A former engineer at Apple, Xiaolang Zhang, finds himself on the wrong side of the law, having been handed a six-month prison sentence for his role in pilfering secrets from the tech giant’s vaults. This unfolds as Zhang admits to swiping details on the development of Apple’s self-driving vehicle project, an endeavour that people have been talking about for years.

The fine includes a hefty sum of $146,984 as well

Zhang’s journey from trusted employee to convicted felon began with his arrest at San Jose International Airport in 2018, moments before he could escape to China. Initially, he fought the charges, pleading not guilty. However, in a dramatic turn of events in 2022, Zhang confessed to the theft of trade secrets, leading to his current predicament. Beyond his prison term, Zhang faces a three-year leash of supervised release and a hefty restitution bill of $146,984.

His tenure at Apple was marked by his involvement in Project Titan, Apple’s mysterious and much-discussed foray into autonomous vehicles. According to allegations, Zhang’s acts of espionage included transferring a detailed 25-page document with engineering blueprints to personal devices and pilfering hardware, illustrating a breach of trust as profound as it was audacious.

Following a paternity leave and a trip to China, Zhang resigned, revealing plans to join XPeng Motors, a move that raised eyebrows given the company’s competing interests in autonomous driving. This revelation set off alarm bells, leading to an investigation that caught Zhang red-handed, engaging in activities that betrayed confidence.

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The automobile industry continues to adapt to time and advancing technology. The latest pinnacle of this development is self-driving cars. Many brands are chasing this technology, which allows for a journey without the driver’s intervention. Users have been gradually getting accustomed to the presence of self-driving cars in our lives and have been watching its progress with anticipation. However, a recent study by J.D. Power indicates that consumer confidence in fully automated, self-driving vehicles is on the decline. Here are the details…

Consumer Confidence in Self-Driving Cars Declines for Second Year in a Row

Self-driving vehicles have been a part of our lives for some time now and their popularity continues to grow. However, as their usage increases, so does the number of incidents involving them. News of accidents involving these cars frequently becomes a trending topic on the internet and social media. Naturally, this impacts societal psychology.

A recent study by J.D. Power found that consumer confidence in fully automated, self-driving vehicles has declined for the second consecutive year. On a scale of 100, trust points went down by 2 points to 37 this year, after already dropping by 5 points last year. The report says people are not ready for self-driving cars in many ways.

They feel least comfortable riding in one or using self-driving buses and trains. Despite the decline in consumer confidence, the study also found that consumers are more open to self-driving cars if they have had experience riding in one. For example, 67% of respondents who had ridden in a robotaxi expressed confidence in the technology.

Of course, this fear won’t change anything. Autonomous-driving vehicles are already reaching more users every day, and it doesn’t seem like users’ fears will alter this trend. Admittedly, this technology isn’t perfect today, which explains why people might feel this way. However, it’s worth noting that self-driving is a relatively new technology. There’s still much room for improvement, and regardless, the future belongs to autonomous technologies.

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Autonomous driving technologies are becoming more widespread with each passing day. Today, many companies are testing their self-driving vehicles in cities where they have permission to operate. However, this technology also brings up some problems. For example, who is to blame when these not yet perfect cars make a mistake? In China’s Hangzhou province, there is growing concern about the increasing number of self-driving cars, authorities are considering the idea of penalizing vehicle owners or managers for traffic violations committed by these cars. Here are the details…

Who’s Responsible When Self-Driving Cars Breaks the Law?

As self-driving car technology continues to develop rapidly, fully autonomous driving is becoming increasingly popular. For example cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Beijing, and Hangzhou have even started self-driving car trials. But there’s a lingering question: If a self-driving car breaks a traffic rule, who’s to blame? The passenger or the car’s owner? Should they be fined?

A recent report reveals that the city of Hangzhou has submitted a draft proposal focused on the testing and use of smart, connected vehicles. This draft outlines two key points:

• All smart, connected vehicles must link to a central management platform.
• A liability framework is established to handle legal and regulatory issues.

If a self-driving vehicle without passengers commits a traffic violation, the owner or manager of the vehicle will be fined as per the law. Additionally, the organization responsible for testing and using the vehicle will have to cover the costs of any accidents they’re liable for. Of course, this idea is not new; in the U.S. car owners are already held responsible for any accidents caused by their self-driving technology. The rules in Hangzhou are still a draft and may change, but they show the city’s plan for regulating these vehicles.

However, the debate is not over. Some say it’s unfair to blame the owner for mistakes made by a car they’re not driving. Others argue that since the owner is in charge of the vehicle, they should be held accountable for any mistakes. It remains to be seen how these new rules in Hangzhou will actually work, but they’re a big step toward making self-driving cars safer for everyone. Especially when you consider how advanced China is in this area.

What are your thoughts on this subject? In the event of an accident, who do you think should be held responsible: the owner of the vehicle or the person who developed the technology?

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Tesla‘s software is a major reason why the automotive manufacturer sells so many cars across the world. It integrates seamlessly with the vehicle, and offers a ton of customization and features that get updated from time to time. However, in a surprising revelation during Tesla’s Q2 2023 investor call, CEO Elon Musk dropped a bombshell announcement. Tesla plans to revolutionize the automotive industry by licensing its highly coveted Full Self-Driving (FSD) system to other automakers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). “We are very open to licensing our FSD software and hardware to other car companies,” Musk stated, adding that discussions with a major OEM were already underway.

Musk also emphasized Tesla’s commitment to AI with Research & Development

To further delight Tesla owners, the company introduced a limited-time offer called the “one-time amnesty.” Throughout Q3, current Tesla vehicle owners can transfer their existing Full Self-Driving subscription to a newly purchased Tesla, creating an exciting incentive for potential customers.

In Q2, Tesla continued to dominate the US EV market, smashing its internal record with 479,700 vehicles manufactured and 466,140 delivered, marking an impressive 87 percent year-on-year growth. The Model Y made headlines by becoming the best-selling vehicle overall, surpassing traditional favorites like the Corolla.

Adding to the momentum, Tesla’s first production Cybertruck rolled off the assembly line. While initial images only teased its features, Musk assured enthusiasts that the Cybertruck line was progressing through the tooling phase, with steady production set to begin next year. The Cybertruck’s unique design, offering four doors and over six feet of bed space while fitting into a standard 20-foot garage, adds an exciting edge to the pickup truck market.

In another significant stride, Tesla decided to open its once-proprietary charging port design to the entire industry. Several prominent automakers, including Mercedes, Volvo, Rivian, Ford, and GM, will adopt Tesla’s charging port design for their North American models, starting from the 2024 model year. Texas even mandated that state-funded EV charging stations accommodate this standard. Tesla’s charging network expanded by one-third over the previous year, boasting 48,082 chargers across 5,265 stations worldwide, reaffirming their commitment to supporting the EV ecosystem.

Despite facing some scandals, Tesla remains steadfast in pushing technological boundaries. Musk highlighted their commitment to AI development, introducing Dojo training computers to aid Autopilot developers in future designs and features. Challenges in finding suitable sources for the Optimus robot’s actuators didn’t deter Tesla, as they are diligently designing their own parts, anticipating significant progress by next year.

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Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles made a big announcement on July 17 about their self-driving cars. They’ve made great progress, and now the Volkswagen ID. Buzz AD self-driving car is ready for mass production. Soon, it will be tested on the road for the first time. The company will invite important people from politics, business, and media to see how well it can be controlled.

These new cars will be equipped with both Radar and Lidar technology

Volkswagen also started an autonomous driving test program in Austin, Texas, USA. They’re working hard to use this technology for commercial purposes in European and North American cities, especially for shared mobility solutions and transportation services. Christian Senger, in charge of developing autonomous driving at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, is excited about the expansion of their self-driving program to North America. It’s the result of a long-term investment to shape the future of transportation.

Previously, Volkswagen wanted to use another company’s technology for their self-driving ID Buzz. But now, they’re doing it themselves, working with their partner, Mobileye. Over the next three years, they’ll test these self-driving cars in Austin and four other U.S. cities. They hope to launch a driverless taxi service by 2026. The three-row ID Buzz will be available in the U.S. in 2024.

All the self-driving cars will follow safety standards and have advanced cameras, radar, and lidar technology. During testing, there will be people onboard for safety, and the cars will fit four passengers. Once they’re ready for production, the company plans to ramp up their numbers to meet the growing needs of customers. Volkswagen’s efforts are encouraging a safer and more efficient future for getting around. It will be exciting to see how it all unfolds!

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With self-driving vehicles becoming increasingly common on everyday roads, automobile manufacturers are looking to collaborate with leading chip manufacturers that can synchronize effectively with their ADAS, or advanced driver assistance systems. Samsung has recently announced that it will be utilizing its cutting-edge 5-nanometer (nm) node to manufacture Ambarella’s latest SoC for self-driving cars. The Ambarella CV3-AD685 SoC is equipped with the latest AI engine called Cvflow, which is designed specifically for ADAS in autonomous cars.

This new chip family is built for ADAS and features a high-performance, power-efficient, and scalable design, complementing a wide range of solutions for assisted driving while advancing vehicle automation. The integrated CV3-AD685 SoC fuses information from various sensors for robust L2+ to L4 autonomous driving, and can interpret data from cameras and radars to determine driving scenarios. For reference, L2 autonomous driving refers to partial automation, while Level 4 Automation refers to high-level automation, where a car can pull over using guided sensors even without human intervention.

Samsung Foundry, with its industry-leading process technology and advanced 3D-packaging solutions, is powering many of the latest mobile, HPC, and automotive solutions. Samsung will be applying its automotive IPs, latest processes, and packaging technologies on top of its 5nm node to make the chip high-performance and low-power, and the company credits the application of its 5nm node for the chip’s performance jump, which is almost equivalent to 20 times its original performance scale. Additionally, Samsung plans to start offering its 4nm node for automotive applications in the near future.

Samsung has set an ambitious goal to have non-mobile products account for over 50% of the revenue generated from its foundry business by 2027. Although the majority of the revenue of Samsung Foundry comes from contract-producing mobile application processors for smartphones designed by Samsung and Qualcomm, the company has been growing significantly during the pandemic from the chip shortage, culminating in its highest annual revenue to date in 2022.

While the global economic downturn has caused demand for chips to drop, Samsung remains committed to its innovative technology and is determined to stay at the forefront of the semiconductor industry. With the collaboration between Samsung and Ambarella, we can expect to see more advanced technology being utilized in autonomous vehicles in the near future.

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As the race for autonomous vehicles heats up, auto-manufacturing companies are striving to be the first to bring high-level autonomous technology to the market. It appears that Mercedes has emerged victorious in a crucial competition against Tesla, securing its position as the first certified Level-3 autonomous car company in the United States.

Level-3 autonomy, also known as conditional automation, is designated as the third level of driving automation by the Society of Automotive Engineers, and it enables cars to drive themselves in certain situations. The driver doesn’t have to operate the steering wheel and pedals, but they must still be alert and ready to take control at any moment. A large number of auto-manufacturing companies have been fiercely competing to become the first Level-3-autonomy car company, with Tesla and its full self-driving feature being a strong contender from the beginning. However, the company was ultimately unable to secure the necessary certifications.

It is still unclear who would bear legal responsibility in the event of an accident – the driver or the car manufacturer. This makes Level-3 autonomy a controversial topic. Currently, only the state of Nevada in the US has approved this project. Dimitris Psillakis, CEO and Head of Marketing & Sales North America at Mercedes-Benz USA, expressed pride in the company’s unwavering commitment to innovation.

Drive Pilot technology is at the helm of Mercedes’ success, which seamlessly integrates various technologies, including cameras, GPS, LiDAR, radar, ultrasound sensors, and audio mics to ensure safe autonomous driving. Drive Pilot is currently only available in the latest S-Class and EQS Sedan models. While Level-3 autonomy is just one milestone in the journey towards fully autonomous driving, Mercedes’ achievement sets a new standard for the industry and shows that this technology is now a tangible reality.

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Apple has actively started focusing on self-driving car technology and the autonomous driving technology seems to have reached a stage where the company is now looking for mass production of the so-called “Apple Car” in the coming years. This confidence for Apple comes through the results of the test car.

The California DMV has released new data that gives insights into Apple’s efforts as far the company’s ambitious Apple Car autonomous driving vehicle is concerned, reports MacRumors. As per the data, the self-driving test vehicle from Apple drove 18,805 miles in California last year, which is more than double compared to 2019.

Additionally, the report also mentions that the company reported 130 disengagements in the last year, which also indicates a noticeable improvement in the number of miles driven before requiring a disengagement from self-driving. Based on the data, Apple’s cars experienced disengagement every 144.6 miles.

For those unfamiliar, disengagements refer to a situation when the car stops self-driving and the human driver takes over. Further, it mentions that Apple reported no accidents with its self-driving test vehicles for the year 2020. The last collision reported by Apple for the self-driving car was in 2019.

Apple was recently in talks with Hyundai and it was reported that the automaker’s sub-unit Kia will be making the Apple Car. The deal was expected to get closed in March with Apple investing billion in Kia. However, a couple of days ago, it was confirmed that the talks with Apple and Hyundai have ended without the deal. We expect Apple to form a partnership for its upcoming Apple Car in the coming months.

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Apple has been working on several new technologies and one of them is for the autonomous car with which the company has entered another category of products — Electric Vehicles. Now, there’s some major development related to this.

A new report from Reuters claims that Apple is going forward with its self-driving car technology and is planning to start production by 2024. And it’s not just the car but the company is also working on a “next level” battery technology.

For those who are unaware, the autonomous car project of Apple, called Project Titan, has been in the works since 2014 and the company started the design of its own electric car from the scratch.

However, the project struggled to proceed smoothly and at one point, Apple decided to just focus on the software part of the technology. But a couple of years back, Doug Field returned to Apple from Tesla to oversee the project and revamped the team.

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It seems that the development of this project has been significant enough for the company to build commercial vehicles. Reuters adds that Apple’s goal is to make a personal vehicle for the mass market while its competitors like Google‘s Waymo is building robo-taxis to carry passengers for a driverless ride-hailing service.

The report also sheds light on the battery that could be used in the car. A person aware of the development says that a new battery design could “radically” reduce the cost of batteries and at the same time, increase the vehicle’s range.

It is not yet clear which company would assemble the Apple-branded car. There’s also a possibility that Apple may decide to go ahead with the software part and integrate its technology into a car made by a traditional automaker.

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The Apple Car could be arriving soon, as a new report suggests that the company’s long rumored electric vehicle could possibly launch in the third quarter of 2021, two years ahead of its schedule.

According to EconomicDailyNews from Taiwan, Apple might be launching its first automobile next year. The report claims that manufacturers and suppliers of the company in Taiwan are preparing to ramp up production of “Apple Care” components as early as the second quarter of next year, as per a MacRumors report. Apparently, the company has already begun testing dozens of prototypes on the road in California, US.

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Back in 2017, Apple received a permit from California’s DMV to test its self driving cars. This was first spotted on SUV from another brand that was equipped with its LiDAR technology. While various reports had pinned the Apple Car launch date around 2023 and 2025, the latest report arrives a whole two years earlier than previous expectations. The Taiwanese agency cited an unnamed director from a major Taiwanese manufacturer as its source.

This director stated that Apple is targetting a September 2021 launch, although, this is still an unconfirmed report so take it with a pinch of salt for now. Notably, the schedule shifting earlier is highly unlikely considering the company faced delays due to the Coronavirus pandemic. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing more updates on the matter.

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Only about six months back, Amazon announced the acquisition of self-driving startup Zoox, and today the company pulled the wraps off its first autonomous vehicle. Instead of following the pathway, several other tech firms such as AutoX have followed which is automating a standard car built with a human driver in mind, the Zoox robotaxi is built specifically for autonomous driving in dense urban environments.

The robotaxi is just 3.63 meters long which is quite compact. That is mostly because there is no luggage compartment or a front hood housing a sophisticated mechanical engine. Instead, Zoox robotaxi has a cabin-like design where four passengers sit facing each other in pairs.

The Zoox Fully Autonomous, All-electric Robotaxi adopts four-wheel steerings and bi-directional driving in that there is no front or rear side. The vehicle also doesn’t have a steering wheel.

Despite its compact size, Zoox’s robotaxi can reach speeds up to 75 MPH. It’s powered by two individual battery packs that provide about 16 hours of run time before they need to recharge, so a single robotaxi should be able to do a day’s worth of work before it needs a power-up.

The carriage also has some unique safety features to go along with its unconventional design, including an airbag system specially built for its bi-directional design. Zoox says that all four seats get the equivalent of five-star crash safety protection. Meanwhile, the camera, LIDAR, and radar system provide a 270-degree field of view from all four corners of the robotaxi, which basically eliminates blind spots.

The tech start-up disclosed that the robotaxis are already being tested in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Foster City, CA. We can’t say for now if riders can hail a ride on the robotaxi.

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A driverless robot that is known as Yandex.Rover for delivering hot restaurant meals to customers in Moscow has started work today. This much was said by the operator and internet giant, Yandex.

The Yandex.Eats app, one of many food and grocery delivery services in Moscow, is offering customers around the White Square business district the opportunity to have their meals delivered by the buggy-like robot instead of a human delivery.

The robot called the Yandex.Rover has been delivering groceries in some Moscow areas as part of a pilot program that started a few months back in autumn. It is now gradually expanding its area of operations in the Russian capital, Yandex has said in a statement.

The robot collects orders from restaurants and brings them to the customer who then unlocks the robot using their smartphone and lifts out the food.

Three of these robots are now operating in the White Square area of the city. The size of the growing fleet of delivery robots stands at 20.

The advent of the Yandex delivery service, together with the alternative Delivery Club, as expected, implies the days of human delivery couriers in Moscow may be numbered, even though they have grown in numbers in recent years.

Over the summer, five Russian retail businesses unveiled a monument in the city to honour the tens of thousands of delivery couriers who had kept Moscow running at the height of the forced lockdown as a.result of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged most parts of the world.

In the statement, Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Yandex’s Self-Driving division highlighted that the demand for delivery services has been on an upward trajectory which was exponentially accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.

In November of 2019, Yandex disclosed that it had started testing autonomous delivery robots that had been deployed for commercial purposes in Innopolis, a sort of silicon valley district in the Tatarstan region. The world is presently experiencing an upsurge in the deployment of robots but no better place have we witnessed a widescale robotics usage than in Japan. From enforcing physical distancing and showing visitors around a store to cheerleading during a baseball game, to being deployed as a tourist attraction, it is no surprise that Japan is regarded as the robotics headquarters of the world.

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(via)

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Uber, the world’s leading cab-hailing service provider, has announced that it is selling its driverless self-driving car subsidiary to Aurora Technologies for $4 billion. Uber is also investing $400 million in the startup for a 26 percent stake.

As a part of the transaction, Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi will be serving on Aurora’s board. The startup, headquartered in Silicon Valley with an office in Pittsburgh, will also be acquiring engineers and support staff of Uber A.T.G.

This acquisition deal is expected to get closed in the first quarter of 2021. The sale of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group has been valued at $4 billion, which is much lower than its valuation of $7.5 billion last year.

Although Uber is selling its Advanced Technologies Group (A.T.G.) division, the company says that it remains interested in the field. Going forward, the company will be collaborating with Aurora to launch driverless cars on its network. However, Aurora’s CEO Chris Urmson has confirmed that the startup’s first product won’t be a robot taxi but is likely to be a self-driving truck.

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The driverless technology was a key focus for Uber’s founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick as it could help the company get rid of its biggest expense — drivers. With driver-related expenses reducing, the company was hoping to become profitable, ending years of enduring losses in billions of dollars.

However, the autonomous driving unit of Uber has been involved in several legal matters — from pedestrian death to intellectual property theft. While investors have been long pressuring the company to sell its self-driving unit, the company was finally forced to do so after revenue plummeted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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U.S tech giant, Apple has got its sight set at developing technologies for self-driving cars. A recent Apple patent filing has been unravelled giving insight to what the tech giant has conceived for the advancement of self-driving cars. The patent application is for an “Adaptive vehicle augmented reality display using stereographic imagery”. The details of the display system include an AR system that can use a pre-generated 3D model of the world in improving how it generates 3D content for its users.

The patent application suggests that the system can be used to provide users with even more information about the world around them, while on the move. The 3D model that is pre-generated could also include data about road routes, points of interest, and other areas useful to drivers, and these data could be held remotely in cloud storage. The entire 3D model could be collected together into smaller chunks, like 3D versions of tiles used by online mapping services. When needed, relevant sections of the 3D model may be provided to the car’s AR system.

The system would also provide information about areas that are far beyond the range of the car’s sensor arrays and the driver’s own vision. This can then allow for data that isn’t immediately visible to be included in the displayed image, such as showing the path ahead in an AR view, including parts of the road obscured by buildings or hills in the distance. This could come in handy in cases where visibility is poor, like fog or heavy snow, where the car’s sensors may find it difficult to create an accurate picture of the immediate area outside. The pre-existing cloud data could help give what would be an expected route and important notifications that the sensors are unable to create for themselves, in an emergency. 

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This system, if it comes to reality, will greatly enhance the assist system avaiabe in a self-driving car with extra data for the road ahead. This potentially makes these systems more useful and safer. Giving a self-driving car more data potentially means it will be more capable of planning manoeuvres it may need to perform in the coming miles, with the advanced warning providing more time for processing these types of decisions.

(source)

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Today at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, Nvidia announced its new powerful Xavier SoC for artificial intelligence-based autonomous cars. It will power the Nvidia DRIVE software stack which was announced last year. The stack has now been expanded to a trio of AI platforms that now covers every aspect of the experience inside next-generation automobiles.

The company says that the Xavier SoC comes with 9 billion transistors, and claims that Xavier is the most complex system-on-chip ever created. Nvidia says that more than 2,000 engineers worked on the project over a four-year period, and the company invested around $2 billion in research and development.

The chipset features custom 8-core CPU, a 512-core Volta GPU, an 8K HDR video processor, a deep-learning accelerator and new computer-vision accelerators. According to the company, it can perform 30 trillion operations per second using only 30 watts of power.

Nvidia says that it is 15 times more efficient than the previous architecture. Two Xavier processors will be powering the Nvidia DRIVE Pegasus AI platform which was announced three months ago. The company is sampling this new SoC to the first customers this quarter. Nvidia clarifies that any existing software or algorithms developed for previous DRIVE platforms will run without requiring any modifications.

Along with DRIVE AV (Autonomous Vehicles), the company has also announced DRIVE IX and DRIVE AR, which will also be based on Xavier. DRIVE IX is for an intelligent vehicle experience which brings AI into the user-experience (UX) of the car or robo-taxi. It uses that as a smart assistant for the driver and passengers. On the other hand, DRIVE AR is the company’s push for Augmented Reality in automotive settings.

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Nvidia has also announced its self-driving technology will be utilized by Uber, a cab-hailing service provider which started working on its self-driving car in 2015. Uber plans to use Xavier, which began shipping to customers for the first time this week.

Volkswagen will also use Nvidia’s Drive IX platform to create an “intelligent co-pilot” to assist a driver and China’s Baidu is working with Nvidia to create a production-ready AI autonomous vehicle system designed for China.

 For more coverage from CES 2018, check out this link! 
 

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LG Electronics has announced that it will jointly work with chipmaker Qualcomm for researching and developing technologies related to autonomous driving.

Both tech giants will now be involved in developing telecoms solution for autonomous driving. We will see the integration of LG’s strength in connected car parts and Qualcomm’s advanced communications chipset technology.

They have jointly opened a research centre in Seoul. It is now planning to set up another such centre in Seoul by the end of 2018. The collaboration will be based out of LG Electronics’ Science Park in Seoul.

In the research centre, both the companies will be working on developing 5G technology for vehicle and C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) technologies that are said to be essential for the next-generation autonomous vehicles.

Kim Jin-Yong, executive vice president of LG‘s Vehicle Components Smart Business Unit, said,

LG plans to lead the next-generation vehicle components market by combining our experience in automotive communication technologies with Qualcomm’s advanced connected solutions from LTE to 5G. We are optimistic that the combined research strength of Qualcomm and LG will yield benefits that would not be feasible working independently.

Nakul Duggal, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, said,

With the automotive industry on a clear path to 5G, we look forward to working together with LG to meet the demands of today’s drivers and advance the commercialization of C-V2X technology in next-gen vehicles.

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The technology for the fully connected car platform is expected to have 5 times faster speed and ten times lower latency than the quickest LTE technology. This will ensure that it delivers data at speeds that are essential for real-life driving situations.

Both the companies will also research other wireless technologies that will be needed for the safety of connected cars.

LG has been a components supplier for electric vehicles such as GM’s Bolt. It could become a major player in the connected car parts sector due to its vertical integration with affiliates for battery, display and camera modules.

On the other hand, Qualcomm is already the world’s leading smartphone chipset maker. The company recently revealed its first dedicated C-V2X chip aiming to make autonomous driving safer.

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A BlackBerry QNX-equipped self-driving car has completed its first road test in the public streets of Ottawa. This is being billed as the first on-street test of an autonomous vehicle in Canada.

BlackBerry QNX had opened an autonomous vehicle innovation centre in Ottawa last year and partnered with the province to advance their vision of becoming a hub for development in the autonomous vehicle tech.

City of Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, City Councillor Marianne Wilkinson, and Blackberry GM John Wall tested the self-driving car around roads in Kanata North Technology Park.

To help the demonstration, test loop around the suburban technology park was upgraded with traffic lights equipped with transmitters. Also, the street lines were repainted and new LED street lights were installed.

We are expecting more drive tests for the software system as the development of BlackBerry QNX advances. The platform was created in partnership between BlackBerry and Delphi Automotive, with an aim to accelerate development of the core artificial intelligence technology that powers autonomous vehicles.

For the uninitiated, BlackBerry QNX is developing the software foundation for autonomous vehicles. According to John Wall, GM of BlackBerry, fully autonomous cars without a steering wheel are still a long way off.

He added that cars are already incorporating some of the technology such as sensors that keeps the car in its lane, hit the brake when needed or detect another car.

Ottawa’s partnership with Blackberry QNX for testing of new AV technology also includes institutions like Algonquin College, Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa. With more than 70 companies in its autonomous vehicle ecosystem, Ottawa is aiming to become a leader in AC technology in Canada.

In the next phase of the development, there will be contributions from Nokia, which will include the addition of LTE and 5G capability to the route.

Read More: BlackBerry Brand is Saved from Dying; Transformation is Complete, Says CEO John Chen

Global giants’ interest is increasing in the autonomous vehicle technology, with the likes of Google and Uber already developing the technology. Besides tech giants, automakers are also betting on the self-drive cars.

Recently, it was revealed that Cyanogen — the company known for making operating system for smartphones based on Android, rebranded as Cyngn and pivoted its business to developing software for the autonomous vehicles.

The post BlackBerry Tests QNX-Based Self-Driving Car In Ottawa appeared first on Gizmochina.

Cyanogen, which was making a custom operating system for smartphones based on Android a couple of years ago, has now been rebranded as Cyngn. With changing its name, the company has also changed its business.

Cyngn, which had previously raised $115 million, has now pivoted from being a custom Android mobile operating system developer to self-driving cars. It is now working on the autonomous driving technology.

As per the reports, the company is developing self-driving car software and possibly hardware too. This was revealed through its website and job listings. The company has also recently got approval from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to test self-driving cars on public roadways.

The reason behind the course change for the company is believed that executives and board members at Cyngn see automated vehicles sector as disruptive in the next five years.

The company currently has around 30 staff members, including autonomous automotive engineers from Mercedes Benz and Udacity. It appears that the company is still looking to hire more people.

Job listings posted by the company reveals that Cyngn is working with radar, camera, ultrasonic, and lidar sensors, and is using ROS — an open-source operating system for robots.

Read More: Faraday Future Finally Unveils the FF91, its Sleek Self-Driving Electric SUV

Earlier, the company, which was formerly known as Cyanogen, had raised about $115 million in various funding rounds from Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Foxconn, Tencent and others.

It is now looking to raise additional funding of around $200 million in its Series D round. Some reports suggest that it is also open to being purchased outright.

Cyanogen was one of the largest company developing an operating system for smartphones. At its peak, the company’s software was running on over 50 million devices and was on track to hit half a billion handsets by 2020.

But, due to bad business practices, deals, and disagreements about the future of Cyanogen Mod operating system, the company started going downwards. It fired most of its staff and closed its Seattle office at the end of last year.

It will be interesting to track Cyngn’s journey as it explores a totally different territory. It faces competition from automakers as well as giant tech firms, including Apple, Waymo, Drive.ai, among others.

(Via)

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LeEco is making sure its entrance into the United States is grand and is seeing to that with the unveiling of series of innovative products at a go. The latest product unveiled is the eco-friendly LeSEE Pro autonomous(self-driving) electric car which joins the Le Pro 3, Le S3 smartphones as well as the 85-inch uMax85 4K TV which were also unveiled at the event held San Francisco yesterday.

The LeSEE concept car was first unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show last April but LeEco says the LeSEE Pro is more intelligent and more connected than the original concept car. Make no mistake, the LeSEE Pro isn’t a concept car even though it looks like one. However, LeEco didn’t reveal the cost of the car, production plan and other important details, saving those details for later perhaps.

The electric car comes as a self-driving car and one that can make use of a driver at the same time. The steering wheel is capable of retracting into the dashboard when it is in autonomous or self-driving mode, thus creating room for the driver to relax and enjoy LeEco’s streaming entertainment contents. LeEco says the LeSEE is not only a car but is an ecosystem for mobile connectivity.

The car also features an exterior  light display that shifts between five different colors to signal what drive mode its in. According to LeEco, depending on the color the car will inform drivers and pedestrians when the vehicle is driving autonomously, sees a hazard, is charging, or is car-share ready.

The car is said to have arrived the exhibition ground right from London where it is being used for the filming of “Transformer 5” and according to news from China LeSEE Pro mass production will likely commence soon. LeEco is reported to have partnered with the government of Zhejiang province in China to establish an assembly plant worth nearly $ 20 billion.

LeEco also revealed another interesting information during the event that the Faraday Future electric car project that it is bankrolling would unveil its first car at CES next year and as is the case with the LeSEE Pro, the car would be production ready and not just a concept.

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