Tag Archives: Autonomous

Halo Launches New Rideshare Service With Remote-Operated Drone Cars

Halo, a rideshare company working with T-Mobile, launched today promising to offer users a driverless electric car service. Sort of.

Someone will be driving Halo cars at all times, but when your car gets to you, it won’t have a driver behind the wheel. That’s because (at first, anyway) someone will be driving the car remotely, essentially using a sim-racing setup. That remote operator will then hand the controls over to the user, who drives the car to their destination.

When you’re done with the car, the remote operator takes over, allowing you to get out without considering parking because the car will simply take off like a remote-operated drone.

Read Also: Volvo Wants To Speed Autonomous Drive Development With Opt-In User Data Collection

Service will initially be offered in urban parts of the Las Vegas Valley later this year, the company says. Although the cars will depend on users and operators to drive them, Halo says that its vehicles will learn from the drivers and build towards level 3 autonomous capabilities over time. The service will also help people get used to seeing “driverless” cars whizzing around.

“Full autonomy is a massive challenge from both a technical and social trust perspective that won’t be solved for years to come,” said Anand Nandakumar, the founder and CEO of Halo. “But Halo has been designed to address these challenges by building automation over time starting with a solution that consumers will feel comfortable using today.”

Halo was founded by executives from Uber, Cruise Robotics, Proterra, Amazon, and more. It received initial investment from T-Mobile’s 5G Open Innovation Lab.

“Innovation and driving change for the better is our DNA at the Un-carrier, and we’ve unleashed a 5G network that will transform industries and change our world for the better,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “I can’t wait to see what comes next as we work with startups, developers and entrepreneurs like Halo building the next big thing in 5G!”

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Toyota To Buy Lyft’s Autonomous Vehicle Division For $550 Million

Ride-hailing giant Lyft is selling its autonomous vehicle division to a subsidiary of Toyota for $550 million.

Media reports have confirmed that Toyota’s Woven Plant Holdings subsidiary will acquire Lyft’s ‘Level 5’ self-driving division for $550 million in cash. Of this, $200 million will be provided to Lyft up front while the remaining $350 million will be paid out to the company over the coming five years.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 and will end Lyft’s four-year pursuit of autonomous vehicles. Lyft says the sale will result in annual savings of $100 million of non-GAAP expenses, placing it in a better position to ultimately earn a profit, The Verge reports. Lyft now expects to become profitable on an adjusted basis before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization in the third quarter.

Read Also: Uber Is Selling Its Self-Driving Unit To Aurora Innovation

Toyota has been a key player in the race towards self-driving vehicles. In 2018, the Japanese car manufacturer invested roughly $500 million in Uber as part of a deal to co-develop autonomous vehicles. Fast forward to late 2020 and Uber decided to off-load its self-driving technology unit to Aurora Innovation. It has since been confirmed that Aurora will partner with Toyota and supplier Denso Corp to develop vehicles for autonomous ride-hailing networks.

According to a Lyft executive, this deal exemplifies the changing self-driving technology space where car manufacturers are now developing the underlying technology while tech companies are being used to connect carmakers to riders on already-established ride-hailing fleets.