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http://SmartDrivingCar.com/8.01-I'm_back-010620
1st edition of the 8th year of SmartDrivingCars

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   Hmmmm...I'm Back

A. Kornhauser, Jan 6,    Hmmmm...   I'm in rehab and hope to go home on Wednesday morning. Thank you to so many of you for all the good wishes and prayers.  They each helped.  I'm looking to making a full recovery.  Remember, if you don't feel well, get evaluated by a doctor.  I was totally clueless about what hit me from out of nowhere.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 136

F. Fishkin, Jan 6, "He's back!  Princeton's Alain Kornhauser...still on the mend ...but opinionated as ever...joins co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at the latest from Waymo, Tesla and more in Episode 136 of the Smart Driving Cars podcast.  "  Just say "Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   The Fate of Self-Driving Cars Hangs on a $7 Trillion Design Problem

M. Wilson, Dec. 5, ".... Waymo One service goes live today to the public, and as its service ramps up in the coming weeks, it will allow anyone in the Phoenix area to book a robot taxi for the first time. The news should be either terrifying or terribly exciting. Instead, the transportation revolution starts, not with a gasp, but a yawn."  Read more  Hmmmm...  Seems like it has be a yawn.  I haven't missed anything.  Fantastic.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Google’s Waymo Reaches 20 Million Miles of Autonomous Driving

A. Pressman, Jan. 7, "Autonomous cars from Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, drove 10 million miles on public roads in about the past year, doubling the company's self-driving record of the prior 10 years, CEO John Krafcik said on Monday.

"We're now beyond 20 million miles of fully self-driving, like, really self driving," Krafcik said in an interview at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech dinner in Las Vegas during the CES conference. "You need to have a lot of real world experience. There's no way to avoid that. You must have it."..." Read more  Hmmmm...  What is fundamentally impressive is that Waymo captured the data associated with essentially each foot of those 20M miles of travel (~100B feet). Those data, some/most/essentially all are boring and repetitive; however, can you imagine how many golden nuggets are buried in all that gravel and rock.  It is those nuggets that contain the opportunity that is absolutely necessary for this technology to succeed.  Congratulations and keep mining those nuggets.  It would be very nice of you to share them with everyone else so that they don't stumble; however, that may be too much to ask.  But remember, if one stumbles, everyone pays.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  What to expect from autonomous car technology at CES 2020

A. Charlton, Dec 31, "So many vehicle technology companies are exhibiting at the CES technology show in Las Vegas next week, that you'll count 32 of them before you even get to the letter B.

Many of these are directly involved with the business of autonomous driving, whether they be builders of Lidar sensors, producers of vehicle systems, or car manufacturers themselves.
Daimler suffers 'reality check' with reality of autonomous cars...."  Read more  Hmmmm...  Disappointed that I had to cancel my participation, but it is nice that Daimler 'suffers reality check' because what they demonstrated several years ago was very much an elitist toy for those 0.1 %ers that already have more mobility choices than they deserve, Instead  they should be working on mobility machines that substantially enhance the quality of life of the so many that Daimler has left behind over the years.   Alain

TP Plus

L. Fabian, Jan. 6, "Only a determined Mode Shift will save us!  Yet nowhere is the US or the rest of the world are officials determined to move cities and society at large away from highway-oriented policies which assume that basic transport and public safety needs are met by gasoline-powered street-running vehicles...."  Read more  Hmmmm... Enjoy reading.  Proper land use and ride-sharing go hand-in-hand. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Younger persons are still less likely to have a driver’s license than in the 1980s

M. Sivak, Jan 2920, "Since 2011, I have periodically examined changes in the proportion of persons with a driver’s license as a function of age. The previous study compared data for 1983 (as the baseline) with those for 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017. The results showed that between 1983 and 2014 there was a substantial decrease in the licensing of younger persons, with an increase in the licensing of older persons. That was followed by modest increases in the licensure for all age groups between 2014 and 2017.

The present study compares data for 2018 (released in late December 2019) with data for 1983 and 2014.   The main findings are as follows:..".   Read more Hmmmm...  Licensing is one thing, the next question is to what extent are they using the driving privilege afforded by the licensing.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="78" height="23">  Should Tesla Take The Initiative To Better Monitor And Manage Driver Behavior With Autopilot?

B. Reimer, Jan. 5, "... The safety of Autopilot continues to be questioned by experts worldwide. A recent letter from Senator Markey to Elon Musk adds to an already heated conversation. In a post earlier this year on the Tesla automation strategy, I raised the question of whether it is appropriate for consumers to be used as test subjects, the need for a well validated measure of risk associated with the use of Autopilot, and the need for camera-based driver monitoring to manage inattention. In the months since, visuals in the media of drivers falling asleep, engrossed in non-driving activities, and otherwise participating in inattentive driving continue to appear. Seemly random, but realistically predictable, crashes keep happening that might be preventable with camera-based driver monitoring and driver management...."  Read more Hmmmm...  The simple answer is .. Sure!  However, some/many of those videos are fake and the fundamental problem is that the automated emergency braking (AEB) system on Teslas, and essentially every other make of cars, simply doesn't work as well as it should.  It doesn't deal appropriately with stationary objects in the lane ahead and the false alarm rates are way too high.  Getting the AEB system to actually work throughout the operational design domain of AutoPilot is a much better thing to focus on.  All the Tesla owners that I know are not at all cavalier about their use of Autopilot and treat the system with utmost respect and care.  The very few that mis-use AutoPilot are unlikely to change their ways by what is discussed here, so such policies will have minuscule impact.  Focus on fixing the AEB in Teslas and essentially every other car make and model.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="96" height="13"> Watch Tesla Model 3 On Autopilot Avoid Crash With Distracted Driver

G. Ruffo, Jan. 5, "... We just wonder why Autopilot is still a beta after so many saves it has performed. It has even helped to spare wildlife. The one above is just another trophy for the list, but an impressive one...."  Read more Hmmmm...  Good question. Is it the have-nots clawing back the haves?   See video, etc.  Alain  

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Over 730,000 Tesla Vehicles with Autopilot 2 & 3 on the Road

J. Crider, Jan. 5, "In a new report by MIT’s Lex Fridman, we learn that Tesla now has over 730,000 vehicles with Autopilot Hardware 2 and 3 on the world’s roads...."  Read more Hmmmm... This is a non-trivial accomplishment not only in terms of implementation of a safety technology but also in terms of the data/information flow that such a penetration affords Tesla.  Hopefully Tesla will either release or have independent researchers substantively evaluate the safety implication of the system.  The sample size is so large that major safety implications could readily be addressed.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   Three Crashes, Three Deaths Raise Questions About Tesla's Autopilot

T. krishner, Jan. 3, "...  On Dec. 29, a Tesla Model S sedan left a freeway in Gardena, Calif., at a high speed, ran a red light and struck a Honda Civic, killing two people inside, police said.   On the same day, a Tesla Model 3 hit a parked firetruck on an Indiana freeway, killing a passenger in the Tesla...."  Read more Hmmmm...Ultimately tragic and my sincere condolences go out to all those touched by these two tragedies.  Unfortunately there is and has been nothing in AutoPilot that keeps Teslas or any other car or truck make and model from running red lights (I agree that there should be ASAP) and I have been pointing out in this eLetter the limitations of Tesla's, and every other car or truck make or model's, Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) system with properly addressing the "stationary object in the lane ahead" problem.  NTSB and NHTSA have know (or should have known) about this problem since the Joshua Brown crash. To my knowledge, they've done nothing about it.   I suspect that for NTSB/NHTSA to recall one AEB system, they'd have to recall all of them.  I do fault Tesla for not fixing this code and over-the-air updating it to solve it for Teslas.  Apparently, the fix is not so easy because the false alarm issue substantially interacts with "ride-quality".  Seems to me that safety should trump ride-quality.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="156" height="24">  Tesla meets Elon Musk’s sales goal, and stock jumps to record high

R. Mitchell, Jan. 3, "Tesla Inc. said it delivered 367,500 vehicles in 2019, achieving the sales forecast issued by Chief Executive Elon Musk and propelling its stock to a new record high.  The Silicon Valley automaker finished 2019 on an upswing. Last year it opened a new manufacturing plant in China, scored a rare profit in the third quarter, and saw its stock price soar to record highs.

Tesla needed to deliver 104,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter to meet Musk’s 2019 forecast of between 360,000 and 400,000 vehicles.

Tesla delivered 112,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter. Of those, 92,550 were Model 3s, a growth rate of 16.3% over the previous quarter and 46% above the fourth quarter of 2018. The more expensive and aging Model S sedan and Model X SUV models saw a combined 19,450 deliveries for the quarter. That’s 11.8% higher than the previous quarter, but 37% below the fourth quarter of 2018...."  Read more Hmmmm...  A non-trivial accomplishment in the market place.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  How Tesla proved the haters wrong

T. lee, Dec. 19, "On Thursday, Tesla stock rose above $400 for the first time in the company's history. The record price caps a year—and a decade—when Tesla proved its doubters wrong.

At the start of 2010, Tesla had produced fewer than 1,000 units of the high-priced Roadster. The Model S was years away. The firm's finances were still precarious, having narrowly escaped bankruptcy in the final days of 2008. Few would have guessed that Tesla was poised to become a major automaker.  Indeed, over the last decade, people repeatedly predicted that the company would run out of money and be unable to raise more. They doubted that Tesla could deliver new car models on time—or at all. They said that quality problems and missed deadlines would sour customers on the Tesla brand.

But Tesla has proved these critics wrong. It's true that the company has repeatedly missed deadlines and has sometimes shipped cars with quality problems. But those setbacks have had little impact on its customers' enthusiasm for the company. Compelling features like instant acceleration, over-the-air software updates, and Tesla's vast supercharger network have been enough to convince hundreds of thousands of fans to overlook the company's flaws and open their wallets...." Read more Hmmmm...  Yup!

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="110" height="23">  This is why Tesla drivers need to keep their hands on the wheel on Autopilot

F. Lambert, Dec 30, "...  A Model 3 driver going by Dougal Vlogs on YouTube was driving on Autopilot while filming from inside his car with a handheld camera.  While filming, he crashed his car, which he described in the video description..."  Read more Hmmmm...  In the performance of any safety analysis one must discount the "15 seconds of famers" and the fakes.  The fact that he lived demonstrates the efficacy of the Model 3's structural design.  Tesla, thank you for that contribution.  Alain  

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Researchers: Driverless cars can't just be safe. They also need to be nice.

K. Wells, Dec. 25, "... So these researchers recruited more than 400 drivers and had them fill out a personality test based on the “Big 5” traits in social science: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience..."  Read more Hmmmm...  So unfortunate that UofM still believes that Driverless cars will be sold to 'drivers' rather than be used as mobility machines to provide mobility to all.  They should have recruited 400 trip makers (outside of Michigan, not everyone drives) and found out what qualities these Driverless cars should have to encourage those folks to use these mobility machines rather than continue the unsustainable single-occupant selfish, self-centered. entitled mobility of the 2nd half of the 20th century.  Alain

 C'mon Man!  (These folks didn't get/read the memo)

Half-Baked

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  A Wave of AV Safety Standards to Hit in 2020

J. Yoshida, Dec 26, "In 2020, a host of new industry standardization initiatives for artificial intelligence will roll out in earnest. Their common mission is to develop safety standards for AI-driven systems in autonomous vehicles and robotics...."  Read more Hmmmm... Wait  a minute...  You still don't have Automated Emergency Braking systems that actually work throughout the normal driving operational domain...  brake the car before it hits something in the lane ahead and whose false alarm rate is essentially zero.  No need to move onto other AV "Safety Standards" until you've fixed this one which is less than half-baked.   Alain


StupidSummon

Too many to print... StupidSummon is competing  with cat videos as common click-bait.

Corrections

Calendar of Upcoming Events:

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Recent Podcasts

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 135 - with Jim Atkinson

F. Fishkin, Dec 5, "In this special edition... the launch of a new exchange traded fund focused on smart transportation and technology.   Guinness Atkinson Asset Management CEO Jim Atkinson joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus..a push by the Coalition for Future Mobility for action in Washington, AutoX wants driverless testing in California and Aptiv grows in Pittsburgh. "

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 134 - With Stephanie Lemcke GoKid

F. Fishkin, Nov.30, "The critical need for ridesharing, another milestone for Waymo, Mobileye in Michigan and sleeping in Teslas. In this edition of Smart Driving Cars GoKid app founder Stefanie Lemcke joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for those topics and more. Tune in and subscribe!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 133

F. Fishkin, Nov.23, "Florida's Autonomous Vehicle Summit shows what a state can do to create a welcoming atmosphere. That, plus, Tesla's Cybertruck, Ford, Waymo and more in the latest Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin.."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 132

F. Fishkin, Nov. 16, "Tesla shows off its autonomous technology as it readies a new pick up truck. Voyage unveils Voyage Deep Driver while Nuro keeps delivering in Houston. Those and more in the latest Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 131

F. Fishkin, Nov. 9, "Hoping for a driverless ride from Waymo? So are Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. In this edition...Waymo, more trouble at Uber, the latest at Lyft and Tesla...and more! Tune in to Smart Driving Cars and subscribe."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 130 with Dick Mudge & Michael Sena

F. Fishkin, Nov. 1, "An updated outlook for automated vehicles...Tesla, Waymo , Ford, VW and more. Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin are joined by guests Michael Sena and Dick Mudge in the latest edition of Smart Driving Cars!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 129

F. Fishkin, Oct 27, "Elon Musk is telling Tesla owners that feature complete self driving is coming soon...and surprises Wall Street with a profit. And traffic deaths in the U.S. are declining. Is safety tech playing a role? Join Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more.. . "

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 128

F. Fishkin, Oct 11, "Waymo advises Arizona riders that completely driverless Waymo cars are on the way. Very big news says Princeton's Alain Kornhauser in this week's edition of Smart Driving Cars with co-host Fred Fishkin. He adds...that they're betting the ranch. Also...Tesla not getting great reviews for Smart Summon, NJ Transit wants to get into the autonomous picture and more. "

Smart Driving Cars myPodcast Episode 127

F. Fishkin, Oct 6, "Tesla should park that new Smart Summon feature before it does some serious harm.  That's the view of Princeton University's Alain Kornhauser in the latest edition of the Smart Driving Cars podcast with co-host Fred Fishkin.   Plus..the World Safety Summit on Autonomous Technology, testing an autonomous fleet in the U.K. and more. "

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 126 - Sturges & Caudill

F. Fishkin, Sept 19 , "From the public library in Princeton, NJ... a special edition of the Smart Driving Cars podcast following a public forum conducted by Princeton Future on the potential for transit on demand for all. Join Princeton professor Alain Kornhauser, co-host Fred Fishkin and special guests for that...plus...the latest on Waymo, Tesla, Hyundai, Aptiv and more. " Pictures from the Princeton Future Public Forum on Driverless  Mobility for All.

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 125

F. Fishkin, Sept 19 , "Waymo is providing thousands of rides in California..but when will truly driverless mobility begin? That and the latest on Tesla, Uber, Lyft, GM and more in this week's Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. "  Just say "Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 123 - K. Kolodge JD Power

F. Fishkin, Aug 30 , "A J. D. Power study finds customer demand for safety technology threatened by overbearing alerts. Lead researcher Kristin Kolodge joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus headlines from Tesla, NVIDIA, GM's Cruise, Lyft and Ford.  "

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 122

F. Fishkin, Aug 30 , " The indictment of former Google and Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski, what Waymo's riders have to say and the latest on Toyota, Cadillac and more in the latest Smart Driving Cars podcast with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. "

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 121 - Ken Pyle

F. Fishkin, Aug 22 , "Daimler and Bosch hold a community meeting in San Jose as they ready plans for autonomous vehicle testing. Community board member Ken Pyle joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus...Waymo, Tesla and more."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 119

F. Fishkin, Aug 8 , "Uber and Lyft need driverless to have their businesses make sense. So says Princeton's Alain Kornhauser in the latest edition of Smart Driving Cars with co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus..the latest from Tesla, Waymo and more."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 118 - Michael Sena

F. Fishkin, Aug 1, "Congress seeks help with self driving legislation, an acquisition by Ford, a breakthrough in vehicle data sharing in Europe and more! The Dispatcher publisher, Michael Sena joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in a new edition of Smart Driving Cars."  Just say "Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 116 - Jerome Lutin

F. Fishkin, July 20, "Can technology dramatically improve the safety of bus transportation for pedestrians, riders and drivers? The lead investigator in a national study, Jerry Lutin,  joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin on episode 116 of the Smart Driving Cars Podcast. Plus...Tesla's new safety report, the latest from Lyft, Aptiv and a NY Times report on why driverless cars are taking longer than expected. Tune in and subscribe!."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 112 - J. Hardiman NJM

F. Fishkin, June 9, "Should the insurance industry be pushing more safety and autonomous tech in cars? It's a win, win says Princeton's Alain Kornhauser. Joining him in the discussion along with co-host Fred Fishkin is NJM's John Hardiman, a board member of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Also...Fiat Chrysler, Ford and more."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 110 - Lance Elliot

F. Fishkin, May 25, " The untold secrets of driverless car videos. Dr. Lance Eliot joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a liveley discussion. Plus...Waymo brings back self driving trucks, so will Daimler and is the future driverless for Uber and Lyft. Tune in and subscribe!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 108 3rd Summit Wrapup

F. Fishkin, May 18, "Wrapping up the 3rd annual Princeton Smart Driving Car Summit, Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin zero in on mobility for all and more. It's just getting started. Plus the headlines from Nissan, Tesla, Uber and Lyft. Tune in and subscribe!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 107 3rd Summit Leilei Shinohara & Staff Sergeant Terence McDonnell

F. Fishkin, May 18, "In this special edition from the 3rd Annual Princeton Smart Driving Cars Summit, Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin are joined by RoboSense VP Leilei Shinohara on the LiDAR's benefits. And view of autonomous technology from law enforcement with New York State Police
Staff Sergeant Terence McDonnell." 

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 106 3rd Summit David Kidd & Cecillia Feeley

F. Fishkin, May 18, "From the 3rd Annual Princeton Smart Driving Car Summit, David Kidd from the Highway Loss Data Institute joins Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin and then on site preliminary research results on mobility for all with Cecilia Feeley and Andrea Lubin from Rutgers." 

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 104 3rd Summit Anil Lewis & Katherine Freund

F. Fishkin, May 18,, "From the 3rd Annual Princeton Smart Driving Car Summit, join Professor Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. In this special edition, the summit's focus on mobility for all with guests Anil Lewis, Executive Director of Blindness Initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind and ITN America Founder Katherine Freund." 

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 100 - Andrei Greenawalt'99/Via

April 5, F. Fishkin, "The success of on demand transit company Via is proving that ride sharing systems can work. Public Policy head Andrei Greenawalt joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a wide ranging discussion. Also: Uber, Tesla, Audi, Apple and Nuro are making headlines"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 98- Matt Daus

April 5, F. Fishkin, "Here comes congestion pricing in New York City...but what will it mean? Former city Taxi and Limousine Commission head and transportation expert Matthew Daus joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Also...Tesla, VW and even Brexit! All on Episode 98 of Smart Driving Cars."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 97 - Michael Sena'69

March 28, F. Fishkin, "The Future Networked Car? From Sweden, The Dispatcher publisher, Michael Sena, joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for the latest edition of Smart Driving Cars. Plus ...the Boeing story has much to do with autonomous vehicles and more. Tune in and subscribe."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 82 - Intel, Sciarappo & Jitsik, Loeb

F. Fishkin,  Jan. 9,  "One of the top chip makers in the world and a start up. Intel's strategic marketing director for autonomous driving Jill Sciarappo and the founder of Jitsik, Dr. Helen Loeb join co-hosts Alain Kornhauser of Princeton University and Fred Fishkin for Episode 82 of the Smart Driving Cars podcast from CES."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 81 - nVIDIA, Shapiro & Local  Motors / Olli, Hodge

F. Fishkin,  Jan. 9,  "How NVIDIA is paving the way for self driving cars and a new OLLI automated transport from Local Motors. NVIDIA's Senior Director for Automotive, Danny Shapiro and Kurtis Hodge of Local Motors join co-hosts Alain Kornhauser of Princeton University and Fred Fishkin for another edition of Smart Driving Cars from CES 2019.."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 75 - PAVE; Nantel, Erlich, Riccobono   

F. Fishkin,  Jan. 9,  "From CES in Las Vegas, a new industry organization, PAVE, is formed. Partners for Automated Vehicle Education. And some founding members join co-hosts Alain Kornhauser of Princeton University and Fred Fishkin for an on site discussion. Guests include National Safety Council VP Kelly Nantel, Voyage VP Justin Erlich and National Federation of the Blind President Mark Riccobono."

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 71-Nader'55

F. Fishkin,  Dec. 13,  "When it comes to self driving cars, Ralph Nader says "Not so fast."  The renowned political activist and author takes the government and the industry to task in a super sized Episode 71 of the Smart Driving Cars Podcast. Join Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 69 - Chunka Mui

F. Fishkin, Nov 29,  "What will it take for driverless vehicles to become a leading form of transportation? Futurist and author Chunka Mui joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for Episode 69 of the Smart Driving Cars podcast. Plus...Waymo, GM, Amazon and more. Tune in and subscribe! "

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 68 - Dick Mudge

F. Fishkin, Nov 22,  "The insurance industry hears about the outlook for automated vehicles. Co-author Dick Mudge joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for Episode 68 of the Smart Driving Cars podcast. Plus...Uber, GM Cruise, Waymo, VW and more. Tune in and subscribe!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 66 - Bishop & Zimmerman

F. Fishkin, Nov 8,  "Daimler is partnering with Bosch to bring an autonomous ride hailing service to San Jose next year. In this edition, the Director of Engineering at Bosch joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to outline how it will work. Plus Richard Bishop joins us fresh from an International Task Force on Vehicle Highway Automation in Denmark. And more!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 65 - Bernard Soriano, CA DMV

F. Fishkin, Nov 1,  "California gives Waymo the green light for fully driverless vehicle testing on public roads and the state's deputy director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, Bernard Soriano, joins the Smart Driving Cars podcast with the no nonsense details. Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin explore that and more. Tune in and subscribe!"

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 58-Keith Code, Motorcycles

F. Fishkin, Sept 22  "In this edition of the Smart Driving Cars Podcast, Alain Kornhauser of Princeton University and co-host Fred Fishkin are joined by the founder of the Superbike School, Keith Code. Keith is an instructor, coach, author and researcher into motorcycle safety...and a champion racer. Beyond that....he's an old high school friend of Alain's! And there's more on BMW, Apple, VW and more! . Tune in and subscribe!"

 Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 55-Larry Burns, Autonomy

F. Fishkin, Sept 6,  "The coming new world of driverless cars! In Episode 55 of the Smart Driving Cars podcast former GM VP and adviser to Waymo Larry Burns chats with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and Fred Fishkin about his new book "Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car and How it Will Reshape Our World"

Recent Highlights of:

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[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   Hmmmm...

A. Kornhauser, Dec 30,    Hmmmm...On about December 2, I became ill with what I thought was just a cold.  I went through the week teaching my classes, did PodCast, etc. but finally, at the insistence of my wife Elizabeth, I went to my doctor at 2 pm, Friday Dec. 6.  He immediately told me to go to the emergency ward of the hospital. For the next 16 days a team of doctors, Elizabeth, her father, Laura, Michelle, ... brought me back to life.   On 12/25 I was released to a rehab facility to relearn how to walk, etc.  Unfortunately, on Dec. 28 my fever came back and I was returned to the hospital where they've gotten control of the fever.   Indications are that I'll be in the hospital for a week or so while they track this down.  Just an obvious recommendation to all... Don't mess with kidney failure, acute pneumonia, and/or bacterium Legionella.   All the best for 2020.   Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Chandler unveils drop-off, pick-up zone for self-driving cars

G. Zetino, Nov. 25, ""It’s about to get easier for self-driving cars to drop off and pick up passengers in Chandler.   The city of Chandler, in partnership with Waymo, on Friday unveiled the nation’s first drop-off and pick-up zone for autonomous ride-hailing cars.
Read more  Hmmmm...   The iconic image:

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autonomousTaxi (aTaxi) stop facilitating true ride-sharing to any destination within the autonomous transit system's Operational Design Domain.  The first of what may well become a half million or so others.  Each strategically located to be less that a 5 minute walk from essentially any of the billion or so person trip ends that are made on any typical day in the USA (outside of Manhattan (whose subway stations provide the comparable accessibility).  Twenty million or so aTaxi vehicles could readily provide on-demand, share-ride mobility from these ~0.5M  aTaxi stops.  Provided would be essentially the same 24/7 on-demand level-of-service as we do for ourselves with our own conventional automobiles; however, this mobility would be affordably achieved using half the energy, creating half the pollution, eliminating essentially all the congestion, doubling conventional transit ridership and making such improved mobility available to those who today can't or wish not to drive a conventional automobile.  This is a MAJOR 1st.  Alain

Saturday, November 23, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="110" height="19">  Self-driving car capital? One senator thinks it can be Florida

R. Wile, Nov 22, "Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) had just finished serving in the Army, and was looking to make a name for himself in Tallahassee as a junior representative. He came across a talk given by the founder of Google’s driverless car project.

He quickly realized the potential of self-driving cars to transform many aspects of daily life. Ever since, he has made it his mission to turn Florida into what he calls “an angel investor” in automation policy. “We want to have policies in place for this technology to flourish,” Brandes said in an interview at the 7th Annual Florida Automated Vehicles conference in Miami, which concluded Friday.

Brandes has drawn headlines in the tech community for filing legislation allowing virtually any automated vehicle on Florida’s roads; this summer, he helped make Florida one of the first states to make AVs without a human back-up safety driver street legal.

Among the state’s advantages Brandes points to that he believes makes it ideal for AV companies: no snow, which makes lane markings more visible. That also means less road construction in general...."  Read more  Hmmmm...  Congratulations Jeff!!! It was a great AV Summit and congratulations on creating such a Welcoming environment and intelligently shaping the birth of this technology.  What you've done is enable Florida to begin to enhance mobility and the quality of life for all in Florida  and especially those who can most benefit from these mobility machines.  It was most impressive to witness the enthusiasm for nurturing the many aspects of this technology from Florida's Governor, Miami's Mayor, Fl DoT's Commissioner, the heads of the toll road authorities, planning agencies and educational institutions.  Most impressive was Ford's comment that their autonomousTaxi efforts are focused on developing driverless technology and intend to operate it to deliver Mobility-as-a-Service in Florida, rather than sell the technology to individual consumers.  I applaud that approach and hope that Ford will look to also bringing some of those vehicles to New Jersey so that we can begin to reap the benefits of this technology.  What you've accomplished in Florida is THE "best practice" for us to emulate in New Jersey.  Congratulations.   Alain

Saturday, November 16, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> PyTorch at Tesla

A. Karpathy, Nov. 6, "Hear from Andrej Karpathy on how Tesla is using PyTorch to develop full self-driving capabilities for its vehicles, including AutoPilot and Smart Summon. ..." Read more  Hmmmm...  Worth watching the video, (except for the StupidSummon part)  Alain

Friday, November 1, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="94" height="29"> An Update on the Outlook for Automated Vehicle Systems

R. Mudge, A. Kornhauser, October, 2019, "Reality has caught up with the hype/romance of the popular press concerning the future of automated driving. Disappearing is the vision of connected swarms of driverless personal cars flowing effortlessly down our arterials and freeways. The buying public, however, is beginning to absorb the driver-assisted technologies that not only deliver safety, comfort and convenience, but also serve to embolden the traditional consumer-oriented business model. This, in turn, has
helped accelerate private investment and technology partnerships that involve almost every automobile manufacturer.

On the Driverless front, reality has set in that complete removal of human oversight is a nontrivial hurdle. Except for possibly Tesla, all visions of driverless vehicles operating on public roadways involves a business model based on a professional fleet operator managing the vehicles rather than individual vehicles owned by consumers. All demonstrations and tests to date, be they for the movement of people or goods, involve some form of explicit human oversight by a trained on-board attendant or driver, or active remote-control oversight.  Worldwide, only Waymo has indicated that they are about to begin testing driverless mobility services in Arizona, without a safety driver.  That indication only surfaced in October of 2019... "  Read more  Hmmmm...  Summary of the way Dick & I see it. Original Outlook last November. Alain

Friday, Oct 25, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="110" height="23">  Elon Musk: Tesla Full Self-Driving in early access this year, without supervision next year

F. Lambert, Oct. 26, "Elon Musk has clarified Tesla’s timeline to achieve “Full Self-Driving,” which he thinks could be in the early access program, at least in a limited way, by the end of the year.

The CEO said: "Yeah, feature-complete, I mean, it’s the car able to drive from one’s house to work, most likely without interventions. So it will still be supervised, but it will be able to drive — it will fill in the gap from low-speed autonomy with Summon. You’ve got high-speed autonomy on the highway, and intermediate speed autonomy, which really just means traffic lights and stop signs."...

"So feature-complete means it’s most likely able to do that without intervention, without human intervention, but it would still be supervised. And I’ve gone through this timeline before several times, but it is often misconstrued that there’s three major levels to autonomy. There’s the car being able to be autonomous, but requiring supervision and intervention at times. That’s feature complete. Then it doesn’t mean like every scenario, everywhere on earth, including ever corner case, it just means most of the time."...

"While it’s going to be tight, it still does appear that we will be at least in limited early access release of a feature-complete Full Self-Driving feature this year. So, it’s not for sure, but it appears to be on track for at least an early access release of a fully functional Full Self-Driving by the end of this year."...

"And then, there’s another level which from a Tesla standpoint, we think the car is safe enough to be driven without supervision. Then the third level would be that regulators are also convinced that the car can be driven autonomously without supervision. Those are three different levels."... "Read more  Hmmmm...  So it will be the 'regulator's'  fault????  Reader Beware! All must be read very carefully, especially those that I highlighted.  It's a roll of the dice (that may be, most likely, doesn't mean, ... are loaded)!

Viewer Beware!   Interesting that the image used in this article doesn't have a bounding-box around the car immediately in front.  Isn't this the most important object in that image?  Nor is there one around the nearest stationary object in the lane ahead, the sign.  Has it already determined that the sign can be passed under? I doubt it! 

Elon, you sell cars to individuals at which point you relinquish control and responsibility, and thankfully, liability, for that car.    Please do everything that you can to be certain that your cars are used responsibly at all times and that those individuals are alert and in control at all times; else, you'll re-acquire the responsibility and the liability.  The burden of liability is not good for any business.  Liability without control is TrainWreck.  The regulators won't save you.  Alain 

Friday, October 18, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="48" height="25">  Waymo to customers: “Completely driverless Waymo cars are on the way”

K. Korosec, Oct 9, "Waymo,  the autonomous vehicle business under Alphabet, sent an email to customers of its ride-hailing app that their next trip might not have a human safety driver behind the wheel, according to a copy of the email that was posted on Reddit.

The email entitled “Completely driverless Waymo  cars are on the way” was sent to customers that use its ride-hailing app in the suburbs of Phoenix.

Both the early rider program and Waymo One service use self-driving Chrysler  Pacifica minivans to shuttle Phoenix  residents in a geofenced area that covers several suburbs including Chandler and Tempe. All of these “self-driving rides” have a human safety driver behind the wheel.
TechCrunch was able to confirm from Waymo that the email went out to members of Waymo’s early rider program.  The email is posted below....
    .... Here's what you can expect:
  • If you get matched with a fully driverless car, you'll see a notification in your Waymo app that confirms the car won't have a trained driver up front....
  • you can enjoy having the car all to yourself....
...  While driverless Waymo vehicles have been spotted periodically, they have never been used to shuttle the general public. The introduction of driverless vehicles would be milestone for the company.

And yet, there remains a number of questions. It’s unclear how many of these driverless rides there will be or the what constraints Waymo will place on them. It’s likely that these will operate in more simple, controlled environments for months before it expands to more complex situations."  Read more  Hmmmm... This is VERY big news!!!

It is not completely clear because "... the car won't have a trained driver up front..."  (She could be in the back)  even though it does say:  "...  you can enjoy having the car all to yourself..."   Also meaning... No shared rides!!!  No problem. This is the very beginning... One step at a time.  One hurdle at a time!!! 

Fundamentally it means to me that for the past whatever period of time, Waymos, in the Chandler/Phoenix Operational Design Domain (ODD), have been experiencing zero at-fault-crashes and essentially zero "disengagements"  to an extent that Waymo's lawyers have signed off that the risk of a crash that could have been averted by having an attendant on board is very much smaller than the benefit of being able to provide affordable mobility in the Chandler/Phoenix Operational Design Domain (C/P_ODD). 

I am certain that the Waymo lawyers understand very well that the risk of a crash has an extremely high cost.  The lawyers understand that much, if not all, of Adam Jonas' $70B reduction in valuation of Waymo and Uber's $60B reduction in valuation from Goldman's $120B peg can be attributed to one crash... the Elaine Herzberg crash.  Consequently, Waymo's staff must have provided the lawyers with credible evidence that the probability of a crash in this ODD is essentially infinitesimal.  (Of course, it would be nice to have that discussion/evidence made public, but I'm not holding my breath.)  Here We go!! Be conservative and be safe!!! Alain 

Friday, October 11, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="156" height="24">  Your Tesla Can Now Pick You Up

R. Mitchell, Oct. 4, " Smart Summon is for parking lot use.  But drivers have other ideas.

Tesla unleashed the latest twist in driverless car technology last week, raising more questions about whether autonomous vehicles are outracing public officials and safety regulators.

...Using a smartphone, a person can now command a Tesla to turn itself on, back out of a parking space and drive to the smartphone holder's location - say at a curb in front of a Costco store.."  Read more  Hmmmm.... Russ, great article. A must read! 

Elon, please stop.  StupidSummon was a bad Valley-entitled idea before you released it.  Now that it is out there it will ruin all that is good about Tesla, AutoPilot and Driverless cars.  The shorters are going to have a field day.  

While you are at it also remove all of the DistractTainment add ons or limit their use when AutoPilot is NOT on and drivers are engaged in driving.  Just go back to V09!  Along the way also get the Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) system to work properly (See NTSB below).  To do that, maybe you should take a serious look at Velodyne's   new Tesla LiDAR.  It may be able to tell you if the stationary object in the lane ahead is high enough above the road surface before your AEB system decides to disregard it. Then Tesla's may stop decapitating drivers.

If you don't remove StupidSummon then at least be sure to limit its use to the Tesla owner's own private property by responsible users.  (You know the GPS coordinates of where each owner lives, so you can geofence it.  You also know each irresponsible use (You get the videos).  Irresponsible use (use in the violation of the conditions spelled out in the user's manual) should void its future availability in that car unless proper amend are made.  If not, then insurance companies should clearly state that insuring the use of this feature requires a substantial additional premium; else, you're not covered.  Courts should view that use of this feature implies premeditated harm and demonstrates an extreme indifference to human life.  Parking Lot owners should install signs forbidding the use of this feature on their property to protect themselves from being dragged into the claims process. 

What is most disturbing about this feature is that its only value is to enhance the self-perceived manhood of Entitled Silicon Valley XXs and may well cause the public sector to over react and ruin to opportunity of responsible driverless mobility to substantially enhance the quality-of-life of those who can't or choose not to drive a car, enhance the environment, subdue our energy use and reduce congestion.  Elon, shame on you

Saturday, September 28, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="116" height="32">Public forum will explore possibility of transit on demand in Princeton

K. Knapp, Sept 22, "What would it take to make Princeton an accessible community for all, even those who cannot or choose not to own or drive a car? Princeton Future will explore the question at a public forum from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 28 in the community room at the Princeton Public Library.

Princeton Future is a non-profit community group that studies issues related to planning, development, and affordability. Speakers will discuss the capabilities of a transit-on-demand system where small, driverless shuttles could be summoned by a smart phone app to a location within walking distance of a resident’s home...."  Read more  Hmmmm.... Listen to a summary of the event in Episode 126 of the SmartDrivingCars PodCasts. See below for other info. Alain

Friday, September 20, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Waymo’s robotaxi pilot surpassed 6,200 riders in its first month in California

K. Korosec, Sept 16, "Waymo  transported 6,299 passengers in self-driving ...drivered, not driverless...Chrysler Pacifica minivans in its first month participating in a robotaxi pilot program in California, according to a quarterly report the company filed with the California Public Utilities Commission.

In all, the company completed 4,678 passenger trips in July — plus another 12 trips for educational purposes. It’s a noteworthy figure for an inaugural effort that pencils out to an average of 156 trips every day that month.  And it demonstrates that Waymo has the resources, staff and vehicles to operate a self-driving vehicle pilot while continuing to test its technology in multiple cities and ramp up its Waymo One ride-hailing service in Arizona...

The CPUC authorized in May 2018 two pilot programs for transporting passengers in autonomous vehicles.  The first one, called the Drivered Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service Pilot program, allows companies to operate a ride-hailing service using autonomous vehicles as long as they follow specific rules. Companies are not allowed to charge for rides, a human safety driver must be behind the wheel and certain data must be reported quarterly.

The second CPUC pilot would allow driverless passenger service — although no company has yet to obtain that permit...."Read more  Hmmmm.... Be sure to look at the Waymo Quarterly Report and that of the other 3 companies: Zoox, AutoX and Pony.ai.  Those 4 companies reported respectively [ 4,678; 103; 9; 0] vehicleTrips;  [ 6,299; 134; 13; 0] personTrips; [59,917; 352; ?; 0] vehicleMiles, and [ 55; 10; 1; 0] number of unique vehicles used throughout the quarter. Note Waymo only began operating on July 2, the last month of the quarter [May, June, July].  Note: the CPUC does not permit casual shared-ride services (serving individuals or groups of individuals who weren't predisposed to travel together).  Go figure???  Alain

Also note: This is Drivered Service, meaning there is an attendant/driver inside each vehicle for each trip; so this is actually conventional ride-hailing, a la Lyft/Uber with fancy schmancy vehicles.  The CPUC did NOT require "disengagement reporting" so one has no idea as to the extent of driver/attendant involvement is the provision of the Drivered service. It will be interesting to learn if Waymo considers this activity to be part of its AV testing program and includes the disengagement performance of these vehicles in its disengagement report to the CA DMV at the end of the year.  We'll be able to infer if that the disengagement performance is exemplary when Waymo decides to begin Driverless service (w/o an attendant, as opposed to Drivered service).

If Waymo wants the public to judge if they are really making progress towards driverless MaaS, they will make public the disengagement reports on their Drivered driverless services in California, Arizona and where ever they are providing Drivered driverless services. So should Uber, Lyft/Aptive, ... Alain

Friday, September 13, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  California Passes Landmark Bill to Remake Gig Economy

Friday, September 6, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="78" height="23"> Lessons Gleaned From The NTSB Report For A Tesla Autopilot-Engaged Car Crash

L. Elliot, Sept 4, "The NTSB has released its findings about a car crash that involved a Tesla Model S with its Autopilot-engaged that rammed into the back of a parked fire truck on a busy freeway in Southern California, occurring on a sunny morning of January 22, 2019...."  Read more   Hmmm...  While the "Factual Report of the Investigation" provides the background and some interesting tidbits, the important information is contained in the:
  • "Vehicle Data Recorder Specialist's Factual Findings": especially the charts of "Vehicle drive mode information": Figures 1 for the hour leading up to the crash and Figure 2, for just the 15 minutes prior.  It is very interesting to have the precision and richness of data of the vehicle's behavior prior to the crash.  Armed with this information, no wonder Elon wants to insure these cars.   What is most interesting about these data is the chart of Lead Vehicle Distance (m).  It shows that "lead vehicle distance" is not the instantaneous value obtained by the radar but some smoothed out value of { previous readings plus the latest radar value} (else, there would be some discrete jumps in the data when other cars either cut-in or cut-out of the Tesla's lane ahead.).  Moreover, the appearance of a stationary object (approach speed = Tesla speed) in the lane ahead is disregarded (or very lightly weighted) in the determination of "lead vehicle distance". (it grew to its saturated value (that was much greater than the distance to the firetruck) once the lead SUV had changed lanes (whenever that was determined to have occurred).  At some point (possibly 490msec before the crash, see below), the system decided that the stationary object detected ahead was not a "false reading" but actually a stationary object that should no longer be disregarded.  Since it was being disregarded the Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) operated using a large value for "lead vehicle distance" so it began to accelerate to its desired cruise speed, as would be expected if "lead vehicle distance" is a large value.  Yipe!!!!!  If Elon hasn't already demanded, NTSB should require Tesla, and all other manufacturers, to: 1.  The software/logic governing TACC's behavior during  transitions involving a cut-out or a cut-in needs to be substantially improved!, and  2.  The reliability in the identification of stationary objects in the lane ahead needs to be substantially improved so that they cease to be assumed to be false alarms.   
  • "Vehicle Automation Data Summary Report": especially:
1.  Figure 4, The speed of the Tesla in the last 221 seconds before the crash showing that the Tesla was traveling rather slowly in the 100 seconds before the crash (under 20 mph), but then accelerated (as discussed above) in the 3 seconds just prior to the crash, beginning as soon as the lead SUV changed lanes,
2.  Figure 5,  the distance between the Tesla and its lead vehicle, showing that the TACC worked really well until the lead vehicle "disappeared" (changed lanes), and

3.  Figure 6  which clearly depicts the movement of the Tesla relative to the lead vehicle and the Firetruck in the 15 seconds before the crash.   The Tesla's radar and front facing camera mush have "seen' the firetruck 4 seconds before the crash and every sensing loop (1/10th of a second) during the last 4 seconds yet...
"... Data show that at about 490 msec before the crash, the system detected a stationary object in path of the Tesla. At that time, the forward collision warning was activated; the system presented a visual and auditory warning. Data also shows that the AEB did not engage and that there was no driver-applied braking of steering prior to the crash. According to Tesla, the AEB was active at the time of the crash, and considering that the stopped fire truck was detected about half a second before impact, there likely was not sufficient time to activate the AEB."  ...This implies that the AEB and its functioning in collaboration with the TACC needs to be substantially re-evaluated/re-designed.  Alain

Friday, August 30, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  Former Star Google and Uber Engineer Charged With Theft of Trade Secrets

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="107" height="19">Autonomous Vehicles:  A View from Seniors

 Katherine Freund, August 2019, "...By the year 2060, approximately 100 million people, 25 percent of the US population will be 65 years of age and older.  In this age group, people outlive their decision to stop driving by about 10 years, and three out of four live in rural and suburban communities that lack the density for traditional mass transit solutions.  Their unmet transportation needs lead to social isolation, diminished quality of life, limited access to healthcare and a strain on families and caregivers.

It is apparent that our needs change as we age, but how they change, and in particular how our transportation needs change, is only generally understood.  Based on data from the ITNRides database and the ITNAmerica annual customer satisfaction survey, the typical ITN rider is a woman (74%) age 75 or older (71%) living alone in the community (58%).  She probably has a driver’s license (69%) and owns a car (59%), but there is only one chance in three she still drives (34%).  Her most common ride is for healthcare (39.5%), followed by consumer needs (23%) and recreation (10%). ..."  Read more   Hmmmm....  Another must read.  Chock full of fundamental facts.  Alain

Friday, August 9, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  Uber Posts $5.2 Billion Loss and Slowest Ever Growth Rate


Friday, August 9, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Cruise postpones plan to launch driverless taxi service in 2019

Sunday, July 21, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="113" height="21">  Tesla Vehicle Safety Report

Tesla, July 16, "At Tesla, we believe that technology can help improve safety. That’s why Tesla vehicles are engineered to be the safest cars in the world. We believe the unique combination of passive safety, active safety, and automated driver assistance is crucial for keeping not just Tesla drivers and passengers safe, but all drivers on the road. It’s this notion that grounds every decision we make – from the design of our cars, to the software we introduce, to the features we offer every Tesla owner.

Model S, X and 3 have achieved the lowest probability of injury of any vehicle ever tested by the U.S. government’s New Car Assessment Program.

... In the 2nd quarter, we registered one accident for every 3.27 million miles driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged. For those driving without Autopilot but with our active safety features, we registered one accident for every 2.19 million miles driven. For those driving without Autopilot and without our active safety features, we registered one accident for every 1.41 million miles driven. By comparison, NHTSA’s most recent data shows that in the United States there is an automobile crash every 498,000 miles.... "  Read more   Hmmmm.... This summary uses "accident" for Teslas and "crash" for NHTSA.  This may suggest that the Tesla and NHTSA are not comp[arable... Tesla is reporting about apples and NHTSA is referring to "oranges".  That notes; however, it does seem that for Teslas with and without AutoPilot and the other active safety features, there is consistency in the measure.  A more detailed question arises about the equivalence of the driving domain for each category as well as who is at fault in each of these situations.  Even in light of these issues and details, the large variation in the rates: 3.27 v 2.18 v 1.41 is very significant among Teslas. Seems as if AutoPilot and Tesla's other active collision avoidance safety features are improving safety of Teslas. The spread from the 0.5 value for NHTSA is really astonishing making Teslas much safer than the average of all other cars. Unfortunately these numbers only scratch the surface and beg for more details. In the past I have called for an independent evaluation of the Tesla crash statistics and I do that again there today.   I'll offer to do it.  Tesla should encourage someone to do it. As it stands today, not enough people believe or trust Tesla (see below) Tesla. That's unfortunate because improved safety is THE major objective of SmartDrivingCar technology.  Alain

Friday, June 28, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="72" height="21"> Apple acquires self-driving startup Drive.ai

Saturday, June 8, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  What Truck Drivers Think About Autonomous Trucking

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="133" height="21">  June 2019 Issue

Saturday, May 18, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="126" height="36">  Making Smart Vehicles to Improve the Human Condition

Sunday, May 12, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="197" height="16"> Self-driving car company Cruise raises $1.15bn


Friday, May 3, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Congestion Pricing Plan for NYC is Coming!

Friday, March 29, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="155" height="20"> 10 Lessons From Uber's Fatal Self-Driving Car Crash

Sunday, March 17, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="116" height="32">Automated vehicles could provide mobility to the ‘mobility disadvantaged’

Friday, March 1, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="35" height="38">  FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT Lyft, Inc.

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">Autonomous Vehicles

Feb 25, " This workshop brought together experts in cyber-physical systems, machine learning, transportation engineering, and applied mathematics, both from academia and from industry, to help bridge the technical gaps and to facilitate exchange and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries..."  Read more  Hmmmm.... Slides and videos of the presentations are available here.   In particular, see..:

Friday, February 15, 2019

Thursday, November 22, 2018

 [log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="94" height="29"> Market Framework and Outlook for Automated Vehicle Systems

R. Mudge, A. Kornhauser, M. Hardison, Nov, 2018 "The surface transportation industry is in the early stages of a series of profound changes, stimulated by the development of increasingly sophisticated driving safety and automation technologies.   Considerable uncertainty exists regarding the speed with which these changes will take place and the nature of their impacts on safety, the overall demand for travel, vehicle sales, and vehicle ownership.  This report does not attempt to forecast the pace of these changes, instead advancing a list of “trigger points” that might serve as leading indicators of change....

What might these changes mean for actuaries and the insurance industry? Since Driverless vehicles will most likely be available only to fleet operators and not the general public, their actuarial and insurance implication will differ substantially from the implications of Safe and Self technologies that will be on vehicles purchased by consumers. But, will these vehicles continue to be insured in the same way as personal vehicles are today or will this practice change in some way. For example, if the burden of
liability shifts to the technology rather than the driver, then should actuaries focus on product liability rather than personal liability? To what extent does technology rather than personal behavior or demographics become the important link to liability? " Read more  Hmmmm....  This is a very good report. Listen to SmartDrivingCar Podcast 68 with Dick Mudge. (Of course, I'm biased. )  Alain

Thursday, November 1, 2018

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  A Green Light for Waymo’s Driverless Testing in California

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

New Jersey Pending Legislation re: Autonomous Vehicles

Oct 16, Establishes fully autonomous vehicle pilot program A4573 Sponsors:  Zwicker (D16); Benson (D14)

Oct 16, Establishes New Jersey Advanced Autonomous Vehicle Task Force AJR164 Sponsors:  Benson (D14); Zwicker (D16); Lampitt (D6)

Oct 16, Directs MVC to establish driver's license endorsement for autonomous vehicles A4541 Sponsors:  Zwicker (D16); Benson (D14); Lampitt (D6)..."  Read more Hmmmm.... Things are beginning to move in New Jersey.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="39" height="43"> Testimony of Alain Kornhauser, Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology - Monday, October 22, 2018 - 10:00:00 AM

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="42" height="39"> Audio Recording of Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology - Monday, October 22, 2018 - 10:00:00 AM

Friday, June 15,  2018

Tuesday, June 12,  2018

 CPUC AUTHORIZES PASSENGER CARRIERS TO PROVIDE FREE TEST RIDES IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WITH VALID CPUC AND DMV PERMITS

Sunday, June 3,  2018

  Waymo’s fleet of self-driving minivans is about to get 100 times bigger

Friday, May 25,  2018

PRELIMINARY REPORT: HIGHWAY: HWY18MH010 (Uber/Herzberg Crash)

May 24, "About 9:58 p.m., on Sunday, March 18, 2018, an Uber Technologies, Inc. test vehicle, based on a modified 2017 Volvo XC90 and operating with a self-driving system in computer control mode, struck a pedestrian on northbound Mill Avenue, in Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona.

...The vehicle was factory equipped with several advanced driver assistance functions by Volvo Cars, the original manufacturer. The systems included a collision avoidance function with automatic emergency
braking, known as City Safety, as well as functions for detecting driver alertness and road sign information. All these Volvo functions are disabled when the test vehicle is operated in computer control..." Read more  Hmmmm.... Uber must believe that its systems are better at avoiding Collisions and Automated Emergency Braking than Volvo's.  At least this gets Volvo "off the hook". 

"...According to data obtained from the self-driving system, the system first registered radar and LIDAR observations of the pedestrian about 6 seconds before impact, when the vehicle was traveling at 43 mph..." (= 63 feet/second)  So the system started "seeing an obstacle when it was 63 x 6 = 378 feet away... more than a football field, including end zones!   

"...As the vehicle and pedestrian paths converged, the self-driving system software classified the pedestrian as an unknown object, as a vehicle, and then as a bicycle with varying expectations of future travel path..." (NTSB: Please tell us precisely when it classified this "object' as a vehicle and be explicit about the expected "future travel paths."  Forget the path, please just tell us the precise velocity vector that Uber's system attached to the "object", then the "vehicle".  Why didn't the the Uber system instruct the Volvo to begin to slow down (or speed up) to avoid a collision?  If these paths (or velocity vectors) were not accurate, then why weren't they accurate?  Why was the object classified as a   "Vehicle" ??  When did it finally classify the object as a "bicycle"?  Why did it change classifications?  How often was the classification of this object done.  Please divulge the time and the outcome of each classification of this object.  In the tests that Uber has done, how often has the system mis-classified an object as a "pedestrian"when the object was actually an overpass, or an overhead sign or overhead branches/leaves that the car could safely pass under, or was nothing at all?? (Basically, what are the false alarm characteristics of Uber's Self-driving sensor/software system as a function of vehicle speed and time-of-day?)  

"...At 1.3 seconds before impact, (impact speed was 39mph = 57.2 ft/sec) the self-driving system determined that an emergency braking maneuver was needed to mitigate a collision" (1.3 x 57.2 = 74.4 ft. which is about equal to the braking distance. So it still could have stopped short.

"...According to Uber, emergency braking maneuvers are not enabled while the vehicle is under computer control, to reduce (eradicate??) the potential for erratic vehicle behavior. ..." NTSB:  Please describe/define potential  and erratic vehicle behavior   Also please uncover and divulge the design & decision process that Uber went through to decide that this risk (disabling the AEB) was worth the reward of eradicating " "erratic vehicle behavior".  This is fundamentally BAD design.  If the Uber system's false alarm rate is so large that the best way to deal with false alarms is to turn off the AEB, then the system should never have been permitted on public roadways. 

"...The vehicle operator is relied on to intervene and take action. " Wow!  If Uber's system fundamentally relies on a human to intervene, then Uber is nowhere near creating a Driverless vehicle.  Without its own Driverless vehicle Uber is past "Peak valuation".  

"...The system is not designed to alert the operator. " That may be the only good part of Uber's design.  In a Driverless vehicle, there is no one to warn, so don't waste your time.  If it is important enough to warn, then it is important enough for the automated system to start initiating things to do something about it.  Plus, the Driver may not know what to do anyway.  This is pretty much as I stated in PodCast 30 and the March 24 edition of SmartDrivingCar, See below.Thursday, May 10,  2018

Thursday, April 26,  2018

 This startup’s CEO wants to open-source self-driving car safety testing

Saturday, March 24,  2018

Experts say video of Uber's self-driving car killing a pedestrian suggests its technology may have fail

Tuesday, April 17, 2017

  Don't Worry, Driverless Cars Are Learning From Grand Theft Auto

[log in to unmask]" alt="imap:[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.36&filename=ajafjpkfaclhelpc.png" class="" width="44" height="50" border="0">Extracting Cognition out of Images for the Purpose of Autonomous Driving

announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles

Sunday, December 19, 2015

[log in to unmask]" alt="imap:[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.38&filename=ccalfjfhllohpdpa.png" class="" width="96" height="63" border="0">Adam Jonas' View on Autonomous Cars

Video similar to part of Adam's Luncheon talk @ 2015 Florida Automated Vehicle Symposium on Dec 1.  Hmmm ... Watch Video  especially at the 13:12 mark.  Compelling; especially after the 60 Minutes segment above!  Also see his TipRanks.  Alain

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