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As the race to create robot cars intensifies, a secondary race is underway: a high-stakes competition to develop the sensors that serve as the cars’ “eyes.” Lidar, a light-sensing form of radar, provides vision for the vast majority of autonomous vehicles being developed, but now there are dozens of companies with different twists on it.

WASHINGTON — As Silicon Valley and automakers attempt to steer the nation toward a future of driverless vehicles, a group of influential lawmakers remains concerned that bipartisan legislation now moving through Congress could leave consumers at risk by preventing states from demanding tighter safety regulations.

A former Apple Inc. engineer was arrested on charges of stealing driverless car secrets for a Chinese startup after he passed through the security checkpoint at San Jose International Airport to board a flight to China.

As self-driving vehicle experiments are launched in a few cities around the United States, Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG and a prominent auto supplier are launching a new one in the place that would seem most receptive: Silicon Valley.

The country’s top trucking regulator wants to hear what you have to say about autonomous vehicles.

Self-driving vehicles have traveled safely for 26,000 kilometers (16,156 miles) in test areas in China’s capital city, according to Beijing Innovation Centre for Mobility Intelligence, a service provider of road tests for autonomous vehicles.

Self-driving shuttle buses will be hauling riders around downtown Columbus later this year, a significant move as the city begins initiatives aimed at making it a “smart city” for transportation.

The development of self-driving trucks and how they might one day revolutionize the shipment of goods inland has been widely reported. However, while lower on the radar screen, automated container ports are increasingly available for use and already have begun to benefit motor carriers in several ways, industry experts said.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning for both automated container port management and trucks and ships is already in use or under development in a few key ways.