Self-Driving Vehicles

The podcast guest this week is Spencer Krause, co-founder and CEO of SKA Robotics and co-founder of Tension Dynamics.

Caterpillar plans to make upgrades with NVIDIA to ensure that its assets are ready for AI-assisted and potentially autonomous operations.

Bosch plans to supply Kodiak with a variety of hardware components, including sensors and vehicle actuation components.

Bobcat unveiled the RX3 and other AI-powered and electric technologies at CES 2026 to simplify operations and boost jobsite productivity.

Mobileye is acquiring Mentee Robotics for $900 million to pursue leadership in both autonomous driving and humanoid robotics.

NVIDIA released Cosmos, GR00T, and Alpamayo open models to help developers build reasoning machines including robots and vehicles.

Hesai makes advanced lidar sensors, using solid-state technology to guide autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.

FMCW lidar offers mobile robots better precision for navigation at scale in complex environments, says Voyant Photonics’ CEO.

AI and robotics have stirred unease in the public, but good design principles can help avoid problems, writes Serve Robotics’ CEO.

The editorial team reviews 2025’s top robotics stories, including iRobot’s bankruptcy, the humanoid boom, and Waymo’s scaling.

Lidar maker Luminar has filed for Chapter 11 and plans to sell off its assets after Volvo terminated a key contract.

Helm.ai said the architecture enables automakers to deploy ADAS through L4 capabilities using their existing development fleets.

In its investigation, the NHTSA said a Waymo AV in Atlanta failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus.

Lumotive has expanded with new leaders and new sites worldwide, meeting surging demand for its programmable optics platform.

The Alligator is an autonomous amphibious vessel designed to deliver logistics, sensors, and personnel between water and land.

Thermal sensors and synthetic data can help train robots for a wider range of scenarios than traditional sensors alone, says Bifrost AI.

CivNav works with AI, existing equipment, and Civ Robotics’ CivDot robots to efficiently place materials in construction sites.

Waymo is starting manual driving in its newest cities this week. The company did not specify a timeline for commercial robotaxi launch.

Ubicept says its new toolkit uses SPAD sensors for low-light imaging and reduced motion blur in videos.

Forterra said this latest funding round follows a year of deployments with the U.S. military, partnerships, and the acquisition of goTenna.

Kristian Kassow, co-founder of Universal Robots and managing director of Kassow Robots, discusses cobot innovations in the podcast.

Waymo plans to more than double the number of cities it will operate a commercial robotaxi service in next year.