Uber is bringing a small number of self-driving cars to its ride-hailing service in San Francisco — a move likely to excite the city's tech-savvy population and certain to antagonize California regulators. The Wednesday launch in Uber's hometown expands a public pilot program the company started in Pittsburgh in September. The testing lets everyday people experience the cars as Uber works to identify glitches before expanding the technology's use in San Francisco and elsewhere. California law, however, requires a test permit for self-driving prototype vehicles, and Uber does not have one. The company argues that the law doesn't apply because …

Google has acquired the team behind Cronologics -- a startup that makes operating systems for wearable devices. “Started in 2014 by former Google business employees, the company hoped to one day create the go-to platform for smartwatches,” ZDNet notes. “With the introduction of Android Wear and Apple watchOS, this dream did not come to fruition, but there is still a future for the startup's team.”

Harman International Industries Inc. invested in a startup that makes projection displays that sit in front of car windshields, signalling a new area it plans to explore under the ownership of Samsung Electronics Co. The investment in Navdy Inc. is Harman’s first since agreeing to sell itself to Samsung for $8 billion last month. Harman will work with the startup to sell co-branded devices next year, said Doug Simpson, Navdy’s chief executive officer. Navdy’s hardware is placed above the steering wheel and projects information from the driver’s smartphone onto a transparent screen, so the driver can see updates at a …

Top Jacksonville transit officials expect driverless vehicles to be a part of the city’s public and personal transportation future. Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nathaniel Ford said JTA officials are in discussions with some autonomous vehicle manufacturers and he hopes to have one of them soon bring a vehicle to Jacksonville for a demonstration. He said their target is to have a pilot program in the next two years. “I would love to develop some sort of a pilot program [with an autonomous shuttle], but that is in the early stages of how that will work,” said Brad Thoburn, vice president …

You can already buy smart glasses for cycling, but they tend to have one big catch: the heads-up display partly obscures your view. That's annoying at best, and risky at worst. Everysight thinks it can do better. It's close to finishing development of Raptor, a set of augmented reality glasses that projects data on a transparent display on the lens. You'll get navigation, speed, heart rate and other vital info without losing valuable visual real estate. They'll even record your ride in HD (with sound), so you can review your performance …

German automaker Audi is taking another step forward in bringing technology to drivers, with an upcoming launch that integrates vehicles with surrounding infrastructure. Coming this month, Audi will launch a program that will keep drivers informed about traffic lights and infrastructure on their route. The traffic light monitor, a part of the Audi connect system, will first roll out in Las Vegas for certain Audi vehicles made after June 2016.

Amazon started allowing other companies to build Alexa into their own products last year, and today GE is unveiling what might be the most compelling example yet. It’s a wild LED lamp that’s kind of like what would happen if you attached a large, glowing ring to the top of an Echo Dot. The lamp looks all at once futuristic, kind of goofy, and like it’ll fit terribly in your apartment. But having a thing that looks like a physical re-creation of the Cortana ring at home just seems kind of great.

Despite a boom in related technology, the gadget industry is in trouble. From Fitbit to GoPro, “Everywhere you look, these days, gadgets seem on the rocks,” The New York Times writes. What happened? “It’s a fascinating story about tech progress, international manufacturing and shifting consumer preferences, and it all ends in a sad punch line: Great gadget companies are now having a harder time than ever getting off the ground.”

Starbucks is continuing to drive innovation in mobile retail with its announcement of an artificial-intelligence solution, which will act as a barista within customers’ mobile devices. During Starbucks’ Investment Day, the coffee chain announced its upcoming My Starbucks Barista feature that will likely support its bulldozing strategy to corner the mobile market. The AI technology will allow users to order their drinks and food through messaging and voice recognition on the application, without having to be in stores.

Sprint is giving Pokemon trainers a reason to come into its stores. The nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier is partnering with Niantic, the developer behind the smash hit Pokemon Go, to turn more than 10,500 Sprint, Boost Mobile and Sprint-RadioShack stores into PokeStops and Gyms. The new deal takes effect December 12, which is when Niantic will share more details about new Pokemon coming to the game. Niantic CEO John Hanke teased that while some creatures would emerge that day, others would come later.