Self-Driving

Chinese technology giant Baidu has launched what is says is the country's first commercial robotaxi service, which will see its Apollo self-driving vehicles shuttle paying customers around Beijing's Shougang Park without a safety driver onboard.

The UK's Department of Transport has announced that it's moving to conditionally legalize self-driving cars in which the driver doesn't have to pay attention to the road or keep their hands on the wheel, in a move that it expects will save lives.

Israel's Mobileye has teamed up with startup Udelv to get an autonomous electric delivery pod called the Transporter on the streets by 2023, with a plan to produce 35,000 of the self-driving electric cargo haulers by 2028.

Swedish boat company X Shore makes its move across the Atlantic, launching its all-electric Eelex 8000 in the US. The modular, connected boat brings a versatile layout and intelligent software suite with over-the-air updates.

Europe's ubiquitous camper van base vehicle, the Fiat Ducato took a step toward camping future last year when it got an electric drive. Now it takes the next step as Fusion Processing uses it as a test bed for Level 4/5 autonomous driving.

Volkswagen is taking a step toward an idyllic future in which leisure vehicles become even more leisurely. It plans to begin testing autonomous tech in the upcoming ID. Buzz electric van, the spiritual successor to the world's favorite camper vans.

Almost three years after revealing its autonomous delivery vehicle, Nuro is about to start commercial operations in California. Initially, service needs will be met by fully autonomous Prius vehicles, but the R2 delivery pods won't be far behind.

Joining a slew of electric transport pods built for autonomous travel in congested areas, such as the Nuro, the LUTZ Pathfinder and Toyota’s e-Palette people mover, is a new electric robotaxi from Amazon subsidiary Zoox.

After joining forces with Alibaba's Amap to pilot robo-taxi ride-hailing services in April, and then opening the service to the Shanghai public, AutoX has now launched the first fully driverless fleet in China's Shenzhen megacity.

At its core, Mini has always been a brand that challenges conventional automotive dimensions. The badge's new Vision Urbanaut takes the challenge into the future with a versatile, shape-shifting interior inside a set of smooth, timeless van lines.

After revealing plans to establish a nationwide network for self-driving trucks in the US just a few months ago, TuSimple has now announced it will be taking its technology to Europe, through a new partnership with Volkswagen subsidiary Traton Group.

While bicycle-sharing systems certainly are proving to be popular, they still have a few problems, such as the limited availability of bikes. Researchers at the MIT Media Lab are working on a solution, in the form of the MIT Autonomous Bicycle.