Stanford University researchers have developed a soft robot that borrows features from traditional robotics to stay safe while still retaining the ability to move and change shape. “A significant limitation of most soft robots is that they have to be attached to a bulky air compressor or plugged into a wall, which prevents them from moving,” explains Nathan Usevitch, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Stanford. “So, we wondered: What if we kept the same amount of air within the robot all the time?”

Momenta, which is building the “brain” for autonomous driving, has partnered with Toyota to provide automated HD mapping and updates through vision-based technologies. To better serve Chinese customers, the companies will seek to use this joint development to promote the commercialization of Toyota’s Automated Mapping Platform (AMP) in the Chinese market. Momenta’s vision-based, camera-based HD mapping uses low-cost consumer-grade sensor sets, which is made up of camera, GPS, and IMU to automatically generate HD maps with 10-centimeter level relative accuracy by using cutting-edge technologies such as deep-learning based perception and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).

Following the recent announcement of its cooperation agreement with the city government of Seville, Spain to launch the first Urban Air Mobility (UAM) pilot program in the country, EHang has announced a strategic partnership with Llíria, Spain as its fourth UAM pilot city globally. In collaboration with the Llíria City Council, EHang will develop a 3D air mobility solution for smart cities and launch a pilot operation program of passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs), which will seek to explore different application scenarios including tourism.