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Volvo plans tests of 100 driverless cars in China

Local drivers will test cars on public roads in "everyday conditions", according to a company press release. The move was announced at an event in Beijing on 7 April, though details of a start date were not provided. One analyst said he thought China was at the forefront of the development of autonomous cars. Volvo is owned by a Chinese firm, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. According to a report from the Reuters news agency, Volvo is now determining in which city to conduct the trials. "Autonomous driving can make a significant contribution to road safety," said Hakan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo. "The sooner [autonomous] cars are on the roads, the sooner lives will start being saved.""I think people probably don't realise quite how much China's putting into advanced technology in cars," Prof David Bailey of Aston Business School told. "Google has had a far smaller number of cars in tests as fa...

Google self-driving car hits a bus

It is not the first time one of Google's famed self-driving cars has been involved in a crash, but it may be the first time it has caused one. Google is to meet with California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to discuss the incident, and determine where the blame lies. On 14 February the car, travelling at 2mph (3km/h), pulled out in front of a public bus going 15mph (24km/h). The human in the Google vehicle reported that he assumed the bus would slow down to let the car out, and so he did not override the car's self-driving computer. The crash happened in Mountain View, near Google's headquarters. In a statement, Google said: "We clearly bear some responsibility, because if our car hadn't moved, there wouldn't have been a collision. "That said, our test driver believed the bus was going to slow or stop to allow us to merge into the traffic, and that there would be sufficient space to do that."The company's self-driving cars...

Google's self-driving car system soon be given legal as a human driver

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) - which sets rules and regulations on America's roads - shared its thoughts in a letter to Google made public this week. Until now, any car without a human driver would not be considered roadworthy. However, in light of technological advancements, the NHTSA has changed its perspective. "If no human occupant of the vehicle can actually drive the vehicle, it is more reasonable to identify the driver as whatever (as opposed to whoever) is doing the driving," it said. "In this instance, an item of motor vehicle equipment, the Self-Driving System, is actually driving the vehicle." It means Google's self-driving pod, which has no typical in-car controls, is one crucial step closer to being allowed on public roads. With the NHTSA's blessing, the car now fits the key criteria required to pass the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards test. It's the latest regulatory boost for Goo...

Porsche has no plans to develop driver less cars

Oliver Blume told German newspaper Westfalen-Blatt that people wanted "to drive a Porsche by oneself". He added that Porsche did not need to team up with any tech firms. Analysts Boston Consulting Group predict that by 2025, 13% of cars will have autonomous features. Porsche does, however, intend to launch electric vehicles, and a plug-in hybrid of the 911 model with a range of 50 km (31 miles) will hit the market as early as 2018, Mr Blume said. Porsche also plans to spend about 1bn euros ($1.1bn) on production facilities to build the Mission E, its first-ever all-electric model, a move reflecting parent VW's growing commitment to increase its electric offerings as it struggles to overcome an emissions scandal. VW, along with most of the big carmakers, has signalled its intention to work on driverless cars and at tech show CES revealed a partnership with Mobileye, which produces real-time image processing cameras. It plans to put the cameras in future c...

The first driverless cars to be tested on the streets of London will resemble the electric passenger shuttles currently in use at Heathrow Airport

The group behind the project is currently adapting the pods for use on the roads. It has yet to unveil the exact design but confirmed that the adapted vehicles will not run on dedicated tracks. Greenwich is one of four places in the UK where driverless pods and public reaction to them are being tested. Trials will also take place in Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes. The £8m project is jointly funded by government agency Innovate UK and industry. The Greenwich Automated Transport Environment project - or Gateway - will see seven driverless pods tested on the pavements around the Greenwich Peninsula, where the O2 Arena is based, from July. Routes are still being worked out but are likely to include residential areas, the North Greenwich underground station and businesses around the arena. The so-called UltraPods currently in service at Heathrow carry passengers between the car park and Terminal 5. In the five years they have been in use, they ha...

Google has criticised DMV in California for insisting driverless cars must have a fully licensed driver behind the wheel

On Wednesday, the DMV published draft regulations which outline how the technology could be used on the roads. The regulations say truly driverless cars would be "initially excluded" from operation. Google's director of self-driving cars, Chris Urmson, said the move was "perplexing". "This maintains the same old status quo and falls short on allowing this technology to reach its full potential, while excluding those who need to get around but cannot drive," he wrote in his blog. "We've heard countless stories from people who need a fully self-driving car today. People with health conditions ranging from vision problems to multiple sclerosis to autism to epilepsy who are frustrated with their dependence on others for even simple errands."Google argues that driverless cars are much safer than manually driven cars, because they eliminate the human error that causes a majority of collisions. The technology has inspired a web ga...

Chinese tech giant Baidu successfully tested its driverless car on roads

The 30km (18.6 miles) test route required a modified BMW 3 Series to navigate "complex road conditions", including human drivers, the firm said. The car executed a range of manoeuvres, including U-turns, lane changes and merging into traffic from ramps. Baidu has amassed a library of 3D road maps to guide its autonomous vehicles. "Fully autonomous driving under mixed road conditions is universally challenging, with complexity further heightened by Beijing's road conditions and unpredictable driver behaviour," said Wang Jing, senior vice-president of Baidu and general manager of the company's Autonomous Driving Business Unit. Baidu's highly automated driving (HAD) maps capture road data in 3D to within a few centimetres of accuracy, according to the company. The car is able to detect vehicles, road lanes and objects in its path.Separately, South Korean firm Samsung announced that it would be launching a new division which will make car component...