GM Digital Vehicle Platform GM unveiled its new all-electronic platform late May, the basis for its next generation of conventional and electric vehicles; active safety, infotainment and connectivity technologies; and evolving Super Cruise driver assistance. The company said these and other advancements are central to its vision for zero crashes, emissions and congestion, including an “all-electric future.” Over the next five to 10 years, vehicles will need more electrical bandwidth and connectivity to ensure all advanced vehicle features can run in conjunction with each other. The platform’s technology powers an electronic system that’s capable of managing up to 4.5 terabytes of data processing power per hour, a fivefold increase over the company’s current electrical architecture. Over-the-air software updates will allow functionality upgrades over the vehicle’s lifetime. The platform will debut underneath the 2020 Cadillac CT5, which goes into production later this year, and is expected to roll out to most vehicles across GM’s global lineup by 2023. It was developed at GM’s global facilities by teams of electrical, hardware and software engineers. For cybersecurity, the system includes additional protective hardware and software levels, and the company maintains an integrated team of experts that focus on protecting data, as well as chairing the Automotive Information Sharing Analysis Center, a community of private and public sector partners that analyzes intelligence about emerging security risks in the automotive
Origin: GM’s new global digital platform will underpin electric, autonomous vehicles
autonomous
This cute autonomous robot doles out car parts at a Ford plant
Survival, the autonomous parts-distributing robot roaming around a Spanish Ford plantFord Robots have been at the center of auto manufacturing for ages, often handling tasks which would otherwise be too tough or time-consuming for humans. Some automakers have even been playing around with robotic exoskeletons, assisting workers in keeping their arms raised for hours at a time. Factory robots, then, are not uncommon. This one, however – ominously called “Survival” – is a bit different. Developed entirely in-house by Ford, it’s a run-around bot tasked with delivering spare parts and welding material to factory workers at a Ford body and stamping plant in Valencia, Spain. Here’s the rub: this thing learned itself how to navigate the building, and can figure out new routes if its chosen path is blocked or unavailable. Its designers programmed Survival to learn the whole floor, which means, when paired with a network of sensors, the robot doesn’t need external guides such as GPS. A quick video posted to the company’s YouTube page reveals a machine that looks not unlike a battered filing cabinet with a searchlight mounted on top of it. Painted a jaunty orange and lined with caution tape, the unit is shown zipping through the factory on its way to dutifully deliver items. Survival has 17 different slots for parts and is smart enough to allow access to only the slot designated for the delivery it is currently handling. It won’t allow a person who needs a rivet to take a ball-peen hammer, for instance, since it knows the worker at Station #2 only needs access to the rivets. This cuts down on erroneous deliveries and other headaches caused by humans not using stuff correctly, as is their wont. Reports from the plant say Survival has been on trial for almost a year and has worked “flawlessly” to date. The gearheads here at Driving would like to welcome out new robot
Origin: This cute autonomous robot doles out car parts at a Ford plant
GM will convert Oshawa plant into autonomous vehicle test track
GM Oshawa Assembly signHandout / GM Canada General Motors will invest $170 million converting the Oshawa, Ontario assembly plant it’d intended to close into a parts production facility and autonomous vehicle test track. GM and labour union Unifor announced May 8 their new agreed-upon plans for the plant. The 60-plus-year-old facility will be transitioned into an parts producer for GM and other auto industry clients; the vehicle assembly stations will go away, and be replaced by machines for stamping aftermarket parts. The facility will also act as hub for autonomous vehicle (AV) testing, and its redevelopment will see the construction of an AV test track. GM says 300 jobs will be retained with the potential to grow and generate significant additional jobs in the coming years. Unfortunately most of the roughly 2,600 hourly workers currently employed in Oshawa assembly will still lose their jobs, though there will be opportunities to move to other GM plants in Ontario. Packages will also be offered to employees who are close to retirement. A Job Action Centre will be established in June to help people find jobs outside of GM once the plant closes in December 2019; the centre is jointly supported by GM, Unifor and the Ontario government. GM is also offering financial support for employees looking to retrain for new jobs. “This transformation plan is very significant as it positions Oshawa for a sustainable future, GM Canada president and managing director Travis Hester said. This agreement maximizes the support for our people and their families, and further secures Oshawa as a key in developing vehicles of the future at our new test track.” That new test track will be used specifically to test autonomous vehicle technology, as well as to expand GM’s technical centre capabilities in Ontario. After ongoing protests and even Super Bowl ads fighting the plant’s closure, it seems like Jerry Dias, Unifor National President, is satisfied with this new resolution. “By maintaining a footprint in Oshawa, and keeping the plant intact, we save hundreds of jobs and this gives us the ability to build and create new jobs in the future, Dias said. We are in a much better position than we were five months ago when the plant was
Origin: GM will convert Oshawa plant into autonomous vehicle test track
Ford CEO tamps down expectations for first autonomous vehicles
Ford promises an autonomous, ride-sharing car by 2021 – but does the public really want it?Ford Too much hype has built up about how soon self-driving cars will hit the road, but they will ultimately change the world, Ford’s CEO said early April. We overestimated the arrival of autonomous vehicles, Jim Hackett said April 9 at a Detroit Economic Club event. While Ford’s first self-driving car is still coming in 2021, its applications will be narrow, what we call geo-fenced,’ because the problem is so complex. Hackett, 63, is engineering an US$11 billion overhaul of Ford, which involves closing factories, cutting thousands of salaried jobs and ditching traditional sedans to focus on high profit sport-utility vehicles and trucks. In addition to shoring up profitability, the drastic moves are borne out of the pressure car companies are under to get autonomous-vehicle technology on the road before rivals inside and outside the auto industry. When we break through, it will change the way your toothpaste is delivered, Hackett said at Ford Field, the football stadium of the Detroit Lions, owned by the family of Executive Chairman Bill Ford. Logistics and ride structures and cities all get redesigned. I won’t be in charge of Ford when this is going on, but I see it clearly. Ford recently earned kudos from President Donald Trump for investing US$900 million to build electric and self-driving cars in Michigan and US$1 billion on two factories in Chicago to build Explorer SUVs. Hackett also is in talks with Volkswagen to jointly develop electric vehicles and driverless cars. The two automakers already have joined forces to build commercial vans and trucks. When we bring this thing to market, it’s going to be really powerful, Hackett said. There’s probably going to be alliance partners that we haven’t announced yet that will make it more certain that we don’t take on all the risks ourselves
Origin: Ford CEO tamps down expectations for first autonomous vehicles
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