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January 2018 | ISE Magazine 13 Waymo is the first company to put self-driving cars on the roads without a safety driver, The Verge reported. Of course, limitations and exclusions still apply. A Waymo employee will remain in the car, albeit not in the driver's seat, and the cars will stay in a 100-square-mile geofenced area in Chandler, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, wants to collect more data, conduct more trips, expand the service area and reach level four autonomy, defined as a vehicle capable of driving itself, "with no human behind the wheels, in most environments and road conditions." The company has partnerships with Fiat-Chrysler, Lyft and Avis. Its current model has sensors that give vehicles a 360-de- gree view of the world, picking up objects in three dimensions from 300 meters away. Reaso .com, a news magazine website, reported that peo- ple can sign up for an early rider program to get chauffeured around in a robot vehicle. According to Reaso .com, people who give up their vehicles, which sit unused up to 23 hours a day, for cheaper robo-rides could cut their trans portation cost by 75 percent. One autonomous vehicle could replace seven to nine conventional cars, curbing greenhouse emissions by 90 percent and freeing up 3,000 square miles of urban land devoted to parking. Waymo is first to ditch drivers Autonomous vehicles go hands-free in Arizona suburb Ford is investing in a new exoskeleton that supports factory employees' upper bodies, easing strain when lifting and per- forming overhead tasks. Ekso Bionics is developing the non-powered EksoVest to help workers lift 5 to 15 pounds, the technology news website e gadget.com reported. The vest fits employees from 5-feet to 6-feet 4-inches tall and is designed for anyone in load-bearing work, from factories to construction sites to distribution cen- ters. Some Ford employees in those operations do tasks up to 4,600 times a day – or up to 1 million times per year. A boost from the EksoVest could prevent the types of workplace ac- cidents that result from tired muscles and minds. Exoskeletons are being tested in a number of real-world applications, from supporting soldiers to helping paraplegics walk. The collaboration benefits both workers and developer, said Russ Angold, co-founder and chief technology officer of Ekso Bionics, by enabling the company to test and refine prototypes based on feedback from production line workers. "The end result is a wearable tool that reduces the strain on a worker's body, reducing the likelihood of injury and helping them feel better at the end of the day – increasing both pro- ductivity and morale." After testing the EksoVest in two U.S. factories, Ford plans to expand the pilot program to European and South Ameri- can sites. Exoskeletons take a load off at Ford Nonpowered gear eases strain on thousands of daily factory worker tasks Ford and Ekso Bionics are collaborating on an exoskeleton to ease the strain of overhead tasks. Investing in trucking, not truckers According to The New York Times, companies and investors were on pace to put more than $1 billion into self-driving and other trucking technologies in 2017. That's 10 times the level of investment from three years ago, reported CB Insights, which tracks the venture capital industry. Prime Number