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Friday, September 20, 2019

http://SmartDrivingCar.com/7.39-Drivered-092019

[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

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

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="115" height="40">  Changing the way we get around

Princeton Future, Sept 18, "What would it take to make Princeton an accessible community for all, even those who cannot or who choose not to own or drive a car?..."  Read more  Hmmmm....Come, Saturday Sept. 28, 9:00am, Princeton Library.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="35" height="34">  U.S. Secretary of Transportation Announces Automated Driving System Demonstration Grant Winners

Press release, Sept 18, "U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao today announced nearly $60 million in federal grant funding to eight projects in seven states to test the safe integration of automated driving systems (ADS) on our nation’s roadways.  These grants aim to gather significant safety data to inform rulemaking and foster collaboration amongst state and local government and private partners.

“The Department is awarding $60 million in grant funding to test the safe integration of automated vehicles into America’s transportation system while ensuring that legitimate concerns about safety, security, and privacy are addressed,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao.... "  Read more  Hmmmm.... Congratulations to Texas A&M ($7.1M), U of Iowa ($7.0M), Virginia Tech (2 @ $7.5M), Ohio DoT ($7.5M), Penn DoT ($8.4M), City of Detroit ($7.5M), and Contra Costa Transportation Authority ($7.5M).  For a list and description of awarded proposals and those that weren't (a total of 73), see: Automated Driving System Demonstration Grants  Proposals can be found at US_DoT_AV_$60M_Proposals.Alain  Alain


UD_DoT_AV_$60M_ProposalUD_DoT_AV_$60M_Proposals

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   What Really Brought Down the Boeing 737 Max?

W.  Langewiesche, Sept 20, "...The 737 Max remains grounded under impossibly close scrutiny, and any suggestion that this might be an overreaction, or that ulterior motives might be at play, or that the Indonesian and Ethiopian investigations might be inadequate, is dismissed summarily. To top it off, while the technical fixes to the MCAS have been accomplished, other barely related imperfections have been discovered and added to the airplane’s woes. All signs are that the reintroduction of the 737 Max will be exceedingly difficult because of political and bureaucratic obstacles that are formidable and widespread. Who in a position of authority will say to the public that the airplane is safe?...

These broader implications, however, have been lost in the noise. After President Trump weighed in on the basis of no perceptible knowledge, and the F.A.A. was forced to retreat from its initial defense of the airplane, Boeing had to accept a public onslaught. The onslaught has included congressional hearings, federal investigations, calls for the criminal prosecution of Boeing executives, revelations by whistle-blowers, attacks in the news media, the exploitation of personal tragedy and the construction of a whole new economic sector built around perceptions of the company’s liability. Boeing has grown largely silent, perhaps as much at the request of its sales force as of its lawyers. To point fingers at important clients would risk alienating not only those airlines but others who have been conditioned to buy its airplanes, no matter how incompetent their pilots may be."   Read more  Hmmmm.... A must read and many lessons to be learned about organizations, public oversight, safety, perceived safety and the fact that nothing is perfect.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  Short-Term Impact on Oil Prices Seen After Attack on Saudi Facilities

C. Krauss, Sept 15, "The drone attack on one of Saudi Arabia’s most important oil facilities could cripple a portion of Saudi petroleum exports for days or even weeks, and oil futures prices briefly spiked 20 percent when markets opened on Monday in Asia. But experts say that a severe shock to energy markets and the world economy is unlikely.

... The country produces about 10 percent of the world’s oil supplies. The disruption could slash Saudi Arabia’s daily oil exports of 7.4 million barrels by as much as three-quarters, taking roughly 5 percent of global supplies off the market, unless the facility is quickly repaired. ... how does 3/4 of 10% = 5%, but whatever??? ... The 3/4 is more likely 1/2, which is also likely high, but whatever??? 

... Only a decade ago, the attack would probably have sent oil prices soaring. But that was before American oil production climbed with the shale drilling frenzy. The United States now produces roughly 12.1 million barrels a day, double what it produced in 2012 and 1.4 million barrels more than only a year ago.

The United States imports about 630,000 barrels of Saudi oil a day, down about half from 2017.... " Read more  Hmmmm....  Why do we import any??  I can't help but think... "Is this another "Gulf of Tonkin"!??   Alain 

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Top Safety Pick + 2019 Tesla Model 3

IIHS/HDLI, September, "...

Front crash prevention
System details
standard Automatic Emergency Braking
Applies to 2017-19 models

Overall evaluation
This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph IIHS test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph IIHS test, this vehicle avoided a collision...."  Read more   Hmmmm...  See imapes, video.  Pretty impressive. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="102" height="19">  The Shift to Electric Vehicles Propels a Strike Against GM

A. Davis, Sept 17, "When United Automobile Workers members walked off the job at 33 General Motors sites around the US on Sunday morning, perhaps the most … striking detail was that they only numbered 46,000. The last time the UAW’s GM workers went on strike, in 2007, they were 73,000 strong. And that was a fraction of the 259,000 US hourly production workers GM employed in 1991...

The electric car may be great for the planet and glorious for drivers, but it’s no good for jobs.... Last year, a study by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO found that by 2030, a moderate shift to electric propulsion could leave 75,000 Germans out of work—even accounting for the creation of 25,000 new jobs. That’s because batteries and motors are far simpler machines than internal combustion engines, and require a few hundred parts instead of a few thousand. That’s the same reason maintenance costs for EVs are so low—a problem for dealerships that rely on servicing cars for profits. Fewer parts mean fewer people.... " Read more  Hmmmm.... Simpler motor, no transmission, no drive shaft, no fuel pump, no.... :-) Pain in the butt battery :-(.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="160" height="19">  Uber, Lyft drivers snarl Brooklyn Bridge and FDR traffic at rush hour to protest pay changes

t. Tracy, Sept 17, "They wanted to drive their point home, but they ended up driving New Yorkers crazy.

Hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers created massive traffic snarls in downtown Brooklyn and along Manhattan’s East Side Tuesday morning as they formed a slow-moving caravan over the Brooklyn Bridge to protest new measures by the two app-based companies that could affect drivers’ income...."  Read more  Hmmmm.... The fat lady is signing.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  How men and women differ in their travel patterns

M. Sivak, Sept 16, "In this analysis I examined gender differences in travel patterns. The data came from ATUS—the American Time Use Survey.  ATUS provides nationally representative estimates of the amount of time people spend doing various activities. It is an annual time-diary study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The analysis used the following two variables from ATUS:

  • Average percentage of persons traveling (using any travel mode) per day by activity.
  • Average hours spent traveling per day by activity for persons who traveled in connection with the activity.

Weekday and weekend activities are combined in each of these two variables. Therefore, the information is an average applicable to every day. The data are for persons 15 years of age and older, and they are applicable for 2018.  The results are shown in the following table...." Read more  Hmmmm....  Michael, very interesting!  Alain 

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  TuSimple adds another $120 million to its self-driving trucks war chest

K. Korosec, Sept 17, "Self-driving truck startup TuSimple  has added another $120 million to a Series D funding round led by Sina,  operator of China’s biggest microblogging site Weibo, bringing the total haul to $215 million as it seeks to expand.

The company, which launched in 2015 and has operations in China, San Diego and Tucson, Ariz., hit unicorn status in February when it raised $95 million in the Series D round with a post-money valuation of $1.095 billion. This additional funding includes investment from UPS, which announced in August that it had taken a minority stake in TuSimple just months after the two companies began testing the use of autonomous trucks in Arizona...."  Read more  Hmmmm.... Congratulations.  A V trucking is hot.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="100" height="20">  Taiwan unveils first homegrown self-driving electric minibus

G. Liao, Sept 15, "The Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), a government-sponsored vehicle testing and R&D institute in Taiwan, recently unveiled Taiwan’s first indigenous self-driving, purely electric minibus -- the WinBus -- said a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) news release.

The WinBus meets the Society of Automotive Engineering's (SAE) level 4 autonomous-driving (high-automation) standard, according to the ARTC. “In fixed or closed fields, the self-driving electric vehicle can fully accomplish all environment-monitoring and self-driving tasks without human intervention,” the center said..."  Read more  Hmmmm....Maybe one of a growing list of shuttles with attendants.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   Life, death, and spontaneous combustion — here's why the debate about Tesla fires just got more fierce

L. Lopez, Apr 26, "There was yet another Tesla fire, this time in Shanghai.  It broke out as a Tesla Model S was sitting in a parking garage. The car had not just suffered an impact, as in previous fire cases, and it was not charging. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The company is investigating the incident.

In the world of Tesla, fires have become a battleground for the company's supporters and detractors. Supporters accuse the media of making too much of the sometimes grisly incidents. They point out that combustion-engine fires happen all the time without garnering any attention.

Detractors accuse the company of not being open enough about the cause of the fires and why they sometimes occur even though a car has not appeared to have sustained any kind of impact...."  Read more  Hmmmm.... Very interesting.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Automotive Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Woodside Capital Partnes, September 2019, " ....In this industry report, we look at where Automotive Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at present, what countries are becoming key players, the state of technologies available, and a look into a new paradigm shift from hardware to software. The report also discusses opportunities and threats that are available at present, market participants and M&A market placements, and the different companies and their profiles.... "   Read more  Hmmmm....  Some very interesting charts in this slide deck.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="78" height="23"> Voyage Snags $31 Million As It Targets A Self-Driving Niche: Retirement Communities

A. Ohnsman, Sept 12, "oyage, a Silicon Valley self-driving vehicle startup focused on using the technology to provide transportation at retirement communities, has landed $31 million of new funding to expand its robotic fleet and engineering team.

Led by 31-year-old CEO and cofounder Oliver Cameron, a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, Voyage said Franklin Templeton was the lead investor in its Series B round, which was also backed by Khosla Ventures and Jaguar Land-Rover and Chevron tech investment funds. The Palo Alto, California-based company, spun out of online university Udacity in 2017, has raised a total of $52 million to date.

That’s a fraction of the billions of dollars invested in R&D by Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, General Motors’ Cruise and Uber, but Voyage has been building up real-world experience ferrying riders in low-speed autonomous vehicles for two years in programs at The Villages retirement communities in San Jose and central Florida, near Orlando. That particular niche market aligns with where the technology is at the moment, Cameron says.
Read more  Hmmmm....   Congratulations Cameron.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="110" height="23">  Rivian is going to make 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon

F. Lambert, Sept 19, "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has announced Rivian, an electric vehicle startup that took a $700 million investment from the online retailer, is going to make 100,000 electric delivery vans for them.

At the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Bezos announced plans to address climate change, and the new electric delivery vehicles were part of the announcement.  The CEO said that the agreement was made official, and Amazon is committed to buying 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian to be deployed between 2021 and 2024.

To date, Rivian has only announced plans to build an electric pickup truck, the Rivian R1T, and an electric SUV, the Rivian R1S.  It looks like Bezos jumped the gun and announced that Amazon was buying a product that hasn’t been announced yet, but we are told that Rivian is going to announce more details next about its electric van.. ...."  Read more   Hmmmm...  Will they end up being driverless???   Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="110" height="23">  Rivian unveils first picture of new electric van

F. Lambert, Sept 19, "Rivian is unveiling the first picture of its new electric delivery van — the company’s third electric vehicle — as it already has over $4 billion in orders from Amazon for it. ...."  Read more   Hmmmm...  Will they end up being driverless???   Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="110" height="23"> Tesla V10: first look at release notes and features of the massive update

F. Lambert, Sept 15, "The automaker has recently added Xbox controller support for its Tesla Arcade games and you are probably going to want to use one for this game. You are going to want an Xbox controller with a USB cable for it. ...."  Read more   Hmmmm...  Some/much of this is really distracting to driving and may be more dangerous than AutoPilot.   V10 seems to be making driving a Tesla like vegging on the sofa in your parent's basement.  Not good!!   Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="35" height="33"> Paris tests new bubble-shaped water taxi

AP, Sept 18, "Paris is testing out a new form of travel: an eco-friendly bubble-shaped taxi that zips along the water up and down the Seine River.  Organizers are holding test runs this week on one white, oval-shaped electric hydrofoil boat that resemble tiny space shuttles gliding past Paris monuments.

The boats can fit four passengers, and if they get approved, can be ordered on an app like land taxis, shared bikes or other forms of transport.  Its designers hope to run the so-called Seabubbles commercially in Paris and other cities starting next year.  Read more  Hmmmm....  On-demand Ferry service; On-demand Driverless Ferry Service???  Why not??? Alain 




Half-baked stuff that probably doesn't deserve your time

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="129" height="24">  This Electric Smart Car Racing Crash Is Both Adorable And Extremely Intense

E. Blackstock, Sept 20, "I didn’t know that an electric Smart car racing series existed until last night, ... I didn't either.  ... and I’m absolutely heartbroken that I didn’t get to see the series’ Vallelunga race live... I can't go that far.   .... If you haven’t seen the clip yet, then strap in and get ready to see the most absurd racing accident you’ve ever seen...."  Read more   Hmmmm... Enjoy the videos.:-)  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Why China Could Be Tesla's Undoing

Motorhead, Sept 20, "Disclosure: I am/we are short TSLA, VIA PUTS. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. ... I buy high and sell low so you should be careful of my Hmmmm...s  ... Tesla (TSLA) is preparing to start Model 3 production at its Shanghai Gigafactory 3 (GF3) by year-end and Tesla fans are excited about China becoming the EV maker's next pillar of growth. China is the world's largest EV market and, by producing its cars locally, Tesla can avoid high import tariffs and enjoy the benefits of cheaper labor and component costs.

Tesla has also received yet-unseen, powerful support from China's government, which has allowed Tesla not only to be the first foreign carmaker to own 100% of its Chinese operations but also lined up domestic banks to lend Tesla over a half a billion dollars to help finance the GF3's build-out...."  Read more   Hmmmm... There is information here, but as with everything, read carefully.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Ride-pooling found to be more effective than driverless cars at reducing congestion

J. Loughran, Sept 11, "Ride-pooling mobility systems could offer “substantial benefits” if they are able to attain sufficient market share, the researchers said. Moreover, these systems do not require self-driving vehicles but simply centralized fleet coordination, which is achievable with today’s technologies.... "  Read more   Hmmmm... True, they don't require Driverless; however, getting drivers, especially gig workers, to actually implement the instructions generated by the "centralized fleet coordination " system is non-trivial task.  The failures in human implementation of those instructions may likely null much of their potential advantages.  Uber/Lyft drivers tend to abhor ride-sharing (less tipping, more argueing).  That may be why ride-hailing hasn't achieved much ride-sharing.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="136" height="17">  Self-driving cars increase safety but require trust

M. Malmstedt, Sept 20, "...But lack of ...  trust can put this development at a halt..."  Read more   Hmmmm... I strongly agree, the rest... ??  What really struck me was the image.  Is that really aspirational???  Everyone living in towers, SegHoles, phones-in-face, no adults... I give up!! Alain


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


Simply ClickBait


 Calendar of Upcoming Events:

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Changing the way we get around!

Can we become a welcoming community to new technology?
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Princeton Public Library
Beginning at 9:00 AM

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Recent PodCasts

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 124

F. Fishkin, Sept 14 , "Will Uber and Lyft have to speed up driverless technology to survive? Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin on that...plus Argo AI, Tesla, Daimler and more on the Smart Driving Cars podcast. "

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 120

F. Fishkin, Aug 18 , "Solving senior mobility needs with Uber, Lyft and autonomous transportation. Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin weigh in on that...plus Tesla, UPS, the big problem with congestion pricing 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:

[log in to unmask]" class="" width="129" height="76" border="0">

Friday, September 13, 2019

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

K. Conger, Sept 11, "California legislators approved a landmark bill on Tuesday that requires companies like Uber and Lyft to treat contract workers as employees, a move that could reshape the gig economy and that adds fuel to a yearslong debate over whether the nature of work has become too insecure....

The bill may influence other states. A coalition of labor groups is pushing similar legislation in New York, and bills in Washington State and Oregon that were similar to California’s but failed to advance could see renewed momentum. New York City passed a minimum wage for ride-hailing drivers last year but did not try to classify them as employees.

In California, the legislation will affect at least one million workers who have been on the receiving end of a decades-long trend of outsourcing and franchising work, making employer-worker relationships more arm’s-length. Many people have been pushed into contractor status with no access to basic protections like a minimum wage and unemployment insurance. Ride-hailing drivers, food-delivery couriers, janitors, nail salon workers, construction workers and franchise owners could now all be reclassified as employees..."   Read more  Hmmmm....  This is really bad news for businesses that, in order to justify their current valuation, must grow/scale from a situation where they are not profitable.  This increases their unit cost of labor.  More damaging is that it explicitly makes them labor intensive.   Their opportunity to have increasing scale reduce unit costs disappears.  This is a real wake-up call to investors.  Uber/Lyft's only hope is "Driverless", which may not emerge soon enough to save them.  Alain

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

M. Isaac, Aug 27, "Anthony Levandowski was once one of Silicon Valley’s most sought after technologists.  As a pioneer of self-driving car technology, he became a confidant of Larry Page, a co-founder of Google, and helped develop the search giant’s autonomous vehicles. Uber wooed him to gain an edge in self-driving techniques. Venture capitalists threw their money at him.

But on Tuesday, Mr. Levandowski, 39, fell far from that favored stature. Federal prosecutors charged him with 33 counts of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets from Google. ...

The criminal indictment against Mr. Levandowski from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California opens a new chapter in a legal battle that has embroiled Google, its self-driving car spinoff Waymo and its rival Uber in the high-stakes contest over autonomous vehicles. The case also highlights Silicon Valley’s no-holds-barred culture, where gaining an edge in new technologies versus competitors can be paramount....

According to the indictment, Mr. Levandowski downloaded more than 14,000 files containing critical information about Google’s autonomous-vehicle research before leaving the company in 2016. He then made an unauthorized transfer of the files to his personal laptop, the indictment said. Mr. Levandowski joined Uber later that year when the ride-hailing firm bought his new self-driving trucking start-up, which was called Otto....

“The Bay Area has the best and brightest engineers, and they take big risks,” John Bennett, the F.B.I. special agent in charge of the San Francisco Division, said at a news conference on Tuesday. “But Silicon Valley is not the Wild West. The fast-paced and competitive environment does not mean federal laws do not apply.”Mr. Levandowski’s next court date is Sept. 4. If he is convicted, he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine for every count and additional restitution.

“All of us are free to move from job to job,” said David L. Anderson, United States attorney in the Northern District of California. “What we cannot do is stuff our pockets on the way out the door.”..."  Read more   Hmmm...  Central to this technology is the perception of personal safety and trust.  Lying, cheating & stealing can't be part of this industry, else it will never emerge from the venture stage.  If DeiselGate and the Uber crash weren't enough, let this be the next wake-up call to this industry to clean up its ethical behavior.  Hopefully the FBI will also aggressively pursue all cyber attackers. It isn't cute, nor a virtual reality game. It is hard serious work and creativity focused on improving the quality of everyday life. Alain

Friday, August 23, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Five myths about autonomous vehicles

J. Browne, Aug 16, "Autonomous vehicles are the future. Self-driving cars could change our lives, heralding an era of greater convenience, improved productivity and safer roads...."  Read more   Hmmmm....  Actually much of this opening sentence is a myth... It doesn't take Self-driving or Driverless to have automation technology yield safer roads.  It takes safe-driving technology that works, like Automated Emergency Braking (front and rear)...  And ... are we really going to do our "manufacturing or service job " (increase "productivity") if we don't have to do the work of driving anymore???  Of the few "riding shotgun to work" what percentage are doing work while riding shotgun?  Certainly less than 10%.  Less than 1%?  So much for productivity improvements 

If we get to Driverless, then the myths aren't myths.  There will be fewer private cars, downtown congestion will be reduced, the environment will be saved, the insurance industry's gross revenues will go down substantially  (but their profits will go up) and AVs are already safer than humans that text and/or are "under the influence" while driving. 

If we don't get to Driverless, then we'll remain with "Do-it-yourself private mobility" that will include Self-driving assistance.  Armed with that form of personal mobility, then all the myths are myths: More private cars ...   and the policy implications are clear.  See: J. M. Greenwald, A. L. Kornhauser "It’s up to us: Policies to improve climate outcomes from automated vehicles".   Also, to have a proper perspective of the role of transportation and car/"FordF150s" in greenhouse gas emissions see...  M. Sivak, Aug 22, "Increased relative contribution of medium and heavy trucks to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions"   Alain

Saturday, August 17, 2019

[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

K. conger, Aug 7,  "Uber set two dubious quarterly records on Thursday as it reported its results: its largest-ever loss, exceeding $5 billion, and its slowest-ever revenue growth.  The double whammy immediately renewed questions about the prospects for the company, the world’s biggest ride-hailing business. Uber has been dogged by concerns about sluggish sales and whether it can make money, worries that were compounded by a disappointing initial public offering in May.

For the second quarter, Uber said it lost $5.2 billion, the largest loss since it began disclosing limited financial data in 2017. A majority of that — about $3.9 billion — was caused by stock-based compensation that Uber paid its employees after its I.P.O.  Excluding that one-time expense, Uber lost $1.3 billion, or nearly twice the $878 million that it lost a year earlier. On that sariesme basis and excluding other costs, the company said it expected to lose $3 billion to $3.2 billion this year...Lyft has also reported a series of deep losses. This week, it said it lost $644.2 million in the second quarter, though it added that it expected that amount to abate. Several months earlier, Lyft had also posted a particularly steep loss related to stock-based compensation payouts to its employees..."  Read more   Hmmmm....  No wonder Uber looked so good prior to its IPO, it hadn't "paid" its employees.  So is this really a "one time" expense?? Anyway, Driverless is their only potential savior as a $40 stock. They can't afford to pay their employee, their gig workers can't feed families, new customers can't afford their prices and food delivery generates only chump change.  Uber Stock price, See also...Uber and Lyft keep losing money while driving up the number of cars on our overcrowded streets. Alain

Friday, August 9, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Toyota invests $600m in Didi and signs smart fleet management joint venture

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

A. Hawkins, July 24, "Cruise will miss its goal of launching a large-scale self-driving taxi service in 2019, the GM subsidiary’s CEO Dan Ammann said in an interview Tuesday. The company plans to dramatically increase the number of its autonomous test vehicles on the road in San Francisco, but will not be offering rides to regular people this year.

Previously, GM executives told investors that its autonomous ride-hailing service would be open to the public by the end of this year. Now it seems as if Cruise is moving away from deadlines and launch dates altogether. Ammann, GM’s former president who now leads its autonomous vehicle unit in San Francisco, wouldn’t even commit to launching the service next year, in 2020....

Cruise is still waiting for the federal government to accept or reject its request to deploy a fleet of fully driverless Chevy Bolt vehicles without steering wheels or pedals. The request was in limbo until this past March, when the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it would solicit public comments and conduct a review. That process concluded in May, and now Cruise is waiting for a final verdict. “We’re in dialogue with them,” Ammann said of NHTSA. “And nothing further to comment on at this point.”...

It will also host community events to answer questions from residents of San Francisco who, in some respects, are the company’s unwitting test subjects in its public self-driving experiments...."  Read more   Hmmmm.... Starting in the Blue Chip cities trying to serve those that already have lots of mobility options is turning out to be a fundamentally flawed approach. 

Wouldn't it be better to start providing mobility to those in areas that aren't currently well served by existing mobility options... cars and transit.  Find such places like Central Jersey, Chandler AZ, South Carolina, The Villages and Peoria be precursors to the MountainViews, Washington DCs, Miamis, SFs and LAs.  Start there where the need exists and real benefits can be delivered.  See also Timothy Lee's take on this. Alain

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

Sunday, July 14, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Ford-VW alliance expands to include autonomous and electric vehicles

A. Hawkins, July 12, "In a widely anticipated move, Ford and Volkswagen announced Friday their plan to expand their seven-month-old alliance to include autonomous and electric vehicles.

As part of the deal, VW will invest a whopping $2.6 billion in Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle startup based in Pittsburgh that practically no one had heard of until Ford’s own eye-popping $1 billion investment in 2017. VW will invest $1 billion in cash, as well as $1.6 billion in assets that include the auto giant’s Munich-based Autonomous Intelligent Driving team, which will be absorbed by Argo. After the deal goes through, Argo’s post-money valuation will be over $7 billion....

The deal also gives Argo a global reach. The company, which was founded by former Uber engineers with ties to Carnegie Melon University’s famed robotics lab, has been testing its cars with Ford’s backing in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Miami, and Washington, DC. Now it can also deploy its vehicles on European roads under VW’s guidance....

A month ago VW severed a partnership with Aurora Innovation, the autonomy startup founded by former Google self-driving head Chris Urmson. Argo was co-founded by Bryan Salesky, another former member of the Google self-driving team. He was also on the same team as Urmson in the 2007 DARPA autonomous vehicle challenge, which is seen as a watershed moment in the pursuit for self-driving cars. Ford dumped $1 billion into Argo in 2017 and has worked closely with the startup ever since....

Companies have been pairing up to work on self-driving cars for years now, but only recently has that relentless coupling taken on more serious overtones. Over the last few months:
Apple acquired the startup Drive.ai (buying the beleaguered company literally as it was shutting down);
Honda has partnered with General Motors’ Cruise unit;
Volvo and Uber just unveiled their first jointly-developed autonomous SUV after three years of working together;
Waymo is teaming up with Renault-Nissan to bring the Alphabet unit’s self-driving minivans and trucks to Japan and France;
Fiat-Chrysler and Hyundai, along with Amazon, are both partners with self-driving startup Aurora." 
Read more  Hmmmm...  That pretty much rounds up the serious deep pocket alliances: Waymo+, GM/Cruise+, Ford/Argo+, Uber/Volvo,  Lyft/Active, Hyundai/Yandex and Aurora+ with  SoftBank  influencing in the wings. That leaves  Zoox, Toyota, Daimler, BMW looking for dance partners????  Tesla doesn't seem to need one.  (Would Elon sell to Toyota??).  Alain

Friday, June 28, 2019

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

Friday, June 21, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Lexus Moves One Step Closer to a World Without Crashes (Lexus may have pulled the press release???)

Press Release, June 19, "...Collisions that result in injury can often be caused by a delay in a driver’s recognition of the situation and his or her ability to react accordingly.
 
In a move to help prevent such accidents before they happen, the Lexus Safety System+ will be a standard feature in all US Lexus vehicles starting with the 2020 model year. “We are working toward preventing crashes before they happen,” said David Christ, group vice president and general manager, Lexus Division.“ That's why we have developed some of the most advanced safety features on the road today, and now those systems will be standard equipment on every model we sell.  ..Nice!...

Designed to help protect drivers, passengers and pedestrians, the Lexus Safety System+ is an integrated suite of four advanced active safety packages anchored by automated pre-collision warning and braking. They include:

  • Pre-Collison System with Pedestrian Detection

This system is engineered to help detect a preceding vehicle or a pedestrian ... why not also a stationary fire truck, or a car stopped at a controlled intersection, or a brick wall, or...???  NotGoodEnough!...  Below see Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: The ADAS Road to AV Reality - #SmartDrivingCar... in front of the Lexus under certain conditions . Should the system detect a pedestrian or a potential frontal collision, it’s designed to activate an audible and visual alert while automatically preparing Brake Assist for increased braking response... why not also begin immediately to brake and slow down ? (Hint..."not sure" is not the right answer.)  If the situation is sufficient for you to alert the driver why isn't it good enough to immediately start to reduce the speed of the car.  Worse case is that you added a couple of seconds to the trip.  The driver can always override the brakes by pushing harder on the gas pedal if the driver insists on tailgating or is committing suicide or ???.  NotGoodEnough!.... If the driver does not brake in time,... are you kidding??  You knew a crash was impending, and you waited until it was too late???  NotGoodEnough!... the system is designed to automatically begin braking before impact... and then you'll slam on the brakes???  NotGoodEnough!... and, in some cases... Not most/many cases; just some cases???  NotGoodEnough!..., can even bring the vehicle to a stop

  • Lane Departure Alert ...OK, but not Lane Centering...
  • Intelligent High Beams ... Great...
  • Dynamic Radar Cruise Control

This system uses radar and camera technology to help maintain a preset speed and following distance from the vehicle ahead. If driving at highway speeds and the road ahead clears, the vehicle returns to its preset speed. .... Great, but a couple of questions... 1.  If the system is on and I tap the brakes, does the system turn off just the acceleration function because it understands that I tapped the brakes because I felt that I was going too fast so the system should not override my explicit signal.  Nice!! However, does it also assume that I really know what I'm doing?  Consequently, it also turns off the brake function even in situations in which I am not applying enough brake forces and a crash is imminent?  Does it again wait until it is too late and and refuse to help me in those critical moments?  Then you'll slam on the NotGoodEnough!  (Note... my S Anti-lock Braking ystem explicitly overrides the way that I'm applying the brakes and keeps me from doing the wrong thing.  Thank you ABS!  What makes the AEB situation different when the system knows better and could really help me in an as critical situation?

2.  What happens if the system is on and I'm following a car at my preset distance going 10 mph under my desired speed.  The car ahead changes lanes because she sees that a parked fire truck is in our lane ahead.  Once her car clears my lane ahead, does the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control system take into account the existence of the parked firetruck ahead and brings me to a smooth stop before hitting the Firetruck?   Or, does the system begin to accelerate to my desired speed and simply leave it to the Pre-Collison System with Pedestrian Detection system to try to "save the day" after it is too late?........"  

Read more  Hmmmm... Again, very nice that these features will be standard.  It is really unfortunate that they are not better.  Hopefully, since the limitations that I expressed above are all software related, Lexus will be able to do over-the-air (or otherwise) updates of the software as soon as Lexus has put more effort into the "intelligence" that uses the data streams generated by their cameras and radars   Alain

Friday, June 14, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Hyundai self-driving deal points to industry-wide pattern

T. Lee, June 13, "It has been a busy week for Aurora, the self-driving startup founded by veterans of the Google, Tesla, and Uber self-driving programs. On Monday, Aurora announced it had forged a partnership with Fiat Chrysler. On Tuesday, Aurora said it was ending its partnership with Volkswagen. Now Hyundai is deepening its partnership with Aurora with an equity investment.

It's the latest example of an industry-wide pattern: one after another, car companies have made big investments in self-driving startups. And these deals mean that carmakers are effectively entering into self-driving alliances with one another....

All of the recent deals between car companies and self-driving companies could put Waymo in a difficult position. Waymo has been working on self-driving technology much longer than any of its rivals, and the company aimed to introduce a driverless taxi service long before others came to market. In that scenario, Waymo would have its choice of automotive partners, so Waymo has been keeping its options open.

But the reality is that Waymo will need help from automakers to scale up rapidly. As more and more automakers commit to Waymo's rivals, Waymo risks becoming stranded—with industry-leading sensors and software but limited capacity to integrate the technology into a large number of vehicles...."  Read more  Hmmmm... Good summary of "self-driving car" partnerships but, by including Waymo in the mix, it is conflating what I continue to contend are two VERY different markets...  Self-driving and Driverless.  What makes them like oil & vinegar is that self-driving vehicles are for the Consumer market and are little different from conventional cars.  Driverless cars are for the Fleet/Business market.

Self-driving cars require a driver in order to deliver any meaningful mobility or value.  Their automation stack delivers additional comfort, convenience and safety to the auto industry's existing customer base.  As such it is a "consumer play" and requires no regulations or public oversight other than what exists today.  Any safety issues can be handled through standard  "product liability" and standard "NHTSA recall" procedures.  Its market penetration evolution is like going from manual transmission to automatic transmission, as Tesla is demonstrating with AutoPilot. From outside the car, one can't tell if it has it or doesn't.  It is a consumer choice at time of purchase.

Tesla is creating its own "automatic transmission"/"AutoPilot stack".  Other OEMs are hedging their bets by partnering with  technology provider for their self-driving technology stack. They'll continue to produce the rest of the car, as they have done for years, and possibly outsource their "automatic transmission" when the time comes. 

Driverless cars  are "mobility machines" when managed as a fleet delivering mobility to individuals.  They are  a "business play".  It is all about the economic efficiency/profitability in delivering mobility to individuals.  The fundamental value is in the opportunity to provide consistent reliable affordable mobility at scale.  The technology stack has taken the inconsistency, unreliability and monetary cost of a human driver out of the loop.  Since algorithms, rather than people, tailor the service to meet individual needs, such systems scale attractively.  All of this MUST be done safely without a driver/attendant, else the economics/affordability/scalability completely collapses. 

From outside the car one can tell that there isn't a driver in the driver's seat.  Consequently, public oversight at all levels from top to  grass roots will need to be comfortable with this thing with no driver in it going down their street and invading their neighborhood and transporting their kids, grandmas, mobility disadvantaged, ... .  Everyone is going to weigh-in with perceptions and regulations.  Consequently, the deployment of the technology is going to need to be "welcomed" .  "Uber-like swashbuckling bravado isn't going to cut is.

Driverless Mobility-as-a-Service is the market that Waymo (and GM/Cruise and Ford/Argo) have been going after.  Because of its need to be "welcomed" (or at least not disdained) by the residents and businesses that abut the streets over which these vehicles deliver their mobility, the deployment dynamics for Driverless is very different from Self-driving.  All Self-driving needs is for Madison Avenue / "Elon Musk" to convince individuals of the comfort and convenience of being able to have the car drive itself some of the time and they are sold.  Driverless requires substantial public relations/education of communities to achieve "welcoming".  A real "ground war".   That is what Waymo (and GM/Cruise and Ford/Argo) needs to conduct to just get started.  Once started Waymo need to continue it to scale (Value is achieved only with scale). 

Finding OEMs that will sell Waymo cars on which to affix its technology stack will not be the problem.  The car is the commodity. The welcoming of the technology stack by communities is the fundamental differentiator.  Waymo is sitting on an order for at least 82,000 cars from FCA and Jaguar.  The order has been announced, but not executed because insufficient "ground warfare" has even been waged, let alone been successful (except in Arizona).  With welcoming environment these 82,000 mobility machines could be serving 4 million person trips per day in communities throughout the country. (Note... our nation's transit systems today (only) serve an equivalent number of person trips; although they are longer trips taken in much more densely populated areas.  The Waymo-served trips would likely be trips that our conventional transit systems can't effectively serve and thus complement conventional transit.  Some of the trips would replace auto trips.  The others would be new trips by persons who can't or don't want to drive their own car for whatever reason and whose lives have been substantially disadvantaged because their mobility needs aren't effectively served by either the personal car or conventional mass transit.

The other elephants in the room that aren't mentioned in the article are SoftBank and Tesla. Today Tesla "owns" the Self-driving market and SoftBank is "involved" with essentially everyone except Tesla and Waymo.  Alain

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

M. Sena, May 22," In This Issue:
Third Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit  ... A fantastic 7 page detailed summary of the 3rd Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit.  Thank you!!!...
European Commission is getting it wrong on V2X  ... A most well-written and well-supported critical assessment of the EU Transport Commission's recommendation on Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS).  Read it carefully, including "There is justice after all"... European Parliament's reply to the Transport Commission's recommendation. ...
Dispatch Central
    Toyota backs off IEEE WAVE in U.S.  ... More details on Toyota's evolving position on V2X communication standards....
    Uber: A Fool’s Gold ... Yup!
    FCA and Tesla: Strange bedfellows .  ... I did not know that!...  
    Tesla’s fifteen minutes of European fame. ... March Model 3 sales in EU  of 15k.  If April is greater than 5k, fame may have legs....
    A Road Trip Down Memory Lane  ... Read with a smile.... 
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Here’s looking at you, kid  ... Everything has a downside.  I like to tell my students that one of the things that the human brain does very well if "forget".  "Optimal Learning" needs some "Optimal  Forgetting" where the objective function is Personal Privacy.  Sure, observe all you want to give me short-term convenience/pleasure, but erase all the data before anyone can use it to hurt me, where both the convenience/pleasure and the hurt are from my perspective, not yours!! 
 
 Read more  Hmmmm... In the aftermath of the Summit, reading and grading the student's final projects in my course and awarding final grades, I misses Michael Sena's early release of the June issue of his Dispatcher.  It is so excellent that I put out this special edition focused just on it.  Enjoy every word!!!   Alain

Saturday, May 25, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="47" height="27">  Speed cameras are coming to Philadelphia's deadliest road

Saturday, May 18, 2019

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

K. Pyle, May 17, "3.5 million and 5+ million deaths per year are a couple of the statistics that stood out from the 2+ day, 3rd annual SmartDrivingCars Summit at Princeton. There are approximately 3.5 million individuals in the United States who never leave their homes and approximately 1.9M of those people have disabilities, according to Robbie Diamond, President & CEO of SAFE. He went on to say that, “Transportation is the biggest predictor of inter-generational upward mobility.”
His comments echoed the conference theme of improving mobility for all people, especially the mobility marginalized, to paraphrase Professor Alain Kornhauser. Kornhauser brought together participants from multiple disciplines and backgrounds to an event that is like no other. This year, he introduced a research element where there were a couple different opportunities to gauge the reactions of everyday people of varying abilities to various levels of autonomous vehicles...."  Read more  Hmmmm... Ken, thank you for such an excellent summary and all of the help.  Alain

Sunday, May 12, 2019

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

Sunday, May 5, 2019

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="140" height="17">  VW Inclusive Mobility aims to make sure tech takes care of everyone

A. Krok, May 2, "You can't please all the people all the time, but Volkswagen wants to make sure that when it moves into the next era of mobility, it won't leave any groups behind. 

Volkswagen this week unveiled its Inclusive Mobility Initiative, which sees the automaker working directly with outside groups to ensure that its future vehicles are capable of catering to people with disabilities..."  Read more  Hmmmm...This is fantastic and may well be in line with the focus we've taken with the upcoming 3rd Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit 10 days from now.  Our focus is on all people who have been marginalized by the unnecessary/non-inclusive/exclusive designs of our current forms of mobility, .  These designs are especially irresponsible when one no longer needs a person to drive... to keep the car from crashing while on its way from where people are to where the want to go.   What an enormous opportunity to be of service to so many that for what ever reason don't want or can't perform that task.  Yes, there are situations in which a professional is required.  At times, we all need we all need that the help of a professional.  But for all of those situations in which a professional is not needed, we have an enormous opportunity to be so much more inclusive by removing the other unnecessary exclusivities  that have consciously or unconsciously crept into our cars and transit systems.  Our mobility systems no longer need to be big and hold many people to make them affordable, no driver needs to be paid.  They no longer need to be constrained to only go between the few places than many want to go between at only certain times.  They can readily serve where only a few, even one, want to go between at whatever time.  The skill set needed to use and be served diminishes to the skill set needed by the easiest to use elevator. And so on...

Be sure to look VW's Inclusive Mobility Initiative.  Hopefully it encompasses and levels the mobility field  for the people that its cars have marginalized for 100 years.  Alain

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

Hmmmm.... New Jersey is now started.  Hooray!! Alain

Sunday, March 17, 2019

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

A. Kornhauser, March 13, "The following testimony was provided to the New Jersey State Assembly’s Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee on Monday, March 11....

What we need, what my ask is, that we create in New Jersey a “welcoming environment” for the research, testing and demonstration of this technology and work to focusing it on improving the mobility of the mobility disadvantaged...

While such a demonstration is not prohibited in New Jersey, it is not permitted.  

Consequently, this provides excuses and hurdles to bringing such mobility to our communities and tarnishes any other welcoming efforts aimed at enabling New Jersey to lead instead of follow in what may well address the fundamental objective of this hearing."  Read more  Hmmmm....Seems so simple. I have found it so incredibly hard. Alain

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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