In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news are Cruise, IVECO, PreACT, Plus, Sibros and CUBONIC.
In this Article
Cruise Suspends All Operations for Now.
In the coming days, Cruise is pausing supervised and manual AV operations in the U.S., affecting roughly 70 vehicles. This orderly pause is a further step to rebuild public trust while Cruise undergos a full safety review. Cruise will continue to operate vehicles in closed course training environments and maintain an active simulation program in order to stay focused on advancing AV technology.
IVECO & Plus
IVECO and Plus announced today with dm-drogerie markt, Europe’s largest retail chain of drugstores, and DSV, one of the world’s leading transport and logistics providers, the launch of an automated trucking pilot in Germany which will start in the first half of 2024. An IVECO heavy duty truck integrated with Plus’s AI-based, driver-supervised highly automated driving software will operate on a DSV route to transport dm-drogerie markt products in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg-Hessen region. Piloting with a logistics carrier on a bustling commercial freight route is a key enabler for the large-scale deployment of automated trucks in the coming years.
The program serves to demonstrate that state-of-the-art automated driving technology can already be used today to enhance freight transportation and make trucking safer, less stressful, more efficient, and more sustainable. Customer deployments have already shown that Plus’s driver-in solution, PlusDrive, can help reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) for fleets and improve driver job satisfaction.
“For us at dm, our automated trucking pilot is a groundbreaking and important step towards sustainable logistics. The technology can make a significant contribution to the comfort and safety of drivers and ensure that our supply chains run more smoothly and reliably,” said Christian Bodi, the dm Managing Director responsible for logistics. “Together with our partners, we want to use this innovative project to gather insights into the potential impact of highly automated trucks on operations for dm.”
“Sustainability is a shared value between our organizations. At DSV, we are defining our path towards becoming net-zero by 2050, and we are committed to supporting our partners and playing a role in the green transition of our industry and societies at large. The green transition requires new and innovative technologies, and we are always ready to take part in innovative projects like this – especially with our valued partner dm,” explained Jens Bjørn Andersen, Group CEO, DSV.
“Automation is a driving force to let the transport industry evolve towards new safety and efficiency frontiers. We are delighted that DSV and dm recognize the transformative potential of our highly automated trucks. Their collaboration with IVECO and Plus on this pilot will further advance the understanding of this technology at scale and represents a milestone for the concrete deployment of autonomous driving production series,” said Marco Liccardo, Chief Technology & Digital Officer, Iveco Group.
Shawn Kerrigan, COO and Co-Founder at Plus, said: “Trucking is an essential but challenging job. Plus’s suite of software solutions, from the driver-in to the self-driving system, is designed to support different needs and use cases. Our collaboration with dm, DSV and IVECO will accelerate the commercial deployment of our autonomous driving technology at scale and help realize our shared vision for a safer and greener future.”
Attorney Warns About Autonomous Trucking in TX
Drivers beware. The 80,000-pound tractor trailer sharing the road with you may not have a driver behind the wheel. One major company has just announced it will be sending autonomous trucks to terminals in Dallas and Houston sometime next year. The announcement comes shortly after the California Department of Motor Vehicles shut down problem-plagued Cruise autonomous taxis in San Francisco, saying the vehicles, involved in several troubling incidents, presented an “unreasonable risk to the public.”
“We have already seen numerous instances in Texas of problems with driverless vehicles,” warns Amy Witherite, founder of a law firm that specializes in vehicle accident cases. “The danger and severity of accidents will be multiplied a hundredfold when the accident involves a tractor trailer versus a car.”
The City of Austin has received more than 40 complaints related to driverless cars since July, according to city data. According to media reports, an internal reporting system used by Austin firefighters and police describes Cruise cars bumping into parked fire trucks, ignoring police directing traffic, and—in one instance—almost cutting off an ambulance with its emergency lights activated.
“Individuals injured in a crash with an autonomous vehicle will face a much more difficult time determining who was at fault and will be responsible for deaths, serious injuries or property damage,” said Witherite. “The amount of finger-pointing between various parties will increase tenfold because of all the technology involved.
“Anyone who has ever experienced the so-called blue screen of death on their computer understands that computers, which control autonomous vehicles, can fail,” said Witherite. “Even something as simple as placing a sticker on a sign can confuse sensors, and there has been a high-profile case where an autonomous vehicle did not recognize a giant tractor trailer truck crossing a highway, leading to a fatality.
“Any litigation that arises from this type of accident will require a new level of expertise from attorneys and a wide range of experts in computers, software, sensors and all of the other technology that goes into creating an autonomous vehicle,” says Witherite. “We can expect defendants to claim their technology is proprietary or seek confidential settlements that will make it more difficult for plaintiffs to access key information needed to determine liability. We have already seen attempts in Congress to limit the amount of information that is available through binding confidential arbitration in these types of cases.”
In 2017, Texas passed Senate Bill 2205, which explicitly allows for the operation of an automated motor vehicle on Texas roads, regardless of whether a licensed human operator is physically present in the vehicle. The bill assigns exclusive governance to the Department of Public Safety and explicitly preempts other political subdivisions or agencies from regulating the operation of automated motor vehicles.
According to Texas A&M University Transportation Policy Research Center, “this law offers clarity in some very important areas and effectively allows for the legal operation of AVs in Texas. However, these vehicles present a number of new legal and procedural questions still not covered by current law, including questions of governance, data ownership, protection of data concerning individual privacy, and the ability of AVs to comply with human-centric Rules of the Road.”
“There is clear evidence this technology has not been perfected,” says Witherite, “and innocent drivers and passengers may well pay the price.”
PreAct Intros Mojave
PreAct Technologies (PreAct), an Oregon-based developer of near-field flash LiDAR technology, today announced that its Mojave flash LiDAR sensor will be available through Arrow Electronics, a global provider of technology products, services, and solutions. Mojave is a high-performance, low-cost sensor solution that addresses a variety of applications including smart cities, robotics, cargo monitoring, education & university research, building monitoring, patient monitoring, agriculture, and much more.
“We are excited to welcome Arrow to our partner family that will help get Mojave into the hands of those who need it,” said Paul Drysch, CEO of PreAct. “With Arrow’s vertical market-oriented philosophy, we are confident that the Arrow team will be able to architect solutions that meet the needs of various industries.”
Arrow guides innovation forward for over 210,000 leading technology manufacturers and service providers. The company’s broad portfolio that spans the entire technology landscape helps customers create and manage forward-thinking products that make the benefits of technology accessible to as many people as possible.
Mojave is the only flash LiDAR designed to meet the stringent needs of sensors in robotics, agriculture and other industrial applications. Key features of Mojave include:
- Depth accuracy error of less than 2%
- Provides more than 1.4 million points per second of depth information
- Has the ability to detect floor slope and camber
- Superior cliff and edge detection over any other sensor on the market
- Single unit retail cost of $350
Mojave comes fully calibrated from the factory and both the software and firmware are upgradable because of its software-definable capabilities, allowing companies to invest once in the hardware and continue to improve the sensor performance over time.
Mojave is currently available for pre-order through Brevan Electronics, and will also be available through DigiKey and Amazon.
Sibros Partners with CUBONIC
Connected vehicle technology innovator Sibros and CUBONIC, a pioneering provider of sustainable, highly customizable automated and autonomous electric light commercial vehicle (eLCV) solutions, announce a strategic partnership to foster a greener future for last-mile transportation. This collaboration melds Sibros’ profound expertise in connected-vehicle systems with CUBONIC’s groundbreaking eLCV solutions, notably its PeopleMover and CargoMover vehicles, to expedite the advent of autonomous driving and connected ecosystems in the last-mile transportation sector.
Leveraging Sibros’ Deep Connected Platform, this partnership aims to deliver a robust, integrated vehicle-to-cloud ecosystem for CUBONIC’s bespoke vehicles. The technology will enable live data collection, over-the-air software updates, and real-time remote diagnostics, enhancing operational efficiency, safety, and the user experience.
Key features and benefits enabled by this partnership include:
- Ensuring vehicles operate with the latest safety, performance, and feature enhancements at all times with rapid over-the-air software updates
- Reduced fleet downtime and maintenance costs with software-oriented vehicle diagnostics, predictive failure detection and remote issue resolution
- Optimizing fleet operational efficiency with real-time fleet analytics, monitoring and management
- Enhanced customer experience with seamless integration of connected services into back-end IT systems, end-user tools and mobile devices
- Enabling autonomous driving capabilities through secure and reliable vehicle connectivity, advancing the state of last-mile transportation solutions
Hemant Sikaria, CEO of Sibros, says, “Partnering with CUBONIC amplifies our commitment to advancing connected vehicle technology across diverse mobility platforms. Together, we are set to redefine the landscape of last-mile transportation by delivering technologically superior, environmentally friendly, and highly efficient solutions.”
Günter Butschek, CEO at CUBONIC, echoes the sentiment, “This collaboration with Sibros is a significant stride in advancing our vision of revolutionizing last-mile transportation. The integration of Sibros’ connected vehicle technologies with our autonomous electric vehicles will accelerate the realization of our mission, delivering exceptional value to our customers and contributing to a sustainable future.”