Transportation – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Google has been one of the first and one of the most senior in the companies developing autonomous driving technology. But “another Google” is looking to catch up in the field.

Baidu, the Chinese search engine giant, has just received the green light to test its self-driving cars in the streets of California.

China’s electric-car start-ups face wipeout

Posted by Karen Hurst in transportation

Sep 1
2016

Painful.

Stricter standards could wipe out as many as 90% of the industry’s 200-plus fledgling manufacturers.

Technology Looks to Stop a Dirty Bomb Before It Happens

Posted by Karen Hurst in mobile phones, robotics/AI, terrorism, transportation | 1 Comment on Technology Looks to Stop a Dirty Bomb Before It Happens

Sep 1
2016

Using tech to stop terrorists dirty bombs.

DARPA’s SIGMA program undergoes real-world testing with state, federal and international partners to defend against radiological threats.

A DARPA program aimed at preventing attacks involving radiological “dirty bombs” and other nuclear threats has successfully developed and demonstrated a network of smartphone-sized mobile devices that can detect the tiniest traces of radioactive materials. Combined with larger detectors along major roadways, bridges, other fixed infrastructure, and in vehicles, the new networked devices promise significantly enhanced awareness of radiation sources and greater advance warning of possible threats.

The demonstration of efficacy earlier this year was part of DARPA’s SIGMA program, launched in 2014 with the goal of creating a cost-effective, continuous radiation-monitoring network able to cover a large city or region. Although radiation detectors have in recent years been installed in a number of key locations in the United States and around the world, the SIGMA program has sought to increase capabilities while lowering their costs, in order to network an unprecedented number of advanced detectors and provide a comprehensive, dynamic, and automated overview of the radiological environment.

Watch: How Self Driving Cars Could End Traffic Jams

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in futurism, transportation

Sep 1
2016

Automating a smooth future.

Self-driving tractors promise to get themselves to work, plow without complaint

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in food, robotics/AI, transportation

Aug 31
2016

There’s been a lot of focus on consumer self-driving technology recently, but autonomy promises to shake things up in the agricultural world too. CNH Industrial’s latest concepts aim to demonstrate how self-driving tractors can deliver faster, more precise results than their human controlled counterparts.