Latest news with #driverless
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Jeremy Clarkson's latest addition to his Diddly Squat farm has Kaleb Cooper fuming that it will put him out of a job
Jeremy Clarkson 's latest addition has left his farmhand Kaleb Cooper fuming that he could be out of a job. The journalist, 65, revealed that although he finds driverless cars to be 'pointless', there is one automated piece of machinery that has captured his attention. But his right-hand man on the Diddly Squat farm in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, isn't too happy about Clarkson's new purchase. And in his latest column, the former Top Gear revealed his new and 'extremely expensive' purchase for his sprawling 1,000-acre farm that Kaleb 'hates'. The landlord shared he had bought a brand new AgBot T2, describing it as the 'coolest machine in the world'. To his joy, instead of spending 30 hours on the back of on a cultivator preparing his land for seeds, now he can use the driveless tractor with less mistakes and boredom. The autonomous piece of farming machinery comes with a £300,000 price tag, according to Farmer's Weekly, while also boasting a 156 horsepower-diesel engine. But 26-year-old farmer and media personality, Kaleb, is less than thrilled about Clarkson's new toy. 'Kaleb hates it. He says it'll put him out of a job,' he wrote in his column for The Times. He recalled that he told Kaleb how he the machine could be used as part of his contracting business, allowing him to work several farms at once. Although he initially agreed, the 26-year-old eventually became aggravated by the AgBot once again, because he had to spread wildlife waste across the fields before the machine could get to work. 'And the simple fact is that he had to stop occasionally, to sleep for instance, and the AgBot didn't,' Clarkson added. 'He was literally being hounded by a machine that absolutely will not stop.' The broadcaster also announced he would be taking this development one step further, as his machine will attempt precision drilling alone, in a world first. Clarkson is still unsure if his plan will be successful, and will continue to be until harvest time rolls around. For now, he watches footage the AgBot from bed next to his partner Lisa, as the machine works across his fields in the darkness. The former Top Gear presenter is seen walking among pieces of farm machinery at the tractor sale in Sutton, near Ely in Cambridgeshire. His trusted farm manager Kaleb Cooper (right) was also spotted at the event The new purchase comes shortly after Jeremy sold his new Lamborghini tractor just months after making the agonising decision to buy it. The former Top Gear presenter was spotted at a farm machinery and tractor sale in Sutton, near Ely in Cambridgeshire, selling his colossal £85,000 tractor. He was seen attending the auction on Monday alongside his trusted farm manager Kaleb, as well as a large film crew. Onlookers at the event said Clarkson told fans he was selling the new tractor due to a host of electrical problems. The 65-year-old also vowed to bring his old cherished Lamborghini tractor back out of retirement - although it is unclear whether he was referring to his grey Lamborghini Trattori R8 270 DCR which he purchased for £40,000 second-hand. The move may come as a shock to fans of the hit Amazon series Clarkson's Farm, as just a few months ago Clarkson was filmed purchasing the high tech tractor and immediately falling in love with it. Episode four of the latest series sees Clarkson trying out loads of new tractors - much to the dismay of her partner Lisa Hogan. He eventually settled on a colossal £85,000 green Lamborghini tractor, boasting a 7.8-litre engine and 340 horsepower, leaving Kaleb gobsmacked.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Motional names president and CEO
This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter. Laura Major was appointed president and CEO of Motional, the autonomous technology joint venture of Hyundai Motor Group and automotive supplier Aptiv, the company announced on June 12. Major, who has been the company's chief technology officer since its launch in August 2020, will lead the firm as it works with Hyundai and Aptiv to launch its driverless commercial ride-hailing service in 2026. She has served as interim CEO since September. As Motional's CTO, Major led its engineering team in developing and creating its machine learning-driven software stack. Motional is equipping Hyundai Ioniq 5 EVs with its technology and testing the vehicles in various driving conditions in Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, per its website. 'Leveraging our deep expertise in building fully driverless systems and our agility in realizing the latest AI breakthroughs, we are strongly positioned to unlock a future where safe autonomous vehicles are a practical part of daily life,' Major said in the announcement. Major has worked in the autonomous and AI fields since 2005, including time with Draper Laboratory and Aria Insights, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also co-authored the book What to Expect When You're Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration. Recommended Reading NHTSA revises exemption process for vehicles without driver controls
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
Waymo Wants to Bring Its Robotaxis to New York City
Waymo is pushing to deploy driverless vehicles in prized but challenging New York City. The white, camera-laden cars will return to the city next month for the first time since 2021, when Waymo conducted preliminary mapping in part of Manhattan, to do more mapping as well as testing, the company said Wednesday.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Waymo robotaxis are pushing into even more California cities
Waymo is expanding its robotaxi service area by another 80 square miles in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Silicon Valley, the company announced Tuesday. Waymo's commercial service area now covers more than 250 square miles across California, pushing the driverless Jaguar I-Pace vehicles into new pockets of three populous metro areas. The expansion comes a little over a week after several Waymo robotaxis were burned and vandalized during protests in Los Angeles over the Trump administration's immigration raids. The scorched Waymo robotaxis — images that became emblematic of those protests — prompted the company to pull back service in Los Angeles. On Friday, the company took additional steps and limited service nationwide in preparation of widespread protests over immigration policies. Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli said the company continually evaluates and adjusts its operations based on traffic conditions, special events, and local guidance. He confirmed that the company is still temporarily limiting the Waymo service in parts of Los Angeles, including downtown, and said it will monitor the evolving situation and ramp up service soon. These incidents don't appear to be slowing the Alphabet-owned company's push into new markets, however. (New LA areas appear in light blue.) Waymo said that starting Tuesday its service will now be available to riders in the San Francisco Bay Area communities of Brisbane, South SF, San Bruno, Millbrae, and Burlingame, as well as the Silicon Valley towns of Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Waymo said it will expand its LA service area, starting Wednesday, into the neighborhoods of Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and the entirety of Sunset Boulevard. Riders will now be able to travel from Mid-City to Inglewood and Westchester via La Cienega and La Brea, according to Waymo, which says it now serves more than 120 square miles of LA County. The company's growth — in terms of weekly paid trips across San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, and Austin — has increased five-fold since June 2024. Today, Waymo is serving over a quarter of a million paid trips per week across those four markets. Waymo's commercial fleet includes more than 400 vehicles in LA and more than 600 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Verge
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Verge
Waymo is gradually expanding its borders in California
Waymo is continuing its slow and steady approach to the robotaxi business by gradually expanding its service area in the key cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The company said that starting June 17th, it would begin accepting passengers further south along the San Francisco Peninsula in cities like Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, and Burlingame. In Silicon Valley, riders in Palo Alto and Menlo Park will now be able to hail of the Waymo's driverless vehicles. And in Los Angeles, Waymo is launching June 18th in neighborhoods like Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and the entirety of Sunset Boulevard. The company briefly shut down its service in Los Angeles earlier this month after anti-ICE protesters set several robotaxis on fire. 1/3 Waymo's service area in San Francisco… Image: Waymo Waymo said that it was growing its borders in both cities by 80 square miles, bringing its total coverage area in California to 250 square miles. The company recently reported reaching the milestone of 10 million paid rides, and is now serving 250,000 rides each week in all four of its markets: SF, LA, Austin, and Phoenix. For those keeping track, Waymo got rid of the waitlist and went public in San Francisco in June 2024 and Los Angeles in November 2024. Waymo operates its ridehail service in California exclusively through its app, Waymo One. In Austin and soon Atlanta, the company has opted to partner with Uber by making its vehicles only available through that company's app. The service map expansion comes as the company is getting ready to more than double the size of its vehicle fleet. The Alphabet company said it currently has 1,500 Jaguar I-Pace SUVs operating across its four main markets, and it plans on adding 2,000 more vehicles into 2026, for a total fleet size of 3,500. But Waymo is still moving slowly when it comes to highway driving and airport access — two crucial domains if the company wants to outmaneuver Uber and Lyft in the future. Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli said the company was still testing its vehicles with employees on the highways in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is in active talks with both cities' airports about potential future service. Waymo has been conducting airport trips at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport since late 2022, but it has yet to bring its driverless vehicles to either SFO or LAX. See More: Autonomous Cars News Transpo Waymo
