Airbus to Unveil Flying Urban Mobility Prototype by End of 2017

Motor Trend reports that Airbus has finally arrived at the moment we’ve all been waiting for since Saturday cartoons: the flying car. The aviation company that is the pride of Toulouse (apart from the cassoulet of course) announced that they will unveil a working prototype by the end of 2017 of the Vahana, a self driving vehicle for passenger and cargo transport. Rosie the Robot can’t be far behind!

VW I.D. Buzz Concept Signals the Return of the Microbus

The Torque Report has more details of the Volkswagen concept car, the VW I.D Buzz. Equipped with the fully autonomous ‘ID’ mode, the Buzz is projected to arrive not before 2020 but will have plenty of space for guitars, surfboards, and other post-hippie/hipster accoutrements.

Artificial-Intelligence Developers: We?re Thinking beyond Autonomous Cars

Car and Driver also has reports of leaping into the future, as auto tech makers at CES talked about going beyond autonomous cars into ‘autonomous everything’. Nvidia, a supplier of autonomous technology, discussed plans for autonomous forklifts, tractors, buses and trucks in the future. No word on whether autonomous hair dryers, toasters or Cards Against Humanity will come out soon but one can surely hope.

The Latest Tesla Lawsuit Proves How Important Human Driving Still Is

Jalopnik recounts details of a South Korean case where a Tesla Model X crashed through the wall of a house when its owner was attempting to drive it, along with the owner’s insistence that the car and not his human error were to blame. The concept of ‘sudden unintended acceleration (SUA)’ is an important one to know as autonomous cars become ever more present, and will be a sophisticated way for teenagers to explain why they fail their driving tests in the future.

U.S. Has No Clue How Autonomous Cars Will Work: New Transportation Secretary

Jalopnik has a followup to their article last week about the state of US roadways with details of Elaine Chao’s confirmation hearing for US transport secretary. The comments made by the likely incoming secretary reveal that the massive task of updating roadways to meet the needs of autonomous technology might be left to a private sector who are more interest in profiting from the expansion rather than learning how best to do it. Shocker.

For more news on self driving cars, and whatever happened to Jet Screamer after his last intergalactic tour, visit vinadvisor and find out what Spacely Sprockets might be up to next!

reposting from http://vinadvisor.net
not written by me