What We’re Reading
July 27, 2022
Some interesting activity in China and closer to home…
Baidu unveils autonomous vehicle without steering wheel (Reuters, July 21, 2022)
In China: Baidu Inc is one of the largest global technology companies, perhaps best known for its search engine (according to Wikipedia, it has the sixth largest search engine in the world). Now, Baidu is making headlines for revealing a new autonomous vehicle with a detachable steering wheel, manufacturer TBA.
The AV will be used for Baidu’s robotaxi service in China. “The new vehicle will possess autonomous Level 4 capabilities that need no human intervention, with 8 lidars and 12 cameras alongside the car. Lidars are detection systems, similar to radars, which use pulsed laser light rather than radio waves.”
Closer to home: Tesla and Waymo both have announced they will produce vehicles without a steering wheel (or pedals, in Tesla’s case) in the next few years. “However, automakers and tech companies around the world are still waiting for nods from regulators to deploy such vehicles in the real world.”
GM and Ford have specifically sought that regulatory approval in recent weeks, with both filing petitions to enable them to produce a limited number of “self-driving vehicles without human controls like steering wheels and brake pedals.” Like Baidu, the U.S. automakers’ petitions also seem aimed at robotaxi applications. Read the media coverage here, and NHTSA’s requests for comment on the petitions here and here.
Driverless cars are now legal in Shenzhen (The Robot Report, July 26, 2022)
In China: Effective August 1, new regulations will permit autonomous vehicles to operate without a human driver in some designated areas in Shenzhen, China. The regulations are interesting for the way they expressly allocate liability in the event of a collision, as compared to U.S. and European standards.
“The regulations state that if there’s a driver in the driver seat and the car is operating autonomously, the driver will be held responsible by transportation authorities. If no driver is in the driver’s seat, the responsibility falls to the owner or manager of the vehicle. The regulations also state that if the accident is caused by a defect in the autonomous car, then the owner of the car can seek compensation from the manufacturer.”
The ”Regulations on the Administration of Intelligent and Connected Vehicles in Shenzen Special Economic Zone” can be found here in Chinese. Assuming the translation provided by Google is correct, we note that the regulations contemplate the use of vehicle data to determine responsibility for an accident (“Article 55 The objective information on the running status of the vehicle and the surrounding environment recorded by the on-board equipment, roadside equipment, supervision platform, etc. of the intelligent networked vehicle can be used as an important basis for determining the responsibility of the intelligent networked vehicle for a traffic accident.”).
Cadillac explains why Celestiq flagship EV is its most advanced vehicle in 120 years (TechCrunch, July 22, 2022)
Closer to home: Last week, GM unveiled its Chevy Blazer EV at a price point that is expected to appeal to many. GM upped the ante this week by revealing a show car model of its Cadillac Celestiq, a pricey new EV sedan that will hit the market in 2025. The Celestiq reportedly “could start around $300,000 . . . and push Cadillac’s halo car well above the top variants from other luxury EVs, including Lucid Air Dream Edition, Porsche Taycan Turbo S and Tesla Model X Plaid.”
Cadillac claims that the sedan it its “most advanced vehicle yet.” “Cadillac said the technology in the show car represents what the production version will offer once the hand-built Celestiq enters production in late 2023. That includes the show car’s Ultra Cruise hands-free driver assistance technology. GM said that the premium alternative to its Super Cruise system can handle ‘nearly every road including city streets, subdivision streets and paved rural roads, in addition to highways.’” More information about Ultra Cruise can be found here.
Other technology features include five interactive displays, rear electronic digital blinds, and a smart glass roof that allows passengers to control the transparency of the glass.