A flying car, photographic radar, a mind-reader, and car-gaming.

Waymo is about to begin "commercial" automated ride-hailing service in the Phoenix area, which may tempt you to think the era of widespread autonomy is upon us. It's not, but the engineers that will make it happen are feverishly concocting enabling innovations. This year's annual AutoMobility LA pre-show techstravaganza once again featured a competition for startups, several of which got me scribbling in my reporter's notebook. Herewith, those scribbles.

Electric Visionary Aircraft X01

EVA calls its X01 "The world's first compact, all electric vertical takeoff and landing jet," and company CEO Olivier Le Lann, on hand at the show, claims his company will begin providing