Advanced platform will track routes, manage permits and support real-time operations Abu Dhabi: Under supervision of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council, the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility), an affiliate of the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT), has inaugurated a central control room dedicated to managing and monitoring autonomous vehicle (AV) operations across Abu Dhabi, in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan bin Saeed bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, and Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of DMT. This strategic step aims to enhance direct supervision and effective regulation of the sector through advanced systems for real-time monitoring, data analysis, and decision support, ensuring the highest levels of safety and operational efficiency. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here. The inauguration of the control room comes amid the continuous expansion of autonomous vehicle services in the emirate, highlighting the importance of developing regulatory mechanisms that keep pace with the rapid growth of this sector. The ITC stated that the control room ensures all monitoring and response activities align with designated schedules and regulatory requirements, allowing immediate monitoring of autonomous vehicle movement and rapid response to any operational or emergency situations, in accordance with approved procedures, thereby enhancing road safety. The control room is equipped with advanced monitoring and operational systems, including a centralised supervision system. It also incorporates an integrated platform for the operation and testing of autonomous vehicles (AViTOMS), enabling real-time tracking of vehicle locations, speeds, and routes. It also enables comprehensive trip recording and analysis, coordinated emergency response management with relevant authorities, and the generation of periodic data-driven reports to enhance routing and optimise operational efficiency. In addition, the platform manages the process of issuing permits and approving operational routes. Dr Abdulla Hamad AlGhfeli, Acting Director General of ITC, said,
Jul 10, 2026 · via gulfnews.com
Waymo called the cops on teen riders, raising privacy concerns Police in San Mateo, Calif., posted Monday on social media that they had apprehended a pair of teenagers from a Waymo driverless robotaxi after the company alerted authorities to suspected criminal activity. It's the latest incident involving video surveillance of passengers and others by autonomous vehicles — raising questions about the limits of privacy in such vehicles. The Facebook post by the San Mateo County Police said: "Parents do you know where your teens are? @waymo does!" The 15-year-olds were allegedly drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns from the car, according to the police. They said Waymo's systems detected behavior that then triggered a safety response, after which the company disabled the vehicle and contacted police. Waymo's cars, equipped with an array of cameras, microphones and other sensors to monitor passengers and other nearby vehicles, are becoming more common in cities across the United States. Experts say the detention of the two teens in San Mateo highlights a potential — but not inevitable — trade-off between privacy and convenience. It also questions the extent to which companies similar to Waymo are required to hand over private data, including audio and video of passengers, in situations where a crime is suspected. NPR reached out to Waymo, which is owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, for comment on the details of the San Mateo incident and how the company responded, but did not hear back. But on its website, the company says that as many as 29 cameras in its autonomous cars provide an all-around view and "are designed with high dynamic range and thermal stability, to see in both daylight and low-light conditions, and tackle more complex environments." "There already exist laws that govern duty to report or even
Jul 10, 2026 · via npr.org
Atlanta Uber drivers say Waymo robotaxis are cutting into earnings, call for protections Drivers for rideshare services gathered in metro Atlanta on Thursday, saying autonomous vehicles are cutting into their earnings and calling for protections as robotaxis become more common on local roads. "Probably like 10 to 30%, depending on the day," said Richard Feinburg, a rideshare driver who estimates his income has declined since autonomous vehicles entered the market. Feinburg said he worked as a graphic artist before turning to rideshare driving. What started as a part-time job has since become his primary source of income, but he said rising vehicle expenses and declining earnings are making it increasingly difficult to stay behind the wheel. "I'm trying to get out of it and just do it part time on the weekends because I can't keep putting as many miles on my vehicle," Feinburg said. "There's a lot of maintenance on top of it — fueling, tire changes — and the companies do not cover any of that." Waymo's autonomous vehicles, which make up most of the driverless fleet operating in metro Atlanta, are available through the Uber app. When the service launched, Uber and Waymo told CBS News Atlanta the autonomous vehicles would primarily handle shorter trips, which they suggested were often less desirable for drivers. Feinburg said that has not matched his experience. "That's the thing about it," Feinburg said. "A lot of the profitable drives are the short-distance trips." He said changes to rideshare pricing over the years have made shorter trips more lucrative than longer ones, increasing competition for those fares. Drivers attending Thursday's rally said they want policymakers and rideshare companies to ensure autonomous vehicles do not come at the expense of workers' livelihoods. "We are here today because we want to put people over
Jul 10, 2026 · via cbsnews.com
Atlanta rideshare drivers rally against Waymo expansion ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Rideshare drivers rallied Thursday in Atlanta, saying autonomous vehicle services are already cutting into their earnings and that the shift is happening without their involvement. Bob Chouhan, co-leader of the Atlanta Rideshare Drivers Union, said the pace of Waymo’s expansion concerns him. “The rate at which they’ve been coming into this market, they could easily within a space of the next few years replace all drivers because they don’t need bathroom breaks, they don’t need to sleep,” Chouhan said. Chouhan has driven for Uber and Lyft for several years. He said the work was once a reliable source of income but has since declined. “As time has gone by it’s gradually become a little bit of a nightmare for us because the income has whittled away,” he said. Chouhan said shorter, in-city trips — once among the most profitable — are no longer coming through. “Those were some of the best paying rides back then and now we’re seeing that a big number of those type of rides have actually been lost. We don’t get them anymore,” he said. Uber said autonomous vehicles will create new opportunities but will also displace workers. The company said 85% of its drivers use the platform fewer than 40 hours per week. In a statement, Uber said it is working on transitions for affected workers. “Durable solutions will require broader collaboration among governments, industry, and worker representatives,” the company said. Georgia state Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, D-Smyrna, said he believes corporate decisions around the rollout are being made without community input. “Our community is supposed to be built with the input of the people right and that is not what’s happening,” Sanchez said. Sanchez also said he is concerned about the potential
Jul 10, 2026 · via atlantanewsfirst.com
Featured Stories
Why the QX65 is Infiniti’s most important model of 2026
In June, the QX65’s first full month on the market, sales of the model topped internal projections by 25 percent.
In June, the QX65’s first full month on the market, sales of the model topped internal projections by 25 percent.
Jul 9, 2026 · via autonews.com
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has told autonomous vehicle developers to address safety failures that have led some driverless vehicles to interfere with emergency responders, warning that the issue is unacceptable and needs to be fixed quickly. In a letter sent Wednesday, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the agency has identified a "clear pattern" of autonomous vehicles driving into active emergency scenes, blocking ambulances and fire trucks, and failing to react appropriately to flashing lights, traffic cones, smoke, fire, and other emergency conditions. He said these incidents are not rare "edge cases," but point to a meaningful gap in real-world performance. NHTSA instructed developers and operators to submit their proposed solutions by the end of July. The letter does not name specific companies, but it is expected to affect robotaxi operators such as Waymo, which has previously faced incidents where first responders had to manually move its vehicles during emergencies. The agency did not outline specific penalties for noncompliance but said autonomous vehicle companies could be held to standards similar to those applied to human drivers who obstruct emergency operations.Separately, NHTSA said it is continuing work to update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to better accommodate fully autonomous vehicles. Proposed changes could remove requirements for features such as steering wheels, pedals, windshield wipers, sun visors, and defogging systems in vehicles designed to operate without human drivers—potentially benefiting companies including Tesla and Zoox. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News July 03, 2026 16:09 ET A busy week for economic data saw the release of several reports on the labor market and the manufacturing sector. In the U.S., the jobs report for June was in focus and results of the latest ISM purchasing managers’ survey threw light on the health of the factory sector. In Europe, results
Jul 9, 2026 · via rttnews.com
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has told autonomous vehicle developers to address safety failures that have led some driverless vehicles to interfere with emergency responders, warning that the issue is unacceptable and needs to be fixed quickly. In a letter sent Wednesday, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the agency has identified a "clear pattern" of autonomous vehicles driving into active emergency scenes, blocking ambulances and fire trucks, and failing to react appropriately to flashing lights, traffic cones, smoke, fire, and other emergency conditions. He said these incidents are not rare "edge cases," but point to a meaningful gap in real-world performance. NHTSA instructed developers and operators to submit their proposed solutions by the end of July. The letter does not name specific companies, but it is expected to affect robotaxi operators such as Waymo, which has previously faced incidents where first responders had to manually move its vehicles during emergencies. The agency did not outline specific penalties for noncompliance but said autonomous vehicle companies could be held to standards similar to those applied to human drivers who obstruct emergency operations. Separately, NHTSA said it is continuing work to update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to better accommodate fully autonomous vehicles. Proposed changes could remove requirements for features such as steering wheels, pedals, windshield wipers, sun visors, and defogging systems in vehicles designed to operate without human drivers—potentially benefiting companies including Tesla and Zoox. For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Jul 9, 2026 · via rttnews.com
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has told autonomous vehicle developers to address safety failures that have led some driverless vehicles to interfere with emergency responders, warning that the issue is unacceptable and needs to be fixed quickly. In a letter sent Wednesday, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the agency has identified a "clear pattern" of autonomous vehicles driving into active emergency scenes, blocking ambulances and fire trucks, and failing to react appropriately to flashing lights, traffic cones, smoke, fire, and other emergency conditions. He said these incidents are not rare "edge cases," but point to a meaningful gap in real-world performance. NHTSA instructed developers and operators to submit their proposed solutions by the end of July. The letter does not name specific companies, but it is expected to affect robotaxi operators such as Waymo, which has previously faced incidents where first responders had to manually move its vehicles during emergencies. The agency did not outline specific penalties for noncompliance but said autonomous vehicle companies could be held to standards similar to those applied to human drivers who obstruct emergency operations.Separately, NHTSA said it is continuing work to update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to better accommodate fully autonomous vehicles. Proposed changes could remove requirements for features such as steering wheels, pedals, windshield wipers, sun visors, and defogging systems in vehicles designed to operate without human drivers—potentially benefiting companies including Tesla and Zoox. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News July 03, 2026 16:09 ET A busy week for economic data saw the release of several reports on the labor market and the manufacturing sector. In the U.S., the jobs report for June was in focus and results of the latest ISM purchasing managers’ survey threw light on the health of the factory sector. In Europe, results
Jul 9, 2026 · via rttnews.com
About
Press
Copyright
Contact us
Creators
Advertise
Developers
Terms
Privacy
Policy & Safety
How YouTube works
Test new features
NFL Sunday Ticket
© 2026 Google LLC
Jul 9, 2026 · via youtube.com
Waymo begins testing autonomous vehicles in Jefferson Parish KENNER, La. (WVUE) - Waymo is testing its autonomous vehicles in Orleans and Jefferson parishes, with a human still in the driver’s seat while the company works toward fully autonomous operation. Jefferson Parish Council member Arita Bohannan recorded video of one of the vehicles navigating a Kenner neighborhood after spotting it on the street. “Seeing one of those mapping vehicles rolling down the street of my neighborhood is very exciting in a way,” Bohannan said. “It’s a hint at what’s coming in the future.” Bohannan said she has not ridden in one of the vehicles but hopes Waymo invests in Jefferson Parish. She acknowledged residents have mixed emotions about the technology. “It would be exciting for any company that chooses our region to invest in,” Bohannan said. “I think that if it can work on the streets of Orleans and Jefferson Parish, it could work anywhere, right.” Safety concerns from residents Some drivers expressed concern about how the vehicles will handle construction zones and potholes. Kenner resident Claudia Wilson said she is not convinced the technology can respond quickly enough in difficult situations. “There’s some situations where us as humans are in the vehicle and it takes some serious reaction time,” Wilson said. “I don’t believe these vehicles are capable of such reactions.” Metairie resident Patrick Smith said driverless cars concern him, but he remains open to trying one. “I think I would be open to the idea,” Smith said. “I love technology so this is exciting to me.” City and regional oversight The New Orleans City Council’s Transportation Committee recently discussed the ride-share service’s future in the city. The city said Waymo is currently testing 12 vehicles in New Orleans and plans to begin autonomous testing in late 2026. The vehicles
Jul 9, 2026 · via fox8live.com
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.] NHTSA considers ending steering wheel mandate for robotaxis Move could support Tesla and other companies developing purpose-built driverless vehicles Key Takeaways: - NHTSA is considering eliminating steering wheel requirements for vehicles designed to operate without human drivers. - The agency recently removed the mandate for brake pedals in fully autonomous vehicles. - Potential rule changes could benefit Tesla and other companies developing robotaxis. The head of the top U.S. auto safety regulator said the agency “absolutely” will consider ending requirements that driverless cars include steering wheels, a potential boon for Tesla Inc. and other robotaxi companies rethinking traditional vehicle design. “If you’re developing a vehicle that is designed never to be driven by a human operator, it doesn’t make any sense to require manual controls,” Jonathan Morrison, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said July 9 in a CNBC interview. The comments follow NHTSA’s move last month to update federal safety standards to remove the mandate for manual brake pedals in autonomous vehicles. The changes, part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to modernize rules for driverless cars, could ease the path for purpose-built autonomous vehicles, including Tesla’s Cybercab, a two-seat electric car that lacks a steering wheel or foot pedals. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has advocated for policy changes that would support broad commercial deployment of self-driving vehicles, including calling for a federal framework for driverless cars. The automaker, which is working to stand up a robotaxi business, has started producing Cybercabs in recent months but has yet to deploy them broadly. The robotaxi market includes a number of big-name players, including Amazon.com Inc.’s Zoox and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, the leading operator of paid robotaxi rides in the U.S. Morrison didn’t specify timing or
Jul 9, 2026 · via ttnews.com
Market Forecasts Show AUV Sector Growing Nearly 4x Faster Than Broader Defense Industry Average Market News Updates News Commentary NEW YORK, July 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Underwater mines have always been a nasty problem. They're cheap to deploy, hard to spot, and clearing them has traditionally meant sending a diver into the water to do it by hand — which is about as risky as it sounds. That's finally changing. Autonomous underwater vehicles, AUVs for short, are taking over mine detection work for navies around the world, and the money backing that shift is starting to add up fast. The naval mine detection UUV market alone is on track to grow from $1.87 billion this year to $3.03 billion by 2030 — and that's one of the more conservative numbers out there. Look at the AUV market more broadly and you're talking about a jump from $4.23 billion in 2025 to $14.51 billion by 2033. Some analysts think the AUV slice of the market could grow even faster than that — as much as 24.4% a year, which would make it one of the hottest corners of the whole defense-tech world. Companies on the move in the AUV/Drone industries include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAI), EVEX Corp. (NYSE: AVEX), Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT), and Ondas Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS). So why now? A few things are colliding at once. Militaries everywhere are trying to get humans out of harm's way, and AI has finally gotten good enough to make that possible — these vehicles can navigate, detect, and identify threats largely on their own instead of needing a person steering by joystick. Almost 70% of naval modernization programs happening right now involve some kind of autonomous underwater system, and mine detection is one of
Jul 9, 2026 · via prnewswire.com
Slate Auto, the EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, has built its business around the idea of simplicity and customization. Start with a $24,950 unpainted gray electric truck with 205 miles of range — and none of the technological flair — and let the buyer customize it to their liking through vehicle wraps, decals, lighting, and other accessories. The vehicle wraps — printed vinyl film that can be applied to a car, truck, or SUV without needing to paint it — are a central component of this customization strategy with hundreds of different colors and combinations. And now Slate is adding even more through a partnership with crayon maker Crayola. Slate said Thursday it will offer five vehicle wraps that use signature Crayola colors, including Cerulean, Fern, Jersey Tomato, Razzmatazz, and Dandelion. The Crayola-color vehicle wraps cost $1,549.99, according to Slate. The company is also throwing in a matching Crayola key fob and “Slatelet,” which are custom art pieces that snap onto the dashboard, for those who opt for a crayon-colored vehicle wrap. This is not Slate’s only collaboration, although it might be the one most recognizable to children. The company is also working with NYC artist Max Kolo on a vehicle wrap. This is, however, a first for Crayola. Anna Roca, head of global partnerships at Crayola, said this is the company’s first automotive partnership. Slate wouldn’t disclose whether it’s working with other companies like Crayola to offer more vehicle wrap designs. A Slate spokesperson said in an email that “we’re excited to welcome Makers, creators, and partners over time,” suggesting that more wraps could still come. And considering the custom-heavy path Slate has taken so far, it’s easy to imagine a slew of design collabs in the future. Slate is still a newcomer in the automotive industry. The
Jul 9, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
New Jersey lawmakers are advancing a bill that would require driverless commercial vehicles to carry cameras plus two additional sensor types — a mandate Tesla’s camera-only Robotaxi can’t meet. The proposed law, S1677, would effectively lock Tesla out of the most densely populated US state unless it adds the radar and lidar hardware that Elon Musk has spent years insisting his cars don’t need. What the bill actually requires State Senator Andrew Zwicker, a physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, sponsored the bill after riding in a Waymo in Phoenix. He says the legislation is about safety, not any single company. “This is not anti-Tesla. I’m pro-New Jersey safety,” Zwicker told The Verge. The bill sets up a three-year pilot program with hard requirements. Operators must equip fully driverless vehicles with cameras plus two other sensing technologies — in practice, radar and lidar. They must also complete at least 50,000 miles of supervised testing with a human safety driver in the state before removing the driver, report every crash to the state, and get official authorization before launching any commercial driverless network. The framework mirrors recommendations from SAVE-US, a nonprofit pushing for tighter oversight of autonomous vehicles. There’s a second problem for Tesla buried in the details. The bill favors keeping traditional controls like a steering wheel and pedals, which would exclude the Tesla Cybercab — a vehicle Tesla is already mass-producing with no steering wheel or pedals at all. And neighboring New York is considering a nearly identical hardware mandate. The sensor fight Tesla keeps losing on the data The whole bill comes down to how a car sees the road. Waymo, Zoox, and nearly every other serious operator run cameras, radar, and lidar together, building overlapping layers of data so that when one sensor fails, another covers
Jul 9, 2026 · via electrek.co
When Tesla entered Virginia, it challenged more than the automobile market. It challenged a century-old system built around franchised dealerships, vehicle financing, maintenance networks and long-held assumptions about vehicle ownership. What began as a dispute over how automobiles could be sold has evolved into a much larger public policy question: Is Virginia prepared for the next era of transportation? For years, Tesla’s direct-sales model collided with Virginia’s dealership laws. The Virginia Automobile Dealers Association argued that Tesla should sell vehicles through independent franchises, as every other major automaker does. Tesla countered that franchise laws were designed to regulate relationships between manufacturers and existing dealers — not companies that had never established a dealer network. After years of hearings, litigation and appeals, Virginia regulators and the courts ultimately allowed Tesla to expand. Those decisions resolved how electric vehicles could reach consumers. They did not answer the far larger question now confronting policymakers: how transportation itself may soon be delivered. Today, Virginia has become one of Tesla’s larger East Coast markets, with thousands of vehicles operating across Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads, Charlottesville, Roanoke and even Clintwood. Those vehicles represent more than electric transportation — they form part of a rapidly growing autonomous driving network. Every mile driven helps improve Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Lane changes, traffic signals, construction zones, weather conditions and countless everyday driving situations become part of a constantly expanding body of real-world driving experience. Unlike Waymo, which operates within carefully mapped service areas, Tesla is pursuing a nationwide system that learns from ordinary roads driven by customers across America. That distinction changes the debate. The issue is no longer simply electric vehicles. It is whether Virginia intends to compete in the emerging autonomous transportation economy. Virginia has generally adopted a measured approach, encouraged research while gradually built a
Jul 9, 2026 · via cardinalnews.org
Police detain 2 teens after a joy ride in a Waymo in Northern California Police detain 2 teens after a joy ride in a Waymo in Northern California LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police detained two 15-year-olds who they say were drinking and shooting water beads while riding in a self-driving Waymo after the company alerted law enforcement in Northern California and remotely forced the vehicle into a parking lot, officials said. San Mateo police officers stopped and searched the vehicle Monday afternoon after a Waymo representative contacted them, department spokesperson Jeanine Luna said. Photos from a bystander shared with a local TV station showed the teens hanging out of the Waymo’s windows. Police say they determined they were drinking in the car and shooting Orbeez, which are soft, water-absorbent polymer beads, out into the streets. Waymo pulled the vehicle over into a parking lot and let officers know they were doing so. “The occupants were not locked in and had every ability to exit the vehicle,” Luna said in an email. Officers were able to communicate with a Waymo representative through the vehicle’s communication system during the stop, Luna said. The San Mateo Police Department posted about the incident on social media and warned people about underage drinking and the danger of water bead guns. The post garnered more than 150 comments, with some expressing concern about surveillance and whether it was acceptable for Waymo to deliver the teens to the police. Waymo did not respond to emailed questions about how the company was alerted to the teens’ behavior and if the teens were informed the car was being pulled over. According to a support page online, cameras inside Waymos are used to make sure cars are clean, find lost items, and provide help in case of emergency. Facial recognition
Jul 9, 2026 · via apnews.com
SINT-TRUIDEN, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 9, 2026-- Aidoptation BV, the autonomous vehicle technology company headquartered at DronePort in Sint-Truiden, has received official approval from the Federal Public Service Mobility (FOD) and Transport and the Flemish Agency for Roads and Traffic (AWV) to conduct fully autonomous driving tests on public highways. The permit covers 100 km on the E313 and E314 highways in the province of Limburg, and marks the first time a Level 4 fully autonomous driving system will be tested at highway speeds on public roads in the European Union. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260708112110/en/ Our car driving on the highway (in manual mode). Within the global automotive industry, Level 4 is defined as autonomous driving capable of performing all driving tasks and monitoring the environment without any human intervention. This level of autonomy is distinct from the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that have been tested by several automakers (OEMs) in the European Union, including Tesla FSD, which is classified as Level 2 requiring constant driver supervision; the human driver remains legally liable for the vehicle's actions. The testing will be conducted using the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore electric vehicle platform, which Aidoptation has equipped with LiDAR, radar, and camera sensors, as well as robotics hardware, to enable full autonomous driving at highway speeds. The permit approval is a decisive step in Aidoptation’s mission to develop life-saving autonomous driving technology for the most severe category of road accidents: high-speed crashes on motorways, where at 120 km/h a vehicle covers more than 50 meters in the 1.5 seconds it takes an average driver to react. Accidents at such speeds are rare but often result in death or severe injuries, roadway closures, and loss of property and infrastructure. Safely managing obstacles and crash-avoidance maneuvers, known as “edge-cases”
Jul 9, 2026 · via reflector.com
Aidoptation Receives Approval for First Fully Autonomous Driving Tests on Highways in the European Union Published Wednesday, July 8, 2026 | 11:32 p.m. Updated Wednesday, July 8, 2026 | 11:32 p.m. SINT-TRUIDEN, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 9, 2026-- Aidoptation BV, the autonomous vehicle technology company headquartered at DronePort in Sint-Truiden, has received official approval from the Federal Public Service Mobility (FOD) and Transport and the Flemish Agency for Roads and Traffic (AWV) to conduct fully autonomous driving tests on public highways. The permit covers 100 km on the E313 and E314 highways in the province of Limburg, and marks the first time a Level 4 fully autonomous driving system will be tested at highway speeds on public roads in the European Union. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260708112110/en/ Our car driving on the highway (in manual mode). Within the global automotive industry, Level 4 is defined as autonomous driving capable of performing all driving tasks and monitoring the environment without any human intervention. This level of autonomy is distinct from the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that have been tested by several automakers (OEMs) in the European Union, including Tesla FSD, which is classified as Level 2 requiring constant driver supervision; the human driver remains legally liable for the vehicle's actions. The testing will be conducted using the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore electric vehicle platform, which Aidoptation has equipped with LiDAR, radar, and camera sensors, as well as robotics hardware, to enable full autonomous driving at highway speeds. The permit approval is a decisive step in Aidoptation’s mission to develop life-saving autonomous driving technology for the most severe category of road accidents: high-speed crashes on motorways, where at 120 km/h a vehicle covers more than 50 meters in the 1.5 seconds it takes an average driver to react.
Jul 9, 2026 · via lasvegassun.com
MG has announced a technology roadmap covering a new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain system, semi-solid-state battery integration and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) developments, including motorway driving assistance due in late 2027. The roadmap was presented at MG Tech Day at the automaker’s UK headquarters in London on 8 July 2026. The Plug-in Hybrid+ system pairs 1.1-litre and 1.5-litre turbocharged engines with a transmission combining power-split and motor-decoupling technologies. Thermal efficiencies exceed 42% and 43% respectively; MG claims 0 to 62mph acceleration in under six seconds and a noise reduction of up to 5dB in electric mode relative to conventional PHEV designs. The MG ZS will be the first model to launch with the system, in 2027. MG has confirmed its SolidCore Battery, based on a semi-solid-state architecture, will be extended to future Plug-in Hybrid+ models. MG claims to be the first automaker to achieve mass production of semi-solid-state batteries; the first three models carrying the technology will span the B, C and D segment SUV categories. On ADAS, MG has collected more than 1.2 million kilometres of real-world European driving data across 24 countries to develop Navigate on Autopilot (NOA), a motorway driving assistance function due in a new MG SUV in late 2027. The system supports motorway entry and exit, lane selection and overtaking under continuous driver supervision; urban NOA is not expected before 2028. Level 4 robotaxi trials are separately underway in Germany, the Middle East and China. Why this matters: - Semi-solid-state at mass production scale is the headline. MG’s SolidCore deployment across three SUV segments represents commercial-scale production of next-generation battery chemistry ahead of most rivals, even if the full solid-state endpoint remains further off. - 1.2 million kilometres of European real-world data addresses a specific Chinese OEM weakness. Training ADAS algorithms on roundabouts, tram
Jul 9, 2026 · via automotiveworld.com
California is rewriting the rules of the road for driverless cars, replacing the tech industry’s “move fast and break things” era with strict accountability measures and rigid mileage hurdles. Harold Braun, executive chairman and CEO of Guident, spoke with The Robot Report about the state’s massive regulatory shift, its expansion into autonomous heavy freight, and how advanced remote monitoring and control systems are becoming the ultimate linchpin for compliance. “From what California did, it shows very clearly that California is continuing to lead the way in autonomous vehicle technology deployment,” he stated. “What happened in California at the moment is very important, is a game changer, because it opens the pathway to not only testing in a geo-fenced area, but also allowing it to happen right on a public road…. And that, of course, has implications for the developers.” Braun noted that autonomous vehicles (AVs) have clear regulatory requirements, and the safety of AVs around the general public is paramount in every region where AVs are currently being deployed. Self-driving cars and trucks carry tremendous risk to unsuspecting drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, he acknowledged. Therefore, the government regulates when and where AVs can be on public roads. In addition, new regulations are emerging to help guide AV developers while providing the legal framework for continued development. Federal oversight of AVs is split across three distinct vehicle classes, each governed by specific regulatory frameworks: - Purpose-built AVs: These are “pure” autonomous vehicles engineered from the ground up with no steering wheels, pedals, or onboard human driver controls. This class is regulated directly by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). - Consumer passenger vehicles: Ranging from everyday Subarus to luxury Jaguars, these vehicles feature traditional driver seats and manual controls. They can be equipped with drive-by-wire systems—either factory-installed or as aftermarket
Jul 8, 2026 · via therobotreport.com