Hyundai Motor Group announced the launch of Boston Dynamics AI Institute (the Institute), which will work toward making strides in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and intelligent machines. The Institute will focus on research related to solutions for the challenges faced in the creation of advanced robots and the need for advanced capabilities and uses. The

FedEx Express and Elroy Air, a California-based autonomous systems and software company, are teaming up to build the first end-to-end autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system. FedEx will test Elroy’s autonomous system within its middle-mile logistics operations. The autonomous crafts will move shipments between FedEx sortation stations.

Elroy first announced its autonomous

This week in Japan, the world’s first fully-autonomous ship navigation system deployed a car ferry during a demonstration test. The demonstration took place using a 15,500 gross ton Ro-Pax ferry, spanning 730 feet, that traveled approximately 150 miles between Shinmoji and Iyonada in a 7-hour period. The vessel’s operating speed reached about 26 knots during

IDTechEx, which provides market research on emerging technology, analyzed California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) autonomous vehicle collision reports. Per California regulation, every company testing autonomous vehicles in California must notify the state’s DMV of any collision. IDTechEx reviewed those reports, which cover about a two-and-a-half-year period. James Jeffs, IDTechEx’s technology analyst, said that “[i]t

In 20 years, could it be possible that 50 percent of all domestic ships on Japan’s coastal waters will be piloting themselves? Absolutely. A public interest organization in Japan, the Nippon Foundation, seeks to accomplish just that. The Foundation is backing Japan’s development of autonomous ships with the goal of making up 50 percent of

Governor Kevin Stitt signed a law in Oklahoma this week allowing small autonomous vehicles to operate on sidewalks and crosswalks (and on roadways in certain cases – maybe a pedestrian is in its path or there’s a hazard on the sidewalk). This law is aimed at encouraging autonomous vehicle delivery service companies to set up

PAL-V, the first flying car to be allowed on the road in Europe, is now also the first flying car to complete full certification with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The PAL-V Liberty (flying car) went through 10 years of testing, and now is in the final phase of compliance demonstration before becoming

Last week, AutoX, a start-up company backed by Alibaba, Media Tek and Shanghai Motors, announced that it will roll out a fleet of autonomous vehicles in downtown Shenzhen, China, called RoboTaxis. While autonomous vehicle programs have been popping up all over the world, this is the first time these vehicles will be deployed in China

Walmart announced that it will begin experimenting with self-driving cars in a pilot program with General Motors-backed Cruise (a tech start-up with electric, self-driving cars) to deliver groceries and other products to neighborhoods in Phoenix, Arizona. The program will launch in 2021. The fleet of cars will use electricity from renewable resources to curb carbon