Intel Corp unit Mobileye on Tuesday mentioned it was testing self-driving autos in New York Metropolis, together with the bustling Manhattan borough, in an effort to show its expertise can deal with jaywalkers, building zones and even horse carriages.
Mobileye Chief Government Amnon Shashua mentioned the corporate has begun testing camera-only autos in New York Metropolis previously weeks. It’s at present testing one automobile, with plans so as to add a second one later this yr, a spokeswoman mentioned.
“It is actually an enormous headache to check right here in New York Metropolis,” Shashua mentioned at a information briefing, itemizing a variety of driving challenges within the nation’s most populous metropolis, together with mild air pollution at evening, aggressive driving, automobiles which are double parked and pedestrians ignoring site visitors guidelines.
Shashua mentioned the power to navigate the town’s streets was an important step in the direction of commercializing autonomous autos that may deal with a variety of driving environments.
Mobileye had obtained a testing allow from New York state after supplying officers with all the info from self-driving applications the corporate has beforehand launched in different cities, Shashua mentioned.
Basic Motor’s self-driving unit Cruise obtained an analogous allow in 2017, however finally deserted its plans to check autos in New York Metropolis after Mayor Invoice de Blasio expressed considerations over security.
The mayor’s workplace and the town’s transportation division didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Tuesday.
Mobileye on Tuesday shared a 40-minute unedited video of considered one of its autos driving down Park Avenue alongside the east facet of Manhattan and thru the Queens Midtown tunnel, displaying an individual within the driver’s seat together with his arms on his lap, under the steering wheel.
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The service utilizing Ford autos and a driving system developed by Pittsburgh-based Argo AI will start in Miami later this yr and begin in Austin, Texas, in 2022. It would begin with human backup drivers and go absolutely autonomous at an unspecified date.
