Category: Car stuff
CES 2020: Land Rover Defender features dual eSIM connectivity
Land Rover is showcasing its dual-eSIM connectivity at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, the world’s largest consumer electronics show. The new Defender 110 is the first vehicle with two embedded modems for enhanced connectivity, while Jaguar Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment also shares electronic hardware with the latest smartphones. The Pivi Pro system…
Semi-autonomous cars ‘less likely’ to get blame for crashes
The public is more likely to blame accidents involving semi-autonomous cars on the driver rather than the technology, new research claims. According to the study, in an accident where a human driver and artificial intelligence have dual control, the public is more inclined to blame the person. The research team behind the study warned the…
Only 1 in 4 trust driverless cars, suggests survey
Motorists are not ready to take their hands off the wheel and surrender control to driverless cars, research by the AA suggests. The British motoring association has found that while many people see the benefits, such as improved mobility for the elderly and disabled, the cultural attachment to cars is stronger than technology and the…
Meet Laura, the Skoda in-car digital assistant
Czech car company Skoda is premiering a new Digital Assistant which goes by the name of Laura (why is it always women who are used as voice assistants?) Part of the Amundsen infotainment system, it is available for the new Kamiq as well as the compact Scala. Skoda claims the introduction of the new Digital…
Autonomous Village boosts driverless car development
A new facility for testing self-driving cars has opened in Bedfordshire. Developers of driverless technology will be able to take advantage of the UK’s first so-called Autonomous Village at Millbrook Proving Ground, which has been used for vehicle testing since the 1960s. The Millbrook-Culham urban test bed includes more than 40 miles of secure tracks,…
Will drivers be banned from using hands-free kits in their cars?
With the Brexit deadline looming and Boris Johnson settling into life at Number 10, you can be forgiven for overlooking any news coming from the House of Commons. However, there may be a story or two that evokes your interest. MPs have suggested that drivers may soon be banned from using hands-free kits while on…
Toyota and Suzuki announce self-driving car technology partnership
Japan’s top carmaker, Toyota, and smaller rival Suzuki, have announced they are partnering in the development of self-driving car technology. The move comes as manufacturers around the world grapple with innovations in the industry. They said that Toyota will take a 4.9% stake in Suzuki Motor Corp, valued at 96 billion yen (£744 million), and…
Ex-Google engineer charged with trade secrets theft
A former Google engineer has been charged with stealing self-driving car technology from the company shortly before joining Uber. The indictment filed on Tuesday by the US Attorney’s office in San Jose, California, is an offshoot of a lawsuit filed in 2017 by Waymo, a self-driving car pioneer spun off from Google. Uber agreed to…
Footage of Tesla driver ‘asleep’ in seat sparks alarm
A video appearing to show a Tesla driver asleep while his vehicle drove on auto-pilot has prompted criticism online. The footage, posted on Twitter by US journalist Clint Olivier and filmed by his wife Alisha, was filmed on Los Angeles’ busy interstate 5 last Saturday morning. As Mr Oliver drives past the car, which is…
Jaguar Land Rover head up display to stream 3D movies to passengers
Jaguar Land Rover is developing a next-generation head-up display technology that could beam real-time safety information in front of the driver, and allow passengers to stream 3D movies direct from their seats. Engineers are working on a powerful new 3D head-up display to project safety alerts, such as lane departure, hazard detection, sat nav directions,…
