Autonomous

Tech entrepreneurs have long lavished perks on coders and engineers, the free massages, ping pong tables and free food of Valley lore.

Labor unions are urging a slowdown as lawmakers fast-track legislation to allow self-driving vehicles on the road, a potential boon to some union jobs and an existential threat to others.

A U.S. House committee July 27 approved legislation to give the federal government final say over the performance of self-driving vehicles, a measure that would preempt states from trying to set their own standards.

As Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos jockey for the designation of world’s wealthiest man, the Seattle billionaires are united behind at least one local venture. They’re both investors in Convoy Inc., a trucking logistics startup that competes with Uber Technologies Inc.

The Department of Transportation’s wireless connected vehicle pilot program, currently in its design, deployment and testing phase, is making progress at its demonstration sites in Wyoming, New York City and Tampa, Fla., the program’s manager told members of an agency advisory committee.

Mining companies in Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of iron ore and coal, are poised to approve fresh investments in projects, driven by rallying commodity prices and the need to replace depleting deposits, according to global equipment supply giant, Komatsu Ltd.

Nearly all of the biggest names in media and technology descended on Sun Valley, Idaho, July 11-16, and in the mix this year were trucking networks, spider silk and quantum physics.

The race to field the first autonomous car will be a Darwinian exercise, with more than 50 major competitors reduced to a handful of winners over the next decade, according to a new study by consultant AlixPartners.

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry sent a strong message to companies developing and testing driverless technology that his city is opening its arms to them.