Ford is putting its trust and money into Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based artificial intelligence company, with the goal of getting fully autonomous vehicles on the road by 2021. This is the next big step that motor car companies are looking to take in order to prepare for the future of self-driving cars.
Ford Set on Winning the Race to the Autonomous Car Market
Google Pushes for Federal Regulation of Self-Driving Cars
The self-driving car race is on and Google is in the lead. Google plans to move full speed ahead, but faces some hefty regulatory roadblocks.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles approved and implemented a set of “testing” regulations for self-driving cars in September 2014, but has been reluctant to allow much leeway in its “deployment” guidelines. A preliminary draft released in December 2015 outlined extensive constraints on autonomous vehicle design, such as a steering wheel, brake pedal and licensed driver capable of taking immediate control, among other limitations. The draft was a blow to Google who hopes bring its self-driving car to market by 2020 without the traditional manual controls.
Volkswagen’s U.S. CEO Blames “Individuals” for Dieselgate
Volkswagen’s cheating scandal began in September when emissions data gathered from multiple studies of its vehicles found that additional emissions were present during road tests compared to lab tests. It was discovered that several of Volkswagen’s models contained software that switches to a low-emission compliant mode when it detects an ongoing emissions test. Consequently, multiple high-ranking Volkswagen officials have resigned, including the CEO Martin Winterkorn, and the value of the company’s shares dropped significantly since September.
On October 8, 2015, the head of Volkswagen America, Michael Horn, testified in a House of Representative’s hearing about the emissions scandal. Horn claimed that the use of the software was not a corporate decision, but rather something a few employees engineered. As a result, Volkswagen has begun firing or suspending top engineers involved with the diesel engine development.
Uber, “I’ve a Feeling we’re Not in Kansas Anymore”
You’ll be out of luck next time you want to hail an Uber down the yellow brick road in Kansas.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 was the last day Uber operated in the state thanks to a legislative override of Governor Sam Brownback’s veto of the Kansas Transportation Network Company Services Act. The Kansas House of Representatives overruled the veto by a 96-25 vote and a 34-5 vote in the Kansas Senate. The legislation requires drivers pass a local and national criminal background check conducted by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (FBI) before they are allowed to operate as a driver of a transport network company (TNC). The new law further requires “the vehicle must be covered under primary automobile insurance that provides at least $1 million for death, bodily injury, and property damage, besides meeting other conditions.”