The Innovation Report
Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV Part of Lyft Robotaxi Fleet
As an electric car, the Ioniq 5 has checked almost every box for a lot of people when it was unveiled last month. Now it’s not only going to be an electric car but also an autonomous vehicle. Motional, Hyundai’s company developing autonomous driving technology,...
Volvo and Aurora Team Up on Fully Autonomous Trucks for North America
Volvo is partnering with self-driving startup Aurora on a new lineup of fully autonomous semi trucks, the companies announced. The trucks will be deployed in North America on highly frequented hub-to-hub routes. The deal between Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Aurora —...
Biden Infrastructure Plan Includes Pitch for EV Rebates
The Biden administration will ask Congress to extend incentives that have spurred a U.S. electric-vehicle market that still trails EV adoption in economic rival China. The proposed extension for breaks on EV purchases is part of a $2.25 trillion infrastructure and...
Preparing Repair Shops for High-Tech and Electric Vehicles
Consumer, lawmaker and, most recently, auto manufacturer sentiment is shifting toward electric and hybrid vehicles. General Motors has announced an ambitious plan to have 30 electric vehicles for sale by 2025 and imagines an “all-electric” future. The...
Detroit’s Empty Factories Can Help Win the E-Truck War
In the summer of 2018, when Tesla needed to quickly ramp up production at its Fremont, Calif., factory, the company erected a big top the size of two football fields in the parking lot. The strategy brought into stark relief the difficulty of taking a...
Control System Helps Several Drones Team Up to Deliver Heavy Packages
Many parcel delivery drones of the future are expected to handle packages weighing five pounds or less, a restriction that would allow small, standardized UAVs to handle a large percentage of the deliveries now done by ground vehicles. But will that relegate heavier...
Robot, Drone Help Police Find Wanted Man Hiding in Attic
The department's Special Operations Unit (SOU) used a robot and drone with cameras to find Hall hiding underneath insulation in the attic of the townhome. Captain Cary Gensemer said the technology gives responding officers an added layer of safety that wouldn’t...
Yandex’s AVs Have Driven over 6M Miles in ‘Challenging Conditions’
Yandex, Russia's multi-hyphenate internet giant, began testing its autonomous cars on Moscow's icy winter roads over three years ago. The goal was to create a "universal" self-driving vehicle that could safely maneuver around different cities...
Will Self-Driving Cars Disrupt Insurance Industry?
Self-driving vehicles should ideally accomplish a few things: convenience for operators/owners of vehicles, cost reduction for commercial vehicles (no driver), and safer roads (fewer and less severe crashes). This last item, if true, will significantly lower the risks...
Fewer Troops, More Tech: UK Military Downsizes and Shifts to AI, Drones and Cyber
Automation is increasingly making its way into the modern-day battlefield, and the armed forces are being re-shaped accordingly. The UK government has unveiled new plans to re-organize defense over the next 10 years, with heavy investments in new technologies to be...
