July 31, 2023
Five years after 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was killed, hit by a Uber self-driving car in Tempe, Arizona, the human driver, Rafaela Vasquez, was convicted by a court and sentenced to three years of supervised probation without imprisonment. Eventually, Vasques pleaded guilty to endangerment, avoiding the prison she feared most. Initially, Vasquez was charged with ‘negligent […]
July 27, 2023
BMW has launched a new test site for highly automated driving up to level 4 and self-parking in Sokolov, in the former mining region of Karlovarský in Czechia. The ‘Future Mobility Development Center’ (FMDC) was built on 600 hectares of a former surface mine site with 2.2 million cubic meters of recycled soil previously excavated. The […]
July 24, 2023
Ford has managed to become the first car manufacturer to launch hands-free semi-autonomous highway driving at full speed in Europe, with the introduction of BlueCruise on the UK Mustang Mach-E. 95% of British highways are covered in the so-called ‘Blue Zones’, but the functionality doesn’t come for free. UK owners of a MY23 Ford Mustang […]
July 10, 2023
VW plans to put self-driving cars on the streets of Austin, the capital of Texas, later this month. It is the first time that the company is tackling such a project in the USA. A total of ten units of the VW ID. Buzz with autonomous driving technology will be deployed. Tests in Germany are […]
June 07, 2023
According to several French-language newspapers, the Brussels Region will automate its metro network. These ‘driverless’ trains have been discussed for about a decade, but now the goals are becoming more concrete: the first route to run without a human driver will be line 5 Ceria-Erasmus in the summer of 2026. Eventually, all metros should run […]
May 25, 2023
Ridesharing company Uber is going to offer robotaxis in the US. Uber’s partner is Waymo, a subdivision of the Alphabet group, Google’s parent company. An initial collaboration is scheduled for later this year in Phoenix City. The exact number of self-driving taxis remains undisclosed. The association surprises as the two companies were entangled in a […]
May 19, 2023
Mercedes has unveiled its new VAN.EA architecture. The modular underpinnings can house a variety of van models, from medium to large, and must significantly boost electrifying its utility department. The first models on the new platform are expected in 2026. The VAN.EA platform, which will be produced in sites all over the world from Mercedes, […]
May 12, 2023
A route with self-driving buses from Stagecoach, UK’s largest bus and coach operator, will start operating in Edinburgh next week, a first in the UK. However, a driver will always be on board to monitor things and take back control of the bus in an emergency. This is also required by UK law. The project, […]
April 21, 2023
The self-driving shuttles riding around on the domain of the Terhills Resort in Maasmechelen are now completely autonomous. The presence of a safety steward is no longer needed. The shuttle project is unique in Belgium and exceptional in Europe. The vehicles were officially introduced in May last year in the presence of the Flemish Ministers […]
March 31, 2023
Carmakers and suppliers are looking into several innovations to meet the growing demand for convenient and more accessible charging infrastructure. For example, Chinese charging service provider NaaS is joining the likes of Volkswagen and announcing the development – and launch – of a self-developed automatic mobile charging robot. The compact robot on wheels, looking for […]
February 28, 2023
Some buzz ahead of Investor Day, a keynote held by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the 1st of March 2023, has American media reporting on a cheap electric model and maybe even a hydrogen version. That’s quite a U-turn for Musk, who depicted fuel cells in the past as ‘fool cells’ because of their lack […]
February 23, 2023
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Axxicom Airport Caddy are launching an experiment with self-riding wheelchairs this week. The wheelchairs, equipped with smart technology from WHILL Autonomous Mobility, are already being used successfully at major airports such as Tokyo International Airport in Japan. The wheelchair service should improve customer satisfaction and contribute to Schiphol’s objective to make […]
February 17, 2023
After identifying malfunctions in its driver assistance software, Tesla was forced to recall 362 758 cars in the United States. Models equipped with the Level 2 software of Full Self-Driving (FSD) can act in a potentially dangerous manner at intersections. In Europe, Tesla only tests FSD in the company cars of its staff. According to […]
January 27, 2023
Is this future of its Sportback models? Audi has unveiled the fourth iteration of its concept series Sphere. The ActiveSphere is the most adventurous of all, taking the previously featured functions of lounging whilst driving… offroad. “This is a new type of crossover”, says Chief Designer Gael Buzyn. After the roadster Skysphere, the sedan Grandsphere […]
January 25, 2023
On Tuesday, the Colruyt Clevon delivery robot, on test since November last year, has delivered for the first time groceries to a client, 26-year-old Ellen Cools, who lives on the trajectory between the distribution center and the Collect & Go pickup point in Londerzeel. Colruyt has found thirty clients living along the route the robot […]
January 17, 2023
After Colruyt started experimenting with an Estonian delivery robot in November, French supermarket chain Carrefour is setting up a pilot in the business park Corporate Village in Zaventem near Brussels with a Turkish-branded autonomous robot. After the first test panel of twenty people, everybody in the Corporate Village will be able, starting next week, to […]
January 10, 2023
German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is the first to get official approval for SAE Level 3 autonomous driving in the US, with Nevada taking the lead and California following, most likely soon. The latter was confirmed by the carmaker at CES in Las Vegas last week. It’s the first manufacturer to accomplish this government approval, beating Tesla […]
January 09, 2023
VW’s design and engineering studio Italdesign has explored the boundaries of autonomous shuttles roaming around future cities. It envisioned, together with Swiss Schindler integrating them into buildings as an elevator capsule. The Climb-E can pick you up on the 30th floor of your apartment building and, once on the street level, drive you to any […]
January 06, 2023
The Peugeot Inception Concept looks like a wild idea on wheels, born to grab attention, but underneath its razor-edged surface sits a guideline for the future EVs of the French brand. Peugeot’s planned entry into the US was ditched a few years ago. With no current models on offer over the Atlantic Ocean, it came […]
January 04, 2023
At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, French automotive supplier Plastic Omnium and French deep-tech startup Greenwave are showing a revolutionary way of integrating radar sensors into the entire surface of the car’s bumpers to catch a high-resolution image of its surroundings. The companies claim that far more information can be gathered by […]
December 09, 2022
Volkswagen has released more details on the next generation of the MEB architecture, adding a plus to its name. The company confirms earlier claims that a range of up to 700 kilometers will be possible while DC charging rises to a peak of 200 kW, further shortening the waiting times. The Volkswagen Group builds twelve […]
December 06, 2022
A new boss comes with a new set of laws. With Oliver Blume now in charge of the Volkswagen Group, his management team has sent the prestigious Trinity model back to the drawing board. But unfortunately, they weren’t happy with the original design proposal. As a flagship model, the Trinity was supposed to hit the […]
December 01, 2022
With a picture of its driverless sci-fi-like electric truck or T-Pod, ‘shot or conveniently Photoshoped (?)’, in front of the iconic Antwerp Port Authority building, the Swedish Einride has announced its official launch in the Benelux. Einride will deliver six fully electric trucks to Belgian beer brewer Ab InBev, which pledges to replace all its […]
November 30, 2022
A locomotive of Belgian rail freight company Lineas carried out a demo run in the Netherlands fully autonomously on Tuesday. In the process, the locomotive also encountered obstacles on the rails, reports Alstom, which is developing the technology. The demonstration, which took place near Breda, concludes a series of tests that are part of a […]
November 28, 2022
As of last Friday, Seoul’s citizens can ride in an autonomous driving bus. The first self-driving shuttle was inaugurated and must help people take the threshold and build faith in the technology. The bus runs a 3,4-kilometer-long loop through South Korea’s capital, which lasts around 20 minutes. Travelers can embark on one of the two […]
November 22, 2022
Geely’s luxury brand Zeekr has launched a platform for autonomous driving vehicles. Dubbed SEA-M, the carmaker presented it on a robotaxi, the M-Vision. Google’s subsidiary Waymo is the first customer. The unveiling of the car, and the architecture, follows a previous announcement from Google and Geely unveiling their collaboration on developing an all-electric ride-hailing vehicle […]
