Rimac [Hot!] Rimac ROBOTAXI!

[Tourbillon]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Tourbillon]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Tourbillon]

The Verne concept: here’s your first look at Mate Rimac’s driverless RoboTaxi!

FIRST LOOK
The Verne concept: here’s your first look at Mate Rimac’s driverless RoboTaxi.

The two-seater will have a 43in screen, much interior space and the option to change the scent before you get in. Yep, you read that right!

What does a driverless future look like in the eyes of a person that’s responsible for some of the fastest electric cars on the planet? Well, the Verne concept is a start, since it’s been created by a consortium part-led by none other than Mate Rimac.

The idea is that this Johnny Cab-esque pure EV will work alongside a unique app and purpose-built infrastructure to form an ‘ecosystem’ to power cities of the future. And that future could be as early as 2026, which is when Rimac and his group are planning to roll out the very first models and set their course for world dominion.

The car will be built entirely ‘from the ground-up’ upon a new type of free-flowing platform, placing a strong emphasis on safety and comfort. Not such a strong emphasis on what you might call 'control mechanisms'. Because there's no steering wheel. Or pedals, for that matter. So it really is all trust here. But before you start hyperventilating, Verne has partnered up with a brand called Mobileye to supply the autonomous tech.

Mobileye, for some perspective, has been working on developing its AI’s capabilities over the last few years, and comprises a set of cameras, numerous radars and lidar to allow vehicles to scan and react accordingly to situations. It’ll also factor in weather conditions and local driving styles, says Verne. Wonder if that’ll account for Audi drivers, too.

The vehicle itself will be a two-seater, since research suggests around 90 per cent of car journeys contain, at most, two occupants. But mostly, this is being done to maximise the amount of interior space occupants can have; just imagine how much cooler your Honda Jazz would be if the back seats were ditched and a pair of swivelling wingbacks were thrown in? Better still, Verne will equip its concept with Peugeot 1007-esque sliding doors to make entry and exit that little bit easier.

But unlike the 1007, the interior won’t quite bore you to death. That’s because it’s aiming to be less a car and more a living space. Gone is the conventional dashboard and in its place will rest a huge 43in display and 17-speaker audio set for you to watch your favourite robot apocalypse movies.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/first-look/verne-concept-heres-your-first-look-mate-rimacs-driverless-robotaxi

Continues.

 

[KiwiRob]

I guess if you can make this work safely in Croatia where people are some of the worst drivers in Europe (up there with Serbia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia) it will work in other countries where people are better drivers.

 

[Centurion]

The best way to explain why this car exists is that there has been government grants and tax credits available for EVs, autonomous driving and mobility. Someone applied for it together with Rimac who gets some income whilst Nevera sales are slow.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

So Mate out-eloned Elon.

 

[Centurion]

So Mate out-eloned Elon.

Possibly not as this might prove to be vapourware that will be tested in limited units from 2026 whilst consuming public funds.

Elon is a master at pursuing projects that are publically funded:
EVs
Solar panels
Battery energy storage
Underground transport
Space
Rural broadband(Starlink)
Health(Neutralink)
XaI(artificial intelligence)

 

[Sunny]

It's weird how both Musk and Mate act like Waymo doesn't exist.

 

[Centurion]

It's weird how both Musk and Mate act like Waymo doesn't exist.

The reason is because both don't think that Waymo haven't fully solved autonomous driving. Do I think that it will be solved by Musk or Mate in the next 2 years? No. The tech needs a clean slate start.

 

[Sunny]

The reason is because both don't think that Waymo haven't fully solved autonomous driving. Do I think that it will be solved by Musk or Mate in the next 2 years? No. The tech needs a clean slate start.

I don't know what "fully" means. But Waymo has commercially operating robotaxis in 3 big cities in US. That is definitely way more "full" than any slideware.

 

[Centurion]

I don't know what "fully" means. But Waymo has commercially operating robotaxis in 3 big cities in US. That is definitely way more "full" than any slideware.

Self driving will be solved when the cars will be able to drive at the ability of 90-95th percentile of humans any where in the world.

Currently that doesn't seem possible as rollout is slow and is starting wirh highly selectively chosen cities. Off course there is a regulatory aspect to this as approval is required.

Judging by ur number of self driving businesses and projects that have closed. Current tech either:
-Doesn't self improve fast enough.
-Requires too much whack a mole code fixes to specific driving situations.

 

[Sunny]

Self driving will be solved when the cars will be able to drive at the ability of 90-95th percentile of humans any where in the world.

Sorry, that is an idiotically unrealistic standard.

Internet is only available to ~65% of global population. f#ck, even electricity only became available to 90% in 2022. I bet even modern plumbing is not available to "90-95th percentile of humans any where in the world".

 

[Centurion]

Sorry, that is an idiotically unrealistic standard.

Internet is only available to ~65% of global population. f#ck, even electricity only became available to 90% in 2022. I bet even modern plumbing is not available to "90-95th percentile of humans any where in the world".

Maybe that's there tesla will have an advantage if they can put starlink terminals on their cars or run compute on device.

The big question is whether existing self driving tech can scale to all driving environments. So far, more than $200b has been spent on self driving and all we have is waymo and tesla, but not in every county in the world.

All technology have limits and eventually need re-architectured. We had that with computer processing power. Moore's law eventually produced inncremental improvements until ARM architecture SoC demonstrated that x64 has reached its limits.

With self driving cars we don't know what's needs improving: Radars/sensors, algorithms or both!

 

[Matski]

There's the business case too. In fairness to Musk, whether it's sensible or not, he was selling Robotaxi as a means of passive income to individual owners in order to upsell existing models and tech... that's a fundamentally different economy to simply engineering the driver out of the taxi and operating the fleet yourself.

 

[Sunny]

The big question is whether existing self driving tech can scale to all driving environments.

It doesn't have to. There is no business case to make it work in sub-Saharan desert or Frozen Siberia.

By being just in the biggest 10 metro areas in US (which constitutes just 2% of US land mass), your market covers 25% of the US GDP ($6.6 trillion).

 

[Sunny]

Verne has partnered up with a brand called Mobileye to supply the autonomous tech.

So I just watched the video, all they have is a vehicle (or rather a model) with no controls. They are expecting someone else to solve AD - the hard part. That is not making a robotaxi. That is making a vehicle that will be used by a robotaxi.

 

[Tourbillon]

So I just watched the video, all they have is a vehicle (or rather a model) with no controls. They are expecting someone else to solve AD - the hard part. That is not making a robotaxi. That is making a vehicle that will be used by a robotaxi.

That's from the Top Gear article. The quote

I just shared it. I'm more a hypercar guy. I'll let you lot dissect this one LOL!

 

[Sunny]

That's from the Top Gear article. The quote

I just shared it. I'm more a hypercar guy. I'll let you lot dissect this one LOL!

Yea I know it is from the article. Didn't mean to imply it is your words .

 

[kiki voinea]

I don't know what "fully" means. But Waymo has commercially operating robotaxis in 3 big cities in US. That is definitely way more "full" than any slideware.

As far as I know , Waymo works only on very specific streets/areas, where all the conditions work out in their favor (good infrastructure)

This is the issue right now in self driving : How to work with not specific scenarios ...

 

[Centurion]

As far as I know , Waymo works only on very specific streets/areas, where all the conditions work out in their favor (good infrastructure)

This is the issue right now in self driving : How to work with not specific scenarios ...

The economics aren't great for Waymo:
15 years R&D
$8 billion spent
$50m annual revenue against $1.1-1.6b annual loss

It doesn't have to. There is no business case to make it work in sub-Saharan desert or Frozen Siberia.

By being just in the biggest 10 metro areas in US (which constitutes just 2% of US land mass), your market covers 25% of the US GDP ($6.6 trillion).

Those cities are "ideal" conditions e.g roads are flat, marked roads, grid urban planning, minimal blind spots, wide roads, lots of traffic lights, minimal pot holes and not alot of buses or chaotic cyclists/motor bikes.