Allstate joined the Intelligent Car Coalition (ICC), a group chartered to create a safe, efficient transportation system with autonomous and other advanced technologies. The change in the personal transportation system is the “single biggest opportunity to create economic wealth for everybody in America,” said the insurer, noting it relies on technologies including advanced data, sensors, infrastructure, automation and connectivity. Allstate’s “expertise in policy conversations" will help shape solutions to make the intelligent vehicle ecosystem "more beneficial for society,” said ICC Executive Director Catherine McCullough.

The Association of Global Automakers asked for a rulemaking on all issues raised by a waiver request by the 5G Automotive Association to deploy cellular vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X) in the 5.9 GHz band's upper 20 MHz. Comments were due at the FCC Friday in docket 18-357. Many groups filed early (see 1901280031) and some commenters are expected to object to looking at a waiver separately from a broader overview of the band (see 1901300014). The auto group said its members are divided on C-V2X versus dedicated short-range communications. “The current deployments already highlight the need to preserve the entire 5.9 GHz band for these life-saving services,” the automakers said. “Introduction of a new technology raises important questions about the 5.9 GHz band. Should the Commission facilitate co-existence of V2X technologies, we encourage a measured, data-driven approach to deployment, including testing and validation.”

Velodyne Lidar said its sensors are used in smart valet parking technology from HoloMatic launching in China. HoloParking lets a driver leave a vehicle at the entrance to a parking lot, and the system finds an empty spot and completes the parking maneuver on its own without human supervision, said Velodyne Thursday. When returning for pickup, the driver can start the vehicle remotely, and it will automatically drive to the boarding area, it said. Velodyne’s sensors provide high-resolution, 3D information about the surrounding environment. HoloParking commercialization is beginning in select cities in China this year, with initial rollout in Shanghai. In 2020, HoloMatic expects to support more than 20 cities, each with 20 lots.

Ford’s “confidence level” remains unchanged that it’s on track to deliver a “purpose-built” autonomous vehicle “at scale” by 2021, said President-Mobility Marcy Klevorn on an Q4 call Wednesday. It's “uniquely building the technology along with building a business,” so when Ford AVs become available, the automaker will have “figured out how we want to monetize them,” she said. Ford will be among the two or three “winners” when AVs are ready for large-scale commercialization, she said. The company's work on connected mobility also is “advancing quickly,” said CEO Jim Hackett. “We are connecting every new Ford vehicle in the U.S. to the cloud.” Those vehicles soon “will talk to the world around them through the technology known as C-V2X,” he said of cellular vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity. Through C-V2X, “we will help usher in a new transportation system that reduces traffic congestion, accidents and improves CO2.”

Amazon began delivery by automated vehicles Wednesday in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington, it blogged. A promotional video shows a six-wheeler, the “size of a small cooler,” rolling along a sidewalk at what Amazon calls a “walking pace” and then stopping in front of a home for drop-off. A customer, who has been notified that the bot has arrived, walks out the door to the sidewalk, picks up the lid and retrieves her package. Many questions remain about the program, but Amazon’s initial description says six Amazon Scout devices will deliver packages Monday through Friday during daylight hours in the community. Though the all-electric bots will be autonomous, they will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee, but the company didn’t say how long that would last. Scout was developed at Amazon’s R&D lab in the same county and can “safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path.” Amazon will take what it learns from the program “so Amazon Scout can, over time, provide even more sustainability and convenience to customer deliveries.” The company didn't respond to questions.

The Senate should “quickly confirm” Heidi King as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Commerce Subcommittee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said Monday. King is NHTSA deputy administrator.

“Safe technology” will be the “gating factor” in transforming autonomous vehicles into a “trillion-dollar opportunity,” General Motors CEO Mary Barra told a Wolfe Research investment conference Tuesday. Self-driving safety is “vitally important” because “customer acceptance and trust of the vehicle is key,” she said. It's a “focus” on solving “customer pain points that we think opens up the market” for autonomous ridesharing vehicles, she said. “Think about driving in a dense urban environment,” with its expensive parking options and extreme congestion. she said. “Those are all customer pain points that autonomous vehicles, safe autonomous vehicles, can solve.”

Sprint is launching a 5G 1.5-mile autonomous vehicle/technology test track in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, the telco announced Tuesday. Combined with Sprint Curiosity IoT and micropositioning, the Curiosity Lab will be built within a 500-acre tech park designed to test software for various transportation technologies.

A coalition focused on raising public awareness about automated vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems launched at CES Monday. Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) is dedicated to educating drivers and policymakers on “the life-saving potential of these advancements,” said a release from member organization National Safety Council. The groups “believe in the promise of automated vehicle technology for enhanced mobility, improved sustainability and, above all, safety,” said NSC CEO Deborah Hersman. PAVE includes industry, nonprofit and academic members, among them AAA, CTA, Audi, Daimler, Toyota, the National Council on Aging, National Federation of the Blind and Waymo.

TomTom announced collaborations with Denso and Delphi in the run-up to CES. TomTom and Denso teams will partner in Japan, with TomTom’s HD Map working with Denso in-vehicle camera and radar sensors to drive the localization, perception and path planning functions for an autonomous driving system, it said Friday. The agreement targets Level 2 automation for highways and major urban roads. Sensor data will be used to update TomTom maps on the fly by generating crowdsourced map updates said to ensure the HD Map reflects current road conditions, and TomTom’s AutoStream map delivery system will send the latest map data to vehicles on demand. Delphi and TomTom, meanwhile, are working together to help powertrains become predictive, they said. The vehicle’s powertrain control system uses TomTom’s maps so it knows what’s up ahead, said the companies. Map data such as speed limits and road gradient are factored in to control a vehicle’s speed for safety and energy efficiency, they said. TomTom’s autonomous driving maps are used in 500,000 Level 1 and Level 2-enabled automated vehicles on the road today, it said.