China's Tsinghua University is cutting down on computing requirements with a tracking system that only requires a single pixel to do the job.

Three weeks after one of Waymo's autonomous vehicles drove itself into a telephone pole for no apparent reason whatsoever (prompting 672 cars recalled), Waymo has released a statement saying its AVs are still 200 to 350% better at avoiding crashes than humans.

Japanese researchers have released footage of a humanoid robot called Musashi sitting in the driving seat of an electric micro-car to examine a possible future direction for autonomous vehicle technologies.

Renault has announced the production of a robotized electric miniBus based on the New Renault Master in addition to significantly revising its autonomous vehicle strategy.

The first autonomous car race will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Saturday 27 April 2024. It could be the birth a new TV sport with a fan-base of technophiles drawn by the progress of autonomous capability towards that of a human.

Australia's robotic submarine program takes delivery of its first Ghost Shark Extra-Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (XL-AUV) prototype – a machine that ditches the pressure hull and life support to gain an edge in size and stealth.

Keeping bike paths and roads clear of debris is a necessary but thankless task for sanitation workers. The Robosweeper S1 from WeRide can work alongside street crews, or can work alone to quietly clean up day or night.

Whether you're on a bike or in a car, potholes are a problem. Maintenance is costly and labor intensive, but UK authorities have successfully tested a prototype autonomous machine designed to detect and seal surface cracks that can grow into potholes.

If you're comfortable with the present green, amber, and red traffic lights, be prepared to get uncomfortable. New research suggests that adding a white light will speed up traffic and improve safety for both cars and pedestrians.