Tag: financial-times

Semi-autonomous truck convoys due to hit UK roads next year

Convoys of semi-autonomous trucks are expected to be tested on public roads in the UK before the end of next year, the government announced today . The Department for Transport and Highways England have rustled up £8.1 million in funding between them to pass on to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the independent organisation that’ll conduct the trials. TRL will start with simulation studies and driver training before moving onto a test track and finally, public roads by the end of 2018. Platooning, as it’s known, is one of the simpler ways of harnessing self-driving technology. While the truck at the front of a convoy remains under human control, trailing vehicles follow its lead autonomously. Wireless connections (aka vehicle-to-vehicle communication) keep all trucks talking to each other so the self-driving members of the conga line can immediately respond to changes in the lead lorry’s direction and speed. With software managing the distance between vehicles, it should be possible to create a much tighter convoy than would be safe if human limbs were in charge of the wheel and pedals. This has the potential to ease congestion, but more importantly reduces drag on the trailing trucks, meaning better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. TRL has already done some preliminary feasibility studies on the government’s instruction. In fact, platooning trials on UK motorways were originally due to start in late 2016 , but the project has been delayed for one reason or another. At the time, the Financial Times reported that various manufacturers of heavy goods vehicles were just not particularly keen on taking part. Several real-world trials of semi-autonomous convoys are taking place elsewhere , and TRL is looking at how these are addressing the technical and practical challenges of public platooning tests. There’s no substitute for conducting your own in situ , though, which is why TRL will investigate everything from fuel efficiency to safety, acceptance by drivers and the public, the suitability of UK infrastructure and future, commercial viability. Source: Department for Transport

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Semi-autonomous truck convoys due to hit UK roads next year

France plans to ban fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2040

France’s ecology minister has laid out an ambitious plan that would see the nation effectively ban the sale of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles by 2040. Nicolas Hulot, as quoted by the Financial Times , claims that France is announcing the “end of the sale of gasoline and diesel cars” by the deadline. As Le Figaro adds, it’s not clear how the country will enforce the transition, but Hulot says that the “conditions are there.” France doesn’t have a bottomless sovereign wealth fund like Norway , for example, that it can use to finance a transition to cleaner energy. But, what France does have in its favor is a sizable stake in both PSA, the owner of Peugeot and Citroen, and Renault. As a consequence, it can exert plenty of pressure on some of the world’s largest auto manufacturers to help accelerate the process. In addition, Hulot is planning some sort of financial incentive as a lever to push buyers toward hybrid or electric vehicles. That could take the form of an extra pollution tax on older vehicles, or a tax break (or other subsidy) to encourage the purchase of newer, cleaner cars. Although the details are still hazy, France will also establish itself at the forefront of the fight against climate change by instituting a carbon tax , which would be upward of 100 euros per tonne of carbon. In addition, the country will stop issuing new licenses for oil exploration and make a bigger push for renewable energy. Right now, all of this is just a plan, but given that France’s current government was given a huge mandate by voters, it’s hard to see where any opposition would come from. It’s not the first piece of good news this week for folks who don’t want the Earth to boil away in the next few years. Volvo has pledged to stop producing vehicles with entirely gasoline or diesel-powered motors by 2019. Instead, each new car, from that point, will be hybrid or entirely electric and, in addition, Volkswagen believes that it can sell three million EVs by 2025. Source: Le Figaro , Financial Times

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France plans to ban fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2040

Spotify is in ‘advanced talks’ to buy SoundCloud

Those rumors that SoundCloud is shopping itself around ? They just got more substantial. Financial Times sources understand that Spotify is in “advanced talks” to buy SoundCloud. Details of the terms are still scarce at the moment, but it won’t surprise you to hear that Spotify is declining to comment. We’ve asked SoundCloud for its take as well. A buyout would be expensive for Spotify, which is seeing a surge of paying customers but still isn’t turning a profit . However, it would definitely make a sense from a strategic perspective. Spotify has been expanding to include more than just albums — this would give it a wider catalog of DJ sets, demos and other rough tracks. That, in turn, would give it leverage over Apple Music, Tidal and other services that try to lure you away with artist exclusives . You could listen to an in-development song and check out that artist’s commercially available music immediately afterward. And SoundCloud… well, it may not have much of a choice. Its paid SoundCloud Go service hasn’t exactly taken off, and it can’t really make money from those unofficial mashups and remixes. There’s no saying whether or not SoundCloud as you know it would survive under Spotify, but it would at least have a financial cushion. Source: Financial Times

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Spotify is in ‘advanced talks’ to buy SoundCloud

Facebook reportedly launching a standalone news app next week

According to Financial Times , Facebook will be releasing yet another standalone app. The yet-to-be-released Notify app will feature news from media partners like The Washington Post, CBS and Vogue . Users will receive alerts when one of the outlets publishes an article and it becomes available within the app. Unlike Instant Articles — which embed articles within the main Facebook app — Notify will be a one-trick pony. Both the app and in-app features are meant to reduce the load time of stories and give the social network the opportunity to become the go-to destination for news from multiple sources. If the app does emerge from the company next week, it’ll join a growing number of single-use apps the company has released over the years including, Messenger , Poke, Camera , Rooms , Slingshot , Groups and Pages . [Image credit: Shutterstock] Source: Financial Times

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Facebook reportedly launching a standalone news app next week