Tags: autonomous vehicles

Intel announced Tuesday that it will partner with Elon Musk’s Terafab venture to design and construct a massive AI chip fabrication plant in Austin, Texas. The facility will supply custom chips to Musk’s aerospace and automotive firms, SpaceX (now merged with xAI) and Tesla, supporting ambitions ranging from autonomous vehicles to space‑based data centers. Intel’s involvement eases Musk’s earlier pleas for a partner capable of delivering a trillion‑watt‑year of compute power, while the chipmaker expands its U.S. manufacturing footprint amid a broader industry race to meet soaring AI demand. Read more

Physical AI embeds artificial intelligence in machines that can sense their surroundings, make real‑time decisions, and act in the physical world. From autonomous vehicles and warehouse robots to surgical assistants and smart‑city systems, these technologies blend sensors, computer vision, machine learning, and reinforcement learning to close the perception‑decision‑action loop. While early deployments already exist, challenges around safety, reliability, edge‑case handling, and costly real‑world training remain central as the field pushes toward broader, embodied AI applications. Read more

While large language models like ChatGPT and Gemini dominate today’s AI products, industry leaders are turning toward world models that encode the physical world’s laws, objects and movement. These models aim to power realistic video, surgical robots and self‑driving cars, forging a new era of "physical AI." Prominent figures such as Yann LeCun, Fei‑Fei Li and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang are championing spatial intelligence and synthetic data as the foundation for this shift. Read more

At CES 2026, Nvidia announced Alpamayo, a new family of open‑source AI models, simulation tools, and datasets designed to give autonomous vehicles human‑like reasoning capabilities. Central to the suite is Alpamayo 1, a 10 billion‑parameter vision‑language‑action model that breaks down driving problems into steps, evaluates possibilities, and selects the safest actions. The code is released on Hugging Face, and developers can fine‑tune it, create auto‑labeling systems, or combine real and synthetic data generated by Nvidia’s Cosmos world models. An open dataset of more than 1,700 hours of driving footage and the AlpaSim simulation framework are also available to accelerate safe, large‑scale testing. Read more

In 2026 the artificial‑intelligence industry is moving from large‑scale hype toward practical applications. Experts highlight a turn toward smaller, fine‑tuned language models, the rise of world models that understand 3D environments, and new standards like the Model Context Protocol that connect AI agents to real‑world tools. Physical AI devices—including smart glasses, wearables, robotics and autonomous vehicles—are set to become mainstream as edge computing and cost‑effective models enable on‑device inference. The overall tone is optimistic, emphasizing AI as an augmenting partner for humans rather than a replacement. Read more

Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary behind autonomous taxis, announced that its robotaxis can now travel on freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The move adds curbside service at San Jose Mineta International Airport and promises faster trips, such as cutting the San Francisco‑Mountain View ride in half. Waymo’s fleet, already operating in five metros, uses redundant onboard computers, data from private courses and simulations, and works closely with law‑enforcement agencies to handle emergencies. The company also outlined plans to launch in additional U.S. and international markets next year. Read more

A newly formed advocacy group called Safe Autonomous Vehicles Everywhere in the United States (SAVE‑US) is urging state lawmakers to adopt tougher regulations for autonomous vehicle technology. The group focuses on Tesla's vision‑only approach, calling for clearer disclosures, public crash reporting, and the use of multiple sensor types. Led by physicist Shua Sanchez and former Zoox engineer Bob Somers, SAVE‑US aims to influence legislation in large states such as Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. The effort comes amid a federal investigation of Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving software and broader concerns about safety standards across the industry. Read more

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into more than 2.8 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. The probe focuses on traffic safety incidents, including red‑light violations, wrong‑way travel, and railroad‑crossing failures, encompassing 58 reported events, 14 crashes and 23 injuries. The inquiry arrives as Tesla seeks regulatory approval for its robotaxi service. Read more

Amazon-owned Zoox announced plans to map the streets of Washington, D.C. using manually driven Toyota Highlanders equipped with its sensor suite and software. The mapping effort will precede a rollout of autonomous vehicle testing later in the year, with human safety operators behind the wheel. The capital will become Zoox's eighth test site as the company expands its fleet of custom‑built robotaxis and moves toward a commercial service, pending additional regulatory clearances from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Read more

DoorDash has begun rolling out its autonomous delivery robot, called Dot, in the Phoenix area. The five‑foot‑tall, electric robot can travel up to 20 mph on roads, bike lanes and sidewalks, carry up to 30 pounds of food, and travel about five miles on a single charge. Dot is equipped with multiple cameras and sensors that help it navigate complex urban environments. While DoorDash highlights the robot’s potential to complement human couriers, industry observers note the many real‑world obstacles the robot must overcome, from crowded sidewalks to interactions with pedestrians and wheelchair users. Read more

New York City regulators have extended Waymo’s autonomous‑vehicle testing permit through the end of the year, allowing the company to continue operating up to eight Jaguar I‑Pace robotaxis with a human safety driver in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. The extension keeps the original terms, including an exemption from the city’s rule requiring a hand on the wheel, and underscores Waymo’s ongoing effort to expand its robotaxi services while navigating New York’s complex licensing framework. Read more

DoorDash has begun a limited rollout of its autonomous delivery robot, called Dot, in the Phoenix area. The five‑foot‑tall, electric robot can travel up to 20 mph on sidewalks, bike lanes and roads, carrying up to 30 pounds of food for a range of about five miles per charge. Designed with cameras, sensors and expressive blue eyes, Dot is intended to complement human Dashers as part of DoorDash’s broader “Autonomous Delivery Platform.” The launch reflects DoorDash’s push into robotics despite mixed results for other companies in the delivery‑bot space. Read more

Zoox, the Amazon‑owned self‑driving company, announced that it will deploy a handful of retrofitted Toyota Highlanders with safety drivers in Washington, D.C. The move adds a ninth testing market to the company’s growing footprint, which already includes the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin. Zoox said the capital’s complex street layout, high pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and varied weather present a rigorous environment for evaluating its autonomous technology. Waymo is also testing in the district, underscoring D.C.’s importance as a major ride‑hailing market. Read more

Tesla’s latest software update adds in‑car prompts that tell drivers who appear drowsy or drifting to activate the Full Self‑Driving (FSD) feature. While the automaker argues the messages are meant to keep drivers focused, safety experts warn that encouraging reliance on a supervised system during moments of inattention could increase risk. The move comes as Tesla faces ongoing legal scrutiny over its driver‑assistance claims and continues to position FSD as a cornerstone of its autonomous‑vehicle strategy. Read more

Zoox, the Amazon-owned autonomous‑vehicle developer, has filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for a “555 exemption” that would let it operate its custom‑built robotaxis commercially. The request, which seeks temporary relief from eight Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, follows a recent free robotaxi rollout in Las Vegas and an earlier exemption in August that allowed only research and demonstration use. Read more

Waymo has introduced a new offering called Waymo for Business, designed to let companies create corporate accounts for their employees and manage robotaxi travel at scale. The service gives employers tools to customize promo codes, monitor ride activity, and track transportation budgets, mirroring similar programs from traditional ride‑hailing firms. Waymo has piloted the program with a range of employers, universities and event organizers, receiving positive feedback—including praise from Carvana, which described the service as a natural fit for business travel. While fares remain consistent with regular Waymo rides, firms can choose to subsidize trips for their staff, leveraging the company’s electric‑vehicle fleet and safety‑focused technology. Read more

Waymo has introduced Waymo for Business, an enterprise transportation program that gives companies broader access to its autonomous vehicle fleet. The service, available at launch in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, lets firms set up commuter programs, event transport and other corporate travel options through a dedicated portal that includes budget and ride‑activity metrics. While still in early stages, Waymo expects the offering to evolve based on customer feedback. The rollout comes amid a busy year for Waymo, which also debuted a teen account option, plans tests in ten new cities, and eyes expansion to Nashville in 2026. Read more

Tesla’s effort to roll out a robotaxi service in California has sparked confusion among state regulators. Although the company touts a driver‑less future, the vehicles currently operating have safety drivers and lack the required permits for fully autonomous testing or commercial use. Emails between Tesla and officials reveal a back‑and‑forth over clarifying the service’s true nature, with the automaker avoiding direct answers. Regulatory agencies, including the California DMV and the NHTSA, note that Tesla has not applied for the necessary authorizations, intensifying scrutiny of the company’s autonomous‑vehicle roadmap. Read more

Tesla joined other autonomous‑driving firms in Austin, Texas, launching a robotaxi trial that quickly ran into trouble. Within its first day of testing, the company logged three crashes involving its Model Y robotaxis, two of which were rear‑ended by other vehicles and one in which a safety‑operator‑equipped car struck a stationary object at low speed. The incidents were reported by Forbes analyst Brad Templeton and later referenced by CEO Elon Musk. By contrast, Waymo’s crash rate remains far lower, with sixty crashes reported over more than fifty million miles of autonomous driving. The early setbacks raise questions about Tesla’s readiness for large‑scale robotaxi deployment. Read more

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited the United Kingdom to announce a £2 billion AI investment pledge aimed at strengthening the country’s startup ecosystem. As part of this commitment, Wayve, a UK‑based self‑driving technology firm, signed a letter of intent to evaluate a $500 million strategic investment for its next funding round. Nvidia has already participated in Wayve’s $1.05 billion Series C round. The partnership deepens Wayve’s use of Nvidia hardware, from its Generation 2 platform that runs on Nvidia GPUs to the new Generation 3 system built on Nvidia Drive AGX Thor, positioning the startup for broader commercial rollout. Read more