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Published May 31, 2024

First established in 2018, National Autonomous Vehicle Day is dedicated to recognizing the transformative potential of autonomous vehicles. As we stand on the brink of a transportation revolution, it's important to acknowledge and explore the incredible technologies that are driving us forward—literally and figuratively.

From driverless cars to autonomous trucks, buses, and other self-driving machines, these innovations are being developed and tested around the world. Autonomous Vehicle Day offers a unique opportunity to delve into the advancements in this field and understand how they can reshape our future. Join us as we celebrate the progress made and look ahead to a world where autonomous vehicles enhance safety, efficiency, and convenience for all.

Here's our favourite Autonomous related articles 👇

The Autonomous Vehicles Law is a vital first step

Following Royal Assent, the Automated Vehicles Bill has come into force in the UK. The Law sets the framework for establishing some level of safe, legal autonomy for road users.

It is applied to vehicles that can drive themselves safely and follow traffic rules without the need for the driver to monitor or control the vehicle and will therefore establish autonomy levels 4 and 5. With 35 delegated powers, much of the detail will be set out in future secondary legislation – with this initial Law providing a foundational, first step.

A major element of the Automated Vehicle Law is legal liability. It makes companies, rather than individuals, responsible for a vehicle when it is self-driving without human monitoring required. In situations where it does not make sense for a human to be liable, the person will be given immunity from any prosecution. However, in vehicles or contexts where drivers assume a certain level of control, the responsibility will remain on the person.

What do developers need to know about the future of autonomous navigation?

Point One Navigation has announced a webinar for professionals involved in autonomous vehicle development, mapping, and vision applications.

Interested parties are invited to register for this webinar at no cost. It is scheduled for January 30th at 9am PST. Please register at Point One Navigation's website, (now available on demand).

This webinar is part of the Epitech Innovation Days event (FR) and features Lucas McKenna, Director of Engineering at Point One Navigation. He will present a comprehensive and engaging session on the latest advancements in precise positioning and navigation technologies, as well as practical solutions for real-world scenarios.

Webinar participants will gain insights into the application of Precision Navigation Technology in autonomous racing events like the Indy Autonomous Challenge at CES and the Self-Racing Cars competition. The session will focus on critical aspects for autonomous vehicle developers, such as localisation with RTK corrections and Point One Navigation's Fusion Engine. This represents the forefront in Sensor Fusion techniques for navigation, especially in GPS-challenged environments.

Series 14 – Episode 10 – How AI is enabling safer and more affordable autonomous driving

Paige West speaks with Yaniv Sulkes , VP of Automotive, Hailo about the recently debuted Hailo-10, a new powerful AI accelerator bringing generative AI to Edge devices.

Sulkes, with over twenty years of experience in high-tech industries, highlighted the rapid technological advancements within the automotive sector, particularly over the past decade.

Sulkes began by introducing Hailo, a company dedicated to creating specialised hardware for AI applications at the Edge. Founded over seven years ago, Hailo focuses on enabling AI in everyday devices like smartphones, laptops, cameras, and notably, cars. The company's mission centres on providing cost-effective and power-efficient AI solutions, crucial for devices with limited power resources.

Hailo's core technology, the Structure-Defined Dataflow Architecture, is a significant breakthrough. This semiconductor architecture allows efficient processing of neural networks, essential for AI, by integrating compute, memory, and control logic within a single chip. This innovation enables various AI tasks, such as object detection and large language models, to run efficiently on compact processors.

New project could hasten rollout of autonomous cars in UK

A safety project for self-driving cars has been initiated by a team of scientists and experts led by the University of Surrey in efforts to develop framework for approving autonomous vehicles.

The project, known as the Methods for Assurance of Self-Driving Vehicles scheme or Massdrive, aims to develop robust methods for approving and certifying self-driving cars as they become available. It has been spearheaded by scientists and experts under the leadership of the University of Surrey.

Saber Fallah, PhD, PEng , co-investigator of the project, stated: "We aim to forge strong connections between car manufacturers, regulatory bodies, academics, government groups, and local communities." In November of the previous year, the government announced plans for new legislation to introduce automated driving on UK roads.

Currently, despite some piece meal approaches taken to autonomous vehicles being driven on public roads, self-driving cars have seen a slow rollout in the UK. In the US, Tesla, a leader in bringing autonomous vehicles to mass market, has seen success and autonomous taxi firm Cruise was granted licences to operate in San Francisco. Yet, both have witnessed several incidents that have turned public and regulatory approval against them. Elon Musk’s EV company is currently broiled in multiple lawsuits over claims its Autopilot is responsible for various crashes, and Cruise had its licence to operate revoked following an accident.