Category Archives: Autonomous Driving

Tata Group confirms plans to build gigafactory for batteries in the UK

August 9, 2023Autonomous Driving, Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The company says the £4bn investment will create up to 4,000 new direct jobs and thousands more in the wider supply chain.

The owner of Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled plans to build an electric car battery factory in the UK.

Tata Group says it’s planning to invest more than £4bn, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declaring that the new plant in Somerset will create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons across the country.

Jaguar I-PACE Electric Car (Image: T. Larkum)

The deal is the culmination of months of talks with the government over taxpayer subsidies to fend off reported competition for the investment from Spain.

It marks a step in the right direction for UK ministers amid mounting challenges over the transition to electric powertrains, as the clock ticks down to the 2030 ban on the sale of new cars using petrol or diesel.

According to Tata Group, this marks one of the largest-ever investments in the British automotive sector, and the gigafactory will deliver half of the battery production needed by 2030.

It’s Time to Go Green!

If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form:

Remote autonomous car-hailing trial now live in Milton Keynes

January 18, 2022Autonomous Driving, Electric Cars, Milton Keynes, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

British start-up Imperium Drive has started its Fetch trial in Milton Keynes that will see remote-controlled driverless vehicles used as a car-hailing service.

The technology enables users to summon an unmanned vehicle via a smartphone app, which is driven by a remote driver to their location.

The customer then drives the car normally to their destination, from where a remote vehicle operator takes over and pilots the car back to base or to the next user.

Imperium Drive said for trips up to a couple of hours, the service offers the same convenience as a ride-hailing or taxi service, but with the ability to cover greater distances at less than half the cost of services like Uber or Bolt.

It’s Time to Go Green!

If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form:

Nissan Leaf breaks UK record for longest self-driving car journey

February 24, 2020Autonomous Driving, Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanRepost

Autonomous model completes complex 230-mile trip from Bedfordshire to Sunderland

A self-navigating car has successfully driven itself for 230 miles, the longest and most complex journey undertaken so far on UK roads by an autonomous vehicle.

The Nissan Leaf, fitted with GPS, radar, Lidar laser measurement technology and cameras, travelled from Nissan’s technical centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, to the carmaker’s manufacturing plant in Sunderland, where the model is made.

Nissan Leaf collection in St Albans (Image: T. Larkum) — Nissan Leaf (Image: T. Larkum)

Nissan says the vehicle’s advanced positioning technology allows it to assess its surroundings and make decisions about how to navigate roads and obstacles.

During the journey, named the GrandDrive, the car travelled on a range of roads alongside traffic, from country lanes to the M1 motorway. The autonomous technology activated along the route whenever the vehicle needed to stop, start or change lanes.

The £13.5m HumanDrive project is jointly funded by the British government and an industry consortium of nine partners including Nissan and Hitachi. Its goal is to develop an autonomous vehicle control system that resembles a natural, human driving style. The vehicles have also been driven on test tracks as part of the project.

Bob Bateman, the project manager for Nissan’s Europe technical centre, said:

“The HumanDrive project allowed us to develop an autonomous vehicle that can tackle challenges encountered on UK roads that are unique to this part of the world, such as complex roundabouts and high-speed country lanes with no road markings, white lines or kerbs.”

Two engineers remained in the car throughout the journey, which achieved its target of 99% self-navigation. Human drivers briefly took over the controls when the car pulled in at four service stations en route for checks and charging.

It’s Time to Go Green!

If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form:

Nothing To See Here, Just An Autonomous Renault Zoe With A Lambo Door

May 23, 2019Autonomous Driving, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, ZOERepost

Renault and several partners have started “The Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab” project which aims to make self-driving transportation a reality in France.

The project aims to develop new mobility services using dedicated lane and public and campus streets to supplement the existing Saclay Plateau transportation systems.

Made possible by Renault’s collaboration with the Transdev Group, IRT SystemX, Institut VEDECOM and the University of Paris-Saclay, the trial program uses three Renault Zoe Cab self-driving prototypes and a Transdev-Lohr i-Cristal autonomous shuttle.

The latter will provide collective transportation service for up to 16 passengers at a time during the night when the regular transportation systems are not functioning. As for the three Zoe Cab vehicles, they will be used for a daytime on-demand car service for the Paris-Saclay urban campus.

People can hail a car or book one ahead of time using a dedicated Marcel smartphone app. A prototype autonomous electric Renault Zoe Cab vehicle will then come to pick up the user and then drop them off at the destination. The service is designed to provide a large number of pick-up and drop-off points, which do not interfere with other traffic and are located near the most frequented campus areas.

The all-electric Renault Zoe Cab and Transdev-Lohr i-Cristal shuttle autonomous vehicles are equipped with GPS-type sensors, Lidar, cameras, inertial units, and self-driving software. The technology enables them to detect other vehicles and pedestrians, safely pass through intersections and roundabouts, detect deceleration and recognize traffic lights. In the specified areas they operate they provide full autonomy, although a “safety operator” is present at all times inside the vehicle.

Renault does not provide additional details about the Zoe Cab autonomous prototype but it’s easy to spot the changes compared to the regular production model. Those include the massive Lambo-style door on the right-hand side which eases access to the cabin thanks to the elimination of the B-pillar. The interior features three passenger seats, two facing forward and one facing rearward, as well as a “driver’s seat” that is isolated from the passenger compartment, presumably for safety reasons.

Electric car with A.I. to undertake 745 mile Australian ‘road trip’

February 24, 2019Autonomous Driving, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Repost

An electric vehicle with artificial intelligence (AI) sensors and computers is set to embark on a 1,200 kilometer (745 mile), three-month journey in Queensland, Australia.

The zero-emissions Renault ZOE will be used to map roads in the state, which is in the northeast of the country. Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), which is based in Brisbane, will man the car.

“As researchers drive the car across Queensland, onboard sensors will build a virtual map to help refine AI-equipped vehicles to drive safely on our roads,” Mark Bailey, Queensland’s minister for Transport and Main Roads, said in a statement Wednesday.

Bailey added that while it was “early days”, AI technology and smart road infrastructure had the potential to transform the way people travelled in Queensland and “reduce road trauma.”

The project will look at how the vehicle and its AI system adapts to lane markings, traffic lights and street signage. Additionally, it will look to overcome GPS systems’ limitations “in built-up areas and tunnels for vehicle positioning.”

Michael Milford, from QUT’s Australian Centre for Robotic Vision, said that as the vehicle was driven, AI would “watch and determine if it could perform the same as a human driver in all conditions.”

BMW and FCA alliance to develop autonomous cars

September 12, 2017Autonomous Driving, BMW, News, Reviews and CommentJo

BMW GROUP and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have formed an alliance, along with technology company Intel and advanced driver assistance systems company Mobileye, to develop self-driving vehicles.

The four companies signed a memorandum of understanding in order to allow them to work together on a new ‘world-leading, state-of-the-art autonomous driving platform’.

Under the arrangement, each organisation will be able to ‘leverage each other’s individual strengths, capabilities and resources’.

The aim is to start production of vehicles with Level 3 (highly automated driving) and Level 4/5 (fully automated driving) autonomous capabilities by 2021.

The companies are planning to have 40 autonomous test vehicles on the road by the end of 2017. They also expect to benefit from data received from Mobileye’s 100 Level 4 fully autonomous test vehicles.

Harald Krüger, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG, said: ‘The two factors that remain key to the success of the cooperation are uncompromising excellence in development, and the scalability of our autonomous driving platform.

‘With FCA as our new partner, we reinforce our path to successfully create the most relevant state-of-the-art, cross-OEM Level 3-5 solution on a global scale.’

Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, said:

‘The future of transportation relies on auto and tech industry leaders working together to develop a scalable architecture that automakers around the globe can adopt and customise.

‘We’re thrilled to welcome FCA’s contribution, bringing us a step closer to delivering the world’s safest autonomous vehicles.’

Professor Amnon Shashua, CEO and CTO of Mobileye, said:

‘We welcome FCA’s contributions and use of the cooperation’s platform, which has made substantial progress over the last year and is rapidly entering the testing and execution phase.

‘The combination of vision-intense perception and mapping, differentiated sensor fusion, and driving policy solutions offers the highest levels of safety and versatility, in a cost-efficient package that will scale across all geographies and road settings.’

Source: CarDealer

Ford CEO cannot see robots taking over the world’s roads

September 11, 2017Autonomous Driving, Ford, News, Reviews and CommentJo

The new CEO of Ford Motor Company, Jim Hackett, has suggested that there will be no ‘robot takeover’ when it comes to the introduction of autonomous vehicles on roads around the globe.

Speaking at the manufacturer’s City of Tomorrow event, Hackett, who headed up Ford’s Smart Mobility subsidiary before taking over as CEO, predicted that rather than a pod-based landscape, similar to robo-taxi services being tested in a number of cities, the technology will instead gradually augment current challenges such as limited parking and vehicle access.

‘When you paint the robots as perfect and humans as imperfect, we’ve made a big mistake,’ Hackett said. ‘We don’t need the robot to get around.’

Ford has been behind its rivals when it comes to developing autonomous technology, however Hackett has been tasked with turning this around. Since his appointment in May 2017, replacing former CEO Mark Fields, the company has invested in various transportation technologies, including lidar-maker Velodyne, mapping company Civil Maps, bike-share company Motivate, ride-sharing start-up Chariot and autonomous driving start-up Argo AI.

Hackett also said a combination of analogue and new technologies will be necessary to create a better transportation environment:

‘Networks only get stronger by inclusion, there’s no gain by carving someone out,’

he added.

The CEO also added his thoughts about vehicle ownership, particularly when it comes to less congested cities due to autonomous vehicles allowing for sharing and more efficient movements:

‘I don’t believe there’s going to be a big degradation of sales as the cities become less congested,’ Hackett said. ‘It’s probably going to give people more options to keep their cars, because they can choose to use them in ways that they couldn’t before.’

Apple’s autonomous programme reportedly ‘where Google was three years ago’

September 7, 2017Autonomous Driving, News, Reviews and CommentJo

Apple’s development of autonomous driving technology, following a major refocussing and scaling back of its auto project last year, is way behind its main competitors, a source familiar with autonomous vehicle technology and who has seen their tech told Business Insider.

They say that Apple’s autonomous technology, a field CEO Tim Cook described as the ‘mother of all AI projects’ in June, is only about at the stage where field-leader Google ‘was three years ago.’

He added:

‘Apple is just trying to play catch-up.’

Apple’s autonomous project, once a sprawling team aiming to create a revolutionary self-driving Apple Car, is still transitioning following massive layoffs when the immediate plan to build an Apple Car was abandoned as too ambitious last year. Google had also made a similar less-drastic change of course around the same time, shelving immediate plans to re-invent driverless cars with no steering wheel or pedals towards working more closely with OEMs on conventional cars. It also spun off the division into its own company called Waymo, allowing it to diverge its business model away from that of Google, and also signifying the huge promise Google sees for the technology.

Apple’s autonomous scheme, part of its internal Special Projects Team, according to the source is still suffering from confusion of its purpose, with an underdeveloped concept of how it is to use the technology and monetise it. However, it is hiring again following the period of mass-culling initiated by new leader and Apple veteran Bob Mansfield, particularly for those with autonomous vehicle software experience. This presumably means poaching people from other firms – with more than 250 companies and startups working on self-driving technology. However, talent is scarce and fiercely competitive, with seven-figure salaries not uncommon.

Similar to how Google developed a shuttle service around its Googleplex campus in Mountain View, California at the early stages of its self-driving programme, Apple has set up a commuter car service for employees to test its autonomous technology between Apple’s Infinite Loop campus and the nearby town of Palo Alto, California.

Three years ago, Google’s programme – which is now rapidly approaching commercial deployment – still had lots of kinks to work out – including the ability to detect open manholes on streets and read traffic lights in glare of very bright sun.

Will autonomous and electric vehicles kill the petrol station?

August 3, 2017Autonomous Driving, Electric CarsJo

Pulling up to the pumps and filling your car with fossil fuels will soon become a thing of the past.

Yesterday, France announced its intention to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel cars by 2040, while manufacturer Volvo have pledged to stop making them by 2019.

Autonomous cars might take a little longer to reach the masses, but they won’t be far behind. But what does the driverless, electric revolution mean for the petrol station?

According to Shell’s head of business development Stuart Blyde, who Professional Engineering spoke to at the recent Frost & Sullivan Intelligent Mobility event in London, fuel providers will have to adapt their offering.

“I think there’s going to be this different animal of what a station will be in the future and how it serves people,”

he says.

“I think there will be a diversification not only around digital and energy, but the products that you’ll serve in the store, whether it’s food, goods or experiences. They’ll need to be far more compelling for people to want to stop and dwell for 15 minutes.”

Instead of filling up themselves and then driving off, drivers will have time to kill while their cars are charging.

In the short-term, a lot of infrastructure needs to be built to support a move towards electric vehicles. Currently, there’s a mish-mash of different charging providers and operators, and different brands have different sockets and connections.

There’s no guarantee that the station you pull up to will have a source of electricity that’s in your price plan, with a socket that works with your car.

“There is more investment in charging infrastructure needed,”

said Lucy Yu, head of innovation at the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, at a recent event.

“In more urban areas, people are probably more interested in a faster charge, and less interested in long range.”

Blyde has first-hand experience of that frustration.

“I rented a BMW i3 and drove around London, this was 12 months ago,”

he remembers.

“I stopped when I was being told to stop on the dashboard, at six different places, and at all six places I couldn’t charge up. Either the plug was wrong, the car didn’t work, the infrastructure was switched off and had a sticker on it saying out of use on it. On the road the infrastructure is terrible. At home it’s down to you.”

Autonomous Electric Pods in Milton Keynes

July 27, 2017Autonomous Driving, Blog, Electric Cars, Milton KeynesTrevor Larkum

I saw my first autonomous electric pod in Milton Keynes today while taking a lunchtime walk.

Although I’ve followed the development of the Lutz Pathfinder for a few years, this was the first time I’ve seen one ‘in the flesh’. It appeared to be undergoing testing on undeveloped land on the eastern side of the city centre.

Unfortunately what’s not clear in the picture is that it’s stationary. Someone is hunched down on the far side with a laptop.

I guess things aren’t going too well.