Automotive

Tesla cars operating semi-autonomously have had many more collisions than previously reported, and the rate of such incidents has risen, government data shows.

Apple is redrawing the road map for its self-driving car. The company is redesigning an autonomous car that has been in development for nearly a decade, Bloomberg reported. Originally intended to be fully autonomous under all conditions, the redesigned vehicle will allow for a human driver.

The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) detailed autonomous vehicle collisions over a 12-month period.

The European Union passed a law that requires new vehicles to come equipped with automated safety features.

A drive-through system from UVeye automatically inspects vehicles for dents, leaks, and low tire pressure.

Dormant robotaxis are snarling traffic on the streets of San Francisco.What’s new: Cruise self-driving cabs lately have stalled en masse, Wired reported.

With prices on the rise, an app analyzes user data to deliver cash back on retail purchases. Upside, a startup based in Washington, D.C., works with gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants to offer personalized discounts to consumers.

In Beijing, self-driving cars are rolling without a driver behind the wheel. China’s capital city authorized Pony.ai and Apollo Go, a Baidu subsidiary, to deploy self-driving taxis without a human in the driver’s seat.

Overhead cameras equipped with computer vision are spotting distracted drivers on the road. A system from Melbourne-based Acusensus alerts police when drivers are engaged in risky activities such as using a cell phone, not wearing a seatbelt, or speeding.

Chinese researchers for the first time swept a competition to develop AI systems that monitor urban traffic. Chinese universities and companies won first and second place place in all five categories of the 2021 AI City Challenge.

Automobile insurers are increasingly turning to machine learning models to calculate the cost of car repairs. The pandemic has made it difficult for human assessors to visit vehicles damaged in crashes, so the insurance industry is embracing automation.

AI startups continue to roared ahead, global pandemic or no. Tech industry analyst CB Insights published its fifth annual list of the 100 most promising private AI companies.

Police are increasingly able to track motor vehicles throughout the U.S. using a network of AI-powered cameras — many owned by civilians. Flock, which sells automatic license plate readers is encouraging enforcers to use its network to monitor cars and trucks outside their jurisdiction.

Amazon is monitoring its delivery drivers with in-vehicle cameras that alert supervisors to dangerous behavior. The online retail giant rolled out a ceiling-mounted surveillance system that flags drivers who, say, read texts, fail to use seatbelts, exceed the speed limit, or ignore a stop sign.

A new breed of self-driving car could kick the autonomous-vehicle industry into a higher gear. Zoox unveiled its first product, an all-electric, driverless taxi designed fully in-house.