JOHANN JUNGWIRTH, vice president of mobility-as-a-service at Intel-owned company Mobileye, says he spends two to three hours per day on the road. It's a long commute, especially given he's sitting behind the driver's wheel--except for the fact that he's not the one making decisions on the road. "I just push the Go button, and then, you know, I let it drive itself," Jungwirth tells WIRED after a Mobileye robotaxi drove him from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. Driving enthusiasts can now check out what that experience looks like, thanks to a 45-minute long unedited video of Mobileye's seven-seater electric van ferrying ride-hailing passengers around Jerusalem's narrow, winding roads. As the robotaxi, which comes equipped with Mobileye's True Redundancy sensing system, drives to different drop-off and pick-up points, it easily dodges the jaywalkers, gives way to cars suddenly interrupting its route, and navigates around parked cars and other obstacles blocking the way.

Three former executives at Google, Tesla and Uber who once raced to be the first to develop self-driving cars have adopted a new strategy: Slow down. At their new company Aurora Innovation, which is developing self-driving technology for carmakers including Volkswagen and Hyundai, the rules are simple: No flashy launches, mind-blowing timelines or hyper-choreographed performances on closed tracks. "No demo candy," said Chris Urmson, a co-founder and former head of Google's self-driving car team. Aurora's long-game technique reflects a new phase for the hyped promise of computer-piloted supercars: a more subdued, more pragmatic way of addressing the tough realities of the most complicated robotic system ever built. In the wake of several high-profile crashes that dented public enthusiasm in autonomous cars, Aurora's executives are urging their own industry to face a reality check, saying lofty promises risk confusing passengers and dooming the technology before it can truly take off.

An image released by Hyundai shows a hands-off driver checking his phone and drinking coffee. The company is partnering with Aurora, a U.S. startup, to boost its autonomous vehicle program. An image released by Hyundai shows a hands-off driver checking his phone and drinking coffee. The company is partnering with Aurora, a U.S. startup, to boost its autonomous vehicle program. Aurora, a startup company led by three veterans of Google, Tesla, and Uber, has signed deals with both Volkswagen and Hyundai with the goal of putting autonomous vehicle technology on the market within three years -- and doing so "quickly, broadly and safely."

USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham gives his list of what he thinks are the coolest tech innovations of 2017. The Volkwagen Group plans to roll out a fleet of self-driving shared mobility vehicles like this prototype, called Sedric, with the help of startup Aurora. SAN FRANCISCO -- The new year is barely off the starting line and the self-driving car race already has kicked into a higher gear. Chris Urmson, formerly head of Google's self-driving car program, announced Thursday that his new company Aurora has inked partnerships with Volkswagen Group and Hyundai aimed at helping both automakers accelerate their autonomous car programs. "Our mission is to get this tech out quickly, safely and broadly," says Urmson, who left Google's program, now called Waymo, in 2016.

At the CeBIT Global Conferences, he explained what VW is working on and what role artificial intelligence will play for the car of tomorrow. Let's start with what Jungwirth did NOT speak about at the Sakura Stage in Hall 8: alternative engines. Instead, the Volkswagen CDO showed, in fast-forward, how the corporation is digitizing its core business. The key term here was artificial intelligence. "AI is everywhere and it will take on a central role in the car of the future," states Jungwirth.