autonomous

On today’s extra long episode of Quick Charge, Elon Musk is definitely hurting sales at Tesla, Mercedes is taking the self-driving lead, and Chargeway founder Matt Teske stops by to show us how extreme weather could impact your electric road trip.

Tesla’s robotaxis could have a self-cleaning feature, electric semi trucks are taking off in Canada, NIO is busting sales records globally, and ExxonMobil is mining 100,000 metric tons of lithium. All this and more on today’s episode of Quick Charge!

In a recent interview, Ford CEO Jim Farley discussed the American automaker’s progress in autonomous driving, stating that it has achieved Level 3, which allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. However, it’ll still be a while before Ford customers get to test it out.

The robotics experts at ETH Zurich have developed an autonomous excavator that uses advanced AI to help it complete high-skill tasks without a human operator.

A UK-based startup called Robotiz3d claims it’s invented a world’s first: an autonomous electric vehicle that can detect and seal cracks in a road’s surface to prevent potholes from forming.

American retail giant Walmart has announced plans to put 19 autonomous electric forklifts to work at at four of its distribution centers as its experiments with a robotic workforce continue.

Vespa parent company Piaggio just launched a new electric vehicle that’s loaded with advanced electronics, efficient drive systems, and the latest in autonomous technology. But don’t worry, it’s not coming for your jobs (yet).

This adorable little Italian farm robot packs a radioactive punch — the ICARO X4 helps the country’s storied vineyards to combat harmful fungi and mildew by blasting it with UV-C radiation.

This new field robot developed by a Turkish cotton farmer is fully electric, fully autonomous, and could harvest as much as 20% more cotton from existing farms.

The autonomous mining experts at SafeAI have collaborated with Japanese Obayashi Corp. to build a first-of-its-kind, self-driving battery electric haul truck, paving the way for other companies to upgrade their existing equipment assets to reach their sustainability goals.

Six months after sharing initial plans to expand to the US and begin remotely operated journeys in Las Vegas, Vay has successfully driven its teledrive vehicles on public roads in Sin City without a human present inside. Check out the video below.

Autonomous freight aircraft developer Natilus has announced it will offer ZeroAvia’s ZA600 hydrogen-electric engine as a propulsion option on its blended wing body (BWB) cargo plane. The two aviation companies have formed a strategic partnership to jointly-develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flown entirely by hydrogen-electric propulsion.

Rideshare juggernaut Uber has signed a multi-year strategic partnership with robotaxi developer Waymo, offering driverless rides and deliveries to customers across the former’s platform. The new partnership could bring massive scale to Waymo’s driverless tech, while offering an enormous pool of potential customers.

If you see this shark heading toward you with an open mouth, don’t worry – it’s designed to catch plastic and other waste that destroys the water and its inhabitants rather than swimmers. The WasteShark is a mini electric catamaran-shaped robot that eats plastic, debris, and other things that don’t belong there while collecting data on water quality.

Say goodbye to delivery delays due to traffic and weather. California-based startup Zipline is revolutionizing how we receive goods with its ultra-precise electric autonomous delivery drones called Zips.

The company’s latest P2 electric drones are designed for fast, practically silent, precise autonomous home delivery that looks like they are straight out of a Disney movie.

Autonomous robotaxi developer Zoox has announced two major milestones this month as it inches closer to a full launch to the general public. All without a driver … or pedals … or even a steering wheel. The Amazon subsidiary has shared footage of its Zoox branded robotaxis navigating public roads for the first time in California following an approved testing permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

General Motors’ self-driving rideshare service Cruise announced that it has recalled 80 of its electric robotaxis in order to update their software following an accident in June that injured two people. The NHTSA stated that the software issue caused the self-driving Cruise vehicles to “incorrectly predict” oncoming vehicle’s paths, adding risk for collisions.

Former Apple engineer Xiaolang Zhang has pleaded guilty to trade secret theft after being accused of stealing information surrounding Apple’s self-driving technology. Zhang would go on to work for XPeng Motors in China, which has publicly stated it has zero involvement with Apple or Zhang’s case.

During its inaugural partner’s conference in Shanghai, autonomous-centric robotic car brand JIDU shared details of its lofty production expansion goals overseas. Furthermore, the CEO of parent company Baidu, said JIDU’s autonomous driving technology will “lead the Tesla generation.”

During its Baidu World 2022 technology conference today, the Chinese technology company unveiled its sixth-generation fully-autonomous vehicle – the Apollo RT6. With a detachable steering wheel, Baidu has created a production-ready EV with Level 4 autonomous driving capability that is expected to join the Apollo Go robotaxi fleet next year.

Last week, a GM Cruise-converted Chevy Bolt without a driver was pulled over by San Francisco Police. In an unexpected turn, the car “bolted” …to a safe spot. Cruise responded below.