Toronto, Ontario — In this weekly electric and autonomous vehicle report, General Motors (GM) announces future vehicles will be capable of supporting vehicle-to-home bidirectional charging technology; while Waymo’s self-driving taxis get fooled by a fake stop sign.
Bidirectional boasting
GM has announced that the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST First Edition will be capable of supporting vehicle-to-home bidirectional charging technology.
According to the automaker, “available through GM Energy, GM EV owners will now be able to charge their compatible vehicles while also sending power back to their home.”
In order to use the new technology, owners will need to purchase an additional technology bundle, which includes a powershift charger and V2H Enablement Kit for $7,299. This price does not include installation fees, which will vary by area.
Later this year, GM’s energy division plans to introduce stationary energy storage and solar integration.
The automaker also plans to extend bidirectional charging to the rest of its EVs by 2026, and currently claims that the Silverado EV can direct 10.2 kW to power from its battery to a connected home, resulting in 21 days of power to the home if the EV battery began at a full charge.
Self-driving shenanigans
Instagram user “jasonbcarr” recently used a T-shirt to fool self-driving Waymo vehicles into stopping multiple times.
The Instagram user specifically used a T-shirt covered in a realistic looking stop sign to fool the self-driving vehicle by standing at the side of the road as different Waymo taxis drove by.
Each time, the vehicle ‘saw’ the T-shirt’s stop sign as the actual object and stopped in front of it. The only time the vehicle was not fooled by “jasonbcarr’s” shirt was in a nighttime scenario.
However, on the final test–also at night–Waymo’s vehicle was preparing to turn left, but then “saw” the shirt and came to a stop. In this instance, the vehicle held for longer than normal and did not begin moving again until “jasonbcarr” finally walked away.
Watch the full video below:
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