[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="31"
height="32">
The
100-Year
History of
Self-Driving
Cars
A.
Townsend, Aug.
3, "he first
self-driving
vehicles were
ships. After
centuries of
wrestling with
wind and
waves, ancient
sailors
devised
contraptions
that harnessed
these forces
of nature to
fill in for
man. They were
simple but
ingenious
solutions,
like the
sheet-to-tiller
system, which
is still used
today.
To
rig it, you
simply take
the jib sheet
(the rope that
controls the
smaller sail
up front) and
run it around
a pulley and
back across
the deck.
Finish by
tying the
bitter end to
the tiller
(the stick
that steers
the boat).
Now, when a
gust hits and
the boat
starts to
round up into
the wind, the
jib will pull
the rope
around the
pulley and
yank the
tiller,
steering the
vessel back
the opposite
way.
Tricks like
this helped
clever
mariners
relieve the
fatigue of
long shifts at
the helm
during the Age
of Sail. You
can use it to
crack open a
cold one and
enjoy the
spray as your
yacht plows
through the
whitecaps like
a train on
rails. And
while tillers
were
repurposed to
steer the
first
automobiles,
this old
technique
didn’t make
the leap from
sea to land —
though we can
imagine some
frightful,
fruitless
attempts to
make it do so.
By 1891, the
introduction
of the
steering
wheel, by
Benz, put the
matter to
rest.
On land,
self-steering
actually got
harder when
machines
replaced
animals.
Motorization
was a vast
improvement
over draft
animals’
muscle power,
but the gain
came at the
expense of
brain power.
It had long
been common
for riders on
horseback, and
even cart
drivers, to
fall asleep at
the reins.
Their dutiful
animals would
simply keep
following the
road or stop
dead in their
tracks.
Cars and
trucks,
however,
needed drivers
to guide them
second by
second. Their
soaring
popularity,
combined with
the growing
risks posed by
their weight
and speed,
birthed a
variety of
experimental
self-steering
schemes. One
1925
demonstration
of a remotely
controlled
vehicle in New
York City
offered a
glimpse of
driverless
autos to come,
simultaneously
tantalizing
and terrifying
the public.
Cruising down
Broadway
before
thousands of
onlookers, the
optimistically
named American
Wonder drove
“as if a
phantom hand
were at the
wheel,”
reported the
New York
Times.
Despite this early misstep, the auto industry continued to daydream about remote-controlled cars. At the 1939 World’s Fair, the Futurama exhibit by General Motors featured an enormous motorized diorama of an American city. Free-flowing highways plied by self-driving cars, trucks, and buses crisscrossed bustling districts of slender skyscrapers. There was even a “traffic control tower” where, the future city’s designers imagined, dispatchers would direct the movements of tens of thousands of vehicles by radio. By the 1950s, guide wires embedded in the road surface had replaced radio as the preferred technology for remote-controlled vehicles. Ironically, it was RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, that staged the first successful demonstration of this approach in the 1950s...." Read more Hmmmm.... CliffsNotes to his new book Ghost Road. Alain
[log in to unmask]"
class="">
SmartDrivingCars
PodCast 169
w/Anthony
Townsend
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast Episode169
w/Anthony
Townsend
Video
version of SmartDrivingCars
PodCast 169... Alain
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""
width="44"
height="44"
border="0">
The
SmartDrivingCars
eLetter,
Pod-Casts,
Zoom-Casts and
Zoom-inars are
made possible
in part by
support from
the Smart
Transportation
and Technology
ETF, symbol
MOTO. For
more
information: www.motoetf.com. Most funding is
supplied by
Princeton
University's
Department of
Operations
Research &
Financial
Engineering
and Princeton
Autonomous
Vehicle
Engineering
(PAVE)
research
laboratory as
part of its
research
dissemination
initiatives.
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Hyundai’s
autonomous
vehicle
project with
Aptiv will now
be called
Motional
A. Hawkins,
Aug. 11,
"Hyundai’s
autonomous
vehicle joint
venture with
Aptiv has a
new name:
Motional. The
company, which
plans to test
fully
driverless
vehicles for
ride-hailing
services later
this year,
said the new
name is meant
to evoke the
“motion” of
transportation
as well as the
“emotion” of
the decision
to get
somewhere
safely.
The joint
venture was
first
announced in
March 2020,
when Hyundai
said it would
spend $1.6
billion to
catch up to
its rivals in
the autonomous
vehicle space.
Aptiv, a
self-driving
technology
company that
is an offshoot
of global auto
parts supplier
Delphi, owns
50 percent of
the venture.
Karl Iagnemma,
the former CEO
of
self-driving
startup
NuTonomy that
was acquired
by Delphi in
2017, is now
president and
CEO of
Motional. In
an interview,
he said the
company’s
fleet of
vehicles that
are operating
in Las Vegas,
Singapore, and
Seoul will
soon be
rebranded with
the “Motional”
brand.
“Whether we
like it or not
these days
transportation
decisions are
emotional
decisions,”
Iagnemma said.
“Choosing how
to get from A
to B safely,
that’s an
emotional
decision. So
Motional will
keep that
insight
central to
every product
we
develop.”..."
Read
more Hmmmm.... Notional should start
testing in
Trenton's
Operational
Design Domain
where there
exists real
need for
affordable
high-quality
mobility
between many
As and Bs at
any time
serving
anyone.
Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="43"
height="31"> Uber
CEO says its
service will
probably shut
down
temporarily in
California if
it’s forced to
classify
drivers as
employees
L. Feiner,
Aug 12, "Uber
would likely
shut down
temporarily
for several
months if a
court does not
overturn a
recent ruling
requiring it
to classify
its drivers as
full-time
employees, CEO
Dara
Khosrowshahi
said in an
interview with
Stephanie
Ruhle on
Wednesday on
MSNBC.
“If the court
doesn’t
reconsider,
then in
California,
it’s hard to
believe we’ll
be able to
switch our
model to
full-time
employment
quickly,”
Khosrowshahi
said.
Uber and rival
Lyft both have
about a week
left to appeal
a preliminary
injunction
granted by a
California
judge on
Monday that
will prohibit
the companies
from
continuing to
classify their
drivers as
independent
workers.
Following the
order will
require Uber
and Lyft to
provide
benefits and
unemployment
insurance for
workers...."
Read
more Hmmmm.... Will California classify
automated
driving
systems as
employees?
Because of the
peaking of
demand during
the day,
driving is NOT
a full-time
job for but a
few. If the
job pays a
living wage
with benefits,
it is
affordable
only to the
very rich or
those using
someone else's
money. Time
for Uber and
Lyft to really
bring on
Driverless.
Alain
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Expert:
Policy for
autonomous
vehicle
industry is
"like the Wild
West"
O. Rummier,
Aug 11. "A
lack of
federal policy
has hampered
the autonomous
car industry's
transparency
with
communities
where the
vehicles are
tested,
American
University
professor
Selika Josiah
Talbott said
during a
virtual Axios
event on
Tuesday.
What she's
saying: "We
need
guidelines.
Right now,
it's like the
Wild West. We
need bumpers
in place so we
don't have
rogue actions
testing
vehicles on
the roadway
and possibly
causing harm
to the general
public,"
Talbott said.
The big
picture: A
patchwork of
state laws on
autonomous
vehicles
exists because
"state by
state, they
have different
implications
for the use of
their drivers
license, for
the revenue
that these
cities and
governments
get from our
driving
actions each
and every
day," Talbott
said.
Although the
federal
government has
said it
doesn't want
to impede
innovation,
Talbott said
that "from one
state to the
next, we don't
know who's
driving these
vehicles or
having these
vehicles on
our roadway,
we don't know
the crash rate
of these
vehicles."
When
driverless
cars are
tested in
communities,
people are
often unaware.
"We don't have
PSAs out
there, we're
not informing
the general
public of what
is happening
in their
neighborhoods
and in their
community,"
she said.
The bottom
line: "When it
comes to who
should be
acting and how
they should be
acting, we
have a tug of
war between
localities and
the federal
government,"
Talbott
said...."
Read
more Hmmmm.... Amazing how so very few
are really
focused on the
opportunity to
provide
high-quality
affordable
mobility to
those that are
mobility
marginalized
(those that
for whatever
reason can't
drive
themselves
from where
they are to
where they
want to go
when they want
to go. Those
folks are
largely women,
minorities,
the poor, the
young and the
old. And not
white
supremacist
who tend to
have their
Jeeps, F-150s,
Hummers nor
rich closet
... who have
their Beemers
and Benzes.
See also,
A conversation
on the future
of autonomous
vehicles
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Uber
and Lyft
ordered by
California
judge to
classify
drivers as
employees
J. Peters,
Aug. 10, "A
California
judge ruled
that Uber and
Lyft must
classify their
drivers as
employees in a
stunning
preliminary
injunction
issued Monday
afternoon. The
injunction is
stayed for 10
days, however,
giving Uber
and Lyft an
opportunity to
appeal the
decision. Uber
said it
planned to
file an
immediate
emergency
appeal to
block the
ruling from
going into
effect.
Uber and Lyft
are under
increasing
pressure to
fundamentally
alter their
business
models in
California,
the state
where both
companies were
founded and
ultimately
prospered. At
issue is the
classification
of
ride-hailing
drivers as
independent
contractors.
Uber and Lyft
say drivers
prefer the
flexibility of
working as
freelancers,
while labor
unions and
elected
officials
contend this
deprives them
of traditional
benefits like
health
insurance and
workers’
compensation.”..."
Read
more Hmmmm.... This makes them no
better and
possibly worse
than
conventional
taxi
companies.
Only
opportunity to
scale is via
driverless.
Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="43"
height="31">
SpaceX
is
manufacturing
120 Starlink
internet
satellites per
month
M. Sheetz,
Aug, 10,
"SpaceX is
manufacturing
its Starlink
satellites at
an
unprecedented
rate for the
space
industry,
analysts say,
as the company
dives headlong
into building
a space-based
global
internet
service.
Elon Musk’s
company told
the Federal
Communications
Commission in
a presentation
last month
that its
Starlink unit
is “now
building 120
satellites per
month” and has
“invested over
$70 million
developing and
producing
thousands of
consumer user
terminals per
month.”..." Read
more Hmmmm.... Who would have
thought....
build a
reusable
launch system
to launch
thousands of
your own
satellites.
(and then win
a DoD contract
to launch 40%
of theirs.
Brilliant!)
Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" width="76"
height="32">
IBM Enhances
The Weather
Company Max
Traffic
Solution with
Vizzion Camera
Network
Press release,
Aug. 13,
"Vizzion,
provider of
the largest
traffic camera
network in the
world, is
pleased to
announce a new
partnership
with The
Weather
Company, an
IBM Business,
to integrate
traffic camera
imagery,
streams, and
data into its
Max
Traffic
broadcast
solution.
Through the
partnership,
Max Traffic
customers are
able to use
imagery and
video feeds
from Vizzion's
US and Canada
camera network
in broadcast
traffic and
weather
reports,
boosting
viewer
engagement and
giving
audiences a
live,
hyper-local
look at road
conditions.Research has shown that 83% of television news viewers watch the morning news for traffic, providing broadcasters an opportunity to showcase their content and start their audience's day off right. In addition, 59% of traffic viewers want their traffic content delivered in the context of an integrated weather and traffic report.[1]..." Read more Hmmmm.... Many years ago, soon after the launch of the Weather Channel one of my students in a sophomore intro course did a term project creating a Traffic Channel ("trafficTainment") complete with highlights of the crash-of-the-day and much more. (Un) Fortunately he went on to bigger and better things. I'm so glad I don't watch the TV, the News Channels, the Weather Channel or the Traffic Channel. Watch video. Personally, I much prefer CoPilot's elegant "Thermometer" display of the delay on my best route ahead when I'm traveling. It simply let's me know what's important ahead. I don't need to be burdened by everyone else's problems ahead of them. Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="43"
height="31">
Chinese
Tesla rival
Xpeng Motors
files for New
York IPO
A. Kharpal,
Aug. 10,
"Chinese
electric car
start-up Xpeng
Motors has
filed for an
initial public
offering (IPO)
on the New
York Stock
Exchange,
according to
an official
filing.
While the
company did
not disclose
how many Class
A ordinary
shares it
would sell,
Xpeng Motors
said it would
sell
429,846,136
class B
ordinary
shares,
according to
the Securities
and Exchange
Commission
(SEC) filing
published
Friday. It
also said it
plans to raise
a placeholder
amount of $100
million, a
figure that
will likely
change...." Read
more Hmmmm... Is this the Tesla Fashion
knock-off that
will be sold
on Canal
Street in
NYC? Do you
want the real
Tesla or the
fake
Tesla???? Has
any Fashion
knock-off ever
made it
big??? Alain
Corner case Video
Staff, Aug. 2020, See video Hmmmm.... Complements to Jon Niles for sharing, just in case one needed some corner cases to test in one's simulation environment. There also exists the proliferation of dash cam crash videos, Plus Elon must have many/all of the Tesla crash and near misses. Placing many of these in a virtual simulation environment could provide a benchmark for driverless systems. Alain[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Tesla’s
stock run
leads to 5-1
share split
C. Assis,
Aug. 12, "The
move was
geared to
“make stock
ownership more
accessible to
employees and
investors,”
the company
said. Tesla
(TSLA) shares
have more than
tripled so far
this year.
Each
shareholder of
record as of
Aug. 21 will
receive a
dividend of
four
additional
shares of
common stock
for each
then-held
share, to be
distributed
after the
close on Aug.
28, Tesla
said. Trading
on a stock
split-adjusted
basis will
begin on Aug.
31, it said.
The split is a
recognition
that the
market “is
increasingly
influenced by
individual
investors,
including
those looking
to gain
exposure to
next-generation
transportation
trends,” Baird
analyst Ben
Kallo wrote in
a note
Wednesday...."
Read more
Hmmmm.... Whew!!! What a Fashion
Statement!
Alain
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Automated
transport
could propel
development
forward. Can
we turn the
vision into
reality?
A. Lokshin,
Aug. 11, "The
transport
sector has
always
unleashed the
creativity of
engineers,
inventors, and
problem
solvers of all
kinds. But
even the
greatest
innovations
don’t always
come to life.
After the
early
excitement of
the public and
investors, the
vast majority
(70% to 97%)
of new ideas
do not survive
the “trough of
disillusionment,” and only a lucky few end up being widely adopted.
This certainly
applies to the
field of
transport
automation.
Despite
impressive
technological
strides,
attempts to
automate
transport
operations are
usually met
with reactions
that can range
from mild
skepticism to
downright
hostility.
Yet automated
transport
solutions
could bring
significant
benefits to
both
developing and
developed
countries,
including
lower
operating
costs, greater
flexibility,
and higher
safety
standards. If
we get it
right,
automation
could
ultimately
make transport
“smarter” and
address many
adverse
consequences
of our current
mobility
system: road
fatalities,
pollution,
congestion,
time and
productivity
losses, etc...
" Read more Hmmmm.... While they do refer to
the elevator
analogy, they
completely
miss the
implications
of
the automation
of
elevators...
that it
allowed
elevators to
serve demand
24/7 even when
the magnitude
of that demand
is small.
When large,
one can easily
afford human
labor. (the
hat hat can be
passed around
the many
riders and
collect enough
to pay the
human
operator.)
But when
demand is
small, the hat
comes back
empty. Then
you need a
driver whose
variable cost
is essentially
zero...
computers,
sensors,
software.
Automation
really doesn't
do much for
high speed
trains, Bus
rapid Transit
and large city
buses. It is
game changing
for small
on-demand
shuttles and
vans. Alain
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""> COVID-19
Key Statistics
Update, July
24, 2020
D. Hall,
July 24, "The
COVID-19
pandemic that
began in
December 2019
continues.
Some parts of
the world that
experienced
significant
numbers of
cases in the
winter and
spring have
brought
SARS-CoV-2,
the
coronavirus
that causes
COVID-19,
under control.
Other parts of
the world have
begun to
experience the
pandemic only
more recently.
The
coronavirus
continues to
spread in the
U.S., where
cases appeared
in February,
and
significant
numbers of
cases were
first recorded
in March. This
report shows
updates
through July
22, 2020 to
selected
graphs from
the Key
Statistics
section of the
comprehensive
report...." Read
more Hmmmm.... Continues to be the
best
presentation
of the data,
in my
opinion. NY
Times tried
looking at
death
certificate
data
(apparently
from the CDC's
WONDER
database)
in The
True
Coronavirus
Toll in the
U.S. Has
Already
Surpassed
200,000,
however, their
graphs are
"eye candy"
and
unreadable. Lately
the
NY Times has
been doing a
really good
job at
visually
presenting
data for
information
purposes until
this
initiative.
If the
objective is
to gain
comparative
insight, one
must have all
graphs be at
the same
scale! (There
may even be a
deeper issue
here as to the
accuracy of
the
statistical
analysis of
this internal
NY Times
analysis. Who
peer-reviewed
this report?)
Alain
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Assessing
the Experience
of Providers
and Users of
Transportation
Network
Company Ride
sharing
Services
E. Morris,
May 2019, "
This report
studies driver
and traveler
attitudes
towards
Liverpool and
Lyft Shared,
Uber and
Lyft’s
services that
take advantage
of data
connectivity
and analytics
to match
travelers on
the fly so
they can share
rides. We
conducted a
survey of over
300 drivers
and over 1100
Uber/Lyft
travelers in
the cities
where shared
service is
offered. We
included
travelers who
use the
services
regularly,
those who have
tried the
services but
have given
them up, and
those who use
Uber/Lyft but
do not use the
shared
services. We
also mined
Twitter and
examined over
2000 tweets
about the
services. We
find that
drivers tend
to be
dissatisfied
with providing
these
services,
citing what
they perceive
to be unfair
compensation,
the difficulty
of the work
(such as
picking up and
dropping off
numerous
passengers),
and problems
dealing with
passengers
(for example
when
passengers do
not get along
with each
other or
become
frustrated
with the
travel time).
Passenger
attitudes are
more mixed,
with
passengers
appreciating
the cost
savings but
citing
problems such
as long travel
times and
unreliability.
Some users and
non-users,
particularly
women, also
express
concerns about
safety. The
social
experience and
helping the
environment do
not appear to
be major
attractions
for riding,
although we
find that
sharing
humorous
anecdotes
about other
passengers has
become
something of a
meme on
Twitter. We
find that a
substantial
number of
respondents
will not try
the services
or have given
up use of
them, and thus
we offer
numerous
suggestions
for improving
shared
service,
including
increasing
driver
compensation;
changing the
pricing system
by increasing
the cost of
non-shared
rides and
reducing and
restructuring
the cost of
shared rides;
and improving
the social
experience,
for example by
allowing
passengers to
rate each
other, more
aggressively
banning bad
passengers,
allowing women
the option of
sharing with
only women,
and using
Facebook to
inform
passengers
when they have
things in
common. ..."
Read
more Hmmm... This has some really good
information
focused on
ride-sharing
in
ride-hailing.
I consider the
findings to be
fundamental
and should not
be radically
changed by
Covid. Alain
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Tesla
Train Fire in
North Platte,
NE
Post, Aug
1, "...
"Recently,
there was an
unfortunate
occurrence
resulting in
the loss of an
entire auto
rack full of
Tesla electric
automobiles in
North Platte.
A UP manager
relayed that
when Tesla
officials
arrived
several days
later to
examine the
rail car, they
gave
instructions
upon entering
the car, that
if they
collapsed, to
not come in
after them.
The UP
managers were
told to call
the first res
ponders and
tell them “I
may have been
electrocuted
with up to 480
volts”. He
explained that
some of the
battery cells
may still be
conducting
current and
the entire
rail car could
have
potentially
been energized
by any number
of the
batteries.
I examined the
[train] car
and took these
photographs....
photo link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_atMdifPsd2BN6X7Y-Bw-NNFPx65YNHi/view?usp=sharing
As you can
see, the cause
of the fire is
not known, as
of now.
Personally, I
think it is
plausible to
say that there
might have
been a battery
failure in one
of the 3/Y on
board.
Nebraska is
also wicked
hot right now
so that might
also have
something to
do with it.
Again come to
your own
conclusion,
but there is
no explicit
reason stated
as of
now...." Read
more Hmmm... See also... Fire
crews battle
blaze at
Bailey Yard
and Union
Pacific rail
yard in North
Platte site of
large fire
Alain
C'mon Man! (These folks didn't get/read the memo)
Sunday Supplement
Half-Baked
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Transportation
official: Los
Angeles is
using
driverless
technology to
improve
pedestrian
safety
O. Gummier,
Aug. 11, "...
Reynolds sees
layering
automation
into buses as
an opportunity
to improve
safety while
freeing bus
drivers to be
"trained for
more community
functions,"
like assisting
riders with
disabilities,
de-escalating
conflicts and
addressing
medical
emergencies...
Read
more Hmmmm...Nice, but... if this is
one of your
lead reasons
for
automation,
then you are
no where near
capturing the
real value of
automation...
providing
affordable
high-quality
mobility for
the mobility
disadvantaged
which has
opportunities
to deliver
societal
values that
are many
orders of
magnitude more
than
pedestrian
safety can
deliver.
Alain
Click-Bait
Calendar of Upcoming Events:s
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/[log in to unmask]"
class="">
These editions are sponsored by the SmartETFs Smart
Transportation
and Technology
ETF, symbol
MOTO. For more
information…head to www.motoetf.com
SmartDrivingCars PodCast Episode 168 ZoomCast Episode 168 w/Olaf Sakkers
F. Fishkin
Aug 8, "Is
Tesla a tech
stock? Or a
fashion
product? Maniv
Mobility's
Olaf Sakkers
authored a
piece on
Medium with
that title and
he joins
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser
& co-host
Fred Fishkin
for that
plus... GM's
would be Tesla
challenger
Cadillac
Lyriq,
TuSimple,
Uber, Ford and
more."
SmartDrivingCars PodCast 167 ZoomCast Episode167 w/Robin Chase, Carlos Pardo & Daniel Sperling
F.
Fishkin July
29, "In the
midst of a
pandemic, what
is the future
of ride
sharing and
mobility?
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser and
co-host Fred
Fishkin are
joined by
Robin Chase
and Carlos
Pardo of the
New Urban
Mobility
Alliance and
the director
of the
Institute for
Transportation
Studies at U C
Davis, Daniel
Sperling to
dig into the
challenges
ahead."
SmartDrivingCars
PodCast
Episode 166
ZoomCast
Episode 166
w/Jay
Rodgers'95,
CEO Local
Motors
![imap:<a href=]()
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border="0">
SmartDrivingCar
Zoom-inar
Episode 005
AmaZooks
F. Fishkin, July 20, "Is Driverless home delivery the fastest route to Affordable Mobility for the Mobility Disadvantaged? ... "
SmartDrivingCars
PodCast
Episode 165,
ZoomCast
Episode165
w/Michael Sena
SmartDrivingCars
Pod-Cast
164 Episode
164, Zoom-Cast
Episode 163
w/Robbie
Diamond
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 163, Zoom-Cast Episode 163 w/Henry Greenidge
F. Fishkin, July 2, "Transportation, racial injustices and changing the thinking around the future of mobility. NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy & Research fellow Henry Greenidge joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in an eye and mind opening episode of Smart Driving Cars. Plus Amazon, Zoox, Waymo, Tesla & more. ." ... Alain
SmartDrivingCars
Pod-Cast
Episode 162,
Zoom-Cast
Episode 162
w/Cliff
Winston
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height="42"
border="0">
DrivingTheDebate Episode 004 Insurance:
For or Against
SmartDrivingCars?
F. Fishkin, June 23, "But the debate is not really about technology nor is it about who delivers the best value for the money or the most privacy. It is about ..."
- Zoom-inar (Video replay) Insurance: For or Against SmartDrivingCars?
- PodCast (Audio Only) Insurance: For or Against SmartDrivingCars?
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 161, Zoom-Cast Episode 161 w/Alberto Stochino
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 160, Zoom-Cast Episode 160 w/Jessica Cicchino
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 159, Zoom-Cast Episode 159 w/Kara Kockelman
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height="42"
border="0">
DrivingTheDebate Episode 003 Everyone's
for
Connectivity;
but...
F. Fishkin,
June 2, "But
the debate is
not really
about
technology nor
is it about
who delivers
the best value
for the money
or the most
privacy. It is
about ..."
- Zoom-inar (Video replay) Everyone's for Connectivity; but...
- PodCast (Audio Only) Everyone's for Connectivity; but...
SmartDrivingCars
Pod-Cast
Episode 158,
Zoom-Cast
Episode 158
w/Chunka Mui
SmartDrivingCars
Pod-Cast
Episode 157,
Zoom-Cast
Episode 157
w/Grayson
Brulte
![imap:<a href=]()
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height="42"
border="0">
DrivingTheDebate
Episode 002 The
Future of
Public Roadway
Transit
F.
Fishkin, May
14,
"Will the Bus
be Thrown
Under the
Bus?...- Zoom-inar Video (Video replay) Smart Driving Cars: The Future of Public Roadway Transit
- PodCast (Audio Only) Smart Driving Cars: The Future of Public Roadway Transit
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 156, Cars Zoom-Cast Episode 156 w/Danny Shapiro2
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 155, Zoom-Cast Episode 155 w/Alex Roy2
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 154, Zoom-Cast Episode 154 w/Dan Sperling
![imap:<a href=]()
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height="42"
border="0">
DrivingTheDebate
Episode 001 The Driverless "New Normal" Debate
F.
Fishkin, April
27,- Zoom Video
- SmartDrivingCar
PodCast (Audio
Only) Smart
Driving Cars:
The Driverless
New Normal
Debate
- Zoom Audience Questions (Only a few were addressed in Zoom-inar)
- Zoom
Audience
Comments
- YouTube Video
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 153, Zoom-Cast Episode 153 w/Dick Mudge2
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 152, Zoom-Cast Episode 152 w/Brad Templeton
SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 148 - Richard Bishop
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="77"
height="18"> SmartDrivingCars Zoom-Cast Episode
148 - Richard
Bishop
Video version... Watch our first attempt.... Alain
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 147 -
Michael Sena
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 142 -
J. Hughes
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 141-
A. Roy
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 139-
Randal O'Toole
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode
138-Nick Zart
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 136
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 135 -
with Jim
Atkinson
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 130
with Dick
Mudge &
Michael Sena
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 112 - J.
Hardiman NJM
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 110 - Lance Elliot
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 108 3rd
Summit Wrapup
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 107 3rd Summit
Leilei
Shinohara
& Staff
Sergeant
Terence
McDonnell
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 106 3rd Summit
David Kidd
& Cecillia
Feeley
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 104 3rd Summit
Anil Lewis
&
Katherine
Freund
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 97 - Michael
Sena'69
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 71-Nader'55
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode 69 -
Chunka Mui
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 65 - Bernard Soriano, CA DMV
Smart
Driving Cars
Podcast
Episode
58-Keith Code,
Motorcycles
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 55-Larry Burns, Autonomy
Recent Highlights of:
![imap:<a href=]()
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height="69"
border="0">
Saturday, August 8, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">
The Biggest
Self-Driving
Truck Startup
Stumbles in
Hitting High
Goals
A.
Efrati, July
22, "In just
five years,
TuSimple has
become the
biggest and
most visible
developer of
self-driving
trucks,
raising more
cash and
putting more
robotic big
rigs on the
road than any
rival.
High-profile
customers
including UPS
have
contracted to
let TuSimple
haul their
cargo on the
highway.
Executives
have forecast
heady revenue
and predicted
that fully
automated,
driverless
trucks are in
sight.
Instead,
TuSimple has
fallen short
of
expectations,
hampered by
the same
technological
challenges
that have
afflicted
other
developers of
self-driving
vehicles. It
had predicted
several
hundred
million
dollars of
revenue by
this year, but
instead
acknowledges
revenue is
minimal,
according to
the company’s
financial
projections
reviewed by
The
Information.
And it has
fallen short
of its
timeline for
removing human
backup
drivers,
repeatedly..,"
Read
more
Hmmm....
I simply don't
understand why
they have to
be focusing on
Driverless
right from the
beginning.
There is
substantial
RoI for
Safe-driving
Trucks...
reduced
expected
liability
(~$10/truck/year);
improved
comfort,
quality of
work place,
reduced
anxiety, ...
of drivers
yielding
improved
driver
recruiting and
retention;
improved
on-time
deliveries;
... continue
to yield very
attractive
RoIs for just
for
Safe-driving
truck
technology,
aka "Level
1/2". Why
isn't tuSimple
starting with
this
technology to
build its
advanced
distribution
network????
Alain
Thursday, July 30, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> CES
2021 IS
ALL-DIGITAL
Press
release, July
28, "For more
than 50 years,
CES® has been
the global
stage for
innovation.
And the
all-digital
CES 2021 will
continue to be
a platform to
launch
products,
engage with
global brands
and define the
future of the
tech industry.
An all-digital
CES 2021 will
allow the
entire tech
community to
safely share
ideas and
introduce the
products that
will shape our
future. You’ll
be able to
participate in
all the
awe-inspiring
moments of CES
wherever you
are in the
world. We are
designing a
unique
experience for
the tech
industry...."
Read
more Hmmm....
Wow! Thank
you CES this
is exceedingly
responsible of
you. Hope to
be back in Las
Vegas in
2022. Fred
and I will
help however
we can to make
2021 very
successful.
Alain
Thursday, July 23, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="45"
height="32">
Waymo
and Fiat
Chrysler
Automobiles
(FCA) expand
autonomous
driving
technology
partnership
Company
News, July 22,
"Back in 2016,
we announced
our very first
OEM partner:
Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles
(FCA). Since
then, we’ve
worked closely
with FCA to
integrate our
Waymo Driver
into FCA
vehicles, and
together we’ve
made
self-driving
history in the
proven,
capable,
L4-ready
Chrysler
Pacifica
Hybrid
minivan,
including
launching the
first
commercial
autonomous
ride-hailing
service,
beginning to
offer fully
driverless
service to our
riders, and
driving in
dozens of
cities across
diverse
geographies
and
challenging
weather
conditions.
Now, we’re
pleased to
share that
we’ve
strengthened
our
partnership
with FCA in
several
important
ways.
FCA has
selected Waymo
as its
exclusive,
strategic
technology
partner for L4
fully
self-driving
technology
across FCA’s
full product
portfolio.
We’ve already
started to
work together
to imagine
future FCA
products for
the movement
of people and
goods operated
by the Waymo
Driver.
In addition,
Waymo will
work
exclusively
with FCA as
our preferred
partner on the
development
and testing of
L4 autonomous
light
commercial
vehicles* for
goods
movement,
including in
Waymo Via. We
will initially
target
integration of
the Waymo
Driver into
the Ram
ProMaster van,
a highly
configurable
platform that
will enable
access to a
broad range of
global
commercial
customers....
" Read
more Hmmm....
This is big!
WayFCA v
AmaZoox
(+Rivian)!
Only
challenges:
a. WayFCA is missing the Customer leg of the 3-legged stool. It is only the Zoox (+Rivian) part of AmaZooRiv. Does FedEx or UPS or USPS or WalMart or Maycy's (heaven forbid) or Sears (heaven forbid squared) or ??? make the Trinity to take on AmaZooRiv, plus
b. Is the Technology rather than
the Customer
is wagging the
WayFCA??? dog.
In any even, Affordable (Driverless) Home Delivery of Stuff may well be the Elijah for Affordable (Driverless) Mobility for the Mobility Disadvantaged as we debated in SmartDrivingCar Zoom-inar 004 AmaZooks. Alain
Thursday, July 16, 2020
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""
width="133"
height="21"> Car
OEMs Driving
Toward
Relevance or
Perdition
M. Sena, August 2020, "Are we ready to be online carscribers? Online new car sales and car subscription programs, now being pursued simultaneously by car OEMs, will either lead the OEMs to endless highways paved with gold or two large dead ends. Each of these approaches to putting customers behind the wheel of a car are aimed at different pain points—real or perceived—in the purchase process. With online sales, the customer is in theory spared the visit to car dealers except. Car subscription programs go one step further. The customer is also decoupled from the dealer and in addition is, in theory, shielded from having to care about most of the responsibilities related to car ownership. Who benefits, who thinks they benefit and who loses, either in the short term or in the long term. Continue reading
Dispatch Central: Battery
Electric
Vehicle News
Continue
reading
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Way Forward: We Continue to Wander in the Desert Continue reading
Postscript on the China Series: In The disciples of liberal democracy can be forgiven for believing that China would become one of them if it was invited into the World Trade Organization. It was their belief—hope—that more trade with liberal democracies would would make China a libral democracy that drove the decision to open up to China. Although Continue reading..." Read more Hmmm.... Listen to PodCast 165 or watch ZoomCast 165. AlainThursday, July 9, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="125"
height="35">
Fostering
Economic
Opportunity
through
Autonomous
Vehicle
Technology
To mark the launch of the paper, SAFE is holding a panel event on July 16 at 2:00pm ET. Alisyn Malek, SAFE, will be moderating a conversation between:
- Courtney Ehrlichman, CEO, Ehrlichman Group
- Dr. Richard Ezike, Senior Policy Associate, The Urban Institute
- Dr. Alain Kornhauser, Director of the Program in Transportation, Princeton University
SAFE would appreciate you joining us for what we expect will be an illuminating discussing on transportation’s role in limiting economic opportunities for millions of Americans, and how AVs and autonomous transit can be part of the solutio..." Read more Hmmm.... Watch today's PodCast and join in on July 16. Alain
Thursday, July 2, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Announcing
2020-2021
Fellow-in-Residence
Henry L.
Greenidge,
Esq.
“As New York City and cities around the nation reopen amid COVID-19, there is an important conversation to be had about the intersection of transportation policy with poverty, race and class. In a field where there are too few thought leaders of color, Henry Greenidge’s industry expertise and distinguished track record of public service make him an invaluable addition to the NYU McSilver team,” says Michael A. Lindsey, PhD, MSW, MPH, Executive Director of the institute.
“Race and transportation have been inextricably linked since the first slave ship crossed the Americas,” says Henry Greenidge. “As our nation continues to grapple with institutional racism, which serves as the fabric for every facet of the United States, the inequities of transportation policies must be at the center. I am humbled and excited to be working with the McSilver Institute to unpack how transportation, race, and poverty intersect.." Read more Hmmm.... In no uncertain terms, we must make sure that inequities and racism are not explicitly nor even implicitly baked into the SmartDrivingCar r/evolution. We are still at the very beginning, so it shouldn't be hard nor expensive but so far it doesn't look good. The emphasis has been on giving those that already have fantastic ways to get around one more way. The focus hasn't been on the mobility disadvantaged and certainly not on the Black community. Just look where the testing has been taking place and the folks that take part in the focus groups and those that are given rides. Look at who designs and writes the software and the investors. Sure, one can and should serve them, but if public policy is going to play a role, then it can't bake in more inequities. Moreover, the private sector can also step up and realize that these systems can readily serve everyone. The technology that makes SmartDrivingCars possible is not inherently racists. It can respect and serve everyone. Henry and others can help make sure that the designers and deployers of SmartDrivingCars don't explicitly nor implicitly bake in racism and bias. Alain
Thursday, June 25, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="36"
height="37">
Motor
Vehicle
Fatality Rates
Jump 36.6% in
April Despite
Quarantines,
Says National
Safety Council
Thursday, June 18, 2020
U.S.
Transportation
Secretary
Elaine L. Chao
Announces
First
Participants
in New
Automated
Vehicle
Initiative to
Improve
Safety,
Testing, and
Public
Engagement
Press
release, June
15,
"The U.S.
Department of
Transportation
today
announced nine
companies and
eight States
that have
signed on as
the first
participants
in a new
Department
initiative to
improve the
safety and
testing
transparency
of automated
driving
systems, the
Automated
Vehicle
Transparency
and Engagement
for Safe
Testing (AV
TEST)
Initiative.
The
participating
companies are
Beep, Cruise,
Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles,
Local Motors,
Navya, Nuro,
Toyota, Uber,
and Waymo.
The States are
California,
Florida,
Maryland,
Michigan,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
Texas, and
Utah.
“Through this
initiative,
the Department
is creating a
formal
platform for
Federal,
State, and
local
government to
coordinate and
share
information in
a standard
way,” said
U.S.
Transportation
Secretary
Elaine L.
Chao. ...
This
initiative
aligns with
the
Department’s
leadership on
automated
driving system
vehicles,
including AV 4.0: Ensuring American
Leadership in
Automated
Vehicle
Technologies."
Read
more Hmmm...
Excellent.
This is really
good because
it is promotes
and organizes
the open
sharing of
safety
information
assoiated with
automated
driving.
This is
extremely
important
because safety
of these
systems is a
necessary
condition for
their
adoption.
Unfortunately, a few things seem to be missing from the
announcement.
- a budget (Washington may not have any money left after COVID-19),
- any mention of mobility for people or for
goods. The
testing of
safety is
conducted
without doing
any useful
mobility, but
the value of
testing is
derived from
the delivery
of that
mobility.
Safety in that
context
requires the
active
engagement the
entities that
are being
transported.
It is very
important that
this
initiative
include
potential
customers and
neighborhoods
whose streets
such
automation
might use, and
- the whole Northeast including New Jersey seems to have not "signed on", nor is Ford/Argo, Zooks, Aurore, Voyage Amazon, Apple.... Alain
Friday, June 12, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Society
of Actuaries
Research Brief
Impact of
COVID-19, June
12, 2020
R. Dale Hall, June 12, "...By June 10, 2020, 7.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, and the count continues to climb with general agreement that the number is actually higher due to delays in full testing and reporting in many countries. Approximately 188 countries have reported at least one confirmed case and about 416,000 deaths from COVID-19.6 It is important to recognize that the number of reported confirmed cases for any disease typically lags the number of actual confirmed cases. As a result, the number of reported confirmed cases typically continues to rise after the actual number of new confirmed cases declines...." Read more Hmmm... Excellent! An enormous amount here. See especially FIg 11 and 17. These are trully non-uniform distributions. Also Table 1, Figures 21, 22, 24, 25, Table 3, ... An enormous amount to digest here. Excellent. Alain
Thursday, June 4, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="134"
height="21">
Two-way
Vehicle
Connectivity
is a
Three-sided
Coin That
Everyone Wants
to Own
M.
Sena, May 26,
"Two-way
vehicle
connectivity
has three
facets. Two of
them are
mainly of
interest to
vehicle OEMs
and their
suppliers.
They are
vehicle-centric
and
customer-centric.
Vehicle-centric connectivity includes functions such emergency
notification,
logistics
tracking and
over-the-air
updating.
Customer
centric
connectivity
includes many
services that
are also
provided by
mobile apps
outside of the
vehicle, such
as music
streaming,
workshop
service
booking,
traffic
notifications
and car
sharing
applications.
Two-way
vehicle
connectivity
today is a
major
competitive
factor for the
OEMs.
The third vehicle connectivity facet is principally of interest to public sector traffic management authorities. It is focused on communicating warnings to vehicles and providing guidance on which roads to use in case of traffic congestion or emergencies. The public authorities view these roadway-centric functions as their domain, and vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle communication as the tools to accomplish the job. They are grouped together under the term V2X. This third facet is not a competitive factor for the OEMs. If it is legislated, V2X will not distinguish one OEM from another since every OEM will have to include it....
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="78"
height="23">
Luminaries
Battle In
Lincoln-Douglas
Style Debate
About The
Future Of
Self-Driving
Cars
Lance
Eliot, April
28, "Several
self-driving
car luminaries
assembled
online via a
Zoom-casted
battleground
this week to
undertake a
Lincoln-Douglas
style debate
about the
future of the
Autonomous
Vehicle (AV)
self-driving
car industry
and the advent
of AI-driven
mobility.
Originally
scheduled for
one hour, the
dialogue and
fielding of
audience
questions
prompted the
superstars to
keep going,
tackling many
of the most
vexing and
unsolved
matters that
underlie the
potential
success of
self-driving
vehicles,
encompassing
both
autonomous
cars and
autonomous
trucks.
The lively
discussion was
civil and
polite,
fortunately so
in these times
of seemingly
stark
polarization
and guttural
attacks during
our
contemporary
public
discourse.
Yet, even in
the realm of
eloquent
argumentation,
at times the
gloves came
off and there
were some
fierce zingers
and moments of
rather
piercing
cut-the-air-with-a-knife
verbal
sparring..."
Read
more Hmmmm... Lance, Thank you for
the kind and
thorough
synopsis of
our 1st
Zoom-inar. We
were all
pleased by the
turnout,
interaction
and substance.
Alain
Friday,
April 24, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="50"
height="39">
What
Negative Oil
Prices Mean
and How the
Impact Could
Last
V.
Bajaj, April
22,"A main
benchmark for
the price of
oil fell
negative for
the first time
ever this
week. The
decline —
more than 300
percent in
daily trading
— raised fresh
questions
about the
damage the
coronavirus is
having on the
global
economy.
What does it
mean for oil
prices to be
negative?
A benchmark
price for a
barrel of oil
to be
delivered next
month fell to
-$37.63 on
Monday, which
means that
sellers would
have to pay
someone that
much to take
it off their
hands.
But that
historic
plunge was
exacerbated by
a quirk in how
the oil
markets work.
The negative
price
concerned only
contracts for
delivery of
barrels in May
that are
traded on
so-called
futures
markets. At
the same time
trading
happens for
May
deliveries,
people trade
on contracts
ending in
June, in July
and so on." Read
more Hmmmm... What??? I realize that
I'm often "out
of it",
but... In all
my life I have
NEVER...
thought of,
let alone
mentioned, nor
have heard
anyone else
mention the
concept of negative
oil!
Often, talked
about $150/B
oil, $250/B,
S20/B even
$7/B oil.
NEVER $0/B
oil,
negative
Oil...
NEVER,NEVER,
NEVER!!!! and
look where we
are. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Implications:...
no one's
models
extrapolate to
that regime.
(it requires
extrapolation
because no
data exists in
this
unimaginable
region.
Listen to Pod-Cast;
Watch Zoom-Cast
Alain
[log in to unmask]"
class=""
width="78"
height="23">
Starsky
Robotics
Failed. Does
That Mean
Automated
Trucking Is
Dead?
R. Bishop,
Mar 24, "I met
Stefan
Seltz-Axmacher
for the first
time in
November 2015
at the Florida
Automated
Vehicles
Summit. Not
long after, we
met at the
Blue Danube
coffee shop in
Alameda, CA so
he could tell
me about his
vision for
Starsky
Robotics. When
he
energetically
described his
remote-driving-for-trucks approach, I was skeptical. “Remote driving is
hard,” I said.
“The military
has struggled
with this for
years. Its
harder than it
looks.” On the
technical
side, latency
for secure
communications
is
challenging.
On the
operational
side,
re-creating
enough on-road
reality
(situational
awareness) for
a remote
driver is
difficult when
going for the
high levels of
safety needed.
Seltz-Axmacher
remained
bullish on the
approach and
at that time
went on to
found Starsky
Robotics as
one of the
earliest truck
AV startups,
later closing
a $16.5M
Series A
funding round
in March 2018,
and then
hauling
freight while
developing
both remote
and automated
driving
ability.
Initially,
Starsky’s
concept was
all about
remote driving
for first/last
mile. They
later expanded
their offering
to include
fully
automated
highway
driving on
limited
freight
corridors.
Now, Starsky
has become the
first casualty
within a
crowded truck
automation
space, and
Seltz-Axmacher
has provided
us with an
intriguing
post-mortem in
a recent
Medium post.
Most of the
media coverage
I’ve seen has
acted as echo
chambers for
Seltz-Axmacher’s
perspective.
Here I offer a
counterpoint
based on my
longtime
involvement in
truck
automation
plus
discussions
with many
others in the
truck
Automated
Driving
Systems (ADS)
startup space,
many of them
irate at what
they see as
unfounded
assertions
made in the
original post.
My sources
tell me that
because
Seltz-Axmacher
hasn't
experienced
their
technology nor
been briefed
on their
technical/safety
approach, he
has no basis
to make
sweeping
claims about
the entire
industry...."
Read
more Hmmmm... Listen
to PodCast 148.
or/and Watch
us on YouTube.
Alain
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Waymo suspends robotaxi service except for its truly driverless vehicles
K. Korosec,
Mar. 17,
"Waymo said
Tuesday it is
pausing
operations of
Waymo One, a
service in the
Phoenix area
that allows
the public to
hail rides in
self-driving
vehicles with
trained human
safety
operators
behind the
wheel, in
response to
the COVID-19
pandemic.
Waymo is also
halting
testing on
public roads
in California.
However, Waymo
will keep some
operations up
and running,
notably its
truly
driverless
vehicles,
which don’t
require a
human safety
driver,
according to
an
announcement
on its website
Tuesday. These
driverless
vehicles are
used in the
Phoenix area
as part of
Waymo’s early
rider program
that lets
vetted members
of the public
hail a
ride..." Read
more Yippie!!! Unfortunately, the
latest is not
so good... Waymo has suspended all services, including
the
driverless.
Poopie!!!
Alain
2020 Hyundai Sonata stars in Super Bowl ad all about 'Smaht Pahk'
Friday, January 24, 2020
The Disengagement Myth
Kyle
Vogt, Jan 17,
"In a few
weeks the
California DMV
will release
disengagements
data from
Cruise and
other
companies who
test AVs on
public roads.
This data is
really great
for giving the
public a sense
of what’s
happening on
the roads.
Unfortunately,
it has also
been used by
the media and
others to
compare
technology
from different
AV companies
or as a proxy
for commercial
readiness.
Since it’s the
only publicly
available
metric, I
don’t really
blame them for
using it. But
it’s woefully
inadequate for
most uses
beyond those
of the DMV.
The idea that
disengagements
give a
meaningful
signal about
whether an AV
is ready for
commercial
deployment is
a myth. ..."
Read
more Hmmmm... Amen! This is a MUST
read. As with
everything, details
matter. It is
true that
figures don't
lie, but but
it is easy to
game systems
such that
figures,
without the
underlying
details, do
lie. As Kyle
points out,
there are
important
details
associated
with
disengagements.
These need to
be well
understood for
disengagements
to be a proxy
for safety and
market
readiness. The
when, where
and associated
details of
each
disengagement
is critically
important if
the objective
is safety and
market
readiness.
What is also most important here
is the
underlying
objective of
the companies
doing the
tests and
reporting the
data. As has
happened in
our secondary
education
where students
are taught
what is in and
how to take
the SATs
rather than
just learn.
The objective
is not
learning , but
getting 800s
on the SATs so
that they can
get into
'Princeton'.
This is
perpetuated by
the
'Princetons'
of this world
that don't
look into the
details of the
student's
academic
qualities and
capabilities.
In the
academic
world, we know
these students
as 'box
checkers',
gamers of the
college
admission
process. The
gaming is
continued by
the 'banks and
med schools'
that use
simplistic GPA
(Grade Point
Average, aka
'disengagements')
cutoffs. The
'box checkers'
then take
'underwater
basket
weaving'
courses and
become grade
grubbers. It
is lazy and
irresponsible
to use
simplistic
measures as
proxies to
very complex
concepts such
as
intelligence,
creativity,
compatibility,
and all the
other details
that make a
good student,
a good
employee, a
good citizen,
a good
mobility
system.
In our case, testing is assumed to be about safety and market readiness; however, for some, it may be about trying to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" or "putting lipstick on the pig". It is easy to game the metric 'Disengagements' by simply testing in easy places, under easy conditions, instead of really trying to find the corner/edge cases that you don't know in places and conditions of the Operational Design Domain that you are actually going to serve and make a business out of all of this technology; rather than just trying to get good press, or flipping it to someone else or putting it on an academic self. The details would readily divulge the real objective of the company doing the testing.
I hope that Kyle, in his next post, will divulge what he, GM's lawyers and GM's board are requiring of his system for each of them to sign off and begin to operate an economically viable mobility service to the general public in some ODD. Each will demand that it be safe. The board will also demand that it be profitable. What details are they requesting that will make each comfortable signing on the bottom line? AlainSunday, January 12, 2020
[log in to unmask]"
class=""
width="30"
height="33">
Hmmmm... Reflections
A. Kornhauser, Jan 12, Hmmmm... Self-driving cars are hot and the OEMs are responding. I'm about to buy a new Subaru Outback and EyeSight is standard. It is no longer just AutoPilot or expensive options that car salesmen don't sell. Car companies, as reflected in what is in showrooms and what was promoted at CES, have realized the comfort and convenience of Self-driving technology (cars that have a lot of the Safe-driving car features but also enable you to take your feet off the pedals and hands off the wheel at least for short periods of time. These technologies are really becoming the 'chrome and fins' that sell cars to individuals in the 2020s. The momentum is all behind that happening and there is little Washington or Trenton or Princeton Council can do about it. Hopefully part of that momentum will be to make these systems actually work well, especially the Automated Emergency Braking Systems (MUST quit assuming that all stationary objects in the lane ahead can be passed under and consequently each is disregarded. As Tesla is finding out, sometimes those objects are parked firetrucks.) and begin to put hard limits on over-speeding, tailgating and use while driver is impaired. Self-driving cars are unfortunately going to lead to substantial urban sprawl, increased VMT, increased congestion and do nothing to help the energy and pollution challenges of our addiction to the personal automobile. Only 'Waymo-style Driverless' (autonomousTaxis, (aTaxis)) tuned to entice ride-sharing can potentially stem the tide of ever more personal car ownership and ever expanding urban sprawl. Alain
Monday, January 6, 2020
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
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Chandler unveils drop-off, pick-up zone for self-driving cars
Read more Hmmmm... The iconic image:
[log in to unmask]" class="" width="79"
height="131">
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
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.
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
Saturday, September 28, 2019
[log in to unmask]"
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
[log in to unmask]"
class=""
width="107"
height="19">Autonomous
Vehicles: A
View from
Seniors
Friday, March 29, 2019
[log in to unmask]"
class=""
width="116"
height="32">Automated
vehicles could
provide
mobility to
the ‘mobility
disadvantaged’
[log in to unmask]"
class=""
width="94"
height="29"> Market
Framework and
Outlook for
Automated
Vehicle
Systems
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)
[log in to unmask]"
class=""
width="39"
height="43"> Testimony
of Alain
Kornhauser,
Assembly
Science,
Innovation and
Technology -
Monday,
October 22,
2018 -
10:00:00 AM
Audio Recording of Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology - Monday, October 22, 2018 - 10:00:00 AM
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".
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
![imap:<a href=]()
[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.36&filename=ajafjpkfaclhelpc.png"
src="cid:[log in to unmask]" class="" width="44"
height="50"
border="0">Extracting
Cognition out
of Images for
the Purpose of
Autonomous
Driving
Sunday, December 19, 2015
![imap:<a href=]()
[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.38&filename=ccalfjfhllohpdpa.png"
src="cid:[log in to unmask]" class="" width="68"
height="44"
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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maintained by
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Kornhauser
and hosted by
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University
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