Business
Lucid targets industry-first self-driving car technology with Nvidia
The Lucid display is seen at the New York International Auto Show on April 16, 2025.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Lucid Group is targeting a new goal that would make it the first automaker to offer highly advanced self-driving capabilities in its vehicles in the coming years, the company said Tuesday.
The all-electric vehicle manufacturer expects to launch what it’s calling “mind-off” driving in which a car can essentially drive itself under normal circumstances without a human needing to monitor it or intervene unless there’s a change in circumstances, such as severe weather. That would be like an occupant playing a game of cards or watching TV while the car is driving.
Lucid on Tuesday said it plans to leverage Nvidia‘s “Drive AV” platform and multisensor suite that includes cameras, radar, and lidar — or light detection and sensing, which allows the vehicle to better “see” its surroundings — for the forthcoming system.
Marc Winterhoff, interim CEO of Lucid, said the plan is to debut the new system “definitely in the coming years,” but he declined to specify an exact timeframe other than it won’t be in 2026. The system is first planned for Lucid’s upcoming midsize vehicle before it would expand to other models, he said.
“I want to make sure that we can offer this for our customers in a timeframe that I think is very ambitious, but at the same time, also we’re realistic,” Winterhoff told CNBC. “The main reason why I decided to not start from scratch, just do it ourselves, it’s simply time to market. … Also, it would cost a lot of money.”
Winterhoff said Nvidia’s technologies will be a catalyst for the system, while Lucid plans to actually execute the self-driving technology.
In the meantime, Winterhoff said Lucid plans to continue to increase the automated technologies on its current vehicles — the Air sedan and Gravity SUV — in partnership with Nvidia.
A Lucid-supplied teaser image of its upcoming midsize vehicle behind its current Gravity SUV.
Lucid
“It will be a stepping stone,” said Winterhoff, who has served as interim CEO since company founder Peter Rawlinson left as chief executive in February.
Many companies, including General Motors and Tesla, have promised personal self-driving vehicles but have failed to deliver. Automakers have invested billions of dollars working on autonomous vehicles in recent years, with most pulling back spending after years of trying to deploy the technologies.
What Lucid is aiming to launch is what the industry refers to as “Level 4: High Driving Automation.” As defined by SAE International, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, Level 4 technologies should not require monitoring or human intervention under certain, but not all, conditions.
There are a limited number of Level 4 vehicles currently on U.S. roadways. Most notably, Alphabet‘s Waymo operates robotaxis in a variety of cities. Lucid is saying it plans to be the first for a consumer vehicle.
Achieving such a system for Lucid will be daunting, especially given its track record on advanced driver assistance system, or ADAS.
The company, by its own admission, has not lived up to its customers’ expectations. It has been slow to release systems capable of hands-free driving, like many companies offer, or compete with well-known “Level 2” technologies such as GM’s “Super Cruise” or Tesla’s “Autopilot” or “FSD.”
Meanwhile, it’s set to be a record year for EV sales, but demand for all-electric cars is expected to decline with the end of federal incentives of up to $7,500.
Lucid announced the self-driving technology plans as well as other initiatives in conjunction with the Nvidia GTC global artificial intelligence conference taking place this week in Washington, D.C.
The wait is finally over for over 1 crore central government employees and pensioners. The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has officially approved the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). The Commission is expected to submit its recommendations within 18 months from the date of its formation. (Image: AI-Generated)
The Central Pay Commission is set up every few years to review and revise salary structures, retirement benefits, and service conditions. (Image: AI-Generated)
Historically, a new Pay Commission is implemented roughly every 10 years. (Image: AI-Generated)
The salary hike depends largely on the fitment factor, which is a multiplier used to calculate the revised basic pay. In the 7th Pay Commission, the fitment factor was 2.57, raising the minimum basic salary from Rs 6,000 to Rs 18,000. (Image: AI-Generated)
For the 8th Pay Commission, different fitment factors are being considered. Here’s how they could impact salaries: if the fitment factor is set at 1.83, the basic salary could rise from Rs 18,000 to around Rs 32,940. A slightly higher factor of 1.86 would increase it to Rs 33,480. However, if the government applies a more generous fitment factor of 2.47, the revised basic pay could reach Rs 44,460. These figures help illustrate how significantly the fitment factor influences salary revisions under the Pay Commission. (File Photo)
Gross salary includes Basic Pay, Dearness Allowance (DA) – linked to inflation, revised twice a year, and House Rent Allowance (HRA) – based on city category (30% for metro cities, 20% for Tier-2 cities, and 10% for Tier-3 cities). (Image: AI-Generated)
Let’s calculate the gross salary using a fitment factor of 2.47 and assuming: Basic Pay: Rs 44,460; DA: Rs 0 (for simplicity); HRA (30% for metro): Rs 13,338. The New Gross Salary = Basic Pay + DA + HRA, which is 44,460 + 0 + 13,338 = Rs 57,798. (Image: AI-Generated)
Business
Aadhaar Card Update: Is Aadhaar A Proof Of Date Of Birth Or Citizenship? Govt Issues Clarification
New Delhi: The Ministry of Communications has issued a latest circular on clarification on the Properties and Usage of Aadhaar by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
The three-point clarification was issues regarding the properties and permissible usage of the Aadhaar number and related documents.
UIDAI said that an Aadhaar number may be used for establishing the identity of the Aadhaar number holder subject to authentication or offline verification.
Further, Aadhaar number or the authentication thereof, is not a proof of citizenship or domicile in respect of Aadhaar number holder.
UIDAI also added that Aadhaar number is not a proof of date of birth and hence, must not be used for establishing the date of birth of the Aadhaar number holder conclusively.
Members of the NASUWT union are set to be balloted on industrial action over class contact time.
The union accused the Scottish Government of failing to meet the SNP manifesto commitment ahead of the 2021 election of reducing contact time by one-and-a-half hours per week.
Announcing the move, NASUWT national official for Scotland Mike Corbett said teachers are “arguably worse off in terms of workload” than before the last election.
“The commitment on class contact time was a recognition by the Scottish Government that additional time away from the classroom was necessary to give teachers sufficient time and space to plan, prepare and assess pupils’ work in order to help students achieve their best and raise attainment.
“Since 2024 we’ve had agreements to work ‘at pace’ and the establishment of working groups by the Scottish Government and Cosla to make meaningful progress on class contact time reduction.
“But the reality is that teachers today are arguably worse off in terms of their workloads and working hours than they were in 2021 when this commitment was first made.
“A reduction in class contact time is as needed now, if not more so, than in 2021.
“It is regrettable that we have been forced to declare a trade dispute and move to a ballot in order to try to force the Government to give teachers the working conditions it itself acknowledges they require to do the job effectively.”
The union’s general secretary Matt Wrack said it had “exhausted all avenues” to reduce contact time, adding: “Where ministers and employers continue to fail our teachers, we will stand up for their right to working conditions which would enable them to deliver the highest quality of learning for our children and young people.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers have been clear that reducing class contact will help support the time and space necessary for teachers, to allow them to drive improvement and reform in our schools and improve outcomes for their pupils.
“We are committed to working with teaching unions and Cosla to agree our approach to delivering a reduction in class contact time at pace.
“That is why we are providing local authorities with increased funding of £186.5 million to restore teacher numbers – this additional funding was agreed to by local government on the understanding that they make ‘meaningful progress’ with reducing class contact.
“Ministers respect union members’ right to withdraw their labour, but are disappointed that the NASUWT has taken this action while these constructive discussions are ongoing.”
8th Pay Commission Update: What Government Employees Can Expect
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