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Tomorrow’s transport
Future transport news and insight into the emerging transport solutions changing the way we move across the globe. Verdict covers everything from driverless cars and drone taxis to supersonic planes, hyperloop and beyond. We are on the brink of another transport revolution, and technology is driving the changing world of travel.
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24 Apr
Toyota partnership to automate HD maps for autonomous vehicles
Toyota’s research division has announced plans to use satellite imagery to create automated high-definition maps for its autonomous vehicles.
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23 Apr
What’s standing in the way of driverless cars? It could be you
Driverless cars are on their way, and if Elon Musk is to be believed you could be hitching a ride in an autonomous taxi as early as next year.
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17 Apr
Forest conservation: How drones can help save our forests from climate change
It’s no secret that the world’s forests are under threat.
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16 Apr
Delivery drone design improvements take inspiration from insects
An improved delivery drone design that ensures that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can carry more than previous models and fly in increasingly precarious conditions has been patented.
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12 Apr
Mobility as a service: Brits’ reluctance to give up cars is a major roadblock
With the number of young people owning cars dropping rapidly, on-demand transportation services are growing in popularity.
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12 Apr
Electric road that charges vehicles as they drive to be built in Sweden
The Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket has announced plans to build an electric road that can charge vehicles while they drive along it on the island of Gotland, Sweden.
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4 Apr
“Brexit roadblock” threatens UK self-driving car industry
The UK has come out on top as the country with the biggest mass-market potential for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) – but only if the Brexit roadblock is removed.
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22 Mar
Tech companies team up to take on Didi in China’s ride-hailing market
A collection of leading Chinese tech companies have partnered to test Didi Chuxing in China’s ride-hailing market.
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19 Mar
NVIDIA autonomous vehicles given a ‘Safety Force Field’ to prevent crashes
GPU maker NVIDIA has created software for autonomous vehicles that adds an extra safety net to prevent collisions.
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18 Mar
$2bn Lyft IPO beats Uber in race to go public
Ride-hailing company Lyft has announced an initial public offering in which 30.77 million shares will be sold between $62 and $68 per share.
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18 Mar
Uber used spyware to steal market share from this competitor
Uber used a spyware application to lure drivers away from a rival competitor, effectively shutting the company out of the emerging ride-sharing market.
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13 Mar
US Secretary of Transportation forms council to bring Hyperloop to the US
The US Secretary of Transport Elaine Chao has announced a new council aimed at bringing Hyperloop technology to the US.
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11 Mar
Does a price hike suggest trouble ahead for Tesla?
After announcing at the end of last month that it would be closing all of its retail stores, Tesla has made a u-turn.
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6 Mar
Which company has won the public’s trust in driverless cars?
The total investment in driverless technology is $100 billion to date, but money cannot necessarily buy the public’s trust.
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5 Mar
Autonomous electric bus launched by Volvo in world first
What is claimed to be the world’s first full-size autonomous electric bus has been launched today.
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26 Feb
Airport automation: Passenger satisfaction soars when tech is used in air travel
With delays, long queues and paper documents to lose, air travel can be a stressful experience, and with the number of airline passengers expected to reach 8.2 billion by 2037, this is only set to get worse.
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22 Feb
London launch of Citymapper Pass raises data misuse concerns
Travel tech firm Citymapper has announced a London travel pass designed to rival the Oyster card.
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19 Feb
EV battery tech in campers gives an off-the-beaten-track experience
The Nissan x OPUS camper uses second-life EV batteries to power off-grid activities so that passengers can stream boxsets on a projector screen in even remote parts of the world for seven days.
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15 Feb
Self-driving cars have miles to go before they reach full autonomy, says watchdog
Companies such as Google’s Waymo are testing robot cars on Californian public roads, and reports to the Department of Motor Vehicles there show that human intervention is needed on average every 14 miles.
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14 Feb
The Netherlands comes out on top for autonomous vehicle readiness
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are undoubtedly the biggest change facing the global automotive industry, but although the hype surrounding the technology is at its height, when it comes to their implementation, some countries are more prepared than others.
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13 Feb
Autonomous cars stride ahead with ability to predict pedestrian movement
Self-driving cars are learning how to recognise and predict pedestrians’ movements with better accuracy, by focusing on people’s gait, body symmetry and foot placement.
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12 Feb
Programming autonomous vehicles brings out the best in drivers, study suggests
People are more likely to program an autonomous vehicle to behave cooperatively with other cars than if they were driving themselves, a US study suggests.
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5 Feb
Electric Nation completes world’s largest EV smart charging trial
Although the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is essential to lower carbon emissions, the rise in their number could put extra pressure on the national and local electricity grid.
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28 Jan
Volvo self-driving cars green-lit for tests on Swedish public roads
The Swedish Transport Agency Transportstyrelsen has given Volvo self-driving cars venture Zenuity approval to begin testing driverless cars on public roads.
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25 Jan
Most Brits would feel unsafe in a self-driving car – here’s how to change that
As the self-driving car revolution chugs along, it appears that the British public isn’t quite ready to take things into second gear.
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24 Jan
AI brings 186 million features to maps for autonomous vehicles
Computer vision-powered mapping startup Mapillary has successfully put more than 186 million features on a global map, a vital step in the move towards wide-scale use of autonomous vehicles.
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9 Jan
In-vehicle technology influences more than 50% of all new car purchases
With technology expected to have a revolutionary impact on the automotive industry, car manufacturers have been focusing their attention on developing the vehicles of the future in recent years, with driverless technology, electric vehicles and smart features at the forefront of research and development.
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7 Jan
700m virtual personal assistants expected in vehicles by 2023 – here are the three main types
Virtual personal assistants (VPAs) such as Siri and Alexa are expected to proliferate vehicles over the next five years, with markets analytics company IHS Markit forecasting some 700 million software platforms to be in cars by 2024.
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4 Jan
Nissan to unveil “ultimate connected car experience” I2V at CES 2019
Japanese automotive manufacturer Nissan has created an augmented reality (AR) interface that allows drivers to “see the invisible”, by blending the real and virtual worlds to create an in-car experience that is both safer and more enjoyable for drivers.
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4 Jan
Kia unveils driverless car concept that responds to your emotions
A driverless car that can read how you feel and adjust the environment through all five senses is being unveiled by Kia at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.