Waymo is tweaking how its autonomous vehicles behave, teaching them to be more assertive in everyday traffic scenarios. Think smoother starts at crosswalks and even honking when cut off. It’s a clear move to address one of the most common questions I get from skeptics and first-time riders alike: “How do AVs handle aggressive driving? Can they show intent?”
In our latest podcast episode, I dove into this with Ali Kashani, co-founder of Serve Robotics. As humans, we signal intent almost unconsciously—eye contact, body language, inching forward at intersections. Teaching robots to do the same is crucial for them to operate safely and intuitively around us. Serve does this with their delivery bots; now Waymo is adapting similar principles to the road.
BBC recently profiled Pony.ai’s autonomous semi-truck—the first of its kind operating driver-out on public roads in China. It echoes Aurora’s big milestone in Texas, but the road ahead won’t be all tech—it’ll hinge on trust. One high-profile incident could stall momentum for years.
Amazon is stepping deeper into robotics, reportedly testing humanoid delivery robots that can handle the full van-to-door handoff. The company is reportedly setting up a mock delivery zone inside their San Francisco office, complete with Rivian vans and environment simulations. Unitree (a China-based robotics firm) is the only named robot partner so far. It’s a natural evolution for Amazon, which already has a famously automated logistics stack and has flirted with humanoid R&D for years.
Tesla is now officially listed in the City of Austin’s “Known AV Operators in Austin” database, marking a significant shift in its public testing approach. The company is listed in the “testing” phase, joining other autonomous vehicle operators like Zoox, AVRide, and ADMT (a Volkswagen subsidiary). Notably, Waymo remains the only company in the “deployment” phase, indicating full-scale autonomous operations.
At Monday’s WWDC, Apple announced enhancements to both CarPlay and CarPlay Ultra, alongside a sweeping redesign across its ecosystem. The updated CarPlay interface introduces a compact call view that no longer overtakes the entire screen, providing a more seamless in-car experience. Additionally, it integrates iPhone-style widgets and Live Activities directly into the vehicle dashboard. These improvements also extend to CarPlay Ultra, Apple’s full-stack infotainment system that runs natively on supported vehicles.
Alright, that’s it from me… until next week!
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