The coming robotaxi revolution
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Autonomous Vehicles
San Diego city leaders seek tighter rules for driverless cars
As driverless cars become more common in the streets of San Diego, city leaders are pushing for more controls over them. Since Waymo made its debut in San Diego, you probably have spotted them driving around. He supports more controls on driverless cars and said his job as a rideshare driver helps sustain his livelihood. City documents state that one of the key provisions would urge the San Diego County Regional Port Authority to prohibit driverless vehicle operations at San Diego International Airport, citing safety concerns. Travelers like Matthew Valentine said driverless cars at the airport could add to the congestion.
Hyundai’s 42dot to close gap with Tesla, Waymo in autonomous driving
Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving subsidiary, 42dot, is accelerating its drive to narrow the technology gap with industry leaders Tesla and Waymo. “Once the group begins commercial production of our autonomous driving system, we expect to surpass our competitors in real-world data volumes within five years,” Park said. Kwon Jung-hyun, the group’s newly appointed head of the autonomous driving development center, noted that deploying Nvidia’s commercial solution first provides crucial mass-production experience for Hyundai. Currently, among Hyundai’s 40 Ioniq 6-based test cars, or pace cars, around 10 to 20 units are dedicated exclusively to autonomous driving tests, while others serve general software-defined vehicle (SDV) validation. As a dual-track strategy, 42dot is developing Vision-Language-Action models that add language reasoning capabilities to traditional Vision-Action End-to-End models such as the Atria AI.
Zoox offers free rides in odd taxis
SAN FRANCISCO -- When Vita Shafiro, 51, and her daughter Mikhaela, 15, recently walked back to their downtown San Francisco hotel after sightseeing, an odd vehicle caught their eye. She and her daughter returned the next day and rode a Zoox to the Ferry Building, a landmark on the San Francisco waterfront. It cannot yet charge for a ride in San Francisco as it awaits state regulatory approval. For now, Zoox offers only free demonstration rides in San Francisco, which began in November 2025. Driverless car companies are still selling the very concept of a driverless taxi, he said.
Hyundai Motor Group Accelerates Autonomous Driving Innovation with AI-Powered Data Flywheel
Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation During the Group's "HMG Autonomous Driving Media Day" at 42dot headquarters in Gyeonggi Province, Korea, the Group presented its autonomous driving development strategy, technology roadmap, key achievements and implementation plans. At the event, the Group identified the Data Flywheel as a key element of its autonomous driving competitiveness and shared the operational framework and execution strategy that transforms large-scale real-world driving data into continuous technology improvements. At its core, autonomous driving competitiveness comes down to having systems that enable continuous, rapid learning. Hyundai Motor Group will develop autonomous driving technology that customers can trust, based on a virtuous cycle of data, AI and validation. – Minwoo Park, President and Head of Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division at Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of 42dot About Hyundai Motor Group More information about Hyundai Motor Group can be found at: http://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com or Newsroom: Media Hub by Hyundai, Kia Global Newsroom, Genesis Newsroom SOURCE Hyundai Motor Group
New MIT Study Explores Improving Autonomous Driving Tech By Letting The Car Tell You What It's Doing And Why
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's been hard at work deregulating autonomous vehicles so the tech can haphazardly flood American roads faster. Researchers at MIT along with Motional — an autonomous vehicle technology company — recently published their study in Nature. Think about it, in a recent Jalopnik article, we discussed Duffy's AV Framework that went ahead and basically said "hey, autonomous vehicles don't need brake pedals or emergency brake levers." Autonomous vehicles have demonstrated they are far from perfect through several well-documented failures in real-life emergencies. Now put an algorithm into the framework of the autonomous vehicle technology that allows the AI to tell you why the car is doing what it's doing.
The biggest blind spot in autonomous driving is the car itself
That is the uncomfortable blind spot in autonomous driving. They accumulate until the real car no longer matches the car the software believes it is controlling. Verified vehicle condition should become a first-class data layer, not maintenance paperwork that sits outside the intelligence stack. We cannot build trustworthy physical AI on static assumptions about changing hardware. Autonomous driving has spent years asking whether a car can understand the road.
Zurich Airport tests autonomous electric shuttles
In a statement, Zurich Airport announced that it has been preparing the project with the Chinese company WeRide since March 2025. The first fully automated trips took place in early September. However, employees from the partner companies Swissport and Krummen Kerzers monitor operations from a remote cockpit and can intervene if needed. The current step now corresponds to the targeted automation level, Level 4, the officials emphasise. In doing so, we are creating the conditions, not only for ourselves but also for our partners, for the safe deployment of automated vehicles at the airport.”
Waymo pulls over, calls cops on juvenile riders who had ‘ghost gun,’ authorities say
Two young people riding in an autonomous vehicle were arrested in San Francisco after authorities allegedly found them in possession of an illegal “ghost gun.” San Francisco Police Department did not identify the operator of the autonomous vehicle, but a Waymo spokesperson confirmed to The Times that the incident involved one of its cars. The company alerted emergency services and “cooperated fully” with San Francisco police. San Francisco police did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Friday. The hat-topped cars are now a fixture in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and even sparked a beeping backlash in Santa Monica.
Waymo's Custom 5nm Chip Powers Autonomous Cars
Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world. Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award. He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine. Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.
Popular cloud storage provider iDrive wants to power the next generation of autonomous vehicles with a $1,500 learning platform
This is considered to be the market hot spot, where drivers prefer not to hand over total control to the autonomous driving system. This type of autonomous driving offers automatic lane changes, traffic jam support, and continuous driver monitoring. Rather than wait for the wider industry to build its own systems and train its own autonomous driving models, IDrive Autonomy Assisted Driving offers the model out, at a cost per car. That makes a fully autonomous system extremely difficult to commercialize and even harder to license as a general-purpose product.” Vehicles sold with IDrive Autonomy Assisted Driving will have the intelligence, the software, and camera hardware from IDrive included.
Santa Monica Joins Westside Affordable Housing Trust
In a meeting that stretched into the early morning hours, the Santa Monica City Council voted to join a four-city regional affordable housing trust and to extend emergency zoning rules governing autonomous-vehicle fleet operations for two more years. Council joins Westside Cities Affordable Housing Trust The council adopted a resolution approving the city's membership in the Westside Cities Affordable Housing Trust, a regional Joint Powers Authority formed alongside West Hollywood, Culver City and Beverly Hills to expand affordable housing financing across the Westside. The trust would provide a dedicated structure to receive, manage and deploy affordable housing funding — chiefly Measure A dollars distributed through the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, known as LACAHSA. The council appointed Councilmember Natalya Zernitskaya as the city's director on the trust board and Hall as the alternate. City staff has cited operational concerns including vehicle queuing, staging in the public right-of-way, and noise and lighting from around-the-clock operations.
Pony.ai and Verne launch driverless robotaxi tests in Zagreb, Croatia
Pony.ai and Verne have started fully driverless robotaxi test rides carrying passengers on public roads in Zagreb, Croatia, in what the two companies describe as a European first. The move builds on a partnership between Pony.ai, Verne and Uber, announced just over five months ago, to launch what the companies say was Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service. “Fully driverless passenger rides in Zagreb mark an important step in Pony.ai’s international growth,” says Dr James Peng, founder and chief executive of Pony.ai. The progress in Zagreb provides a strong foundation for expanding fully driverless mobility across Europe and other international markets.” We are now taking the next step, moving from autonomous driving with an onboard AV operator toward fully driverless operations.
New Jersey rideshare drivers rally against autonomous vehicle bill, call for union rights
Before Waymo gets a green light in New Jersey, drivers need enforceable union rights and a seat at the table. “Every day, thousands of New Jerseyans rely on rideshare drivers to get to work, make appointments, and go about their daily lives. Despite the essential service that rideshare drivers provide to our communities, many are struggling to make ends meet. I stand with 32BJ SEIU and rideshare drivers of the App Drivers Union in their demand to create a union for better wages and benefits, better working conditions, and greater respect.” It also allows an authorized tester to operate a fully autonomous vehicle without a human driver if specified requirements are met.
Robotaxis expand across Las Vegas, rideshare drivers worry about what comes next
WATCH | Robotaxis expand across Las Vegas, rideshare drivers worry about what comes next Robotaxis expand across Las Vegas, rideshare drivers worry about what comes next For rideshare drivers, that means autonomous vehicles are beginning to appear at some of the same major destinations they rely on for passengers. Channel 13 asked whether Uber, Lyft and taxi drivers would maintain the same access they have today, the resort responded: “Yes.” Podell said he understands why autonomous vehicles appeal to some passengers and why they worry some drivers. Lyft: Drivers ‘will always be essential’ Lyft is also betting on a future where autonomous vehicles and human drivers operate alongside each other. ‘We’re scared for our families too’ For Briseno, the debate about how quickly autonomous vehicles scale is not just about technology.
Self-driving cars should be taxed to offset job losses, thinktank urges
Taxes on self-driving cars should be introduced now in the UK to offset the rise in congestion and threats to jobs they pose, a thinktank has urged. Wayve, a British tech firm pioneering autonomous cars, said it would “penalise the UK’s most promising innovators”. About £27bn a year is brought in by fuel duty, which is projected to disappear with the transition to electric vehicles. The GMB union, which represents taxi and private hire drivers, said a tax on AVs would not go far enough. Simon Rush, president of the GMB London region drivers branch, said: “Driverless cars threaten the livelihoods of private hire drivers and the businesses that depend on them.
Minneapolis may require a person in every self-driving car to protect jobs
Minneapolis leaders are weighing on a new rule that would require self-driving cars to have a “human safety monitor”during operations. The Minneapolis City Council announced Thursday that it is considering the “Workers Drive Minneapolis” ordinance. RELATED: Minneapolis council targets self-driving car regulations before Waymo launch The ordinance would require commercial autonomous vehicles such as Waymo, Tesla and Zoox to get a city license to operate in Minneapolis. Some Minneapolis City Council members said the measure would protect more than 10,000 rideshare drivers, mostly workers of color and immigrant workers. “Workers Drive Minneapolis is about public safety and protecting immigrant workers from losing their jobs to automation,” said City Council Minority Leader Robin Wonsley.
Autonomous Tesla Cybercabs hit the streets of New York City
A version of Elon Musk’s Tesla Cybercabs have hit the streets of New York City, a transportation department official said on Thursday, revealing Tesla is the latest tech giant seeking to enter the country's largest market. Tesla officially launched the Cybercab — a fully autonomous taxi without a steering wheel — across six different cities in Texas and Florida last week. The announcement said nothing about New York City. Unlike the Cybercabs in Texas and Florida, there was a person sitting in the driver's seat, behind a steering wheel. Kathy Hochul reversed a decision to allow a limited deployment of Waymo cars outside of New York City.
CEVA Logistics pilots next-generation autonomous electric vehicles in Singapore
Verifying that you are not a robot...
Audio Tones Can Help Automated Vehicles Communicate with Pedestrians | Newswise
Using custom tones, the research team explored how sound could be used to communicate vehicle intent in participant trials. To study these purpose-built audio tones, pedestrians participated in 200 jaywalking scenarios and 160 crosswalk scenarios. Pedestrians crossing Klauer said ensuring the safety benefits of automated vehicles extends beyond riders and drivers to pedestrians and is a crucial aspect of their development. Upon interacting with the vehicle, pedestrians were given methods to communicate a change in their intent to cross. The crosswalk scenarios, which used audio tones to communicate that the vehicle would wait for the pedestrian, showed more mixed results.