<h2>Driverless in Michigan</h2>
<p>Alphabet-owned driverless car company Waymo has received approval from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to build an autonomous vehicle factory in the state.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://medium.com/waymo/growing-our-team-and-business-in-michigan-932f75addb45">Medium post</a>, Waymo claims its factory will be the first in the world that&#8217;s entirely dedicated to the mass production of driverless vehicles. The company has yet to identify an exact location for its first facility, but it plans to hire &#8220;engineers, operations experts, and fleet coordinators,&#8221; to help &#8220;assemble and deploy our self-driving cars.&#8221;</p>
<h2>Motor State</h2>
<p>The news comes after General Motors laid off <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/business/gm-oshawa-plant/index.html">15 percent</a> of its salaried workers and closed five entire auto plants — including one in Michigan — in the U.S. and Canada in November.</p>
<p>The cars Waymo is planning to assemble are modified versions of the Fiat Chrysler vans and Jaguar Land Rovers that have been outfitted with advanced self-driving sensors and other hardware. Waymo is already using Hybrid <a href="https://futurism.com/waymo-chrysler-pacifica-san-francisco">Chrysler Pacifica minivans</a> as part of its efforts to expand <a href="https://futurism.com/report-waymo-unveil-first-driverless-rideshare">autonomous ride-hailing services</a> in Phoenix, Arizona. It launched the world&#8217;s <a href="https://futurism.com/waymo-one-self-driving-taxi-service">first self-driving taxi service</a> back in December, although its operations are limited to a suburb of Arizona&#8217;s capital.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a big stepping stone for the future of autonomous vehicles — especially considering Michigan&#8217;s longstanding history with the automotive industry.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE: </strong><a href="https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/22/waymo-to-build-self-driving-cars-in-michigan/?utm_campaign=homepage&amp;utm_medium=internal&amp;utm_source=dl">Waymo will build self-driving cars in Michigan</a> [<em>Engadget</em>]<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>More on Waymo: <a href="https://futurism.com/waymo-one-self-driving-taxi-service">Waymo Has Officially Launched a Self-Driving Taxi Service</a></strong></em></p>


It plans to hire "engineers, operations experts, and fleet coordinators."

Waymo gets approval to open driverless car factory in Michigan

Driverless in Michigan

Waymo received approval from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to build a driverless car factory in the state.

Waymo Gets Approval to Open Driverless Car Factory in Michigan

It's the first factory in the world dedicated to self-driving cars.

<h2>Game Changer</h2>
<p>We may not have to wait much longer to jump in a taxi without a human driver.</p>
<p>According to <em>Bloomberg</em>, Waymo is <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-13/waymo-to-start-first-driverless-car-service-next-month">about to unveil</a> the world&#8217;s first driverless ride-hailing service as soon as next month. Waymo has yet to officially announce a new name for the project.</p>
<h2><strong>Phoenix Rising</strong></h2>
<p>According to <em>Bloomberg</em>&#8216;s source<em>, </em>the service will be limited to a handful of authorized cars in a 100 square mile area across a number of Phoenix suburbs.</p>
<p>The Alphabet-owned company has been test driving its modified driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivans on the streets of Silicon Valley and Arizona for some time now. Since March of this year, Waymo&#8217;s Early Rider Program has allowed test groups — including families — to go for driverless rides around Phoenix. Those Early Riders will be the first to access the new program, according to <em>Bloomberg</em>.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QqRMTWqhwzM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>Waymo&#8217; Driverless Miles</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s very likely Waymo will want to expand the commercial service to different parts of the country, but that might take some time. While its driverless technology is already <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsilver/2018/07/26/waymo-has-the-most-autonomous-miles-by-a-lot/">ahead of the curve</a>, Waymo&#8217;s approach is to slowly expand to other areas without incurring <a href="https://futurism.com/ubers-self-driving-car-decided-swerve">major setbacks</a> such as a crash.</p>
<p>Waymo is already planning on <a href="https://futurism.com/waymo-largest-fleet-of-avs-by-2020">adding 62,000 hybrid minivans</a>, and 20,000 electric Jaguar I-Pace SUVs to its driverless fleet by 2020.</p>
<h2>Driverless Nation</h2>
<p>Time will tell whether we&#8217;ll see Waymo&#8217;s driverless minivans give people rides. But opening a fully fledged driverless service to the masses would be bound to give Waymo unprecedented visibility.</p>
<p>The takeaway: It&#8217;s starting to look as though it&#8217;s no longer a matter of &#8220;if,&#8221; but &#8220;when&#8221; Uber and Lyft drivers will be replaced with sophisticated technology.</p>
<p>READ MORE: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/hyperdrive">Waymo to Start First Driverless Car Service Next Month</a> [<em>Bloomberg</em>]</p>
<p>More on autonomous cars: <a href="https://futurism.com/waymo-largest-fleet-of-avs-by-2020">Waymo Plans to Deploy The Largest Fleet of Autonomous Vehicles by 2020</a></p>


Yep, it's real: your next rideshare could Be driverless in as soon as a month

Waymo' Miles

According to Bloomberg, Waymo is about to announce the world's first commercial driverless car service in Phoenix, Arizona, putting them ahead of the curve.

Yep, It’s Real: Your Next Rideshare Could Be Driverless in as Soon as a Month

The program would put Waymo ahead of the curve.

<h2>Human Versus Machine</h2>
<p>Like something out of a <i>Transformers</i> film, angry citizens are fighting back against what they perhaps perceive as the modern equivalent of the Decepticons: autonomous cars.</p>
<p>According to crash reports filed with California&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)</a>, people are attacking driverless cars. So far in 2018, autonomous vehicles played a role in six accidents on state roads. Of those, two of the accidents involved angry humans shouting at and slapping the self-driving cars.</p>
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-technologies-that-power-self-driving-cars-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/08/Homepage-Thumbnail-17.jpg" alt="The Technologies That Power Self-Driving Cars [INFOGRAPHIC]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-technologies-that-power-self-driving-cars-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/1ff92b92-e066-4849-8610-7d74e179c488/GMCruise_010218.pdf?MOD=AJPERES" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first report</a>, a male pedestrian supposedly attacked a self-driving Chevy Bolt as it waited at a traffic light in San Francisco for pedestrians to cross the road. The vehicle was in self-driving mode, but a human was in the driver&#8217;s seat, as required by state law. The raging pedestrian ran across the street &#8220;shouting.&#8221; He then struck &#8220;the left side of the Cruise AV&#8217;s rear bumper and hatch with his entire body,&#8221; damaging the Chevy&#8217;s left tail light.</p>
<p>The second incident also involved a self-driving Chevy Bolt in San Francisco, this time with a human driver in control. When the vehicle stopped behind a taxi, the taxi driver stepped out of his vehicle and assaulted the autonomous car. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-human-attacks-robot-cars-20180305-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to the <em>Los Angeles Times</em></a>, which claims to have seen the DMV report, he &#8220;slapped the front passenger window, causing a scratch.&#8221;</p>
<p>Humans weren&#8217;t harmed in either case, and General Motors, the Chevy Bolt Cruise AV&#8217;s manufacturer, has yet to comment on these incidents.</p>
<h2>Humankind Striking Back?</h2>
<p>Driverless cars aren&#8217;t an unusual sight in California. The state already allows car manufacturers to test self-driving vehicle technologies with human drivers inside, and soon, it will allow them to test <a href="https://futurism.com/california-allows-fully-driverless-vehicles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completely driverless cars</a>.</p>
<p>But we&#8217;re not there yet. There were drivers sitting in the proper seat in these cars. How do we know, then, that the aggravated humans were attacking the cars because they were autonomous, not because the car was driving poorly, or was stopped in the crosswalk?</p>
<p>The truth is, we don&#8217;t. At least for now. But it just so happens that other autonomous bots are also in the crosshairs.</p>
<p>A San Francisco animal shelter faced significant backlash when it began using a <a href="https://futurism.com/dystopian-move-spca-using-robot-scare-off-homeless-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">patrolling security robot</a>. Angry residents vandalized the bot, knocking it over and pouring barbecue sauce onto its sensors, the shelter&#8217;s president, Jennifer Scarlett, <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2017/12/08/security-robot-homeless-spca-mission-san-francisco.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the <em>San Francisco Business Times</em></a>.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here it is in action <a href="https://t.co/nSBQUmKwk1">pic.twitter.com/nSBQUmKwk1</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Sam Dodge (@samueldodge) <a href="https://twitter.com/samueldodge/status/939627122561134592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>This could be a sign of the public&#8217;s attitude toward automation in general. The idea of automated technologies taking over human jobs en masse is worrisome, which makes the cab driver&#8217;s &#8220;assault&#8221; on the self-driving Chevy somewhat understandable. After all, taxi drivers are among those in danger of <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/robot-taxis-and-the-future-of-cab-drivers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replacement by these intelligent machines</a>.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/1/18/16905686/self-driving-car-attacked-gm-cruise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one local news source pointed out</a>, a self-driving Chevy Bolt played a role in an accident that <a href="https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/1877d019-d5f0-4c46-b472-78cfe289787d/GMCruise_120717.pdf?MOD=AJPERES" target="_blank" rel="noopener">injured a human being</a> back in December 2017, so perhaps by attacking driverless cars, these people think they are simply sticking up for their species.</p>
<p>If that is, in fact, the reason they&#8217;re attacking autonomous things in the first place. And not, say, <a href="https://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/criminology/vandalism-why-do-people-do-it-criminology-essay.php">out of mischievousness or boredom</a>.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XHIq0MMViZg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Additionally, the idea behind these technologies is that they&#8217;ll ultimately protect humans. The purpose of the security bot was to discourage crime and make the workplace safer for shelter staff. Meanwhile, autonomous cars could make roads far safer by removing the number one cause of road accidents: <a href="https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812115" target="_blank" rel="noopener">human error</a>.</p>
<p>The latter seems even more likely under the current circumstances &#8211; the fact that at least two people thought attacking an autonomous car was a good idea does little to encourage confidence in human decision making.</p>


People are reportedly attacking driverless cars in California

Advanced Transport

In a pair of rather strange recent incidents in California, people were caught attacking driverless cars on two separate occasions.

People Are Reportedly Attacking Driverless Cars in California

Rage against the (autonomous) machine.

<p>Toyota <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/toyota-announces-new-company-devoted-to-self-driving-cars-1519976923" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has invested ¥300 billion ($2.8 billion) in a new Tokyo-based company</a> that will build software for self-driving cars, according to a report in the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> on Friday. The Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (or TRI-AD) will set out with 300 employees but the Japanese automaker hopes that number will grow to about 1,000 as the company takes off.</p>
<p>Toyota has <a href="https://futurism.com/toyota-says-they-will-have-intelligent-talking-cars-by-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an ambitious deadline of 2020 for testing its autonomous, electric vehicles</a>, which is part of the company&#8217;s larger goal of commercially expanding the availability and capabilities of self-driving cars.</p>
<p>When Toyota first announced its 2020 goal, the company teased that the autonomous vehicles in development might come with AI functionalities that could facilitate conversations between vehicles and passengers.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/33Bp1WNqCNw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/2/17070828/toyota-research-institute-tri-ad-tokyo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toyota&#8217;s main goal with TRI-AD</a> is ensuring the development of reliable software for the cars. “With automated-driving-software development happening around the world, there is a broad spectrum of software being written with a wide variance in quality,” James Kuffner, the new company&#8217;s leader told the <em>Wall Street Journal.</em></p>
<p>Why did <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/02/toyota-creates-a-new-advanced-research-company-fo-focus-on-self-driving/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toyota create an entirely new company to handle this work</a>? As Jean-Yves Jault, a Toyota spokesperson explained to the <em>Wall Street Journal,</em> it was partially due to recruiting needs. “The idea is to create a company where we are not bound by restrictions,&#8221; Jault said, adding that they&#8217;ll need to hire &#8220;a globalized team, and one of the best ways to do that is to create a company separate from Toyota Motor Corp., to create a company with different rules—like a startup.”</p>
<p>Driverless cars might seem far off from being commonplace on our roads, but autonomous vehicles are already on the streets in several cities. <a href="https://futurism.com/neil-degrasse-tyson-self-driving-cars-will-save-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Self-driving vehicles have the potential to make our roads safer</a>, and with companies like Toyota dedicated to investing in and improving the technology, by 2020 they could become far more commonplace.</p>


TRI-AD will start out with 300 employees but Toyota hopes that number will grow to about 1,000.

Toyota is launching a $2.8 billion self-driving car company

To help with its goal to start testing autonomous electric vehicles by 2020, Toyota has launched a new $2.8 billion company.

Toyota Is Launching a $2.8 Billion Self-Driving Car Company

Toyota hopes the Research Institute-Advanced Development will be "a company with different rules — like a startup."

<h2>Fully Driverless Vehicles</h2>
<p>California&#8217;s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is making it easier for carmakers to test their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/technology/driverless-cars-california-rules.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">driverless cars</a> on state roads. On February 26, the DMV&#8217;s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved new regulations allowing companies to test fully driverless vehicles without a human behind the wheel.</p>
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-technologies-that-power-self-driving-cars-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/08/Homepage-Thumbnail-17.jpg" alt="The Technologies That Power Self-Driving Cars [INFOGRAPHIC]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-technologies-that-power-self-driving-cars-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure>
<p>Since September 2014, California has granted 50 autonomous vehicle manufacturers permits to test their self-driving cars with a person behind the wheel. The new rules lifting those restrictions go into effect on April 2, 2018, at which point the DMV can officially start handing out permits to interested manufacturers.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is a major step forward for autonomous technology in California,&#8221; Jean Shiomoto, the state&#8217;s DMV director, <a href="https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/newsrel/2018/2018_17" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a press release</a>. &#8220;Safety is our top concern, and we are ready to begin working with manufacturers that are prepared to test fully driverless vehicles in California.&#8221;</p>
<h2>Risks and Rewards</h2>
<p>California isn&#8217;t the only state where carmakers can test their self-driving vehicles, nor will it be the first to permit testing without human drivers. Some manufacturers, including <a href="https://futurism.com/waymo-ride-hailing-service-launching-soon-fully-autonomous-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google parent company Alphabet&#8217;s Waymo</a>, have already tested cars without &#8220;safety&#8221; drivers behind the wheel in Arizona, where the practice isn&#8217;t prohibited.</p>
<p>Many state and federal regulators have been fairly accommodating of autonomous vehicle testing, and now that California is making the leap to truly driverless cars, other states could follow their lead.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MvP82IsGqNc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Self-driving cars are expected to dramatically reduce the number of accidents and injuries on the road. Those in support of the vehicles assert that tougher regulations could hinder their development. Based on <a href="https://futurism.com/new-study-shows-autonomous-cars-are-becoming-safer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">past studies</a>, involvement from human drivers only serves to make the vehicles less safe.</p>
<p>Some carmakers already have plans in place for cars that wouldn&#8217;t give humans the option of taking control, and they&#8217;re now asking federal and state DMVs to change safety rules to allow them to test these <a href="https://futurism.com/driverless-chevy-bolt-gm-wont-drive-at-all/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fully autonomous cars</a>. If testing of cars without human drivers goes well in California, cars without steering wheels or pedals could be next.</p>


It’s time to take the training wheels off autonomous cars.

Soon California's autonomous cars will drive all on their own

California's DMV just passed new regulations that will allow manufacturers to test fully driverless vehicles without a human behind the wheel.

Soon California's Autonomous Cars Will Drive All on Their Own

Starting in April, the state’s driverless vehicles will be truly driverless.

Soon California’s Autonomous Cars Will Drive All on Their Own

<h2>The Missing Piece</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/nios-nss011818.php">A new superconducting switch</a> could soon enable computers to make decisions very similarly to the way we do, essentially turning them into artificial brains. One day, this new technology could underpin advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that may become part of our everyday life, from transportation to medicine.</p>
<p>Researchers at the U.S. <a href="https://www.nist.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)</a> explain that, much like a biological brain, the switch &#8220;learns&#8221; by processing the electrical signals it receives and producing appropriate output signals. The process mirrors the function of biological synapses in the brain, which allow neurons to communicate with each other.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VitFvNvRIIY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>The artificial synapse, which is described in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/1/e1701329">a paper published in <em>Science Advances</em></a> on Friday, Jan. 26, has the shape of a metallic cylinder and is 10 micrometers (0.0004 inches) wide. It is designed so it can learn through experience — or even from just the surrounding environment.</p>
<p>As is increasingly common in the field of AI, this synthetic switch performs even better than its biological counterpart, using much less energy than our brains do and firing signals much faster than human neurons, 1 billion times per second. For comparison, our synapses fire about 50 times per second. This has a significant impact on processing because the greater the frequency of electric signals that are fired and received, the stronger the connection between the synapses become.</p>
<h2>A Human-Like AI</h2>
<p>The switch is meant to boost the ability of the so-called &#8220;<a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ai-neuromorphic-chips-brains">neuromorphic computers</a>&#8221; which can support AI that one day could be vital to improving the perception and decision-making abilities of smart devices such as self-driving cars and even cancers diagnostic tools.</p>
<p>The world&#8217;s largest car makers are investing in technologies able to replace a human driver, but there is still a long way to go. No matter how safe driverless cars will eventually become, the AI driver will eventually <a href="https://futurism.com/the-worlds-first-ethical-guidelines-for-driverless-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">face the moral dilemma</a> of having to decide whether to prioritize the safety of its passengers or others who might be involved in a collision. This switch could equip the artificial brains that make these decisions to have more capacity to deal with these kinds of ethical conundrums.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/exVfDMZh8As?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>The switch could also help us develop more accurate AI that can diagnose diseases such as heart conditions and lung cancer. For example, doctors from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, U.K., have <a href="https://futurism.com/ai-diagnose-heart-disease-lung-cancer-more-accurately-doctors/">successfully tested an artificial brain</a> that improves the ability of doctors to detect life-threatening heart conditions, and a startup suggested its AI system could catch as many as 4,000 lung cancers per year earlier than human doctors.</p>
<p>While AI could be a game changer in medicine, the conventional computers that run its systems still struggle with tasks such as context recognition. This is because, the NIST researchers say, they don&#8217;t keep memories the same way we do. Our brain both processes information and stores memories in synapses at the same time, while computers perform the two tasks separately.</p>
<p>But the new artificial synapse addresses this problem, allowing computers to mimic the human brain. Although it is still being tested, researchers are confident that it may one day power a new generation of artificial brains able to improve on the current capabilities of AI systems.</p>


This artificial synapse is meant to boost the ability of the so-called "neuromorphic computers" that power game-changing AI.

Scientists are closer to making artificial brains that operate like ours do

Artificial Intelligence

A new electronic synapse may improve the ability of artificial brains to respond to external inputs and make decisions much like humans do.

Scientists Are Closer to Making Artificial Brains That Operate Like Ours Do

The artificial synapse fires 20 million times more rapidly than a human synapse does – and is more energy efficient, too.

<h2>Autonomous Testing</h2>
<p>Autonomous vehicle testing is <a href="https://futurism.com/ubers-self-driving-cars-are-returning-to-san-francisco/">nothing new in San Francisco</a>. Waymo has been introducing their vehicles to the road in the bay area since 2009. It&#8217;s no surprise then that the company&#8217;s self-driving fleet is back for more testing with their <a href="https://futurism.com/soccer-parents-rejoice-this-new-minivan-drives-itself/">latest vehicle addition</a>, the autonomous, hybrid Chrysler Pacifica minivan.</p>
<figure style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-118672 size-large aligncenter" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/01/pacifica-1200x800.jpg" alt="Waymo testing the self-driving Chrysler Pacifica. Image Credit: Waymo" width="779" height="399" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Waymo testing the self-driving Chrysler Pacifica. Image Credit: Waymo</figcaption></figure>
<p>A Waymo spokesperson <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/12/waymos-self-driving-chrysler-pacifica-begins-testing-in-san-francisco/">explained to TechCrunch</a> why they<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/waymo-demos-autonomous-vehicles-at-california-testing-site-2017-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> keep returning to test in this region</a>, stating &#8220;Now that we have the world’s first fleet of fully self-driving cars running in Arizona, the hilly and foggy streets of San Francisco will give our cars even more practice in different terrains and environments.&#8221;</p>
<p>While testing across the country is important to expose the technology to human driving behaviors and a wide range of conditions, San Fransisco has a unique set of difficulties for autonomous vehicles to overcome, making it a preferred testing ground for many. It has fog, steep and sudden road inclines, challenging and often dense traffic, a thriving bike community, frequent construction and roadwork, and a high level of activity as it is a bustling city and tourist destination.</p>
<h2>Waymo Vehicles</h2>
<p>Waymo is a driving force in the adoption and advancement of autonomous vehicles. The self-driving tech company has even launched a public trial of their vehicles,<a href="https://waymo.com/apply/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> an &#8220;early rider program,&#8221; in Phoenix, Ariz,</a> and are testing them in a variety of states, including California, Texas, Washington, and Arizona.</p>
<figure style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-118673 size-large aligncenter" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/01/early-rider-1200x800.jpg" alt="Waymo &quot;early riders&quot;. Image Credit: Waymo" width="779" height="399" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Waymo &#8220;early riders&#8221;. Image Credit: Waymo</figcaption></figure>
<p>Waymo&#8217;s impressive fleet <a href="https://waymo.com/ontheroad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has totaled over 4 million test miles</a>, though so far most of those miles have been in city environments. In 2017, the company announced that they not only have fully autonomous vehicles, but plan to<a href="https://futurism.com/waymo-ride-hailing-service-launching-soon-fully-autonomous-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> create a ride-hailing service</a> using these vehicles.</p>
<p>While Waymo is certainly not the only company interested in applying autonomous tech to ride-hailing services, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan represents a a shift towards a somewhat undeserved crowd in the world of self-driving vehicles — families. In the coming years, we may see autonomous vehicles that cater not only to <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/this-is-the-mercedes-benz-f-015-luxury-autonomous-vehicle/">the super rich</a> or individual commuters, but to soccer moms and dads as well. This is good news, as <a href="https://futurism.com/save-lives-self-driving-cars-ultimate-defensive-drivers/">autonomous functionalities could very well save lives</a>.</p>


Self-driving vehicles are becoming more family-friendly.

Waymo is testing the autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivan in San Francisco

Waymo has tested autonomous vehicles in San Francisco since 2009. They are back in the city to test the newest addition, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

Waymo is Testing the Autonomous Chrysler Pacifica Minivan in San Francisco

The bay area's terrain is a perfect test course for self-driving cars.

<h2>No-Driving Experience</h2>
<p>Veteran automaker General Motors <a href="http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2018/jan/0112-cruise-av.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have asked federal transportation authorities</a> to allow changes in existing safety regulations so they could field an autonomous version of their Chevy Bolt, now called the Cruise AV, by 2019.</p>
<p>The reason for the Safety Petition? Well, if you&#8217;ve seen the Cruise AV, it&#8217;s not similar to <a href="http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2018/jan/0112-cruise-av.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other driverless cars</a> currently around. This one really doesn&#8217;t want you to drive it. The Cruise AV doesn&#8217;t have any steering wheel and pedals.</p>
<p>In light of this unusual design, GM has filed the Safety Petition to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on January 11, to allow for 16 changes to existing traffic safety rules, including having an airbag in place of where the steering should be.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MvP82IsGqNc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>The petition is for the “first production-ready vehicle designed from the start without a steering wheel, pedals or other unnecessary manual controls,&#8221; GM president Dan Ammann told reporters,<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-selfdriving/no-pedal-to-the-metal-in-gms-planned-self-driving-cruise-av-car-idUSKBN1F10DT" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> according to <i>Reuters</i></a>. Similar petitions would also be sent to local transportation authorities, but GM said that seven states already permit the changes they needed to test the Cruise AV. Still, for the Cruise AV, GM has to negotiate with states that explicitly require a licensed human driver behind the wheel.</p>
<h2>A Safe Autonomous Revolution</h2>
<p>Legislation to allow carmakers to test driverless vehicles on U.S. roads with less hassle — called <a href="https://futurism.com/a-unanimous-vote-just-approved-legislation-to-allow-self-driving-cars-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the SELF DRIVE act</a> — is still pending approval in the Senate, although it has already been passed by the House of Representatives.</p>
<p>Others <a href="https://futurism.com/google-ford-others-form-powerful-new-lobby-group-driverless-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">question the relative ease</a> by which autonomous vehicles get fielded or tested. On the other hand, car makers point out that the <a href="https://futurism.com/make-driverless-cars-safe-pedestrians/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strict safety standards</a> required to test these cars could delay progress in the field. While it might seem like GM is asking for a special treatment, they really aren&#8217;t, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/12/16880978/gm-autonomous-car-2019-detroit-auto-show-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ammann told </a><i><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/12/16880978/gm-autonomous-car-2019-detroit-auto-show-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Verge</a></i>. They simply want to &#8220;meet that standard in a different kind of way.&#8221;</p>
<p>Autonomous car manufacturers have been rather busy the past year with numerous tests of their driverless technologies. GM is among them, having received approval from New York state officials, as well as a public demonstration of the Cruise AV back on November 2017.</p>
<p>GM, which is the first company to mass produce autonomous vehicles, presumably in preparation for a 2019 test of their driverless fleet, has also been testing a ride-sharing app for their driverless cars.</p>


The car comes with no pedals or steering wheel, but it's equipped with airbags on the dashboard.

The driverless Chevy Bolt from GM won't let you drive at all

The new model comes with no steering wheel and no pedals. GM asked transportation authorities to allow changes in existing safety regulations to test it.

The Driverless Chevy Bolt From GM Won't Let You Drive at All

If all goes well, the fully autonomous car will be on the roads by 2019. 

The Driverless Chevy Bolt From GM Won’t Let You Drive at All

<h2>Driverless Cars</h2>
<p><a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-11-uk-driverless-cars-govt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British finance minister </a><a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-11-uk-driverless-cars-govt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philip Hammond</a><a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-11-uk-driverless-cars-govt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> is expected to announce</a> the allocation of £75 million ($99 million) in funding for artificial intelligence (AI) in a speech regarding the country&#8217;s budget this week. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/budget-preview-what-to-expect-philip-hammond-government-brexit2017-11">Extracts from the budget</a> that appeared over the weekend also revealed details about the UK&#8217;s plan to get driverless cars on the road in the next three years.</p>
<p>The British government currently estimates that, by 2035, the driverless car industry in the UK will be worth £28 billion (roughly $37 billion). Fully integrating these technologies into everyday British life, however, will require changes to current regulations and legislation, which are among the other announcements Hammond is expected to make.</p>
<p>Hammond is also expected to announce that the country will invest £400 million (roughly $529 million) in companies working to improve electric car charging, as well as allocating funding to assist citizens looking to buy electric vehicles.</p>
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<h2>Goodbye Fossil Fuels</h2>
<p>The UK is also proving as dedicated to technological progress as it is to the fight against climate change: the budget is also expected to include funding allocated to AI research and 5G technologies — two areas that will be essential to the smooth rollout of driverless cars on the nation&#8217;s roads.</p>
<p>These efforts are all part of<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42040856" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Britain&#8217;s overall goal to shift to renewable energy sources.</a> Across the globe, nations are committing to similar changes as the drastic impact of fossil fuels on the environment and climate change, as well as the cost-benefits of switching to renewables, become more prominent.</p>
<p>Britain isn&#8217;t alone in their adoption of autonomous vehicles. <a href="https://futurism.com/canada-is-officially-testing-driverless-cars-on-public-streets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canada has already started testing driverless cars</a> on its streets and <a href="https://futurism.com/toyota-will-test-their-ai-powered-driverless-cars-in-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Toyota is expected to begin testing its driverless range </a>as early as 2020. With these initiatives and others revving up interest, driverless <a href="https://futurism.com/fully-driverless-cars-months-away/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vehicles are expected to become more widely accepted</a> on a global scale in the years to come.</p>


Fully integrating these technologies will require changes to current regulations and legislation.

The UK expects to have driverless cars on the streets by 2021

British finance minister Philip Hammond will be announcing the nation's budget this week, which is expected to include financial plans for driverless cars.

The UK Expects to Have Driverless Cars on the Streets by 2021

By 2035, the driverless car industry in the UK is expected to be worth £28 billion — roughly $37 billion.

<p>Many of today&#8217;s <a href="https://futurism.com/a-new-company-is-making-the-brain-for-self-driving-cars/" target="_blank">self-driving cars use automated systems</a> that work in tandem with a collection of sensors and cameras. For example, Tesla&#8217;s Autopilot relies<a href="https://www.tesla.com/autopilot" target="_blank"> on radar and other sensors</a> as well as a suite of eight cameras. However, none of these cameras can tell the driverless car what&#8217;s around a corner — an ability that researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed with a new camera system they call CornerCameras.</p>
<p>In a study published online, these researchers from MIT&#8217;s <a href="http://csail.mit.edu/" target="_blank">Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory</a> (CSAIL) described the algorithm behind CornerCameras. Where regular vision, whether it be biological or mechanical, relies on light, CornerCameras captures subtle changes in lighting. Specifically, they spot what the researchers called &#8220;penumbra&#8221; — a shadow created by a small amount of light that&#8217;s reflected on the ground directly at the camera&#8217;s line of sight from objects obscured around a corner.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W6wzUMk9w-c?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>CornerCameras is able to piece together the subtle changes from these shadows into some sort of image, which it uses to tell the location of the object. “Even though those objects aren’t actually visible to the camera, we can look at how their movements affect the penumbra to determine where they are and where they’re going,” lead author Katherine Bouman said in a press release.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s fairly obvious how such a system could improve the ability of autonomous vehicles to see on the road. “If a little kid darts into the street, a driver might not be able to react in time,” Bouman added. However, currently, CornerCameras needs to make some improvements. For one, the technology doesn&#8217;t work in extremely low light conditions and the algorithm gets confused by changes in lighting. “While we’re not there yet, a technology like this could one day be used to give drivers a few seconds of warning time and help in a lot of life-or-death situations.&#8221;</p>


This has been a missing piece in autonomous vehicles.

A camera that sees around corners could help improve self-driving cars

A new camera technology developed by researchers from MIT's computer science and AI labs could provide self-driving cars a way to see what's around corners.

/Driverless Cars

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