Photos: The driverless cars of 2016

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Driverless vehicle advances of 2016

2016 was a major year of announcements from auto giants like Tesla, unveiling vehicles with hardware capable for full autonomy, and Ford, claiming to have its own fully-autonomous car ready by 2021. It was also a huge year for driverless partnerships, with many automakers racing to team up with tech innovators to develop vehicles that feature advanced cameras, sensing, and mapping. Here are some of the highlights.

Jasper Juinen, Bloomberg via Getty Images
General Motors invests $500 million into Lyft

In what the New York Times reported as the "single largest direct investment by an auto manufacturer into a ride-hailing company," auto giant GM shelled out $500 million to one of the top players in the ride-sharing space in January.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: ZDNet
Fiat Chrysler partners with Google

Google abandoned its self-driving project, putting its eggs into the technology basket with a new independent self-driving car company called Waymo. And Waymo just added 100 driverless Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to its fleet in December.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: CNET
Volvo and Uber team up on autonomous vehicle platform

In August, Uber and Volvo announced a major alliance, teaming up to develop driverless cars. TechRepublic has previously reported on Uber's goal to have 100 self-driving Volvos on the streets of Pittsburgh, where its first driverless fleet is now available to the public, by the end of 2017.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: Volvo
Uber buys Otto for over $680 million

Ride-sharing giant Uber bought a self-driving trucking company, Otto, in August. The trucking world is likely to be one of the first areas we see autonomous vehicles on public roads.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: ZDNet
Tesla's new models have hardware capable of full-autonomy

Tesla's major announcement that every vehicle in production since October has the hardware to be fully-autonomous--with the software available in 2018--made it the first manufacturer to make this claim. This includes its Model 3, set to be unveiled in mid-2018.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: Tesla
Autonomous taxis in Singapore

In August, Singapore, in collaboration with Cambridge-based startup nuTonomy, became the first country to offer driverless cars to the public. The data nuTonomy gathers from this trial will be used for a full-scale commercial launch in 2018.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: nuTonomy
Uber's driverless fleet in Pittsburgh

Following on the heels of nuTonomy, ride-sharing giant Uber debuted its own fleet of self-driving cars in Pittsburgh in September. Though the cars (like Singapore's) still require a trained engineer as well as a person to take notes to accompany the vehicle, it's clear that this move will have an impact on Uber drivers in Pittsburgh and, presumably, on other drivers throughout the country eventually.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image credit: Uber
Uber unveils––and removes––a driverless fleet in San Francisco

In mid-November, Uber launched its driverless fleet in San Francisco--its second, after Pittsburgh. The DMV called the move "illegal," and threatened to pull registrations for the fleet. A week after launch, the ride-sharing giant pulled its cars off the road.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: CNET
Ford announces it will mass-produce fully-autonomous vehicles in 2021

This major announcement from one of America's auto giants, stating that Ford will mass-produce fully-autonomous vehicles with no steering wheel and no brake pedal by 2021, is a huge deal in the driverless space.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: Hope Reese/ TechRepublic
Boston tests driverless tech with nuTonomy

In November, tech company nuTonomy--responsible for the driverless taxis in Singapore--announced it would begin testing its driverless tech in South Boston.
Also see: Our autonomous future: How driverless cars will be the first robots we learn to trust

Image: nuTonomy

Driverless vehicle advances of 2016

2016 was a major year of announcements from auto giants like Tesla, unveiling vehicles with hardware capable for full autonomy, and Ford, claiming to have its own fully-autonomous car ready by 2021. It was also a huge year for driverless partnerships, with many automakers racing to team up with tech innovators to develop vehicles that feature advanced cameras, sensing, and mapping. Here are some of the highlights.

Jasper Juinen, Bloomberg via Getty Images

By Hope Reese

Hope Reese is a freelance journalist. Her writing has been featured in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, Playboy, Undark Magazine, VICE, Vox, and other publications.

Driverless vehicle advances of 2016

General Motors invests $500 million into Lyft

Fiat Chrysler partners with Google

Volvo and Uber team up on autonomous vehicle platform

Uber buys Otto for over $680 million

Tesla's new models have hardware capable of full-autonomy

Autonomous taxis in Singapore

Uber's driverless fleet in Pittsburgh

Uber unveils––and removes––a driverless fleet in San Francisco

Ford announces it will mass-produce fully-autonomous vehicles in 2021

Boston tests driverless tech with nuTonomy

Driverless vehicle advances of 2016

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