The Minneapolis City Council is set to vote Thursday on a proposed ordinance that would require human monitors in driverless rideshare vehicles.
The robotaxi industry is booming nationwide, and the most widely known driverless rideshare vehicle operator — Waymo — has already been testing its fleet in the Twin Cities.
Progressives on the Minneapolis City Council have championed the ordinance now up for a final vote, which would require human safety monitors in autonomous vehicles.
Based on Tuesday’s committee vote, ordinance advocates could be hard-pressed to muster the nine votes needed to override a mayoral veto.
A spokesperson for Waymo previously said that the proposed Minneapolis ordinance goes too far, and would limit the company’s ability to operate in the city.
Oct 1, 2026 · via mprnews.org
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Oct 1, 2026 · via eureporter.co
Americans like to drive.
They very often bond with their vehicles in ways that other cultures do not.
That emotional tie is one of the reasons why acceptance of autonomous vehicles has been a slow climb.
Well, that and movies showing hackers taking over everything from school records to cars and planes in crowded areas demanding ransom or seeking revenge.
[Images: Zoox, Cox Automotive]
Sep 30, 2026 · via thetruthaboutcars.com
The collaboration combines Delta’s automotive expertise with NVIDIA Hyperion and Halos for Level 4 autonomous vehicle development.
Delta announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to accelerate the development of smarter, safer, and more efficient next-generation autonomous driving systems.
NVIDIA Hyperion is a reference sensor and compute platform for Level 4 autonomous vehicles and robotaxis, combining dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor with NVIDIA Halos safety system to accelerate safe, production-ready autonomy.
Delta will combine its automotive prowess and system integration capabilities with NVIDIA Hyperion supported by NVIDIA’s dedicated engineering team, to elevate the development of autonomous driving solutions.
Together, the two companies aim to develop AI-driven autonomous driving solutions and accelerate growth in the smart mobility market.
Sep 30, 2026 · via engineering.com
The city served as a testing ground for Waymo's self-driving vehicles to train in winter conditions before it began service here.
Now, Amazon's Zoox autonomous vehicles will take advantage of Denver's winter conditions to train its own technology.
"Zoox is operating a small test fleet in Denver for a few months this winter to help train our driving technology on winter conditions, including heavy rain and snow," the company said. "
The Zoox vehicles training in Denver differ from those operating in other cities.
Their autonomous vehicles, which the company calls "robotaxis," are designed differently than a traditional car.
Sep 29, 2026 · via cbsnews.com
Waymo launched public rides in Denver and Glendale simultaneously with San Diego and Tampa, and has continued expanding into additional markets.
Because there is no human driver, tipping is not part of the Waymo experience.
Waymo says its safety data shows its autonomous driving system has been involved in substantially fewer serious crashes than comparable human drivers.
A crash involving a fully autonomous vehicle raises more complicated questions involving the vehicle operator, software developer, manufacturer, and insurance companies.
That gradual approach means residents are likely to see more Waymo vehicles on local streets even if they haven’t yet taken a ride themselves.
Sep 29, 2026 · via glendalecherrycreek.com
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Sep 29, 2026 · via thetimes.com
AI needs an equivalent A1–A5 framework—one that connects increasing autonomy with decreasing real-time human supervision and stronger forms of governance.
An A4 Self-Governing agent operates without routine human supervision inside a similarly defined agent operating domain.
A5 agents will need verifiable identities, portable reputations, standardized delegation credentials, contractual protocols, dispute-resolution mechanisms, auditability, revocation and clear legal responsibility.
Similarly, an A5 agent should remain bound by the authority of the person or organization it represents.
Governance Makes Autonomy Possible The purpose of A1–A5 is not to declare A5 the goal for every agent.
Sep 29, 2026 · via media.mit.edu
The existing customer expands autonomous material handling to an additional production workflow at its facility.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyngn (NASDAQ: CYN) today announced a follow-on order for its DriveMod Tugger from a Fortune 100 heavy equipment manufacturer.
The additional deployment will support a new material-handling application at the customer's heavy equipment manufacturing facility, expanding an existing relationship with Cyngn.
See if your route qualifies for automation: https://www.cyngn.com/resources/route-assessment About Cyngn Cyngn develops and deploys autonomous vehicle technology for industrial organizations like manufacturers and logistics companies.
Cyngn's DriveMod technology empowers customers to seamlessly bring self-driving technology to their operations without high upfront costs or infrastructure installations.
Sep 29, 2026 · via morningstar.com
“The Macau government remains open to revising the existing Road Traffic Law and introducing regulations governing autonomous vehicles,” the bureau said.
“The Transport Bureau will continue to gather public feedback, track technological developments and assess the feasibility of introducing autonomous vehicles in Macau,” it added.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe adopted the first global regulatory framework for fully autonomous driving systems.
The plan envisages highly automated driving being introduced progressively on motorways, urban expressways and selected city roads in mainland China.
Level 3 systems can operate independently under limited conditions but may require human intervention, while Level 4 vehicles need no driver input within designated environments.
Sep 29, 2026 · via macaubusiness.com
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to veto the measure if it passes a final City Council vote, and it’s unlikely the 13-member council will be able to muster the nine votes necessary to override him.
That’s what happened the last time the Minneapolis City Council took on Big Tech rideshare companies.
Some disabled people say Uber and Lyft drivers don’t always live up to that ideal of community service, however.
Council Member Pearll Warren went the other way, using the kind of colorful — and in this case, flavorful — argument that’s become a trademark during her short time on the council.
Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer, who voiced opposition to the ordinance, was absent for the vote as was Council Member Jamison Whiting.
Sep 29, 2026 · via minnesotareformer.com
A decade ago, assumptions surrounding autonomous vehicles and shared transportation services suggested the technology could ultimately render personal vehicle ownership obsolete.
For autonomous vehicles, safety concerns and high-profile incidents have slowed progress, but the growing acceptance of robotaxis seen in this year’s study indicates that attitudes are clearly evolving.”
The newly released 2026 Cox Automotive Autonomous Vehicle Study explores two aspects of the market’s autonomous future.
Consumers Are Ready for More Automation, But Not Less Control A decade ago, autonomous vehicles were largely hypothetical for most Americans.
Levels of Autonomy and Consumer Appeal As consumer perception is being formed, autonomous technology is already making its way into dealer showrooms and America’s garages.
Sep 28, 2026 · via coxautoinc.com
Key insight: Insurers should rethink AI risks in autonomous vehicles Forward look: Insurers will change how they cover AVs Autonomous vehicles' use of AI changes how insurers evaluate the risks, especially when the decision process is not properly documented, according to experts in underwriting and insurance risk.
Figuring out what an AV's AI has done in a risky situation can be difficult to determine, Schmid said.
"Insurers don't necessarily have visibility into the AI system's decisions and its logs of data," he said.
Insurers must also consider whether an AV is using AI for any of three functions, Schmid said: Perception.
In some potential accident scenarios, since developers of an AV's AI may have programmed the vehicle to weigh risks of different actions, insurers should act accordingly, Gibbs said.
Sep 28, 2026 · via dig-in.com
Industry data from BloombergNEF indicates that the global operational fleet of roughly 10,000 autonomous vehicles (AVs) is expected to expand to 16,000 by the end of this year.
From a sustainability perspective, the rapid growth of autonomous mobility represents a critical pathway toward zero-emission urban transport.
As Frank Reig, CEO of EV fleet charging infrastructure provider Voltera, highlighted at Climate Week NYC, expanding autonomous fleets directly accelerates urban electrification: "Due to a lot of safety and technology reasons, AV equals EV.
As clean power generation grows, smart charging protocols and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications will enable AV depots to act as dynamic energy storage nodes.
In California, regulatory authority over autonomous vehicles rests with state bodies like the California Public Utilities Commission and the DMV, rather than local city governments.
Sep 28, 2026 · via sustainabilitymag.com
RMV, Deutsche Bahn and HOLON have launched the KIRA+ project to test SAE Level 4 autonomous on-demand public transport with HOLON urban vehicles in Germany’s Rhine-Main region.
According to project partners RMV, DB and HOLON, KIRA+ builds on the predecessor KIRA project, which runs until the end of 2026.
HOLON urban to operate in KIRA+ autonomous transport tests KIRA+ will use the accessible HOLON urban, equipped with autonomous driving technology from Mobileye and purpose-built for public transport operations.
KIRA+ builds on autonomous operations from the KIRA project The planned KIRA+ operating area builds on the predecessor KIRA project, allowing existing autonomous-operation capabilities, including its control centre, to continue to be used.
That is exactly what we are testing with KIRA+, with all the requirements that modern, autonomous public transport has to meet.
Sep 28, 2026 · via sustainable-bus.com
This time, Jan Bosch observes that the real work for autonomous driving is the domain-by-domain accumulation of evidence.
Of the 220.6 million rider-only miles, Phoenix accounts for 80.6 million, the San Francisco Bay Area for 67.1 million and Los Angeles for 51.8 million.
That’s 199 million miles – roughly 90 percent of the entire evidence base – in three metros.
California only lifted its ban on testing driverless vehicles over 10,000 pounds on public roads in April, and the Teamsters sued the DMV over it in August.
Autonomous driving is the one field that already writes both down.
Sep 28, 2026 · via bits-chips.com
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has opened Dubai Mobility Labs, a test site for autonomous vehicles at Dubai Silicon Oasis that pairs closed tracks with a public-road route to Al Qudra.
WeRide, Pony.ai and Tesla have already run trials there, and DEKRA will operate the site for its first three years.
The facility offers 248 test scenarios, of which 195 run in a multi-purpose area that mimics urban traffic.
Built with the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, it also has three light-industrial units and three 60kW chargers for test firms.
The RTA hopes a single route from closed track to public road will draw developers, with its 2030 autonomy target just over three years away.
Sep 28, 2026 · via automotiveworld.com
Zurich Airport (ZRH) has reached a milestone in its automated-driving pilot, with two shuttle buses now operating fully automated on the airport premises without a safety driver on board.
Since March 2025, Zurich Airport Ltd. has been working with technology partner WeRide to enable automated driving on the airport grounds.
The latest step corresponds to the targeted automation level, Level 4.
Coralie Klaus Boecker, Head of the ZRH Innovation Hub at Zurich Airport Ltd., said: “We are very pleased with this achievement.
However, we expect that after around four weeks of test operation, employees will be able to use the now fully automated shuttle.”
Sep 28, 2026 · via internationalairportreview.com
In April, Tesla received its first European approval for its system, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) – or FSD (Supervised) – specifically from the Dutch road authority RDW.
However, this is not a standard EU type approval but a provisional EU type approval under Article 39 of EU Regulation 2018/858.
Since then, several other EU member states have adopted this provisional approval, including, a few days ago, the Czech Republic.
The basis for the procedure is the aforementioned provisional approval for FSD Supervised, granted by the Dutch approval authority RDW.
Tesla claims that, over 100 million kilometres, FSD Supervised was involved in accidents 4.1 times less frequently than manually driven Teslas.
Sep 28, 2026 · via electrive.com
The ordinance would require companies using driverless vehicles for public transportation to hire a human “safety monitor” to sit behind the wheel.
The California-based company’s state and local public policy manager, Adam Lane, called the ordinance’s framework “a de-facto ban” on autonomous vehicles.
“This does not mean a ban on autonomous vehicles; it’s a starting point.
Wonsley said during the committee meeting that Minneapolis is not ready to receive autonomous vehicles.
Waymo’s Lane said “we remain committed to working with officials on a path forward that offers Minnesotans the option to choose fully autonomous transportation.”
Sep 28, 2026 · via masstransitmag.com