1. 2020 年，约架特斯拉

    从 2017 年 10 月份在中国品牌首发到今天，Polestar 作为独立品牌的身份刚好走过一年多一点的时间。尽管沃尔沃目前旗舰车型的旗舰款都用的混合动力，但要做纯电动车，并且一开始就把目标定为超越特斯拉，Polestar 做的其实是一场从 0 到 1 的内部创业。

  2. 做L5自动驾驶的“眼睛”，「Arralis」要做下一代毫米波雷达

  3. ofo员工将搬离北京总部

    《财经》获悉，ofo员工即将陆续搬离北京总部——位于中关村广场的理想国际大厦，本周五员工已经开始打包行李。他们将搬往有15分钟步行路程的互联网金融中心，这是ofo在北京的另一个工作地点。

  4. 通用汽车冲击共享电动自行车市场，明年计划推两款“eBike”

  5. 万字长文揭秘：Uber与Waymo自动驾驶专利大战始末

  6. FF称签约顶级投行，评估净资产超6亿美元

    “FF已经跟金融机构达成协议，通过公司设备进行担保以获得贷款支持，但是恒大始终拒绝释放资产质押权。”一位FF内部人士表示。该人士介绍称，斯提夫尔对FF现有资产进行了全面的评估，FF美国净资产价值超过6亿美元，而债务为数千万美元。

  7. Uber seeks OK to resume self-driving tests in Pennsylvania

    Uber Technologies Inc. asked Pennsylvania for permission to resume self-driving car testing on public roads and has improved the autonomous vehicle software, the company said on Friday, more than seven months after it suspended testing following a deadly crash in Arizona.

  8. Simulation Becomes Increasingly Important For Self-Driving Cars

    More advanced simulators, like Waymo’s Carcraft, are able to build entire road networks virtually, in which a self-driving car is surrounded by many other vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Engineers can use these virtual world’s to test and re-test variations of specific scenarios, a process Waymo engineer James Stout refers to as, “fuzzing.”

  9. Waymo Is One Step Closer to Cashing In on Autonomous Driving

  10. Why Taking Tablets In A Self-Driving Car Might Not Mix

    The big-name car manufacturers are busy working away at finding solutions to all the problems related to autonomous driving. Tata Motors’-owned Jaguar Land Rover announced just last week that it has made a breakthrough in finding a cure for motion sickness in autonomous vehicles.

    But, it’s not just the big players that are investing in autonomous-driving research. All over the world, engineers are beavering away on little-publicized PhDs and research projects related to autonomous driving. Bill Courtney, who runs engineering consultancy Cheshire Innovation, based in the north of England, U.K., is one of these guys.

    “I have a personal interest in seeing driverless cars advance as rapidly as possible because I have become partially sighted and fully autonomous vehicles are my only hope of regaining the freedom of the road again,” he explains.

  11. 整车上市企业三季度业绩报忧：七成净利下滑，商用车企集体“沦陷”

    中国车市下滑的压力在上市公司的财务报表中体现的淋漓尽致。截至10月31日，A股23家上市整车企业三季度财报悉数出炉。经济观察报记者通过梳理发现，23家企业中前三季度取得净利增长的仅有6家，净利减少的为17家，净利减少者比例超过7成。这样惨淡的三季度在“金九银十”的消费旺季非常少见。

  12. 携MPV计算架构、凤凰-100感知芯片，何晓飞讲述「飞步科技」的无人驾驶路线图

    36氪获悉，由「飞步科技」研发、具备自主知识产权的国产 28nm 深度学习加速器，已于今年 9 月在台积电完成流片。飞步科技表示，此次流片的 28 nm 感知深度学习加速器具有>1GHz的运算频率和>4TOPs的计算能力，支持 L3 / L4 级的实时数据处理需求，并且功耗与算力方面已接近量产无人驾驶汽车需求。此次成功流片，也是为飞步感知系统芯片（代号：凤凰-100）完成核心技术攻坚。

    今年 6 月，36氪曾报道，由前滴滴研究院院长创办的无人驾驶技术研发商飞步科技，已获创新工场融资，同时公布了首要技术落地领域——无人驾驶货车。

    针对无人驾驶 AI 芯片，飞步科技认为难点在于“三高一低”：

    无人驾驶对芯片算力要求高，车速越快，路况信息越多，计算平台的压力负荷就越大；

    无人驾驶对终端计算的实时性要求高，稍有滞后就可能发生意外（要求决策速度）；

    芯片的可靠性要求高，无人驾驶环境下不允许出现任何死机情况，且即使在严寒酷暑、刮风下雨等恶劣天气条件下，也需要芯片保持稳定的计算和续航能力。尤其是飞步科技主攻的物流商用车，对于温度、防震等方面会要求比较高；

    芯片的能耗“越低越好”，未来 AI 芯片在处理海量数据时如果能够保持低功耗，车辆才能拥有更强的续航能力。

  13. Inside VW, Mobileye’s deal to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in Israel

    In the world of autonomous vehicles, the news comes in repetitive short bursts with formulaic precision: Company X is launching a robotaxi fleet/test program in city Y by [insert date]. These announcements are promptly forgotten until the first self-driving vehicles are spotted, an accident occurs or a new partner joins the test program. Rinse. repeat.

    The recent announcement between VW Group, Intel’s computer vision subsidiary Mobileye and Champion Motors was treated no differently. The Volkswagen Group, Intel’s Mobileye and Champion Motors said they plan to deploy Israel’s first self-driving ride-hailing service in 2019 through a joint venture called New Mobility in Israel.

  14. How to get to the polls for free at the 2018 midterm elections

    In case you haven’t heard, polls will open Tuesday morning across the U.S. for the 2018 midterm elections. It’s a big deal, so go vote.

    And this year, there are more free ways to get to the polls than ever before thanks to a variety of non-partisan “get the vote out” campaigns from ride-hailing, bike sharing and scooter companies.

    Here’s a handy list.

    By bike

    Motivate, one of the largest bike share operators in North America, has launched an Election Day campaign to give people in nine urban areas access to free bikes for the day.

    Motivate operates Citi Bike in New York & Jersey City; Divvy in Chicago; Bluebikes in the Boston metro area; Capital Bikeshare in Washington D.C.; Nice Ride Minnesota in Minneapolis; Ford GoBike in the San Francisco Bay Area); BIKETOWN in Portland, Oregon; and CoGo in Columbus, Ohio.

    Lime is also offering free access to its fleet of electric bikes on Election Day. Users just need to enter the code LIME2VOTE18 to unlock any of its shared bikes or electric bikes.

    By car

    Depending how far you are from the polls, these ride-hailing offers could be free. At least one way.

    Uber is giving $10 off a single ride to the polls on Election Day on the most affordable Uber option available in your city (Express POOL, POOL, or UberX, in that order). To access, open the app and then tap menu > payment > add promo code. Enter the promo code VOTE2018. Users should then request their ride using Uber’s polling place locator, right in the Uber app.

    Lyft is working with Vote.org, Nonprofit Vote, TurboVote and other organizations to distribute codes to those who need them. The ride-hailing company is offering 50% of rides and free rides in underserved communities.

    By public transit

    A number of transit agencies in some of the country’s largest cities are offering free rides, including Houston, Dallas, Tampa and San Antonio. This year, the Los Angeles Metro system, which serves more than 1.3 million passengers daily, is joining in.

    By scooter

    Lime is offering free access to its fleet of electric scooters on Nov. 6. Users enter the same code, LIME2VOTE18, to unlock any of its scooters, or its shared and electric bikes. The free rides to and from your polling location last up to 30 minutes and are available in more than 100 cities across the U.S.

  15. This Startup Wants to Bring ‘Common Sense’ to Self-Driving Cars

    A little-known name in the world of autonomous driving is paving the way for a new type of self-driving car—one that can use “common sense,” as the company calls it, to navigate an uncontrolled environment.

    While most companies developing self-driving cars are focused on improving sensors, perception, and control, iSee CEO Yibiao Zhao says his company is the first to work on creating a robot that can really understand what’s going on.

    Zhao founded iSee just about a year ago along with Chris Baker, his lab partner at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Debbie Yu, who has a history with tech startups. The three are supported by MIT’s venture capital firm, The Engine, in Cambridge, Mass.

  16. Which of These 3 Semiconductor Stocks Leads the Self-Driving Race?

    Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) may not be the first semiconductor stock that comes to mind when thinking of the self-driving revolution, but its $15.3 billion purchase of Mobileye last year immediately made it a strong contender in the sector.

    One of the biggest catalysts here is INTC’s partnership with Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VLKAF) and Champion Motors. It was recently announced that the companies plan to roll out a fleet of self-driving vehicles — fueled by Mobileye’s software technology — in Israel next year. The service is expected to be fully operational by 2022.

    Intel’s size and ability to scale combined with the technology it acquired from Mobileye make it a key player among other semiconductor stocks. I expect its push into autonomous vehicles will generate large revenue in the years ahead and ultimately impact INTC’s bottom line — and share price — substantially.

    Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) isn’t a major player in the self-driving car space just yet, but I suspect it will be soon. Why? Because while the company has historically lagged INTC when it comes to both the innovation of new chips and transitions into new high-growth sectors, it typically follows in INTC’s footsteps.

    The shift may have already begun. Rumors that AMD will start providing chips to self-driving auto manufacturers have floated around. Still, the company appears to be watching from afar right now.

    There is no urgent reason to jump into AMD today. In fact, I am staying away from it for several reasons. Unless the business model changes soon, it may be too late to the party.

    Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) always seems to be in all the right places. It is a leading chip maker for video games and the esports industry. And during the cryptocurrency craze, the demand for NVDA’s high-performance chips was through the roof.

    Now, the boom in self-driving vehicles is once again driving demand for the company’s products.

    NVDA is the leading chip maker for autonomous vehicle platforms and boasts more than 350 customers in the space, making it one of the most appealing semiconductor stocks to buy. However, there were some negative headlines last month when Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) announced it would no longer use NVDA’s chips and instead develop its own.

    This should be a one-off event. I do not anticipate the majority of auto manufacturers will begin making their own chips, so NVDA should continue to enjoy strong demand.

  17. 公交车安全谁来守护？

    前段时间大家集中密度报道高铁霸座，然后那段时间全国各地都是霸座的无素质者，但现在因为重庆22路公交发生乘客打司机导致15人遇难，我们才发现生命如此脆弱的同时，全国各地又出现了各种乘客打司机的事件，这些不文明的素质是需要从根上也就是文化素质和道德上进行解决的。只是希望不是每次报道完了就没有下文了，希望每一次的报道都能推动社会更加文明，甚至推动相关法律法规的建设和健全。

  18. 刚上路就被“叫停”，国内首辆自动驾驶出租车落地遇阻？

    《新快报》今日报道称，11月1日起在广州大学城开展试运营的自动驾驶出租车项目，并没有事先得到交通部门的运营批准，目前已经被广州番禺区交警和交通局叫停。

    该自动驾驶出租车项目由广州公交集团白云公司运营，由文远知行WeRide.ai（原名“景驰科技”）提供技术支持，采用L4级自动驾驶技术，车型是广汽新能源GE3纯电智联SUV。白云公司称，在正式载客运营前，该车已在封闭路段进行了为期一年的路测。

    《新快报》称，番禺交通局曾对白云公司表示：“在相关法律法规、政策文件、技术完善之前，该模式牵涉面大，后果难以预料，涉嫌违法违规经营。请你司立即暂停在大学城试运营的行为，严禁邀请普通群众参与测试，并立即向市交委、交警部门报告。”

    针对此事，36氪记者今晚向WeRide.ai公司求证，截至发稿，白云公司和WeRide.ai尚未直接回应是否被交通部门“叫停”，只是表示：“这次试运营对于向市民推广自动驾驶的作用和意义得到各个部门的支持。1号发布会后，媒体的反应非常热烈，很多都跑去大学城采访和拍摄。当时考虑到大学城的交通秩序和安全，我们临时决定暂停，直到周一有了最新安排，先恢复生物岛的试乘。”

    白云公司告诉36氪，他们目前在广州生物岛国际公寓路段为市民提供免费试乘体验服务。除了自动驾驶出租车，还有贵宾车辆供市民体验自动驾驶员技术。

  19. 最前线 扔掉“传统零售”标签，苏宁联合博泰在车业务上又有了新一步

    “苏宁已经不是一个卖场。”11月6日，在苏宁易购与上海博泰的深度战略合作签约仪式上，苏宁易购集团汽车公司总裁刘东皓说道。在他的表述中，苏宁已经是一个O2O模式的企业，目标是建立全生态，销售全品类的产品。

    虽然是以“家电卖场”起家，但苏宁想要的不仅仅是卖车。

    同年10月，苏宁汽车投资了新造车企业拜腾，正式入局互联网造车领域。到了年底，苏宁成立了苏宁易购汽车公司，以公司化形式独立运作汽车业务。在合作仪式上，刘东皓更强调：“我们不是卖汽车的，而是出行的方案——3-10公里需求的摩托车，20公里以上的汽车，甚至飞机，都是苏宁提供的解决方案。”

  20. 汽车产业剧变的前夜

  21. 业绩快报 蔚来汽车发布上市后首份财报，营收难敌28亿亏损但股价涨超5%

    11月6日，美股新贵蔚来汽车发布2018财年第三季度财报。数据显示，公司营收达到14.70亿元人民币，相比上一季度的46万元环比增长3095.3%；毛利率为负的7.9%，相比上一季度环比收窄97.6%；净亏损为28.10亿元，环比扩大56.6%，同比扩大至116.1%；归属于股东的净亏损为97.57亿元，环比扩大至491.9%。

  22. 法拉第要求员工无薪休假两月，工厂只剩下10位经理

    中国科技业人士贾跃亭在美国加州参与创办的电动车新创公司法拉第未来（以下简称“法拉第”）近日再度陷入资金危机，业务发生变数。据外媒最新消息，法拉第的汽车工厂已经要求一些员工强制无薪休假，另外工厂只剩下10位经理和总监。

  23. Automakers invest in Transit, the app that helps people get around without a car

    Transit, a company that built a mobile app designed to help people in cities live without cars, has raised $17.5 million from two automakers in a Series B round.

    The company wants to be transit and company agnostic, so, it’s a big proponent of open APIs. Montreal, where the company is based, is a model of what Transit wants to be everywhere. In Montreal, people can use the app for car sharing, bike sharing, to order an Uber or use public transit, COO Jake Sion explained.

  24. Fantasmo pivots to scooter cameras that keep them off sidewalks

    GPS is too inaccurate to tell if a scooter is being driven or parked in off-limits areas. But as scooter startups compete for permits from city governments, they need a way to prove their riders play by the rules. That’s where Fantasmo’s new scooter positioning camera comes in.

  25. Luminar nabs former Uber executive to lead LiDAR startup’s business development

    Luminar, the buzzy LiDAR startup founded by Austin Russell, has added another high-profile executive to its ranks. This time, Luminar has hired Uber executive Brent Schwarz as its head of business development.

  26. Company tries self-driving semi in heavy rain. Here’s how it turned out

    In order to prove the real-world viability of their technology, Chinese startup TuSimple has shared footage of one of their autonomous trucks taking on real world hazards like heavy rain, traffic, and a railroad crossing. Though there is a driver at the wheel, TuSimple points out that there are “zero disengagements” during the filmed run.

  27. Waymo robot car injures motorcyclist — but human driver at fault

    The Oct. 19 accident came days before Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, won approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test cars without drivers on public roads — the first company in California allowed to do so. It has not yet begun those tests, although its cars have operated without backup drivers on Arizona roads for a year.

    A motorcycle was in the right-hand lane traveling at 28 mph and beginning to overtake the Waymo car. Waymo’s car and the motorcycle collided at the car’s right rear bumper. The injured motorcyclist was transported to a hospital, the report said.

  28. LG reveals self-driving smart shopping cart that can follow you around the store and even keep an eye on your spending

  29. Android收费的翅膀一扇，结果中国汽车打了个喷嚏？

    面对欧盟的连续罚款，谷歌刚刚宣布Android将在欧洲开始收费，从11月起将面向硬件公司收取每台设备最多40美元的费用。虽然这项政策目前仅在欧洲实行，但被国际媒体广泛解读为Android收费政策的开始。

    如果像很多国内外分析师与媒体认定的那样，Android收费成为大趋势，那么对于国产汽车来说，有这样几个麻烦很可能在未来不期而至：

    1、使用成本可能加大，开发成本与测试成本也随之上升，突然让最省钱的车载系统变得不再划算。其实本身基于Android做深度定制，也是一个大坑。手机领域的小米就建立了一个规模非常大的UI团队，每一次Android升级都需要做新的匹配，放在汽车上这个过程也同样适用。比如小鹏汽车为此配备了数百人的团队。

    2、由于谷歌要推出自己的车载Android系统，很可能会进一步收紧汽车领域的合作。2017年，谷歌宣布将在2019年推出不与手机相连的独立车载Android系统，而从Android Auto的方案来看，车载Android系统很可能也要基于谷歌原生框架，换言之，很可能是国内用不到的。

  30. 最前线 腾讯在硅谷组建无人驾驶汽车团队，后入局者能反超吗？

    据路透报道，腾讯正在加利福尼亚州招募自动驾驶汽车工程师，加速无人驾驶技术研发，正式加入硅谷研究该技术的众多公司行列之中。

    腾讯开始在无人驾驶领域布局是在2016年，成立了自动驾驶实验室，并招兵买马进行高精度地图、融合定位、高精度地图等方面的技术开发。在今年5月，腾讯就在深圳开了绿灯，在一些公路上测试自动驾驶汽车，获得了深圳自动驾驶首块路测牌照， 在今年9月，腾讯还拿到了北京的自动驾驶路测牌照。

    从组建研发团队到取得牌照，腾讯在自动驾驶方面的布局已经从技术层面转向应用层面。在自动驾驶应用层面，腾讯在今年已经实现了L3产品落地。在11月1日腾讯全球合作伙伴大会上，腾讯自动驾驶作为独立品牌首次出现在公众视野中，在当天，腾讯自动驾驶还发布了模拟仿真平台、高精度地图和数据云服务平台等三大技术。

  31. 硅谷风投教父：要没有马斯克那个推文，特斯拉私有化早就成了

    据外媒报道，硅谷风投教父蒂姆-德雷珀（Tim Draper）称，要不是因为伊隆-马斯克（Elon Musk）在微博网站Twitter上发布的那个“已准备好资金”的推文，他私有化特斯拉的事情可能早就成功了，他也可能省掉后来的很多麻烦。

  32. Harley-Davidson bets its future on the LiveWire electric motorcycle

    It’s been a four-year wait since Harley-Davidson first showed off a concept electric motorcycle. Now, the production-ready bike — called the Harley-Davidson LiveWire — is finally here. Well, almost.

  33. Sharp rise in patent applications for self-driving vehicles in Europe, new study finds

    A study published today, 6 November 2018, by the European Patent Office (EPO) reveals that innovation in self-driving vehicles (SDV) is accelerating fast and finds that patent protection strategies in the area of self-driving vehicle technology more closely resemble those in the information and communication (ICT) sector than those in the traditional automotive industry.

    The study, “Patents and self-driving vehicles”, carried out with the European Council for Automotive R&D (EUCAR), shows that the number of European patent applications related to autonomous driving has grown 20 times faster than other technologies in recent years: From 2011 to 2017, patent applications at the EPO for autonomous driving increased by 330%, compared to 16% across all technologies in the same period. And in the past ten years, the EPO received some 18 000 patent applications related to self-driving vehicles, with nearly 4 000 in 2017 alone.

  34. How a Deal to Bring Autonomous Vehicles to Walt Disney World Blew Up

    Walt Disney once mused that it’s “kind of fun to do the impossible,” so it’s likely the animation mogul would’ve been impressed by last year’s reports that fully-autonomous vehicles could soon be shuttling passengers around the amusement park in Florida that bears his name. Driverless cars are, after all, one of the most challenging—impossible, perhaps—technological tasks of our time. But the Disney project has fallen into disarray, Jalopnik found, after the companies aiming to bring the idea to fruition ended up in court accusing one another of stealing blueprints for the crucial technology needed to make driverless cars work.

  35. Tesla To Have Full Self-Driving Cars On The Roads In 2019, Confirms Elon Musk

    Speaking with Recode’s editor-at-large Kara Swisher, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he’s confident that the carmaker will achieve full self-driving next year, in 2019, ahead of any other car manufacturer.

    “I don’t want to sound overconfident, but I would be very surprised if any of the car companies exceeded Tesla in self-driving, in getting to full self-driving,” confided Musk. “They’re just not good at software. And this is a software problem.”

    However, in the race to fully autonomous driving, Musk does think that Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car division, would be Tesla’s closest competitor although he doesn’t believe anyone comes close to Tesla “in terms of achieving a general solution.”

    “You can definitely make things work like in one particular city or something like that by special-casing it,” he added. “But in order to work, you know, all around the world in all these different countries where there’s, like, different road signs, different traffic behavior, there’s like every weird corner case you can imagine. You really have to have a generalized solution. And to the best of my knowledge, no one has a good generalized solution.”

  36. Uber wants to restart self-driving car tests in Pennsylvania

    Uber is moving to restart the testing of self-driving cars on public roads roughly eight months after a fatal crash involving one of its vehicles. The ridesharing giant has asked the state of Pennsylvania for permission to resume testing, reports Automotive News. Uber has also submitted a voluntary report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) detailing safety improvements.

  37. ​SK Telecom trials self-driving cars for car sharing

    SK Telecom, together with South Korea’s Transportation Ministry, has successfully trialled self-driving cars to answer customer calls, the company has said.

  38. In Amsterdam, self-driving boats could be the next step for autonomous vehicles

  39. “印度版滴滴” Ola 已经把烧钱策略复制到了海外，会有效吗？

    乘客补贴加司机奖励曾是 Ola 在印度本土市场百试不爽的“秘方”，如今，这一策略被搬到了海外市场。

    11月6日，总部位于班加罗尔的 Ola 正式进军新西兰，开始在奥克兰、惠灵顿和克赖斯特彻奇三个城市提供网约车服务。上线首月，Ola 向乘客提供低至5折的优惠，并且只收取司机9%的佣金。

    “Ola 为新西兰人提供了另一种安全、实惠的出行选择。对司机而言，我们收取更低的佣金，让他们赚更多的钱，”公司在11月6日的新闻稿中表示。

    创立7年以来，Ola 一直在自掏腰包补贴司机和乘客。然而，随着全球初创企业融资越来越难，为了维持运营，公司需要开始关注营收。

    可是，由于司机已经习惯了高收入，Ola 提高佣金的尝试进行得并不顺利。

    就在本月，Ola 和Uber 的司机刚刚在印度的金融中心孟买举行了一场长达两周的罢工，以表达他们对收入降低、佣金上涨和奖励减少日益增长的不满。

    几名司机告诉 Quartz，他们的收入在过去两年里已经从每月8-9万卢比（7600-8500人民币）跌至5-6万卢比 (4700-5700 人民币)。

  40. 为什么说传统的公交系统比“共享出行”更靠谱？

    微型公交，还有支持者称之为“公交优步”，可以说是“拨号出行”的新瓶装旧酒，这是一种响应即时需求的公交，比如一辆公交车在附近，人们可以拨打电话，让公交车带自己去想去的地方，或者到哪个公交枢纽站。公交车也可能在途中停下来等其他人。在美国有数百种这种服务。作为一名交通规划顾问，我已经设计了25年的叫车服务。

    微型公交跟智能手机结合起来之后，迎来了新的发展。智能手机使得用户可以比用以前更短的时间预订行程，而且不需要打电话了。但是由于技术原因，微型公交的效率几乎和打电话的时候一样低。

  41. 马斯克卸任董事长，好事还是坏事？

    特斯拉董事长换人了，不再是马斯克。据彭博社今日报道，特斯拉董事会提名独立董事 Robyn Denholm出任董事长，任命即刻生效。

    此前因为“私有化风波”特斯拉董事长兼首席执行官马斯克遭到了美国证券交易委员会(SEC)的证券欺诈指控。根据9月底马斯克与SEC签订的和解协议，马斯克同意在45天内辞去特斯拉董事长的职务，但将继续担任首席执行官一职。此后三年之内，他没有再次被推选为董事长的资格。同时，他将缴纳2000万美元的罚款。

  42. Self-driving Mercedes-Benz S Class sedans are coming to San Jose

  43. The Future of Safe Self-Driving Cars Is Thermal Imaging

    Many of these systems don’t yet use thermal imaging, but after a demonstration of how effective it is at identifying objects, I’m not sure I’d get in a self-driving car that didn’t have it.

    (Full Disclosure: FLIR wanted me to see how its thermal imaging technology could be easily incorporated into self-driving cars so their PR team showed up at our office with a Chevy Suburban with some cameras mounted to the roof. It was driven by a human but they still got the point across.)

    FLIR, which claims to have about a 70 percent market share in thermal imaging technology but is not the only thermal imaging company trying to get in the self-driving game, has already offered automotive applications for the last few years in the form of visual driver assistance systems in high end cars from BMW, Mercedes, Audi and others. In this form, a display in the car uses the thermal imaging as a form of night vision to help spot animals and pedestrians in the road at night.

    The biggest issue with thermal imaging is the prohibitively expensive cost of thermal imaging cameras, which can be over $1,000 per unit, which may be too much to ask of companies that may find the technology redundant. But the company is confident that it can get the cost of the cameras below $1,000 as more companies incorporate the technology into their self driving cars. The other main issue with the tech is its limited functionality as a backup, additional passive layer to imaging systems.

  44. Self-driving cars could function as moving brothels, academics predict

    Brothels could move into self-driving cars, British academics predict.

    A paper by researchers at the University of Surrey and Oxford suggests that “pay-per-hour” hotel rooms are likely to be replaced by autonomous cars when the technology is introduced.

    “While SCAVs [shared, connected autonomous vehicles] will likely be monitored to deter passengers having sex or using drugs in them, and to prevent violence, such surveillance may be rapidly overcome, disabled or removed.

    The study titled “Autonomous vehicles and the future of urban tourism”, published in the Annals of Tourism Research, also suggests that the budget hotel and flight industry could suffer if the cars are introduced, as travellers opt to sleep in their cars and travel overnight between cities that they might otherwise have flown between.

    They could also herald the end of the coach trip, as tourists who might have opted for a coach tour choose the greater freedom and independence that comes with travelling by car without having to worry about driving or finding parking spaces.

    This could lead to congestion and traffic in tourist hotspots, the researchers warned.

  45. Should A Self-Driving Car Kill Its Passengers?

  46. Committee issues report on future of self-driving cars in Idaho

    “The emphasis was on keeping safety at the top of our minds as we looked into the technologies and look into deploying those down the road, even if it’s way down the road,” said Matthew Conde, government affairs director for AAA in Idaho.

  47. 李彦宏：大多数人研发无人驾驶都是在重新发明轮子

    10月31日的时候，中央政治局全体成员集体学习人工智能；11月1日，总书记又召开民营企业座谈会，其中也专门提到了他对人工智能的期许。

    所以很多人都非常焦虑，都在研发相应的无人驾驶技术，但是其实大多数是在重新发明轮子。我们意识到这个问题，就说“OK，百度做的东西我们都把它拿出来开源开放，你随便用、随便改，你如果愿意回来贡献一些那更好”。这个生态也就是开放了一年多一点的时间，我们在全球已经有133家的生态伙伴、有1.1万多家的开发者，这个生态可以说是全球自动驾驶最早的一个生态，大家能想到的跟车相关的公司，基本上都加入了Apollo平台。