Automated trucking technology developer Ike has announced its “Powered by Ike” customer program. The program includes partnerships with logistics companies Ryder System Inc., DHL, and NFI, as these companies’ fleets will be among the first to deploy "level 4" automated trucks on highways.  As part of the multi-year Powered by Ike program, these fleets have collectively reserved the first 1,000 Class 8 tractors powered by Ike's technology. Leading up to the launch of a commercial technology, Ike and its fleet customers are working together to provide feedback, perform testing, and prepare to launch and scale up operations.

Beep is a Florida-based autonomous mobility solution company delivering the next generation of services for passenger mobility to fleet operators in planned communities and low speed environments across the public and private sector, including transportation hubs, medical and university campuses, town centers and more. From route planning to interactive managed services, Beep's offerings are designed to drive differentiation and innovation, and delight the passengers of its customers. In the second edition of "Conversations with AUVSI," Beep CEO Joe Moye took the time to answer some questions about the company’s background, its various pilot programs, and the work it has done during the COVID-19 pandemic. This interview was conducted in mid-August.

Yandex has selected Ann Arbor, Michigan as the third urban testing ground for its self-driving cars.  A variety of factors make the city of Ann Arbor an ideal testing place, Yandex says, including the city’s wealth of research and engineering facilities and many bright young minds, and the state’s “very progressive and supportive” regulatory environment for the development of self-driving cars. Ann Arbor joins Moscow and Tel Aviv as Yandex's other self-driving testing locations. According to Yandex, it will have more autonomy in Ann Arbor than it does in Moscow and Tel Aviv, as those two locations require engineers to be behind the wheel of self-driving vehicles at all times.

In an effort to “advance cutting-edge research for years to come,” a team of researchers at Florida Polytechnic University (Florida Poly) is turning a disused golf cart into a solar-powered autonomous vehicle. Funded by the University’s Advanced Mobility Institute, the project will support a $350,000 National Science Foundation award to develop a large-scale Hardware-in-the-Loop simulation facility for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV).