#171-Uber selling ATG; Motional in Vegas; Honda reaches Level 3

Autonomous Cars with Marc Hoag

1. Uber selling ATG

News is circulating that Uber is prepping a sale of its self-driving car division Uber ATG -- Advanced Technologies Group -- to Aurora. Once worth over $7B, this sale would come almost three years after Uber's autonomous driving ambitions were stalled following the tragic accident in which an Uber test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. But is this really game over for Uber's self-driving car plans? I think not.

2. Motional in Vegas

Two episodes back we talked about Motional -- the joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv which recently partnered up with shuttle service Via -- and now there's news that Motional will itself begin driverless car testing in Las Vegas. This news comes right on the heels of Cruise's recent announcement that it too had been granted a driverless testing permit in San Francisco.

3. Honda reaches L3

Despite Audi's claim not long ago that it had achieved a Level 3 vehicle with its Audi A8, Honda says its 2021 Legend will be the first widely available consumer vehicle with Level 3 technology enabling so-called "traffic jam assist" functionality. Like the Audi, this means that in traffic jams, meaning slow traffic speeds, presumably with cars in front and behind, and with clear lane indications, the driver will be able to take its eyes off the road unless and until the car alerts the driver the intervene. This is different from a Tesla and its impressive Autopilot system which requires human attention at all times, thereby qualifying it as a Level 2 system.