Autonomous

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.

Waymo dropped three of four patent-infringement claims in its lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. over the startup’s autonomous vehicle program.

Uber has upgraded its trucks to its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) technology stack, and they are driving on freeways around San Francisco.

New guidelines for manufacturers, transportation agencies, and industry executives on the development and deployment of automated technology will be unveiled as early as this fall on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Department of Transportation, lawmakers and senior administration officials announced recently.