Latest news with #driverassistance
New York Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
Tesla Driver Testifies Autopilot Failed to Prevent Fatal Crash
The driver of a Tesla car that killed a woman in 2019 testified in federal court on Monday that the company's Autopilot driver-assistance system failed to warn him of an impending accident or engage the brakes. The driver, George Brian McGee, was driving his new Tesla Model S on a dark, two-lane road in South Florida when his phone fell to the floor and he bent to find it. That's when he failed to see the road was ending in a T-intersection and a sport-utility vehicle was parked on the other side and two people were standing next to that car. Neither he nor Autopilot hit the brakes, and the Tesla crashed into the S.U.V. at 62 miles per hour, killing a 22-year old woman and gravely injuring her boyfriend. In a civil case in federal court in Miami, Mr. McGee said on the witness stand that he was responsible for keeping his eyes on the road even with Autopilot engaged. But he also said he had been relying on Tesla's semi-automated driving system to serve as his co-pilot, and thought it had the capability to avoid such a crash. 'I thought it would assist me if I made a mistake,' said Mr. McGee, 48, a partner in a Florida private equity firm. 'It didn't warn me of the car and the individuals and hit the brakes.' The case, in the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida, was filed by the family of the woman killed in the crash, Naibel Benavides, and her companion, Dillon Angulo. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages from Tesla and aim to convince the jury that Tesla was partly responsible for the crash. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
BMW, Momenta agree to collaborate on ADAS development
BMW Group has announced it has signed a new partnership agreement with Momenta, a Chinese driver-assist (ADAS) technology company, to co-develop advanced driver assistance solutions specifically for the Chinese market. The German automaker confirmed the deal will allow it to expand 'its footprint in China's digital innovation landscape,' allowing it to expand its technology portfolio in China. The collaboration will initially focus on developing and integrating systems for the Neue Klasse. BMW said the partnership will build on its driving philosophy of 'combining Intelligent Interaction, Control and ADAS for the maximum benefit of the driver in all situations.' It will focus on software development and integration specifically for Chinese road networks, traffic conditions and user expectations, using advanced AI algorithms and data-driven development methods. Dr Mihiar Ayoubi, senior vice president of BMW's Driving Experience division, said in a statement: 'This collaboration between partners sharing the same mindset, will enable us to offer our customers in China a very unique automated driving experience. We are combining 20+ years of pioneering safety with locally trained driving knowledge and state of the art Chinese AI technologies.' Sean Green, CEO of BMW Group Region China, added: 'This expands BMW's collaboration with Chinese tech players from digital ecosystems and AI-based user interaction into the realm of the ADAS domain.' "BMW, Momenta agree to collaborate on ADAS development" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
WIRED
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- WIRED
GM's Cruise Cars Are Back on the Road in Three US States—But Not for Ride-Hailing
Jul 4, 2025 10:28 AM After sightings by WIRED, GM confirms that a limited number of sensor-laden Bolt EVs have been given a second life. Cruise robotaxis are back on the road… well, kind of. Though General Motors pulled the plug on its self-driving taxi business last year, the automaker has been quietly repurposing a few of the vehicles as it seeks to develop new driver-assistance technologies. This week, WIRED spotted a GM Bolt electric hatchback on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and later saw a similar vehicle on Interstate 880 near Oakland. In each instance, the car was being driven by a human. But it held equipment on the roof such as lidar sensors that resembled the setup from the Cruise ride-hailing system. The vehicle had 'Mint' written on the hood, but didn't include any visually apparent Cruise branding. GM spokesperson Chaiti Sen confirms to WIRED that the company is indeed 'using a limited number of Cruise Bolt vehicles on select highways in Michigan, Texas and Bay Area for testing with trained drivers to further develop simulation models and advanced driver assistance systems.' She adds, 'This is internal testing and does not involve public passengers.' GM removed the orange-and-white Cruise logo from the cars' sides after it took full ownership of the unit in February, she says. The recent activity began in Michigan and Texas in February and the San Francisco Bay Area-region in mid-April, Sen says. Cruise had named each vehicle in its fleet, and Sen confirmed that 'Mint' has been among the vehicles newly active in the Bay Area. The testing shows for the first time how GM is beginning to give a second life to a fleet of no less than hundreds of vehicles left over from a costly project that ran aground. GM initially acquired a majority stake in San Francisco-based Cruise in 2016, and invested more than $8 billion into developing a robotaxi service. The operation was off to a fast start and eyeing a rapid expansion until October 2023, when a Cruise vehicle struck a pedestrian in San Francisco who had just been hit by a human-driven vehicle. In the aftermath of the incident, Cruise misled state regulators, lost a key permit, halted operations, and laid off a quarter of its workers. After some attempts to restart the business, GM announced this past December that the experiment would be cancelled altogether. At the time, GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts that running a robotaxi fleet was an expensive distraction from the business of making cars. But the technology behind Cruise is helping improve the roughly 7-year-old Super Cruise system found in some GM cars. It aims to help drivers stay in and change lanes, or apply the emergency brake without needing to use their hands. Several automakers are racing to develop cars that offload an increasing amount of driving tasks to computers. GM claims about 60 percent of its 360,000 Super Cruise customers regularly make use of the capability. In the US, the robotaxi industry has been dominated by Waymo, though Elon Musk's Tesla and Amazon's Zoox are among those continuing to try to catch up. GM's repurposed Bolts blend into San Francisco-area roads, on which cars with heavy-duty computer gear attached to roof, back, and sides have become commonplace. They include not only companies testing sensors and algorithms, but also map providers collecting data and hobbyists attempting to upgrade their personal rides.
Free Malaysia Today
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Free Malaysia Today
China urges caution, speed on assisted-driving technology
Regulators have been finalising new safety rules for driver-assistance systems as Beijing sharpens scrutiny following a Xiaomi SU7 sedan accident. (EPA Images pic) BEIJING : China's automakers are outpacing foreign rivals in their push for assisted-driving technology, eager to woo motorists hungry for rapid innovation. Yet, Beijing has a nuanced message for its rising stars: move fast – but be careful. Regulators this week have been finalising new safety rules for driver-assistance systems as Beijing sharpens scrutiny of the technology following an accident involving a Xiaomi SU7 sedan in March. That incident killed three occupants when their car crashed seconds after the driver took control from the assisted-driving system. While Chinese officials want to prevent carmakers from overselling the capabilities of such systems, they are also threading the needle between innovation and safety to ensure their automakers don't lose out to US and European rivals. Setting clear regulations for assisted-driving tech without slowing its advancement could give China's industry an edge over global competitors, analysts say. This approach is in stark contrast to the US market, where companies pursuing autonomous cars have expressed frustration that the government has not implemented a regulatory system to validate and test the technology. Markus Muessig, auto industry lead at Accenture Greater China, said China's regulators and industries have long followed former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's 'feel the stones to cross the river' philosophy. The expression means to steadily explore new, uncertain technologies, which 'has proven very successful for this market,' he said. Current Chinese regulations allow systems that automatically steer, brake and accelerate under certain conditions while requiring the driver to stay engaged. For that reason, marketing terms such as 'smart' and 'autonomous' are banned. The new rules will focus on hardware and software designs that monitor a driver's state of awareness and their capacity to take control in time. To do this, regulators enlisted Chinese automaker Dongfeng and tech giant Huawei to help draft new rules and have sought public input over a month-long period, ending Friday. At the same time, government officials are pressing Chinese automakers to rapidly deploy even more-advanced systems, known as Level 3 assisted-driving, which allow drivers to take their eyes off the road in certain situations. Level 3 is the midway point on the industry's autonomous-driving scale, from basic features like cruise control at Level 1, to self-driving capability under all conditions at Level 5. The Chinese government had tapped state-owned Changan to be the first automaker to begin Level 3 validation tests in April, but the plan was paused after the Xiaomi crash, said a source familiar with the regulatory planning process. 'Beijing still hopes to resume such tests this year and approve the country's first Level 3 car in 2026,' the source said. China's industry of information technology ministry and Changan did not respond to requests for comment. Xiaomi has said it is cooperating with a police investigation into the accident. Driver-assistance systems are seen by industry analysts as the next big battleground in China's hyper-competitive car market. Over the past decade, Level 2 systems have proliferated in China, including Tesla's full self driving system, as well as the Xiaomi feature involved in the March crash. The capability ranges from basic vehicle following on highways to handling most tasks on busy urban roads, under driver supervision. Automakers have pushed down hardware costs to levels that allow them to offer Level 2 features at little or no extra cost. China's No 1 automaker BYD has rolled out its 'God's Eye' assisted-driving software for free across its entire product line-up. More than 60% of new cars sold in China this year will have Level 2 features, according to an estimate from research firm Canalys. Global race In its push for assisted-driving technology, and ultimately fully self-driving cars, Beijing is seeking to help homegrown carmakers just as it supported China's rapid rise to become the world's electric-car juggernaut. Last year, China's government lined up nine automakers for public tests to advance the adoption of self-driving cars. In their Level 3 push, Chinese regulators also are upping the regulatory ante by holding automakers and parts suppliers liable if their systems fail and cause an accident. Legislation passed in Britain last year adopted a similar approach to liability. At the Shanghai auto show in April, several companies touted progress toward rolling out vehicles with Level 3 capability. Tech giant Huawei said it is ready to introduce a Level 3 system for highways after simulated testing of more than 600 million km. It showed a video of drivers and passengers singing karaoke as the car drove itself. Geely's Zeekr brand debuted the luxury SUV 9X, featuring Level 3 software the automaker said is ready for mass production in the third quarter if regulations allow. Zeekr is also applying to be part of a second batch of automakers to undergo government Level 3 validation tests. Meanwhile, traditional automakers at the Shanghai auto show such as Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen said they were pushing their most advanced assisted-driving features but stopped short of crossing the Level 3 liability line. Getting there is a challenge as they are already at a cost disadvantage against their Chinese rivals, analysts say. Mercedes-Benz CTO Markus Schaefer told Reuters that while chip and computing power prices have fallen, the additional safety required for Level 3 will cost much more. 'It's a moving target,' Schaefer said.
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Hesai: Lidar is the Future of Airbags
Hesai Technology's CEO, David Li, thinks Lidar, or light detection and ranging, could be the future of airbags despite criticism from Elon Musk. Hesai is one of the world's largest maker of lidar sensors, used in driver assistance systems. Li spoke with Bloomberg's Chief North Asia Correspondent Stephen Engle, from the sidelines of the WEF Annual Meetings in the Chinese city of Tianjin. (Source: Bloomberg)
