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Engadget
4 minutes ago
- Engadget
Uber's latest robotaxi plan involves 20,000 Lucid EVs
Uber is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Nuro and Lucid, the latest step in the company's plan to build an extensive robotaxi program that can roll out globally. Uber's partnership with EV manufacturer Lucid will see it deploy at least 20,000 of the Newark-based company's vehicles over a period of six years. These will be equipped with the AI-powered Nuro Driver autonomous technology. The vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or one of its third-party partners, and the service will be exclusive to Uber users. The robotaxi service is expected to launch in late 2026 in an unnamed "major US city," and Uber said that a prototype of an operational autonomous Lucid-Nuro vehicle is currently being tested on a closed circuit at a Nuro facility in Las Vegas. According to the new partners, the robotaxi will benefit from the Lucid Gravity SUV's "advanced technology platform, redundant electrical and controls architectures, and long range," with the latter estimated to be around 450 miles. Nuro will be responsible for overseeing the extensive safety checks. These range from simulations to on-road testing and are marked on "dozens" of categories. The approved Lucid Gravity robotaxi will operate at level 4 autonomy, which essentially makes it almost fully self-driving and able to perform the majority of its functions without any human intervention. Uber has spent much of this year expanding its robotaxi ambitions through various team-ups with the likes of Volkswagen and British AI company Wayve , with whom it plans to bring robotaxis to the UK for the first time next year. Back in March, Uber launched its robotaxi service with Waymo in Austin, building on the existing offering in Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Waymo One covers 37 square miles of the city, and Uber users can ride in one by ordering an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric. Earlier this week, Uber also announced a new partnership with China-based Baidu, which will see the two companies bring Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles to mainland China and other non-US (no surprise there) markets around the world.
Newsweek
5 minutes ago
- Newsweek
US Army Sends HIMARS to Pacific to Boost Long-Range Fires
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The United States has strengthened its long-range fire capabilities in the Pacific theater as a Hawaii-based Army unit received the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, which prioritizes long-range precision fires, the 25th Infantry Division—based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii—is set to complete the replacement of howitzers with HIMARS launchers within weeks, the Pentagon announced. Why It Matters Amid China's rapid military buildup, the U.S. military has designated the Indo-Pacific as its "priority theater," deploying its most capable units across the region—including land-based missile systems capable of targeting the Chinese navy, now the world's largest by hull count. In alignment with the Pacific Ocean's vast maritime expanse, the U.S. Army is undergoing a transformation—divesting "outdated, redundant and inefficient" weapons—to enhance its lethality. The delivery of HIMARS launchers to the 25th Infantry Division coincides with the U.S. military's simultaneous participation in two large-scale Pacific war games: Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 in Australia and the Air Force's Department-Level Exercise series. What To Know Photos released by the 25th Infantry Division show that its first batch of HIMARS launchers was delivered by a C-5 transport aircraft to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Monday. High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers assigned to the United States Army 25th Infantry Division staged on the flight line after being unloaded from a C-5 transport aircraft at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in... High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers assigned to the United States Army 25th Infantry Division staged on the flight line after being unloaded from a C-5 transport aircraft at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii on July 14. More Spc. Taylor Gray/U.S. Army The Army infantry unit is scheduled to replace 14 howitzers with 16 HIMARS launchers. According to the Pentagon, this transformation in firepower will enhance the unit's long-range precision strike capability and bolster its warfighting readiness in the Indo-Pacific. The truck-mounted HIMARS—widely known for its use by Ukraine in its war against Russia—is capable of launching "versatile, accurate, precision-strike munitions" such as rockets and missiles with ranges from 9.3 to over 310 miles and can be rapidly deployed, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. In comparison, the 105 mm and 155 mm howitzers being phased out by the 25th Infantry Division—both classified as towed artillery systems—have maximum ranges of about 8.5 miles and almost 20 miles, respectively, according to defense outlet the War Zone. U.S. Army Major General Marcus Evans, the commander of the 25th Infantry Division, said the introduction of the HIMARS would extend the division's operational reach and enhance soldier protection by allowing troops to fire munitions and quickly relocate to safer positions. A total of 73 soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division are transitioning from operating howitzers to HIMARS, according to the Pentagon. Of those, 27 have trained with the National Guard as part of their effort to learn how to operate the HIMARS on the battlefield. A HIMARS launcher firing a rocket during a joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines in Laur, Nueva Ecija province, the Philippines, on August 9, 2024. A HIMARS launcher firing a rocket during a joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines in Laur, Nueva Ecija province, the Philippines, on August 9, People Are Saying U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership in April: "To build a leaner, more lethal force, the Army must transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems. Simultaneously, the Army must prioritize investments in accordance with the Administration's strategy, ensuring existing resources are prioritized to improve long-range precision fires, air and missile defense including through the Golden Dome for America, cyber, electronic warfare, and counter-space capabilities." U.S. Army Major General Marcus Evans, the commander of the 25th Infantry Division, said in a news release on Wednesday: "And so now soldiers, instead of working behind a cannon system and towed artillery, they will work with a weapon system that [not only] has increased survivability, but increased operational reach with the range that [HIMARS] have." What Happens Next It remains to be seen which U.S. military units based in the Pacific theater will be next to undergo a similar transformation to enhance their operational capabilities in the region.
Business Journals
34 minutes ago
- Business Journals
Highmark Blue Shield enables digital front door for members with My Highmark app
Roughly two years from its initial launch, Highmark's My Highmark app has proven to be a popular digital front door to the insurer's services. 'If you think about what a typical health insurance experience might have been a couple of years ago, most people had to navigate lots of different apps and websites,' said Stacy Byers, senior vice president of experience, design and digital for Highmark Health. 'You might go to one place for just your insurance transactions. You might go to another place for your wellness program. You might go to another place to access virtual care. It was very fragmented with lots of login IDs and passwords to remember.' My Highmark consolidated all of that, creating a single point of contact for accessing all of Highmark's care and benefits resources. So far, more than 1.3 million users have signed onto the platform. High-tech collaboration Byers and her team were instrumental in Highmark's launch of My Highmark as its digital front door. They partnered with the Ontario-based health care technology company League, Google Cloud, and Highmark Health subsidiary, enGen, to create the app. Their goal: eliminate the need for customers to use multiple platforms to navigate their benefits while delivering a more personalized health care journey. The project required extensive cross-functional collaboration across product, digital product, design, sales, marketing, operations, technology and data. Still, the project moved quickly. It kicked off in May 2022, and the first version was available to Highmark employees and a small segment of members in January 2023. Throughout 2023, the team worked to add capabilities and members to the platform. Now, My Highmark is available to Highmark's commercial, Affordable Care Act, and Medicare Advantage members. Highmark continues to enhance the app and roll out significant updates. This summer, members will have access to a new provider directory with a smoother interface and improved data. 'We've done a massive data clean up, so when you look up a doctor, you can easily find their phone number and see if they're accepting new patients,' Byers said. What's inside My Highmark The My Highmark experience was built using human-centered design, a philosophy that Highmark adopted 15 years ago. This approach begins with understanding user problems and designing thoughtful solutions tailored to real-world needs. 'It is about understanding the problem and then designing the solution for the humans that are going to use a particular service,' Byers said. 'And it's not just for designers. It can actually help business people prioritize what it is that they're going to go do because they might understand that a certain feature is more helpful to their users than another feature.' Byers and her team started with the most common needs members have: find a doctor, check their claim status, understand their benefits and get customer support. Each of those functions is easy to access in My Highmark. Plus, the app's chatbot is programmed to address hundreds of issues. Then, if it isn't able to address a user's question, it seamlessly passes them onto a live customer service agent. Then, they added direct access to Highmark's many virtual care services. For example, members can set up and complete a virtual primary care visit directly through the app. They also can access its mental and behavioral health platform Mental Well-Being Powered by Spring Health and its virtual care platforms Virtual Pelvic Health, Bloom by Sword and Virtual Joint Health, Thrive by Sword. Benefits to employers Highmark's digital transformation isn't just about convenience; it's about improving health outcomes and reducing medical costs. The integration of diverse health benefits into a single platform creates a seamless, engaging experience that encourages preventative care and proactive health management. One of the ways it accomplishes this is by personalizing members' experiences. The My Highmark app prompts users to complete a health assessment and then uses the results to direct people to resources that are most relevant to them. 'We are only prompting you with the things that your coverage actually provides you access to,' Byers said. 'So you never have to have that disappointment of clicking on a link and realizing, 'Oh, it's not for me.'' For employers, the app gives employees a one-stop shop for information about their insurance coverage. This helps cut down on the time human resources team members have to spend answering basic questions. Employers can extend this capability by co- branding the app with their business and having Highmark add custom links to additional benefits programs they may offer, such as a dependent care account, transportation benefit or wellness rewards and incentives. 'Those wellness incentive programs start with the health risk assessment, which allows us to tailor their experience and prompt uses with the right information for how they can take advantage of Highmark resources on their health journey,' Byers said. By transforming health care access from a complicated maze of resources into a unified digital experience, Highmark aims to make navigating health care easier, getting the right care to the right people at the right time.
