Plus and Tier IV Partner to Advance Autonomy 2.0 in Japan
Plus, an AI-based autonomous trucking software provider, and Tier IV, the world’s first open-source software for autonomous driving, announced a strategic partnership to develop autonomous driving solutions in Japan. The solution is slated to start with Level 4 autonomous trucks on Japan’s expressways and includes support from a Japanese government-led initiative to expedite the development of autonomous driving technologies, aimed at addressing the country’s critical driver shortage.
A recent study by the Nomura Research Institute said there was a 36% shortfall in Japanese truck drivers in 2023. This led the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to develop a project to create autonomous trucks based on vehicles from Japanese vehicle manufacturers.
As part of the partnership, a new customized solution will integrate Plus’ end-to-end virtual driver AI model with Tier IV’s Autoware-based platform to meet the autonomous driving requirements of the Japanese market. This is part of Plus’ existing partnerships and expansion in the United States and Europe.
Tier IV CEO Shinpei Kato said in a news release: “We’ve always believed that co-creation with our partners is the fastest way to bring the best autonomous driving systems to the world. Plus is a global autonomous driving software company that’s already powering the Level 4 autonomous trucks of leading truck makers in the United States and Europe, like TRATON GROUP’s Scania, MAN and International, Iveco Group, as well as Hyundai. This makes Plus the ideal partner to accelerate deployment of Autonomy 2.0-based autonomous driving technology in Japan, starting with autonomous trucks.”
Advanced Clean Transportation Expo announces speakers ahead of April conference
Organizers of the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, the largest advanced commercial vehicle technology event in North America, recently announced an updated roster of speakers for their 15th annual event. The event is set to take place from April 28 to May 1 at the Anaheim Convention Center and includes fleet and transportation industry leaders.
During the four-day event, ACT has nearly 300 fleet executives and industry innovators who are slated to share case studies, strategies and insights involving the commercial vehicle space. The organizers noted sessions that focus on technologies like connected and automated vehicles, optimizing fleet operations, evaluating the current landscape of zero-emission-vehicle adoption, gaseous and renewable fuels, and strategies for a shifting U.S. regulatory environment.
“Fleets are facing an unprecedented amount of change, with an ever-expanding set of technologies and fuels to choose from, increased vehicle complexity, uncertain operating costs, evolving regulations, and growing customer demand for lower cost and cleaner solutions,” said Erik Neandross, president of Clean Transportation Solutions at TRC in a news release.
The first round of keynote speakers includes:
- Jennifer Rumsey, chair and CEO, Cummins Inc.
- Mathias Carlbaum, president and CEO, International.
- Catharina Modahl Nilsson, member of the executive board of Traton SE, group product management, Traton.
- Patti Poppe, CEO, PG&E Corp.
- Lars Stenqvist, CTO, Volvo Group.
- Jim Walenczak, vice president, Paccar Inc., and general manager, Kenworth Truck Co.
The full list of ACT Expo speakers can be viewed at www.actexpo.com/speakers.
Waabi announces breakthrough in model to test realism of its simulators
Toronto-based autonomous vehicle startup Waabi recently announced in a blog post that the company made a major breakthrough in its mathematical approach to definitively measure the realism of its simulators. AV companies rely heavily on simulations to ensure safe testing, but a challenge has been validating the simulators themselves. The other way, the old-fashioned one, is to simply drive enough to encounter a range of circumstances.
Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi, blogged: “The unpredictable nature of the real world means that, no matter how many miles an AV drives, it’s essentially impossible to guarantee exposure to every potential real-world situation, especially those safety-critical, low-frequency events. Life-threatening accidents happen roughly once for every 10 million miles that are driven by humans; a fatality is roughly once every 100 million miles.”
Urtasun adds that if one considers a human-driven truck, at best it may cover 100,000 miles annually, and it would take a fleet of 1,000 an entire year to potentially encounter one such event. Waabi adds, “This is the first time a self-driving technology company has ever proven the realism of their simulator, and subsequently the safety of their AI system.”
Briefly noted …
Kenworth recently announced three packages of advanced driver assistance system options and Bendix features available for Kenworth T680s. The package also features a new Pedestrian Autonomous Emergency Braking feature with high-beam assist using a new forward-looking camera. Based on conditions, the high-beam assist can automatically deactivate the high beams when needed.
Distributed energy solutions provider ElectricFish recently announced the launch of its fully redesigned grid power bank with ultrafast EV charging. The system called 350Squared delivers 133% faster EV charging than traditional hardware while reducing the cost of grid upgrades by up to 90%. The addition of AI forecasting brings a combination of demand response and predictive analytics that optimizes energy use, ensuring grid stability and lowering operational costs.