Automotive | IOT NETWORK NEWS

Alès public transport operator renews contract and rebrands entire mobility service

January 15, 2021January 13, 2021 Editorial staff

The Syndicat Mixte des Transports du Bassin d’Alès (SMBTA), in France’s Gard region, is to rename its NTecC public transport network from April 2021. All mobility services will be refashioned under the identity of Ales’Y as the public transport operator seeks to increase network ridership and commercial revenues by 28 per cent. New mobility services The transition will result in the deployment of France’s first public carpooling network, development of new mobility services as well as the introduction of hydrogen-powered buses. Services will be named Ales’Y by Bus, Ales’Y Carpool,…

Postman bot set to deliver the mail in Japanese trial

January 6, 2021 Editorial staff

A robotic postman is set to deliver letters and parcels to residents of Fujisawa after a field test of an automated home delivery service was launched in the Japanese town. The Japanese city’s Kanagawa Prefecture is working with Panasonic on the trial, which launched in November and will end on Christmas Eve. The first phase involved a self-driving robot on the prefecture’s public roads, with the second trial, which launches in February, set to involve home delivery of mail via a smartphone app and remote control centre. Panasonic said the…

Motional and Lyft to roll out robotaxi services in major US cities in 2023

January 4, 2021January 6, 2021 Editorial staff

Driverless technology company, Motional, and ride-sharing specialist, Lyft, are launching a robotaxi service in major US cities, beginning in 2023. Motional’s next-generation, fully driverless vehicles will be integrated, operationalised, and deployed on the Lyft network. It follows an ongoing three-year partnership in which Motional and Lyft operate the world’s longest-standing commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas. The partners are joining forces to create “a clear, scalable path to market for robotaxis”. Motional will deliver next-generation robotaxis, based on a Hyundai vehicle platform, integrated with sensors, computers, and software to enable…

Miami non-profit provides autonomous deliveries to students

December 13, 2020December 10, 2020 Editorial staff

The Education Fund is teaming up with Ford Autonomous Vehicles and Argo AI to ensure students in Miami-Dade County receive fresh produce and school supplies during distance learning. A Miami non-profit is spearheading a pilot collaboration to provide autonomous deliveries of fresh food and school supplies to students in Miami-Dade County who are studying at home during the pandemic. The Education Fund has teamed with Ford Autonomous Vehicles, its self-driving technology partner Argo AI, and philanthropic arm Ford Motor Company Fund, to make safe, contactless deliveries in Ford’s Fusion hybrid…

Peachtree Corners reveals solar roadway system

December 10, 2020December 10, 2020 Editorial staff

Georgia smart city Peachtree Corners has unveiled a new solar roadway system that will produce energy for a solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station at city hall. The French-engineered road surface solar panels may power more parts of the city in the future such as streetlights and other infrastructure as well as provide backup for grid outages. Solar panel first Peachtree Corners, which is home to the Curiosity Lab 5G-enabled autonomous vehicle and smart city living laboratory, claims the installation marks the first road surface-powered solar panels to be activated…

UK autonomous vehicle development centre nears completion

December 4, 2020December 1, 2020 Editorial staff

An autonomous vehicle development centre is nearing completion in the UK’s Midlands which will enable leading manufacturers of self-driving technology to design, develop and test vehicles from one globally accessible location. Developed by automotive engineering company Horiba Mira, Assured Cav aims to provide the “most complete environment” and ecosystem for industry, policy-makers and government to develop autonomous vehicle technology. Future mobility Assured Cav wants to accelerate future mobility and ensure vehicles are sufficiently robust to cope with the wide range of eventualities seen on public roads, before being released to…

EHang completes maiden flights of two-seater air taxi in South Korea

December 2, 2020December 1, 2020 Editorial staff

According to Ehang, the flight tours across Seoul, Daegu, and Jeju Island signify the starting point to explore the urban air mobility (UAM) market in South Korea. EHang Holdings, an autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, has announced its two-seater air taxi has completed its maiden flights in the Republic of Korea. According to Ehang, the flight tours across Seoul, Daegu, and Jeju Island signify the starting point to explore the urban air mobility (UAM) market in South Korea. Korean UAM roadmap In June 2020, the government announced the…

Project to bring EV smart charging to urban streets

December 1, 2020December 1, 2020 Editorial staff

While smart charging is already in use for home charging and at dedicated public EV charging bays, SmartStep claims to be the first demonstration of smart charging in shared parking spaces on residential streets. A consortium of energy industry solution providers has announced a project to deliver electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to residential streets. The project claims to be an “industry first” demonstration of smart charging in shared parking spaces on residential streets enabled by smart meters to integrate seamlessly with the existing electricity network. According to the consortium,…

Quanergy and iCent partner to improve pedestrian safety in Seoul

October 9, 2020October 3, 2020 Editorial staff

Lidar solutions deployed to form basis of new effective traffic policies. Quanergy Systems and iCent have partnered to install a new Smart Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) solution to improve pedestrian crossing safety in school zones in Seoul. The Smart Safety School Zone solution will gather data that will form the basis of new effective traffic policies and help decide on the best technology to keep pedestrians and drivers safe. In 2012 South Korea held the second highest pedestrian death rate among OECD countries at 10.8 road fatalities per 100,000…

5G autonomous electric vehicle trial launched in Stockholm

October 7, 2020October 3, 2020 Editorial staff

The collective behind the trial aim to explore the safe introduction of self-driving autonomous EVs in complex urban areas to help optimise route planning. An autonomous self-driving, electric minibus trial has been launched in Stockholm, Sweden, using 5G technology to remotely control and supervise the vehicle. The 5G Ride pilot is part of an initiative led by Urban ICT Arena in partnership with Keolis, Telia, Ericsson and Intel that focuses on how 5G and control towers can help facilitate the safe introduction of self-driving, electric vehicle buses in urban areas.…

Human Horizons launches self-parking cars

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020 Editorial staff

The launch of AVP and its application in car parks and highways makes connected autonomous smart mobility another step closer. Chinese smart mobility and autonomous driving research company Human Horizons has rolled-out its Autonomous Valet Parking (AVP) system on its HiPhi X production vehicle. The world first launch comes after successful development and testing at the Shanghai Research Centre and marks a milestone in advanced autonomous driving technology research. Vehicle and road integrated technology The system delivers Level 4 autonomous driving, which is the ability of a vehicle to drive…

Leipzig to roll out 21 electric buses as part of its Mobility 2030 strategy

July 18, 2020July 28, 2020 Editorial staff

The German city will implement charging systems from Siemens Smart Infrastructure along the routes as well as at the Lindenau bus depot with the e-buses scheduled to go into operation in 2021. Siemens Smart Infrastructure is providing the charging systems for 21 buses in the German city of Leipzig. It aligns with the city’s Mobility Strategy 2030, which focuses on developing environmentally transport systems. The charging systems from Siemens will supply electrical energy to VDL Bus and Coach buses along the routes on lines 74, 76 and 89 as well…

Electrify America completes first cross-country charging route

July 7, 2020July 28, 2020 Editorial staff

The first of two cross-country routes to be completed this year, it spans 11 states and over 2,700 miles to take drivers from Los Angeles to Washington DC. Electrify America has announced it has completed its first coast-to-coast route of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the US. The company, which claims to operate the largest open DC fast charging network in the country, plans to have a second cross-country route across the south open by September where EV drivers can travel from Jacksonville to San Diego. The first route…

Otonomo expands connected car data ecosystem

June 16, 2020June 14, 2020 Editorial staff

The automotive data services platform developer is collaborating with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to increase the use of car data in the European Union. Automotive data services platform Otonomo has inked a deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to receive aggregated data from connected FCA vehicles for smart cities applications, mapping, traffic planning, and other solutions. The ultimate aim is to deliver new use cases to support the decrease of congestion and pollution in urban environments driven by Otonomo’s de- identified data. The collaboration has begun with data from selected models…

Curiosity Lab teams with Kennesaw State University for open source V2V project

June 14, 2020June 14, 2020 Editorial staff

KSU researchers selected Curiosity Lab as one of its primary test locations due to the lab’s autonomous vehicle test track and commitment to supporting and facilitating innovation. Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners has announced a strategic partnership with Kennesaw State University (KSU) to further research in smart mobility technologies. Curiosity Lab is a 5G-enabled autonomous vehicle and smart city living laboratory located in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The initial collaboration will focus on open-source dedicated short-range communications units (DSRC) to help advance vehicle-2-everything (V2X) research. Emerging…