Autonomous

Amazon said Aug. 6 that its six-wheeled self-driving robots, about the size of a smaller cooler, will begin delivering packages to customers in Irvine, Calif., after testing them in a suburb of Seattle earlier this year.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are extending the public comment period meant to gather input on automated driving systems.

The U.S. Department of Transportation under the Trump administration has devoted significant resources to the transformative arena of autonomous vehicle technology, a former DOT official said at the Brookings Institution on July 25.

General Motors Co.’s self-driving unit is backing off plans to deploy robotaxis by the end of this year, the latest indication of how auto and tech companies are struggling with the challenges of taking humans out from behind the wheel.

Lyft is making research data on self-driving technology available to the public in a bid to accelerate the development of robotic cars, which is seen as critical to the ride-hailing giant’s future viability.

Apple Inc. has hired Steve MacManus, at least the third Tesla Inc. engineering executive to join the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant in the past year.

Microsoft Corp. agreed to invest $1 billion in a partnership with research group OpenAI, gaining a prominent cloud-computing customer from the artificial intelligence field.

Peloton Technology Inc. announced it is expanding its vision for truck platooning and driver productivity.

A supplier of drone technology to dozens of state and local law enforcement and public safety agencies, located in the United States and a handful of other countries, will stop working with Chinese drone manufacturers, citing security concerns.

The Automated Vehicles Symposium conference is attracting some of the heaviest hitters in autonomous vehicles and could be the first step in making Central Florida a hub for the fast-emerging driverless car industry.