Lifeboat Foundation

Waymo and Cruise are now allowed to launch paid 24/7, fully autonomous driverless car services in San Francisco, state regulators decided Thursday.

Why it matters: This is the final approval in both companies’ quests to launch their full-fledged services throughout San Francisco.

What’s happening: After several hours of public testimony, the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday granted permits to allow both Cruise and Waymo to charge for rides around the clock in San Francisco.

In a win for the autonomous vehicle industry, California regulators have given the green light to Cruise and Waymo to offer commercial robotaxi services across San Francisco 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The commission voted 3–1 in support of the expansions; Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma cast the sole “no” vote.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) votes in favor of the AV companies come in spite of mounting opposition from residents and city agencies that have urged caution and a more incremental approach to expansion. Since AVs hit the streets of San Francisco, there have been numerous instances of vehicles malfunctioning and stopping in the middle of the street — referred to as “bricking” — blocking the flow of traffic, public transit and emergency responders.

The Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, or NAHF, named Tyson Weihs, co-founder and former CEO of ForeFlight, winner of its 2023 Armstrong Award.

The award recognizes Weihs for his “innovative spirit, commitment to safety, and service to the aviation community,” the NAHF said. Many pilots are using ForeFlight every day who would agree that the platform represents a game-changer in general aviation.

With only a few Tesla Cybertruck prototypes out there, it has rarely been spotted next to another electric pickup truck for a nice size comparison.

But now we get to see it next to a Rivian R1T.

We are likely weeks away from the first Cybertruck deliveries, yet we don’t have the finalized specs and dimensions of the electric pickup truck.

In a pivotal moment for the autonomous transportation industry, California chose to expand one of the biggest test cases for the technology.

A New Zealand supermarket experimenting with using AI to generate meal plans has seen its app produce some unusual dishes – recommending customers recipes for deadly chlorine gas, “poison bread sandwiches” and mosquito-repellent roast potatoes.

The app, created by supermarket chain Pak ‘n’ Save, was advertised as a way for customers to creatively use up leftovers during the cost of living crisis. It asks users to enter in various ingredients in their homes, and auto-generates a meal plan or recipe, along with cheery commentary. It initially drew attention on social media for some unappealing recipes, including an “oreo vegetable stir-fry”.

Pak ‘n’ Save’s Savey Meal-bot cheerfully created unappealing recipes when customers experimented with non-grocery household items.

Continue reading “Supermarket AI meal planner app suggests recipe that would create chlorine gas” »

A trip from Houston to Dallas would take 90 minutes.

Tesla’s iconic electric vehicles are taking on a slightly different shape.

Zach Kirkhorn’s replacement, Delhi-trained accountant Vaibhav Taneja, has kept a low profile since joining Tesla in 2016—a very low profile.