Lifeboat Foundation

Google announced a new HD version of its Maps service for cars with the Android Automotive operating system. The new HD maps will provide more detailed road markings, lane-level localization, road barriers and signs. The feature will debut on the Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3 models and will benefit from the lidar, radar and camera sensors on vehicles to ensure a safer driving experience.

Volvo EX90 using Google HD maps.

Continue reading “Google announces new high-definition maps, Android Auto redesign rolling out” »

They can be your power source on the go.

A startup named LAND Energy offers its customers something that most companies don’t. The option to swap the batteries on the vehicle, keeping the vehicle brand new even as technology improves over the years.

Continue reading “Ohio-based startup’s e-bikes come with swappable batteries” »

As we enter 2023, these were the big stories in self-driving cars for 2022. You an also check out my summary of early 2022 for more details on that quarter, but these are the game-changers for this year. There’s no doubt this was a year of huge ups and downs. A year where some gave up and others doubled down. A year where the stock market and VC funding took a massive nosedive and companies mostly shrunk, but also a year of great technical progress.

Usually I do this as a countdown to the biggest story, but I’ll spoil it right now and say the big story was the incredible contrast of the good and bad news. So I’m instead going to tell you the good, the bad and the not particularly ugly.

We wrap up the year with the biggest stories in robocars, from the very bad to the very good, of which 2022 had lots of both. Includes video of the stories.

Continue reading “Top Self-Driving Car Stories Of 2022 In Review” »

Looks cool.

Tarmac Linemarking.

Tarmac Linemarking’s John Emanuelli, told News.com.au that since the trial photos went viral he has been inundated with businesses and councils looking to have their paths illuminated with his technology.

Continue reading “These glow-in-the-dark highway lines in Australia are making driving safer” »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s1JrDq2igA

The glow-in-the-dark pavement is charged by the sun during the day and emits its own light for up to 10 hours at night, eliminating the need for energy-consuming street lights. The glow-in-the-dark pavement is just the first stage of many potential projects engineers are testing to make roadways safer and more energy efficient.

Everyone is concerned when driving on a dark road if the road markers are not clearly visible or if the lighting is insufficient. Fortunately, Tarmac Linemarking, an Australian firm that works with OmniGrip and Vicroads, has made a fresh breakthrough by generating glow-in-the-dark road markings that resemble children’s toys. According to a report by News.com.au published on Thursday. The test was conducted on a one-kilometer section of the Metong Road in Victoria’s southeast and images were posted on Facebook.

Allowing the driver of an autonomous vehicle to watch a movie, a dealer to sell automobiles from a “virtual” car lot, or an engineer to simulate how a new part fits: the auto industry is getting a tantalizing taste of the metaverse at the huge CES technology show.

One gadget on display in Las Vegas is an in-car television system, developed by French parts maker Valeo, that needs no remote.

To change the channel, drivers or passengers wearing a headset make a simple swipe in the air with their hand, and sensors in the car detect the movement.

Color-changing cars. Flying taxis. And a gaming-style tablet that can steer a vehicle.

Car companies descended on CES in Las Vegas this week to show off their latest ideas—some quirky and far out, others more relevant in the near term—as the industry navigates technological shifts in its business.

During the week, car executives unveiled new in-car software, hyped automated-driving tech, and highlighted new partnerships and investment deals. Auto makers in recent years have accelerated the rollout of their new battery-powered models.

With 2023 right around the corner, we make 5 predictions that will happen in the artificial intelligence (AI) world.

5 Predictions.
1) GPT-4 to be released.
2) Autonomous Vehicles as primary source of transportation for general population.
3) Evolution of search engines.
4) Humanoid robot development.
5) Run out of data to train AI language models.

The visually impaired are getting a helping hand (or a helping belt, as it were) from Korean startup AI Guided. At CES in Las Vegas, the company was showing off some pretty neat tech that incorporates optical and Lidar technology along with AI-powered on-device computing to identify obstacles and help with navigation.

The company claims to be able to do advanced object identification to help keep walkers safe, in addition to using gentle haptic feedback to help with wayfinding. The whole system is carried on a belt, leaving the users hands-free.