Waymo plans to launch its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Toronto in 2028, marking the company’s first expansion into Canada. In the coming days, Waymo vehicles will begin manually driven operations on Toronto streets for high-definition mapping and validation tests, with trained autonomous-vehicle specialists behind the wheel. Waymo says the phased testing is intended to adapt its Waymo Driver system to Toronto’s local driving conditions. Waymo has partnered with Toronto-headquartered Element Fleet Management for end-to-end fleet management. The companies plan to invest in hundreds of jobs over time, including fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service and operational roles. Waymo also cites existing Canadian relationships with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a long-term investor, and manufacturer Magna International. Waymo says its all-weather Driver could complement Toronto’s existing transportation options. Based on more than 400 million fully autonomous kilometers driven, the company says its vehicles were involved in 95% fewer crashes involving serious injury or worse than human drivers in the cities where it operates. Waymo is also working with accessibility and mobility groups including BALANCE for Blind Adults, CNIB, Community Living Toronto, Connected Canadians and Epilepsy Ontario as it prepares the service.

Waymo is preparing to launch a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Munich, marking the company’s planned entry into Germany. In the coming weeks, Waymo vehicles will begin manually driving on Munich streets to create high-definition maps and test the Waymo Driver with trained autonomous-vehicle specialists behind the wheel. Waymo aims to make commercial rides available to the public toward the end of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Waymo says it has completed more than 20 million trips and serves hundreds of thousands of commercial rides each week. The company is engaging local, Bavarian and federal authorities on the approvals required for German operations, and says it plans to invest in local fleet operations and high-skilled jobs. Christian Hirte, parliamentary state secretary in Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport, said Germany has established a legal framework for autonomous driving and that Waymo is planning the country’s first regular commercial autonomous-vehicle operation. Waymo says data from more than 350 million fully autonomous kilometres shows 16 times fewer crashes involving serious injuries than human drivers, 14 times fewer pedestrian crashes involving injuries, and six times fewer cyclist crashes involving injuries. Bavarian officials said they intend to reduce bureaucracy and regulatory barriers to accelerate deployment.

Ukrainian drone operators are upgrading $400 Shrike kamikaze drones with AI systems developed by the US company Aut to enable autonomous tracking of moving targets. The upgraded drones, produced by SkyFall, have successfully destroyed Russian armored vehicles and helicopters.

Gemini Robotics 2 enables robots to achieve whole-body intelligence, allowing for intelligent control, fine dexterity, and teamwork in completing complex tasks. This advancement moves beyond traditional pre-programmed or teleoperated robots, enhancing their ability to learn and adapt in dynamic environments.

DARPA and the U.S. Air Force successfully flew an AI-controlled F-16, marking a significant milestone in scalable AI development for military operations. The project, known as VENOM, showcases advancements in autonomous flight capabilities for the operational fleet.

An autonomous flying umbrella has been developed to follow users and provide protection from rain and sunlight. Most structural components of the device were created using 3D printing technology.

Velo News provides updates on the latest developments in cycling technology and events. The platform aims to inform and engage cycling enthusiasts with timely news and insights.

Hyundai Motor Group is acquiring SoftBank's remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics for $325 million, giving Hyundai full ownership of the robotics company. The acquisition is expected to be approved on June 22, marking the completion of SoftBank's exit from Boston Dynamics.

Hundreds of millions of Pokémon Go players contributed to approximately 30 billion environmental scans to earn in-game rewards. Niantic Spatial has utilized these scans to train a camera-based navigation model for military drones and robots, which a U.S. defense contractor is preparing to implement.

NVIDIA and LG Group are collaborating to build an AI factory aimed at enhancing AI-driven businesses in robotics, autonomous driving, data center technologies, and GPU cloud services. This facility will provide accelerated computing infrastructure to train, simulate, validate, and deploy AI applications across LG Group's key sectors.