Uber broke new ground in August 2016 by offering a new form of ride-sharing service in Pittsburgh. Certain users requesting a ride will be randomly selected to receive a free ride in one of the company’s brand new SUVs with no human driver, making Uber the first company to offer self-driving taxi services. However, Bryan Casey, writing in the September 2016 Stanford Law Review, has identified a potential loophole that Uber’s new cars may not be able to negotiate.
Russia is set to trial a system to monitor all the incoming new overhead traffic, with its space agency, Rocosmos, announcing that it plans to test a nationwide monitoring network for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Waymo, Google’s driverless car company, has created a free “early rider” programme in Phoenix, Arizona, offering free rides to families and commuters in the city.
An extract from a paper by Messrs Andres F. Salazar-Gomez, Joseph DelPreto, Stephanie Gil, Frank H. Guenther, and Daniela Rus from the MIT Distributed Robotics Lab in the US.
In the Grand Canyon this week, drones have been deployed by the national park in an effort to find two hikers who disappeared at the bottom of the canyon. It is the most extensive use of drones in a search-and-rescue mission for the National Park Service.
Consumers are at the heart of the extended automotive value chain, which generates trillions of dollars for auto manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, financial institutions, oil companies and a host of other organizations. A new report from the Deloitte Global Automation Group looks at the trends.
Internet giant Baidu, known as China’s Google, has announced that it will make its autonomous driving technology open source, in contrast to the secrecy that other firms such as Waymo and Tesla operate in.
Independent UK think tank Reform has released a report called “Work in progress” examining the public sector, the issues surrounding its efficiency, and what can be done to reform and improve it for the future.
The UK Prison Service and police are planning to pool their intelligence to stop drones smuggling in drugs, mobile phones, and other prohibited items to prison inmates. They will examine captured drones to ascertain who was flying them.
Craig Kirk, General Manager of Delta Insurance New Zealand Limited discusses the new UAV insurance they are offering, the country’s most comprehensive UAV solution launched in February this year. Sam Jennings, legal expert and director of aviation consulting firm Jennings Consulting Ltd also provides insights to insurance and regulation of UAVs in New Zealand and what the future has to offer.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established new airspace restrictions over 133 military facilities, in an attempt to address security concerns about unauthorised UAV use.
Mona Datt, an Indo-Canadian entrepreneur, is the founder of Loom Analystics, a Toronto-based AI startup that has launched a new app. It promises “Litigation intelligence at your fingertips”.
International law firm Pinsent Masons has announced the roll out of an AI-powered commercial contracts solution to support clients responding to challenges posed by Brexit.
Self-driving cars and AI received a boost from the Chancellor Philip Hammond in the budget, with a £270m investment fund for “disruptive technologies that have the potential to transform the UK economy”. The newly-formed Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will support collaborations between businesses and the UK science base.
A new form of transportation is coming to the streets of Greenwich in London, the first extended trial of a driverless shuttle bus.
An investigation has found UK police forces are being “flooded” with reports involving drones, citing the 3,456 incidents with UAVs recorded last year. This is in comparison with 1,237 in 2015, an almost 180% increase.
DJI has released a white paper outlining their proposal for an electronic identification framework for small drones. Under the suggested system, access to the identification of UAV owners would be granted to law enforcement agencies while still respecting their right to privacy.
In the US, Georgia is fighting to establish control over drone laws on the local and state level by passing House Bill 481.
One of Uber’s autonomous SUVs was involved in a crash in Tempe Arizona on Friday 25th March. No one was harmed in the accident.
On 2nd March the West Virginia senate made the announcement that it passed a bill requiring police to obtain a warrant before engaging in drone surveillance.
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