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Category: Automotive, Self-driving

This past Thursday I encountered this red Ford Fusion on Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. The car had two sensors attached to the top. It looks like these were camera-system that were operating, as light lights went on and off. Here is a video of the car that I took while driving: Any ideas what …

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Category: Automotive, Self-driving

Seeing Google’s self-driving cars every day in the Bay Area, and sometimes those of GM and other manufacturers, it’s still a rarity to encounter a vehicle from one of the at least three self-driving truck startups. Peloton, Ot.to and Vivify Trucks are the ones based in the Bay Area and finally today I encountered an …

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Category: Self-driving

The former head of Google’s self-driving car division Sebastian Thrun offers an online course for self-driving cars that finishes with an engineering nanodegree. The course introduction says: Self-driving cars are set to revolutionize the way we live. This is transformational technology, on the cutting-edge of robotics, machine learning, software engineering, and mechanical engineering. In this …

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Category: Automotive, Silicon Valley

Apple acquired a fleet of cars for its map service. On Apple’s website is a list of information when and where those cars will drive to map the streets. Initially it was not clear who’s behind those then unmarked cars with an unusual rack full of sensors. Today while driving back south from San Francisco …

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Category: Automotive, Electric Vehicle

Chinese electric car startup NextEV is opening a facility in San Jose in California. While playing Pokémon Go in my neighborhood, I stumbled by the facility that is still under remodeling, but the big company letters are already on the building on 3200 North First Street. As you can see from the image that I …

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Category: Automotive

The July cover story of the German manager-magazine features an extensive article on Apple’s secret car-project code-named Titan. The authors were able to interview several automotive executives (though all remain anonymous and no companies are named) that show the far reaching contacts between the Silicon Valley giant and the German automotive industry. Apple has spoken …

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Category: Self-driving

The DMV-website has a couple of reports that it requires companies licensed to test autonomous vehicles on Californian roads to report annually. One is the Autonomous Vehicle Disengagement Report that was the first time due January 1st 2016 reporting all incidents when a the system or a human driver disengages the autonomous mode and takes …

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Category: Behavioral Economics, Self-driving

Pretty they ain’t. And they don’t look like hot rods either. Let’s admit: they are ugly ducklings. I am talking about Google’s self-driving cars. They come in tha shape of an egg on wheels with some funny colors. And Google even seems to emphasize that with putting some funny art on the doors. But why …

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