Hasta La Gadget!

While Americans have seen a few driverless cars on the open road, their British counterparts have had to settle for demos on private circuits. They’ll get a better glimpse soon, though, as the UK Department for Transport now expects tests on public streets by the end of 2013. The initial trial runs will be gentle — Oxford University’s Nissan Leaf-based RobotCars will drive only on lightly trafficked roads, with humans tagging along in the event of a crisis. We haven’t yet seen a timetable for more aggressive experiments, but we’re not exactly in a hurry to compete with early autonomous cars during rush hour.

[Image credit: Oxford University]

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

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Via: BBC

Source: Gov.uk

Google certainly has pockets deep enough to trick out self-driving cars with any kind of pricey gear, but researchers at the University of Oxford have begun testing a solution that aims to keep things affordable. Currently, the system leverages an array of low-profile stereo cameras and lasers that rings up at about £5,000 (approximately $7,750), but the next goal is to knock the price down to £500, and eventually to a cool £100 (roughly $150). “Really, we do need to solve the engineering challenges of not relying on expensive sensors, but relying on cheap sensors,” Professor Paul Newman told the Telegraph. “But doing some really smart things with those cheap sensor feeds.”

Rather than a vehicle that acts as a chauffeur at all times, Newman’s vision for the modified Nissan Leaf, dubbed RobotCar, is for it to take control on select occasions. While drivers go about their commute, the system composes a 3D map of the car’s environs and commits it to memory. When the auto identifies a familiar setting and feels confident about its ability to take the reigns, it could let the driver know it’s ready to assume control. Right now, the automobile’s been tested on private roads, but the team behind it is working with the UK’s Department of Transportation to roll it onto public streets. Head past the jump for a glimpse of RobotCar in action.

Filed under: Transportation, Alt

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Source: Telegraph, RobotCar UK

Google’s self-driving cars have been in testing since early 2011, although it experienced its first accident a few months later. Regardless of that, and we’re sure many more undocumented hiccups, Google feels its self-driving cars are improving steadily and expects them to be ready in three to five years.

Product manager of autonomous driving Anthony Levandowski recently spoke at a Society for Automotive Engineers conference, where he revealed Google’s plans to release its self-driving technology in the next three to five years. He also informed those attending the talk “what form it gets released is still to be determined” as a number of legal issues stand in the way for autonomous vehicles to be made available to the public.

As of right now, only California, Florida and Nevada allow for Google’s self-driving vehicles to be driven on roadways. The reason for their acceptance though is purely for testing purposes as a human driver needs to be present while it’s being driven. We’re not sure why an unmanned self-driving car would be needed, but maybe we’re just not thinking outside of the box.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Griff’s Back to the Future 2 ‘Pit Bull’ Hoverboard On Sale For $13k, Mitsubishi Electric Free-form Screen Car Display System Developed,

Some of us have been feeding advice to DARPA’s ACTUV sub-tracking drone project for more than a year, but we haven’t had a in-depth look at how the autonomous ship will go about its business, especially when chasing very silent diesel-electric subs. Thankfully, craft designer SAIC has stepped in with a detailed video tour. If there’s suspicions that a diesel sub is in the area, the US Navy can deploy sonar buoys that give the ACTUV an inkling of where to go first. After that, the drone takes over with both long-range and short-range sonar. The vehicle can gauge the intent of ships in its path (with human failsafes) and hound a target for up to 13 weeks — either letting the Navy close in for an attack or, ideally, spooking the sub into avoiding conflict in the first place. While ACTUV won’t hit the waves for years, there’s a promise that we’ll always know about underwater threats and deal with them on our own terms.

Continue reading SAIC shows how DARPA’s submarine-tracking drone ship finds its silent targets (video)

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Source: Wired

You might think you’ve got the most badass stroller at the playground, but it’s got nothing on Xandon Frogget’s creation which adds motors and a wireless steering system using a Wiimote controller. And thanks to an onboard Kinect sensor, his toddler can even drive it without the risk of crashing into anything. More »