Minneapolis council targets self-driving car regulations before Waymo launch Some Minneapolis council members introduced plans Thursday for regulations on autonomous vehicles as a major self-driving car company is set to start operations in the Twin Cities. City council members introduced the proposal as Waymo prepares to launch service in Minneapolis as soon as this fall, according to city leaders. The proposed ordinance would regulate the licensing of autonomous vehicles for commercial use. RELATED: Calls for state oversight before Waymo begins fully operating in Minneapolis Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley led the introduction Thursday and outlined the next steps to build a legislative policy by 2027. In the coming months, the city will research and build a framework. With the regulations, Wonsley said a priority is protecting rideshare drivers and community members who may be affected by the service. “There are so many outstanding questions about how autonomous vehicles impact not just our workers, but also infrastructure and public transit,” Wonsley said. A set date for when Waymo will be fully operational is not yet clear. The proposal outlines the city’s early steps toward local oversight as the company moves closer to launching service. RELATED: Waymo looks to bring self-driving taxis to Minneapolis
Jun 11, 2026 · via kstp.com
An array of new laws are set to take effect in California on July 1, 2026. These laws cover everything from streaming service advertisements to school bathrooms. Here is a selection: John Burgess / The Press Democrat SB 68: Under the new ADDE (Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experience) Act, restaurants in California with 20 or more locations are required to list major food allergens on their menus. Those allergens include milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy and sesame. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat)AB 660: Starting July 1, food manufacturers are required to use standardized language for “quality” and “safety” dates. Products must use either “best if used by” or “best if frozen by” to indicate quality, or “use by” or “use or freeze by” to indicate food safety. The law also bans using “sell by” dates that are visible for consumers. Eggs and infant formula are exempt from the new law. (Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) AB 1127: Licensed firearm dealers must cease the sale of certain semiautomatic pistols, most notably Glock-style handguns, that this bill re-classifies as “machinegun-convertible pistols,” due to a specific trigger mechanism that can be easily converted into an automatic weapon. (Photo by Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images) SB 576: Beginning July 1, video streaming services like Netflix are prohibited from playing commercial advertisements louder than the accompanying video content. According to a statement from the Governor’s office, the state law builds on the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, passed by Congress in 2010, which applied to broadcast television stations and cable operators. (Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images) AB 1777: Self-driving vehicles like Waymo robotaxis will be subject to traffic tickets starting July 1. Police will be able to issue citations to autonomous vehicles for
Jun 11, 2026 · via pressdemocrat.com
Dykema Achieves Top 10 National Ranks in Automotive, Cannabis, and Native American Law Categories in Legal 500 U.S. 2026 Press Releases 6.10.26 Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that the firm’s Automotive Product Liability and Class Action Litigation; Automotive, Mobility, and Transportation; Cannabis; and Gaming and Native American Law groups are recognized by the Legal 500 United States 2026 (The Legal 500). Dykema ranked among the top 10 firms nationally in four categories. In addition to the practice rankings, 19 Dykema attorneys were recognized. For 35 years, The Legal 500 has analyzed the capabilities of law firms across the world, with a comprehensive research program revised and updated every year to bring the most up-to-date vision of the global legal market. The Legal 500 assesses the strengths of law firms in more than 150 jurisdictions. The rankings are based on a series of criteria and highlight the practice area teams that are providing the most cutting-edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel. The research is based on feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide. As identified by The Legal 500 categories, the following Dykema attorneys and practices were recognized: Product Liability, Mass Tort And Class Action - Defense: Automotive/Transport Band 1 – Top 7 Firm Nationally Dykema Gossett PLLC maintains an authoritative presence in the automotive sector, leveraging its Detroit heritage and a sprawling national network to provide comprehensive defense for OEMs and global suppliers. The firm is distinguished by its deep bench, featuring trial lawyers who have extensive nationwide experience. Its expertise covers the full lifecycle of vehicle litigation, from proactive regulatory counseling with NHTSA to defending high-stakes class actions and catastrophic injury claims. Dykema is increasingly noted for its specialized work in the electric and autonomous vehicle space, offering clients a strategic advantage in navigating emerging liability frameworks.
Jun 10, 2026 · via dykema.com
NEW ORLEANS, LA - On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, the Transportation Committee convened to hear a presentation regarding national trends in autonomous vehicle regulation, the legal landscape surrounding AVs, Waymo testing in New Orleans, and more. Additionally, the committee heard updates from the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) regarding structural changes and voted on Ordinance No. 35,471. Updates Surrounding Autonomous Vehicles The committee received a presentation from the Executive Counsel, which provided an overview of autonomous for-hire vehicles, including Waymo, Tesla Robotaxi, and Zoox. The presentation discussed how New Orleans may regulate their future operation. Federal regulations define levels of automation that determine where specific types of automated vehicles fall. Autonomous for-hire vehicles operate at Level 4 automation, meaning they can drive without a human driver within designated geographic areas. Federal regulations currently require manufacturers to test, comply with, and certify that their vehicles are free of safety risks under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The presentation noted that Louisiana currently regulates only commercial autonomous vehicles, while New Orleans' existing transportation regulations are built around human drivers, creating regulatory gaps for driverless services. Examples from California and Texas show common regulatory approaches, including permitting requirements, first responder interaction plans, complaint systems, liability insurance requirements, and emergency response protocols. Waymo is currently testing approximately 12 vehicles in New Orleans with safety drivers behind the wheel and plans to begin autonomous testing later in 2026. Commercial ride-hailing service would not begin until testing is complete. Goals for city legislation on autonomous for-hire vehicles include ensuring that adequate safety controls are in place to protect passengers and other citizens using the public right-of-way. It also includes clear rules for passenger treatment and legal guardrails regarding liability to other cars, cyclists, pedestrians, and pets. Additionally, achieving fee parity across all types of for-hire vehicles
Jun 10, 2026 · via council.nola.gov
Introducing Waymo’s New Reference Model for Human Collision Avoidance Today, we are proud to share that Nature Communications has published our joint research with TU Delft, advancing a breakthrough active inference framework to model human crash-avoidance behavior. This work marks a significant leap in enhanced capabilities and increased realism for our established methodology, providing a careful, competent human driver benchmark for collision avoidance. At Waymo, we call this model ReD (Reference Driver) and use it to assess the Waymo Driver’s ability to avoid crashes. ReD represents the latest advancement in Waymo’s safety research, which includes a dozen published papers on behavioral reference models. It is built upon the same predictive processing framework that powers our established NIEON (Non-Impaired driver with Eyes ON the conflict) model and an earlier active inference model of adaptive human driver behavior, ensuring continuity in our approach. The central idea underlying these models is that human driving behavior can be generally understood as the minimization of surprise. While NIEON focuses on modeling when a human might react to a threat, ReD expands upon these capabilities to model the full closed-loop cognitive process. ReD simulates how a careful and competent human driver updates their beliefs as a situation evolves, manages uncertainty about other road users' intentions, and selects the evasive maneuver, whether that is braking, swerving, or a combination of both. For decades, the automotive industry has used physical and virtual crash dummies to evaluate a car’s safety features, including its hardware and structural integrity. ReD evolves this concept, serving as a behavioral benchmark for autonomous driving systems able to realistically represent reasonable expectations on how a careful and competent human driver responds to traffic conflicts. The cognitive workflow of the ReD model, illustrating the closed-loop process of belief updating, surprise accumulation, and optimal policy selection As
Jun 10, 2026 · via waymo.com
James Wong Cupra Formentor, Leon score custom ABT body kits, Australian launch unclear 2 Minutes Ago Deputy News Editor BYD says it will accept liability for damage caused by some functions within its ‘God’s Eye’ semi-autonomous driving system. China's biggest auto brand, which surged to second place behind Toyota in the Australian sales race in April and May this year, unveiled its latest autonomous-driving chip at a recent Intelligent Driving Strategy event, where it said it would cover damage caused by its Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) function. “The policy states that if a legally liable accident occurs while a user is operating the Urban NOA function in compliance with regulations, BYD will directly cover all resulting economic losses,” said BYD in a statement. This follows a similar promise made by BYD in 2025 to cover damage caused by its Intelligent Parking function, an automatic parking system. Looking for your next car? We'll help you research and compare so you choose with confidence. Both the Intelligent Parking feature and NOA form part of the company’s ‘God’s Eye’ advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which is not currently available in any BYD model sold in Australia. The guarantee is extended to new-vehicle buyers and existing owners who upgrade to the latest LiDAR-based God’s Eye 5.0 system in China, amounting to a fleet of more than 3.15 million vehicles. This includes models such as the BYD Seagull hatch – sold here as the BYD Atto 1, Australia's cheapest electric vehicle (EV) – as well as the second-generation Atto 3 electric SUV that's expected on sale here in 2027. In a statement, BYD claimed it is the “world’s first automaker to offer such dual coverage for its advanced driver systems”. However, several automakers including Mercedes-Benz have also said they will accept responsibility for collisions involving
Jun 10, 2026 · via carexpert.com.au
Uber and the British-based autonomous-driving startup Wayve are preparing to launch what could be the United Kingdom’s first public robotaxi service, with a waitlist for London riders interested in using the service once regulators grant final approval. Beginning this week, Uber users in London can sign up for a chance to ride in autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles equipped with Wayve’s self-driving technology. The service is expected to launch in the coming months, initially with trained safety operators behind the wheel while the technology is monitored on public roads. The service would mark a milestone for autonomous mobility in Europe, where deployment has been sluggish, lagging behind the pace of approval set by United States and China. Robotaxi services already operate in several US cities including San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. “This is the first time the general public will be able to hail an autonomous vehicle in the UK,” Kaity Fischer, Wayve’s vice president of commercial and operations, told Reuters. The first cohort will be limited to a small fleet operating in selected parts of London. Riders matched with an autonomous vehicle will have the option of accepting the trip or switching to a conventional Uber ride, and Uber said fares will be the same as standard trips. Wayve’s technology relies on artificial intelligence, cameras, and radar sensors to navigate city streets. The company has been testing autonomous vehicles in London since 2018 and says its system has been trained to navigate the London’s complex traffic environment, including buses, cyclists, and heavy pedestrian activity. The service does still require approval from local authorities before it’s officially fully deployed, including from Transport for London. Current UK regulations do not allow for fully driverless commercial ride-hailing operations, meaning safety drivers will remain onboard initially, though that should start to change
Jun 10, 2026 · via autoweek.com
AI startup Decart on Wednesday unveiled Oasis 3, its latest interactive world model that can generate photorealistic driving environments in real time, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The model is currently available via API. The startup is initially targeting autonomous vehicle companies that need to simulate rare driving scenarios at scale, and plans to expand into robotics and other physical AI applications. But the bigger bet is on developers: By offering API access from day one, Decart is trying to build a developer ecosystem around world models much like how OpenAI did with language models. “It’s going to be the first usable world model that people can actually program on top of,” Dean Leitersdorf, co-founder and CEO of Decart, told TechCrunch. “I think there’s going to be an entire developer community that emerges on top of this.” The startup already has a community of more than 100,000 developers, many of whom are building products on top of its real-time video model Lucy, largely in e-commerce and livestreaming. Oasis 3 is based on that foundation model, and it represents the company’s push into physical AI. Access is priced at $0.02 per second, and enterprise pricing depends on use cases, Decart said. Decart is playing in an increasingly packed world model arena. Last year, Google released Genie 3 in research preview, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs launched Marble for commercial use cases, and video generation startups like Luma and Runway are also translating their physics-aware video models into world models. Oasis 3’s release comes a few weeks after two-year-old Decart raised $300 million, which Leitersdorf says followed “huge demand increases for the models we built” in e-commerce, livestreaming, and physical AI. The round boosted Decart’s valuation to nearly $4 billion, and brought a series of strategic investors such as Toyota, Adobe, and eBay. All
Jun 10, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
Waymo has created a new computer model designed to more accurately answer a fundamental question: How does its autonomous driving software stack up against humans? The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company, which developed the computer model of human driving capabilities in conjunction with TU Delft, published a research paper about it in Nature Communications on Wednesday. Waymo said it expects the new model to be “more advanced” than the previous version it has used over the past several years. The new model was built using a framework called active inference — the theory that a driver is constantly imagining possible futures and taking actions to reach the safest, most predictable one. Waymo said the new model will help it better understand how humans behave in crash scenarios that its robotaxis encounter. “For decades, the automotive industry has used physical and virtual crash dummies to evaluate a car’s safety features, including its hardware and structural integrity,” Waymo wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. The new model, Waymo said, “evolves this concept, serving as a behavioral benchmark for autonomous driving systems able to realistically represent reasonable expectations on how a careful and competent human driver responds to traffic conflicts.” A more accurate model of human driving behavior is table stakes for autonomous vehicle companies that need to understand and grade the performance of its robotaxis in crashes. And it comes at a critical juncture for Waymo, which is scaling to more cities and facing greater scrutiny from regulators and the public. In January, when a Waymo robotaxi struck a child near a school in Santa Monica, California, the company relied on its previous computer model to claim that an attentive human driver would have made impact at around 14 miles per hour. The Waymo robotaxi hit the child at just 6 miles per
Jun 10, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
WeRide announces plans to commercialize Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Slovakia, showcasing technology and gaining government support. Quiver AI Summary WeRide, a leader in autonomous driving technology, announced its plans to commercialize its Level 4 autonomous vehicle portfolio in Slovakia during a meeting with Prime Minister Robert Fico and other government officials in Bratislava. The meeting emphasized WeRide's technological capabilities and its commitment to deploying a range of autonomous vehicles for smart mobility, public transport, logistics, and sanitation. The first batch of vehicles is expected to arrive this month, with testing beginning in Bratislava and expansion plans for Košice and the High Tatras region. Both the Slovak government and China's ambassador expressed their support for the initiative. WeRide aims for selected vehicle models to enter public commercial operations in 2026, pending regulatory approval, as part of its broader European expansion strategy that includes projects in five other countries. Potential Positives - WeRide plans to commercialize its Level 4 autonomous vehicle portfolio in Slovakia, marking a significant expansion in the European market. - The Slovak government, including Prime Minister Fico, expressed strong support for WeRide's technology and initiatives, indicating a favorable regulatory environment for autonomous driving. - WeRide's deployment in Slovakia will involve multiple use cases, including public transportation and logistics, showcasing the versatility and potential impact of its autonomous technology. - The company has established a strong presence in Europe with existing projects in five countries, demonstrating its leadership and commitment to the autonomous driving sector. Potential Negatives - There is no mention of a timeline for the completion of regulatory approvals, which could delay the commercialization of their Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Slovakia. - The press release may raise public concerns regarding the safety and regulatory readiness of the vehicles, as the deployment is still subject to meeting
Jun 10, 2026 · via quiverquant.com
Waymo has acquired a massive proving grounds site near Phoenix in a $220 million deal that emphasizes the autonomous ride-hailing company's growing commitment to the metro.
The property – which stretches 5,458 acres around 211th Avenue and Dove Valley Road – is in the far northwest portion of the City of Surprise, bordering Wittmann. Chrysler formerly used the site to test its vehicles, then Apple reportedly used it for its own autonomous vehicle testing.
The acquisition closed on June 5, according to real estate database Vizzda. A spokesperson for Waymo confirmed the deal on June 8, though was unable to provide further details at the time of publication.
Jun 9, 2026 · via abc15.com
BYD to become world’s largest automaker by scale within five years, says chairman Wang Chuanfu During BYD‘s 2025 annual general meeting held on June 9, 2026, Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu expressed strong confidence in the company’s future, projecting that BYD will achieve the status of the world’s largest automaker by scale within the next five years. Strong overseas momentum Wang highlighted the robust growth of Chinese automakers in international markets, noting that BYD’s products – characterised by competitive pricing, advanced technology, and superior user experience – are currently outperforming many local competitors. While the company initially set an overseas sales target of 1.6 million vehicles for this year, Wang revealed that current trends suggest this figure will be surpassed. Emphasising a strategy of “long-termism,” Wang stressed the importance of localisation to ensure stable and sustainable growth, aiming for win-win outcomes in international markets. Advancing intelligent driving Addressing the future of automotive intelligence, Wang described the vehicle as a form of “embodied intelligence.” With 3.15 million intelligent driving-equipped vehicles already on the road globally, BYD is accumulating data at a rate of 200 million km per day. This dataset serves as a foundation for the company’s next-level autonomous driving capabilities. Wang predicted that L3 and L4 autonomous driving technologies will reach the market sooner than expected. He confirmed that BYD is fully prepared across chips, algorithms, and data ecosystems. “Once the regulations are in place, BYD will quickly take off,” Wang stated, noting that the company has already established training centres in Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East to support this rollout. Technology-Driven Premium Strategy In response to shareholder concerns regarding domestic profit margins and brand image, Wang maintained that BYD’s path to high-end positioning lies in its core technology. He pointed out that in many international
Jun 9, 2026 · via carnewschina.com
NEW YORK and STOCKHOLM, June 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Einride AB ("Einride" or the "Company"), a technology company driving the transition to cost-efficient autonomous and electric freight, today announced the closing of its previously announced business combination (the Transaction”) with Legato Merger Corp. III ("Legato"), which was approved by Legato shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on June 4, 2026. In connection with the closing of the business combination, Einride’s American depository shares and warrants are expected to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbols "ENRD" and “ENRDW”, respectively, on June 10, 2026. The Transaction valued Einride at a pre-money equity value of approximately $1.35 billion. As previously announced, Einride raised $113 million through an oversubscribed PIPE financing in connection with the Transaction. The PIPE was supported by new and existing investors, including Stockholm-based EQT Ventures and a global asset management company based on the West Coast of the United States. TD Cowen served as the lead financial and capital markets advisor to Einride and acted as lead placement agent on the PIPE. BTIG, LLC also served as capital markets advisor to Legato and as co-placement agent on the PIPE. Legal counsel for Einride was provided by DLA Piper LLP (US), Advokatfirma DLA Piper Sweden KB, and Conyers Dill & Pearman LLP. Graubard Miller, Lindskog Malmström Advokatbyrå AB, and Appleby (Cayman) Ltd. served as legal counsel to Legato. Greenberg Traurig, LLP served as legal counsel to the placement agents. About Einride Founded in 2016, Einride is a technology company that develops and operates digital, electric and autonomous freight solutions to accelerate the transition to future proofed transportation in a cost-efficient way. Its technology platform includes AI powered planning and optimization, autonomous technologies, one of the world’s largest electric heavy-duty fleets and charging infrastructure. Einride is serving customers across
Jun 9, 2026 · via globenewswire.com
VW unveils mobile charging robot prototype in Dresden The concept of a charging robot is not entirely new: the Dutch startup Rocsys has already developed several such devices that enable ‘hands-free charging’ for use cases such as autonomous logistics vehicles in ports or for robotaxi fleets. These systems typically consist of a charging station with a fixed robotic arm that uses computer vision and motion analysis to detect the position and orientation of a vehicle’s charging socket, automatically attach the charging plug, and initiate the charging process. Volkswagen’s concept, however, goes significantly further as part of the ‘MOBILITIES for EU’ Smart Cities initiative launched in 2024. The prototype now being presented is a small six-wheeled vehicle in which a robotic arm, along with a charging cable and plug, is integrated and concealed under a flap while in transit. According to the City of Dresden, this charging robot, together with the Mobility Data Space of the Dresden-based Fraunhofer IVI, will form part of an ecosystem for user-friendly charging infrastructure and electromobility at the Ostra Sports Park. This will supplement the currently limited number of charging points in the area. However, only a few technical details about the prototype have been released so far. The City of Dresden’s project page states that Volkswagen Group Innovation plans to develop, build, and test a total of two of these autonomous charging robots. The robots are equipped with a 55 kWh battery and are designed to allow the charging plug to be inserted either manually or autonomously. They can be deployed anywhere structural or economic constraints make it impossible to install a fixed charging station. dresden.de (Press release), dresden.de (Project page) 0 Comments
Jun 9, 2026 · via electrive.com
In 1953, Donn Fichter, a graduate student at Northwestern University in Chicago, had a simple transportation idea: What if you tipped an elevator on its side, enabling it to run horizontally, and set it loose in a city? Unlike conventional urban mass transit, elevators are responsive to individuals, callable with the push of a button, and not subject to schedules. After completing his dissertation in 1958, “Automated Urban Circulation,” Fichter spent years turning that idea into a complete transit system design he called Veyar. At its core, Veyar would offer small automated cars running on lightweight guideways. The electric cars would be available at any hour and travel directly from origin to destination without stops, schedules, or drivers. “Personalized transit,” he called it, in which each car “is a self-operating vehicle which can go unattended.” To keep infrastructure construction costs low, he explained, “they have to utilize existing public right of way: the streets.” Fichter self-published the design in 1964, calling it “Individualized Automatic Transit and the City.” For 60 years, personalized transit systems like Veyar gained support from generation after generation of transportation engineers, but none were ever built. That’s because personal rapid transit systems demanded infrastructure cities couldn’t afford and automation technology that didn’t yet exist. What finally solved both problems wasn’t a transit agency or a federal program, but rather the autonomous vehicle industry. Companies like Zoox and Waymo built Fichter’s system more practically, starting with the automation and letting existing streets serve as the guideways. The origins of personal rapid transit Donn Fichter was born in Minneapolis in 1926. After serving in the Army during World War II, he earned engineering degrees from Brown and Northwestern. He was the first serious advocate of what urban planners would eventually call personal rapid transit, or PRT—a vision of
Jun 9, 2026 · via popsci.com
Rivian began officially handing over the first R2 SUVs to paying customers on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the buzzy all-electric automaker as it tries to reach mass-market scale. Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has said the R2 is “maybe the most important thing we’ve launched to date,” and it’s particularly crucial to the company’s ambitions in the world of autonomous vehicles. Starting at around $58,000, the R2 takes a lot of what Rivian did with the R1 SUV and shrinks it down into a more approachable and affordable form factor. The company plans to offer a version of the R2 for less than $50,000, beginning in 2027. An even more stripped-down model will be available “around $45,000” later that year — making good on a price point Rivian has teased since it revealed the R2 in 2024. The company is looking to ramp up both production and deliveries of the R2 through the second half of 2026. And Rivian is planning on the R2 being very successful from the jump: The company has said it will deliver between 20,000 and 25,000 R2 SUVs by the end of the year. If it accomplishes that feat, Rivian’s R2 would be one of the fastest-scaling EV launches in U.S. history. From there, Rivian wants to build and sell hundreds of thousands of R2 SUVs per year. The company has begun production at its factory in Normal, Illinois, and is building a new factory in Georgia that will come online in late 2028. The R2 arrives at an inflection point for electric vehicles in America. The Trump administration has weakened environmental regulations that put pressure on the auto industry to move away from gas engines. Congress also did away with a $7,500 federal tax credit that made new
Jun 9, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
Sponsored by Google Cloud Choosing Your First Generative AI Use Cases To get started with generative AI, first focus on areas that can improve human experiences with information. The self-driving tech company and Apple were rivals before the consumer tech giant got out of the business. Waymo has acquired the Arizona proving ground that was once at the heart of Apple’s ill-fated self-driving car project. Documents filed with Maricopa County reveal that the robotaxi developer paid $220 million to Route 14 Investments, a Delaware-listed company associated with Apple, for the facility in Wittmann. Waymo already has testing and development hubs elsewhere, including a proving ground in California and a research center in Ohio, but Wittmann, about 60 miles north-west of Phoenix, is significantly bigger than both. It incorporates a 115-acre city course, a 35-acre dynamics area and a four-mile oval track. There’s also a freeway-style area designed specifically to assess autonomous driving. Waymo confirmed the purchase in a post on X and said it would provide a dedicated environment “to validate software in a controlled setting before deploying on public roads.” While the scale of the location has obvious appeal, its location does, too. Waymo is well-established in Arizona, having first started testing in Chandler, a Phoenix suburb, in 2017. It is now a fixture in the city, with a large fleet of adapted Jaguar SUVs offering commercial driverless rides. Wittmann is a 90-minute drive from Mesa, the vast Phoenix manufacturing center that Waymo opened in October. The 239,000-square-foot factory, run in tandem with global automotive parts supplier Magna, will eventually churn out tens of thousands of robotaxis every year, including the recently launched Ojai. That robotaxi integrates the company’s sixth-gen AI-powered Waymo Driver tech with a vehicle platform based on a minivan from Chinese automaker Zeekr. Wittmann’s proximity will
Jun 9, 2026 · via aibusiness.com
Uber has opened an interest list for customers keen to try autonomous minicabs in the capital, as self-driving taxis near a commercial launch in the UK. The ride-hailing giant is partnering with British autonomous driving firm Wayve, whose technology has been tested on London's streets since 2018. Customers can now opt in through the Uber app for a chance to be matched with one of the vehicles when the service launches, which both companies expect to happen in the coming months, subject to regulatory approval. Initially, the vehicles will operate with a trained safety operator behind the wheel, although the long-term ambition is fully driverless journeys. Announcing the move at London Tech Week, Wayve's vice president of commercial and operations, Kaity Fischer, described the launch as a "full circle moment" for the company after nearly a decade of testing on some of the world's most challenging roads. "We've been testing 24/7, 365 here in London for years," Fischer said. "Some of the most complex streets imaginable, 2,000-year-old roads, 20 times the amount of construction compared to San Francisco." She added that London's combination of cyclists, pedestrians, roadworks, cobbled streets and unpredictable traffic patterns creates an "incredible proving ground" for autonomous technology. Uber's global head of autonomous mobility operations, Annie Duvnjak, added: "For us at Uber, London's really a pioneer city. We're just so thrilled to be partnering with an incredible technology company like Wayve to give Londoners access to that in the coming months." 'Magically Boring' The launch sets up a looming battle between Wayve and Alphabet-owned Waymo, which is also testing autonomous vehicles across London ahead of a commercial rollout. While robotaxis are already operating in cities including San Francisco, Phoenix and parts of China, Europe has lagged behind due to tougher regulation and more complex urban environments. Unlike
Jun 9, 2026 · via oilprice.com
Karsan’s Autonomous e-JEST has started free passenger operations in Atlanta, Georgia under ATL Spoke, the city’s first autonomous public transport pilot, linking the MARTA West End Station with the Atlanta Beltline Southwest Trail from 5 June 2026. Four level-4 autonomous vehicles are in service seven days a week, running every 12–15 minutes.
ATL Spoke was established through a collaboration involving the Atlanta Beltline, the Georgia Transportation Efficiency Authority (GTEA), the City of Atlanta, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and service orchestrator Beep, using ADASTEC’s flowride.ai for level-4 autonomous control. The vehicles comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the service coincides with a major international football tournament in Atlanta.
ATL Spoke marks Karsan’s first North American passenger deployment, part of an initial 10-unit North American order for the Autonomous e-JEST. The Turkish manufacturer has operated the Autonomous e-ATAK, the world’s first level-4 autonomous public transport vehicle, since 2021, and launched the Autonomous e-JEST across Europe and North America in 2025.
In a statement, Clyde Higgs, President and Chief Executive of the Atlanta Beltline, said: “This project is piloting the future of neighbourhood mobility in a way that improves access to transit and opportunity.”
Source: Karsan
Jun 9, 2026 · via automotiveworld.com
US engineers make ‘artificial eyes’ to improve vision in robots, self-driving cars It is a new type of “photomemristor” that mimics the human eye, adapting to mixed, changing light from bright to dark in seconds. Penn State researchers have built a human-eye-inspired device to prevent self-driving cars from going blind in changing light conditions. It is a new type of “photomemristor” that mimics the human eye, adapting to mixed, changing light from bright to dark in seconds. “Self-driving cars are exposed to a mixture of light levels in use — imagine the contrast of the dark sky with the bright headlights of other cars when driving at night,” said Larry Cheng, James L. Henderson Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State. “It can be difficult for an artificial optical system to distinguish details, like the glow of a red light, in these mixed lightning conditions,” the co-corresponding author added. Mimicking the human eye Autonomous vehicles remain surprisingly fragile when encountering high-contrast lighting environments, despite being equipped with advanced cameras and powerful AI. These robotic eyes perform well in stable weather conditions, but are not accustomed to sudden flashes of light, such as oncoming headlights piercing a dark midnight sky. It can trigger catastrophic data glitches that blind the vehicle‘s system. The team of engineers has finally found a workaround. And the secret is copying the wet, organic mechanics of the human eye. Researchers unveiled a tiny hardware component that can adapt from blinding brightness to deep shadow in just seconds. While our eyes require roughly 20 to 30 minutes to fully acclimate to extreme changes in light, this artificial system handles the transition almost instantly. To build it, scientists had to rethink how computers process light. Standard cameras capture an image and send it to
Jun 9, 2026 · via interestingengineering.com