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      <p>
        Beep, an autonomous shuttle operator, has partnered with Mississippi State University (MSU) to introduce an autonomous and electric shuttle pilot program at the university premises, marking the first such pilot in Mississippi.
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        The pilot program, which will be launched later this year, will run two 11-passenger autonomous shuttles on various campus routes. This collaboration aims to supplement the university's existing transportation options.
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        <b>Analyst QuickTake:</b>
         Though this partnership marks Beep&rsquo;s first deployment in Mississippi, the company has previously piloted its shuttles at various locations, including universities such as 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26901">
          Florida State College at Jacksonville
        </a>
         and 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21639">
          the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
        </a>
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  <p>
    <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beep-announces-autonomous-mobility-shuttle-pilot-program-at-mississippi-state-university-a-statewide-first-302147185.html">
      Press release
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


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ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>Autonomous shuttle operator, Beep, has collaborated with Mississippi State University (MSU) to launch an autonomous and electric shuttle pilot program. This is the first of its kind in Mississippi. The pilot will launch later this year and will include two 11-passenger autonomous shuttles running on multiple routes across the university. The goal is to enhance the university's current transport options.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Though this partnership marks Beep’s first deployment in Mississippi, the company has previously piloted its shuttles at various locations, including universities such as <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26901"> Florida State College at Jacksonville </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21639"> the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. </a></p>

Beep partners with Mississippi State University to launch autonomous shuttle pilot program

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 <p>Glydways, a company that develops autonomous on-demand personal rapid transit (PRT) systems, has secured an extra USD 20 million in funding. The investments come from Japanese firms such as Suzuki Motors, ENEOS Holdings, and Mitsui Chemicals, increasing the total amount of funds raised by Glydways till now to over USD 100 million.</p>
 <p>In addition, Glydways is currently negotiating with Suzuki to make it their automotive manufacturing collaborator. The goal of the company is to strengthen its relationship with all its new and current investors to share knowledge and prepare for future development.</p>
</div>

Glydways raises USD 20 million from Japanese investors; seeks partnership with Suzuki to manufacture vehicles

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated an investigation into Alphabet's Waymo autonomous vehicles after receiving reports of 22 incidents, including 17 accidents, potentially due to traffic law violations. </p>
 <p>About 444 Waymo cars are under investigation, with the focus on possible non-adherence to traffic control devices and unanticipated behaviors causing accidents.</p>
 <p>The NHTSA plans to scrutinize the Waymo 5th Generation self-driving system to assess its capability in identifying and reacting to traffic signals and preventing collisions with moving and stationary objects. If these vehicles are deemed to present significant safety hazards, the inquiry may result in a recall.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This investigation follows previous probes into other autonomous vehicle companies like <a href="https:<br>
//www.autonews.com/mobility-report/gms-cruise-faces-nhtsa-probe-pedestrian-risks"> General Motors' Cruise </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29367"> Amazon's Zoox. </a> <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26569"> In February, </a> Waymo also recalled and updated its vehicles after identifying a software glitch that could misjudge the movements of towed vehicles.</p>

Alphabet’s Waymo under investigation following incidents involving its autonomous vehicles

<div>
 <p>Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors (GM), has restarted its autonomous vehicle testing in Phoenix, Arizona. The initial phase features two self-driving cars with human safety operators on board. An additional eight vehicles will be manually driven in the same area to collect necessary data.</p>
 <p>As part of its ongoing pursuit for safety and performance, the company is in the process of confirming its technology standards. Plans are underway to expand the testing to other suburbs surrounding Phoenix, including Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Following an incident in San Francisco where a pedestrian was injured by one of its robotaxis in October 2023, which led to the <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/23186"> suspension of its nationwide operations, </a> Cruise has redirected its operational focus to Phoenix, leaving its activities in San Francisco at a standstill. This move came after Californian authorities <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/23186"> revoked the company's permits </a> for autonomous testing and deployment in the state.</p>

GM’s Cruise to begin autonomous vehicle testing in Phoenix

<div>
 <p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Zoox, an Amazon-owned self-driving technology company, due to reports of unexpected braking that led to motorcyclists rear-ending the vehicles. </p>
 <p>The implicated vehicles were Toyota Highlander SUVs outfitted with autonomous driving software and supervised by a safety driver at the time of the incidents.</p>
 <p>The probe will encompass around 500 Zoox cars and primarily concentrate on the company's autonomous engine.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> This isn't Zoox's first encounter with NHTSA. <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/16873"> In March 2023, </a> the agency also investigated the company's assertion that its driverless vehicles met federal safety standards without needing a government exemption.</p>

Amazon’s Zoox under investigation after two autonomous vehicles incidents

<div>
 <p>LiDAR sensor manufacturer, Cepton, has entered into a $10 million engineering services agreement with automotive tier 1 partner, Koito Manufacturing.</p>
 <p>As part of the deal, Koito will offer engineering services to Cepton to support a significant global OEM program <a href="https://www.koito.co.jp/english/news/2024/04/10/004323.html">secured in April 2024</a>. They will also assist Cepton in the development and implementation of customer-specific products for its short-range LiDAR. </p>
 <p>The LiDAR technology will be utilized in the mentioned OEM program and by other OEM customers for Level 4 autonomous vehicles (vehicles that can operate fully autonomously within specific locations and/or conditions) both on and off the road.</p>
</div>

Cepton announces USD 10 million engineering contract with Koito for LiDAR development

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 <p>Autonomous vehicle technology developer, Motional, has reportedly made job cuts to approximately 550 employees, accounting for nearly 40% of its total staff. This decision comes as the company opts to <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29174"> postpone </a> its commercial launch of robotaxis until 2026 due to an internal restructuring process. During this period, they aim to enhance their technology and develop a more effective business model.</p>
 <p>The layoffs have affected employees across every department, with cuts made in areas such as software, technical program management, high-performance computing, remote vehicle assistance, testing, product development, safety, cybersecurity, and legal teams. In addition, the company has decided to wind down its operations at the Venice office in Los Angeles, known for managing the now-suspended Uber Eats delivery operations.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Hyundai invested nearly USD 1 billion in Motional <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29057"> earlier in May, </a> increasing its stake to 85%, following <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26156"> Aptiv’s decision </a> to reduce its investment due to the high costs of commercializing robotaxi technology. We believe the recent funding would help Motional to further refine its technology and relaunch operations in the future, despite the staff reductions today.</p>

Motional lays off 40% statt amid business restructuring effort

<div>
 <p>AEye, a LiDAR manufacturer, has joined forces with LITEON Technology Corporation to produce and provide AEye's 4Sight-based LiDAR products to automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) via an industrialization partnership.</p>
 <p>This partnership is set out to cater to the needs of OEMs who emphasize on safety by offering competitive long-distance LiDAR solutions through advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).</p>
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AEye partners with LITEON to provide LiDAR solutions for automotive OEMs

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 <p>Autonomous shuttle operator, Beep, has teamed up with Sustainability Partners and the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) for an 18-month pilot of autonomous shuttles at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.</p>
 <p>The pilot involves the use of four electric, autonomous shuttles, each capable of carrying up to 11 passengers. These shuttles will enhance the airport's existing shuttle service, ensuring regular and efficient transportation between airport gates.</p>
 <p>Sustainability Partners is supporting this program by supplying the electric vehicles and the necessary charging infrastructure.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Today’s partnership marks the first deployment of Beep’s autonomous shuttles in Hawaii. However, Beep has previously partnered with other state and city transportation authorities, including <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21639"> the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDT), </a> <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/17971"> Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA; California), </a> &nbsp;and <a href="https:<br>
//www.traffictechnologytoday.com/news/autonomous-vehicles/usas-largest-ever-public-autonomous-shuttle-deployment-announced-in-jacksonville.html"> Jacksonville Transportation Authority (Florida) </a> for various deployment pilots in respective geographies.</p>

Beep partners to launch autonomous shuttle pilot in Honolulu Airport, Hawaii

<div>
 <p>Foretellix, an Israel-based company that develops verification and validation platforms for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs), has announced a partnership with Chinese car manufacturer Geely. Their collaboration is aimed at fostering the large-scale deployment of AVs, focusing on enhancing safety, efficiency, and reducing R&amp;D costs.</p>
 <p>As part of their partnership plans, Geely will incorporate Foretellix's “Foretify” platform into its testing and validation processes. This integration enables synthetic data generation, automated testing, and virtual simulation analysis, aiding the advanced testing process.</p>
 <p>This joint venture is expected to aid Geely in identifying and dealing with intricate AV scenarios more rapidly, thereby enhancing operational design domain (ODD) coverage. As a result, the speed of AV commercialization should increase, getting these advanced vehicles to market faster.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Foretellix reportedly serves “dozens” of large automotive companies, including Volvo Group and DENSO Corporation, and today’s collaboration will add Geely to the list.</p>

All Updates

Beep partners with Mississippi State University to launch autonomous shuttle pilot program

Glydways raises USD 20 million from Japanese investors; seeks partnership with Suzuki to manufacture vehicles

Alphabet’s Waymo under investigation following incidents involving its autonomous vehicles

GM’s Cruise to begin autonomous vehicle testing in Phoenix

Amazon’s Zoox under investigation after two autonomous vehicles incidents

Cepton announces USD 10 million engineering contract with Koito for LiDAR development

Motional lays off 40% statt amid business restructuring effort

AEye partners with LITEON to provide LiDAR solutions for automotive OEMs

Beep partners to launch autonomous shuttle pilot in Honolulu Airport, Hawaii

Foretellix and Geely partner for safe and efficient large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles

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Beep partners with Mississippi State University to launch autonomous shuttle pilot program

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