There is a little shuttle bus in the Inland Empire that's fueled with big aspirations. It's electric, tops out at 25 mph, and can only go on a pre-designated route set up by the Riverside Transit Agency. But here's a catch -- it also drives itself. As of Monday, commuters in Riverside are the first in the country to ride a fully self-driving, publicly accessible bus that is deployed by a city transit agency. "I like to say I have no lesser ambition than to be the new Detroit for vehicle manufacturing," Riverside Mayor Lock Dawson said.

In spite of all the hype about autonomous vehicles, the prospect of level 5 self-driving vehicles coming soon to a city near you remains some way off. By 2030, it's possible that we will see autonomous cars allowed to operate on some open roads, but for the time being, the evolution of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) in Europe is characterised by caution. However, there are certain aspects of autonomy that are already being deployed on the roads of Europe – while others will become commonplace and even mandatory over the next couple of years. Self-parking cars first appeared on European roads almost a decade ago, when Volkswagen Group unveiled new technology that could scan for a parking space before taking control of the steering wheel and manoeuvring the vehicle into the space. Since then, many of the major OEMs have incorporated similar technology as an optional extra or – on more expensive models – as standard equipment.

A consortium of companies is offering foreign visitors in Tokyo a taste of autonomous driving, in the world's first demonstration of a project that uses both an airport shuttle bus and a self-driving taxi to provide smooth travel from the airport to the Marunouchi shopping district near Tokyo Station. The Mobility as a Service experiment, which allows reservations by smartphone, is to be operated from Jan. 20 to Feb. 1. Foreign nationals are able to reserve a shuttle bus from Haneda or Narita airport to Tokyo City Air Terminal, and then ride an autonomous taxi from there on the around 3 kilometers leg to Marunouchi. They will also be able to ride in a fully autonomous single-seat vehicle for free on select days, and use a tablet to choose their destination within the Marunouchi area. The autonomous taxi will have a backup driver for safety reasons. Reservations for foreign nationals via smartphone app began on Dec. 2 and will run until Jan. 9.

A consortium of companies is offering foreign visitors in Tokyo a taste of autonomous driving in the world's first demonstration of a project utilizing both an airport shuttle bus and a self-driving taxi to smoothly travel from the airport to the Marunouchi shopping district near Tokyo Station. The Mobility as a Service experiment that will allow smartphone users to make a reservation is to be held from Jan. 20 to Feb. 1. Foreign nationals can reserve a shuttle bus from Haneda or Narita airport to Tokyo City Air Terminal and from there ride an autonomous taxi for about 3 kilometers to Marunouchi. They can also ride in a fully autonomous single-seat vehicle for free on select days and use a tablet to move to their destination of choice within the Marunouchi area. The autonomous taxi will have a backup driver for safety reasons. Reservations via smartphone app started on Dec. 2 and will run until Jan. 9.

Like early mammals scuttering between the legs of tyrannosaurs, a lot of little companies are trying to weave around--and maybe even outlast--the big boys of self-driving technology. One such example is Perrone Robotics, a small Virginia company that has developed a self-driving package that it says can be quickly adapted to any vehicle. This Swiss Army knife of an AI can give smarts to an existing car, shuttle bus, or truck--even the gargantuan trucks used in mining. Tiny shuttles and behemoth trucks sell in small numbers, and equipping them to drive themselves is beneath the dignity of major players, like Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors' Cruise Automation. "What we're doing, certainly Waymo and GM Cruise could do, but they are focused on their own agenda. This is our niche, and we are going where we can add real value," says David Hofert, the chief marketing officer at Perrone Robotics.

It's been 15 years since a degenerative eye disease forced Erich Manser to stop driving. Today, he commutes to his job as an accessibility consultant via commuter trains and city buses, but he has trouble locating empty seats sometimes and must ask strangers for guidance. A step toward solving Manser's predicament could arrive as soon as next year. Manser's employer, IBM, and an independent carmaker called Local Motors are developing a self-driving, electric shuttle bus that combines artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and smartphone apps to serve people with vision, hearing, physical, and cognitive disabilities. The buses, dubbed "Olli," are designed to transport people around neighborhoods at speeds below 35 miles per hour and will be sold to cities, counties, airports, companies, and universities.

It's been 15 years since a degenerative eye disease forced Erich Manser to stop driving. Today, he commutes to his job as an accessibility consultant via commuter trains and city buses, but he has trouble locating empty seats sometimes and must ask strangers for guidance. A step toward solving Manser's predicament could arrive as soon as next year. Manser's employer, IBM, and an independent carmaker called Local Motors are developing a self-driving, electric shuttle bus that combines artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and smartphone apps to serve people with vision, hearing, physical, and cognitive disabilities. The buses, dubbed "Olli," are designed to transport people around neighborhoods at speeds below 35 miles per hour and will be sold to cities, counties, airports, companies, and universities.

When it comes to self-driving cars, the public tends to focus on developments for private vehicles for individuals, but there are also some significant advances underway in other categories such as shuttle busses. In the latest piece of news, Navya, a startup out of France that makes driverless shuttles, has raised 34 million ( 30 million) in funding to build out its team, technology and sales. The funding is coming from two strategic backers, public transportation provider Keolis and automotive parts group Valeo, along with Qatari investors Group8. Navya is not disclosing its valuation but one report from Funderbeam estimates it at 222 million after this round. Navya prior to this round had raised 4.5 million ( 4.1 million) from French investors Gravitation, CapDecisif, and Robolution Capital (an investment fund focused only on robotics investments).

Russian search giant Yandex has unveiled plans to build a self-driving shuttle bus, in cooperation with Daimler, Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz, and government-backed research firm NAMI. It is Yandex's first foray into the world of self-driving, following search rivals Google and…

Edgar Sarmiento won the Local Motors challenge to design an urban public transportation system. His self-driving electric minibus design eventually become this vehicle called Olli. Edgar Sarmiento won the Local Motors challenge to design an urban public transportation system. His self-driving electric minibus design eventually become this vehicle called Olli. At the recent unveiling of a new self-driving shuttle bus called Olli, its designer sat perched on a stool nearby, his hands cradling a photo camera in his lap.