[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""
width="76"
height="18"> Tesla's
'Full
Self-Driving
Capability'
Falls Short of
Its Name
M.
Monticello.
Sept. 8, The
features might
be cutting
edge, even
cool, but we
think buyers
should be wary
of shelling
out $8,000 for
what electric
car company
Tesla calls
its Full
Self-Driving
Capability
option. Tesla
claims every
new vehicle it
builds
includes all
the hardware
necessary to
be fully
autonomous,
and the
company says
that through
future
over-the-air
software
updates, its
cars should
eventually be
capable of
driving
themselves. .... Anytime anyone uses words
such as "Full"
the one thing
that you know
that they are
"Full" of is
.... "Full"
is about a
perception,
not a fact.
Even the
definition of
"autonomous"
has caveats
(or should I
say Full of
caveats?).
What I
interpret Elon
to be selling
is: sufficient
hardware
(sensors,
memory,
compute power
and
communications
bandwidth)
that, with
more elegant
software, may
be able to do
a way better
job in safely
driving a
car. What he
has never said
is that this
hardware plus
future
software is
going to be
good enough
for him to be
held
responsible if
something bad
happens when
the car is
being driven
by that
hardware and
software
combination.
That said,
lets move
on...But for now, Full Self-Driving Capability, which includes features that can assist the driver with parking, changing lanes on the highway, and even coming to a complete halt at traffic lights and stop signs, remains a misnomer ...Yes!... Below, we explain each feature in the suite, its intended use, and how each performed in our tests.... " Read more Hmmmm.... See Video, Watch Zoom-Cast. Help with parking.... no one parks a good car into a tight parking place; else, that car's life as a god car rapidly disappears. Stupid Summon is just stupid... your car is not your dog and certainly not in the WalMart parking lot. (or should I have said WholePaycheck parking lot) Here puppy, here puppy!
[log in to unmask]"
class="">
SmartDrivingCars
Pod-Cast
Episode 174
w/Kelly
Funkhouser,
Consumer
Reports
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> SmartDrivingCars Zoom-Cast
Episode 174
w/Kelly
Funkhouser,
Consumer
Reports
Video version of SmartDrivingCars PodCast 174... 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=""> General
Motors takes
$2 billion
stake in
electric truck
startup Nikola
M. Burns, Sept
4. "Nikola
and General
Motors today
announced a
strategic
partnership.
Through the
deal, GM gets
11% ownership
in startup
Nikola, and
will, in turn,
produce
Nikola’s wild
fuel cell
pickup truck
by the end of
2022. Both
companies’
shares jumped
on the news,
with Nikola
trading up 45%
and GM up 11%
in pre-market
trading.The deal nets GM a $2 billion stake in Nikola, one of the hottest vehicle startups. Along with the financial stake, GM gains one seat on Nikola’s board of directors in exchange for in-kind services......" Read more Hmmmm.... All to compete with Tesla's truck with one arm tied behind their back (traditional OEM sales & marketing.) Good luck. Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Nikola stock craters after chairman fails to
rebut fraud
allegations
T. Lee, Sept
11, "Stock in
electric truck
startup Nikola
has plunged
for the second
straight day
after a
short-selling
investment
firm published
a bombshell
report
alleging that
the company's
December 2016
unveiling of
the Nikola One
truck was a
brazen fraud.
Nikola's stock
lost 11
percent on
Thursday and
is down an
additional 15
percent in
Friday morning
trading.At the December 2016 event, Nikola Chairman Trevor Milton repeatedly described the truck as fully functional. But that wasn't quite true, as Milton admitted to Bloomberg earlier this year. The supposedly hydrogen-powered truck didn't have a hydrogen fuel cell, nor did it have the motors and gears required to drive the wheels. Milton claimed the parts had been taken out of the truck for safety reasons.
The new report from Hindenburg Research claims that the scale of Nikola's deception was even greater than was previously known. The firm claims that the prototype's supposedly functional dashboard display was powered by an extension cord snaking up from under the stage...." Read more Hmmmm.... Not good!!! Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Nikola:
How to Parlay
An Ocean of
Lies Into a
Partnership
With the
Largest Auto
OEM in America
Staff,
Sept. 10,
"Today, we
reveal why we
believe Nikola
is an
intricate
fraud built on
dozens of lies
over the
course of its
Founder and
Executive
Chairman
Trevor
Milton’s
career.
- We have gathered extensive evidence—including recorded phone calls, text messages, private emails and behind-the-scenes photographs—detailing dozens of false statements by Nikola Founder Trevor Milton. We have never seen this level of deception at a public company, especially of this size.
- Trevor has managed to parlay these false statements made over the course of a decade into a ~$20 billion public company. He has inked partnerships with some of the top auto companies in the world, all desperate to catch up to Tesla and to harness the EV wave.... " Read more Hmmmm.... Devastating!!! Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="110"
height="23"> Nikola’s
(NKLA) house
of cards
crumbles as GM
acts like
nothing is
happening
F. Lambert,
Sept. 11, "If
you have been
following our
coverage of
Nikola Motors,
you know that
we have been
highly
skeptical of
the company
for some time
From the
patent
trolling
lawsuit
against Tesla
to dubious
claims of
battery
breakthroughs,
the company
had very
little to no
credibility to
us..... " Read
more Hmmmm..... Was GM really unaware
of all of
this???? Did
work-from-home
play a part?
How can GM be
that naive?
Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="78"
height="23">
The
Wild West Is
Starting To
Settle Down
And Get The
Job Done: 2020
Automated
Vehicles
Symposium
R. Bishop,
Sept. 5, "The
recent Automated
Vehicles
Symposium
provided a
superb update
on all things
automated
driving.
Established in
2014, this
non-profit
conference is
co-sponsored
by the
Association
for Unmanned
Vehicles
Systems
International
(AUVSI) and
the National
Academy of
Sciences
Transportation
Research Board
(TRB).
Originally
scheduled for
San Diego
during the
last week of
July, the
event
transitioned
to a high-end
virtual
conference
platform that
worked quite
well for the
complex
session
formats. In
addition to
plenary
sessions
across the
four-day
event, over 40
breakout
sessions dug
into a
mind-bending
array of
topics. A
feature unique
to AVS, the
breakouts are
organized by a
small army of
volunteers
from academia,
government,
and industry.
Members of the
AVS Executive
Committee (of
which I am a
part) are
volunteers as
well. Because
this is a
non-profit
volunteer-led
conference, I
feel like I’m
not crossing
journalistic
lines to
provide this
run-down on
the excellent
content.
Blending the
commercial
focus of AUVSI
with the
research and
policy focus
of TRB, the
AVS agenda is
carefully
curated to
cover the most
important
topics with a
minimum of
hype and
promotionalism.
The event’s
stature
results in
bringing
leading voices
to the podium.
Commenting on
their
participation
in recent
years, Jonny
Morris, Head
of Public
Policy at
Embark Trucks,
noted that
“AVS is
organized by
people from
the AV
industry, so
the panels and
sessions
reflect a deep
understanding
of where the
industry is
at, and what’s
needed to move
it forward.”
My aim here is
to provide a
quick tour of
the content
and highlight
some key
take-aways....
"
Read
more
Hmmmm....Jonny Morris is correct
as to his
depiction of
the folks
involved in
AVS and so is
Richard in his
description of
the
leadership.
The key
take-aways
speak for
themselves.
To date there
has been
substantial
investment and
the creation
of substantial
Intellectual
Property.
However, what
needs to be
realized is
that no
revenue nor
societal
benefits have
yet to be
achieved.
Tesla's safety
claims are poo
pooed and
maybe except
for Subaru's
Eyesight which
is standard,
car salesmen
shun
Safe-driving
car features.
They are
trying to sell
a quality
product. Of
course the
product is
safe. Nothing
extra is
needed. And
the likelihood
that any of
the shuttle
demonstrations
survive past
the duration
of their
public subsidy
is
Slim2None.
We have yet to
get off the
ground. I
hope that
we've at least
left the
gate. Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt=""> Cars
with Adaptive
Cruise
Control:
Everything You
Need to Know
Staff, Sept 2020, "Cars with adaptive cruise control used to be considered a luxury only featured in state-of-the-art vehicles. Still, with technological advancements, adaptive cruise control is now a common feature found in many different car models..." Read more Hmmmm.... I know it is trivial, but if this isn't trivial, essentially perfect and cheap, then we may still be waiting to board the plane. Do this well and all the time, then automated emergency braking needs to only deal with situations when you are not following someone. Coupled with automated Lane Centering that actually worked might start the boarding process. See also: Which Cars Have Self-Driving Features for 2020? (March 2020) Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="78"
height="23">
Tesla
Battery Day
2020: Big Elon
Musk EV
Announcements
Expected On
September 22
S. Adams.
Sept. 10, "If
you’re
interested in
electric
vehicles,
Tesla’s TSLA
-0.1% Battery
Day is fast
becoming the
equivalent of
an Apple
iPhone launch.
The name
underplays it
a little. This
is the day
when Tesla
makes
announcements
to its
investors and
then follows
this up with
public
presentations
of the latest
technologies
the company
has developed.
These revolve
mostly around
battery
enhancements,
but since
batteries are
such a
significant
component of
an EV, the
implications
can be
immense. The
next Battery
Day will be on
22nd
September, and
there are some
very major
announcements
rumored. Here
are the things
Elon Musk is
most likely to
talk about.The most anticipated Battery Day announcements will revolve around the so-called “Million Mile Battery”, which as the name suggests is a battery that has a million-mile lifespan, putting an end once and for all to the misconceptions that EV batteries don’t last very long and will need a copious recycling effort. There have been several theoretical research papers released from the Tesla battery research team led by Jeff Dahn that could provide the necessary underlying technological shift...." Read more Hmmmm.... Battery development has not behaved like Moore's Law. In fact we aren't all that much better than Thomas Davenport in 1837. Hoping that Elon can change the trend. If he does, then "game over"... maybe. Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">Manhattan’s
Office
Buildings Are
Empty. But for
How Long?
J. Creswell,
Sept. 8, "Even
as the
coronavirus
pandemic
appears to
recede in New
York,
corporations
have been
reluctant to
call their
workers back
to their
skyscrapers
and are
showing even
more
hesitation
about
committing to
the city long
term.Fewer than 10 percent of New York’s office workers had returned as of last month and just a quarter of major employers expect to bring their people back by the end of the year, according to a new survey. Only 54 percent of these companies say they will return by July 2021.
Demand for office space has slumped. Lease signings in the first eight months of the year were about half of what they were a year earlier. That is putting the office market on track for a 20-year low for the full year. When companies do sign, many are opting for short-term contracts that most landlords would have rejected in February...." Read more Hmmmm.... Why bring people that spend most of their day in front of a screen or on the phone to some floor in some tall building in any city. These folks can not only work just as well physically distanced, they don't have to commute on NJ Transit, Metro North, the LIRR or heaven forbid...drive a car. Demand for center city office space may have dried up. Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="73"
height="27">
Covid-19
and the end of
commuterland
Britain,
Sept 12, "
Robert Edwards
and Mario
Stephen have
responded
oddly to the
coronavirus
pandemic and
the crash in
high-street
spending that
it has caused.
They have
opened a hair
salon.
Although both
men trained
and worked for
years in
London, their
new salon is
in Hitchin, a
town of some
35,000 people
that is 50km
north of St
Paul’s
cathedral.
After a couple
of months,
business is
good, says Mr
Stephen, from
behind a face
mask and
visor: “The
lockdown made
me realize
that I don’t
need to be in
London any
more.”
Covid-19 began
as an urban
disease. It
appeared in
Wuhan, China,
and spread
quickly
through big
international
cities; in
Britain,
Birmingham and
London became
hotspots. But
the virus did
not stay urban
for long, and
its effects
can be seen
far beyond the
densely
populated
cores. It has
profoundly
changed
suburbs and
commuter towns
like Hitchin.
In effect,
covid-19 has
abolished
commuterland—a
change that is
more benign
than it
sounds.
Commuterland
used to be
primarily a
place for
living. It was
liveliest at
weekends. In
his first
novel,
“Metroland”,
Julian Barnes
described it
as a zone of
golf courses,
pub lunches,
learner
drivers
practicing
three-point
turns and the
sound of
lawnmowers
“accelerating,
braking,
turning,
accelerating,
braking,
turning”. On
Mondays
commuterland
fell quiet as
people—especially men—took the train back to work in London....
These
changes may
come as a
shock to
anybody who
has watched
London and its
hinterlands
over the last
few decades.
The city has
been on a
high. Yolande
Barnes, who
follows
property at
University
College
London, thinks
that people
have become so
used to
London’s
ever-rising
house prices,
and its
magnetic power
over young
people, that
they have come
to think it
could never
fail. But
before the
1980s
commuterland
seemed more
attractive. As
she puts it,
great cities
breathe in and
out. At the
moment London
is breathing
out. " Read
more Hmmmm.... As in NYC and many
others. But
soon they may
return as the
cheap place to
live that
cities pass
through every
so often.
Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="58"
height="47">Looking
to Buy a Used
Car in the
Pandemic? So
Is Everyone
Else
N. Boudette,
Sept. 7, "Used
cars are
usually
overlooked in
the fanfare
accorded to
cutting-edge
electric cars
and gussied-up
pickup trucks.
Now they are
suddenly the
industry’s
hottest
commodity.Consumers are snapping up used vehicles as second or third cars so they can avoid trains, buses or Ubers during the coronavirus pandemic. Others are buying used rather than new to save money in an uncertain economy, not knowing when they or their spouse might lose a job. Demand for older cars has also been fed by a roughly two-month halt in production of new cars this spring.
Across the country, the prices of used cars have shot up. The increase defies the conventional wisdom that cars are depreciating assets that lose a big chunk of their value the moment they leave the dealership. In July alone, the average value of used cars jumped more than 16 percent, according to Edmunds.com...." Read more Hmmmm... In the near term, this is going to hurt conventional transit much more that Uber/Lyft and Driverless cars
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="35"
height="34">
Roadway
Travel During
the COVID-19
Public Health
Emergency
Rolf
Schmid,Sept.
7, "How is
vehicle travel
changing
during the
COVID-19
pandemic? How
many trips are
passenger and
freight
vehicles
taking? How
many miles are
vehicles
traveling?
Dive into
these daily
Vehicle Trends
data to answer
those
questions.
..." Read
more Hmmmm... Data are very well
presented.
Also see: Overall
Travel Down,
Long-Distance
Travel Up for
Labor Day
Weekend as
Americans Bid
Goodbye to
COVID-19
Summer Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Lidar
is becoming a
real business
T. Lee, Sept.
8, "For years,
the lidar
business has
had a lot of
hype but not a
lot of hard
numbers.
Dozens of
lidar startups
have touted
their
impressive
technology,
but until
recently it
wasn't clear
who, if
anyone, was
actually
gaining
traction with
customers.That's starting to change. This summer, three leading lidar makers have done major fundraising rounds that included releasing public data on their financial performance. The latest lidar maker to release financial data is Ouster, which announced a $42 million fundraising round in a Tuesday blog post. That blog post also revealed a striking statistic: the company says it now has 800 customers.
That's interesting because we can compare it fairly directly to two other prominent lidar companies that have released data in recent months. Velodyne, which has been considered the industry leader for the last decade, revealed in July that it had 300 customers. The lidar startup Luminar hasn't revealed the number of customers, but it disclosed two other figures in August: the company has 50 commercial partners and expects to sell 0.1 thousand—aka roughly 100—lidar sensors in calendar year 2020.
By the metric of total customers, then, Ouster seems to be well ahead of two of its better-known rivals. But saying that Ouster has become the industry leader would be too simplistic. In reality, the three companies are each pursuing different segments of the market. ..." Read more Hmmmm.... Yes, but being a supplier to Auto OEMs is not very Internet-ish, LiDAR needs to find another volume application/customer. Alain
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">
Tesla
Autopilot Used
as Idiots Fly
Down Highway
with No One in
Driver's Seat
Staff,
Sept. 8,
"Drinking and
driving is
stupid, but so
is drinking
and letting
your car do
the driving
for you ... as
these morons
demonstrate."
Read
more Hmmmm.... See video Why "Level
3" will never
see the light
of day.
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> Artificial
Dumbness
J. Morris, Sept 6, " Sept. 10, "..." Read more Hmmmm.... No comment, except our "AI" also really needs some Optimal Forgetting. Alain
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""
width="82"
height="28">
SMART
Mobility
Connected and
Automated
Vehicles
Capstone
Report
E. Rask, July
2020, "The
U.S.
Department of
Energy’s
Systems and
Modeling for
Accelerated
Research in
Transportation
(SMART)
Mobility
Consortium is
a multiyear,
multi-laboratory
collaborative,
managed by the
Energy
Efficient
Mobility
Systems
Program of the
Office of
Energy
Efficiency and
Renewable
Energy,
Vehicle
Technologies
Office,
dedicated to
further
understanding
the energy
implications
and
opportunities
of advanced
mobility
technologies
and services.
The first
three-year
research phase
of SMART
Mobility
occurred from
2017 through
2019 and
included five
research
pillars:
Connected and
Automated
Vehicles,
Mobility
Decision
Science,
Multi-Modal
Freight, Urban
Science, and
Advanced
Fueling
Infrastructure.
A sixth
research
thrust
integrated
aspects of all
five pillars
to develop a
SMART Mobility
Modeling
Workflow to
evaluate new
transportation
technologies
and services
at scale.[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="110"
height="23">
Tesla
fights new
claims of cars
accelerating
by themselves
after accident
results in 2
deaths
F. Lambert, Sept. 11, "Tesla is facing new claims of cars accelerating by themselves after several accidents in China — especially a recent one that resulted in two deaths and several people injured.
Earlier this year, we reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it is looking into claims that Tesla vehicles have a defect leading to “sudden unintended acceleration” after receiving a petition citing 127 claimed incidents.
As we stated at the time, several claims of sudden unintended acceleration involving Tesla vehicles have been made public over the years. The most publicized one involved a South Korean celebrity claiming his Model X accelerated on its own into his garage.
However, in every case, including that one, Tesla claimed that the car’s log showed that it was a user mistake due to pedal misapplication, meaning that the driver pressed on the accelerator instead of the brakes.
In one case, Electrek was able to have Tesla’s log verified by a third party, and it supported the automaker’s claims that it showed the driver pressed on the accelerator...... " Read more Hmmmm..... Each of these accusations needs to be either corrected or debunked in court. Alain
C'mon Man! (These folks didn't get/read the memo)
Sunday Supplement
Half-Baked
Click-Bait
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""
width="92"
height="20">
New AAA Study
Finds Names Of
Self-Driving
Features Has
Impact On
Drivers’
Expectation Of
System
Staff,
Sept. 10,
"MIAMI
(CBSMiami) –
What’s in a
name? A lot,
according to
new research
on the
technology in
some of
today’s
vehicles.
A number of
new cars have
some
self-driving
capabilities,
all with
different
branding, from
GM’s Super
Cruise to
Nissan’s
ProPILOT
Assist.
A new study
from AAA finds
those names
can be
important.
“The way in
which a system
is
characterized,
which includes
the name, does
have an
important
impact on
drivers’
expectation of
the system,”
said William
Horrey from
the AAA
Foundation for
Traffic
Safety...." Read
more Hmmmm...Wow, the sun sets in the
West!. Tell
us something
that hasn't
been a
fundamental
truth in the
auto industry
for a very
long time.
Alain
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 Pod-Cast Episode 173 Zoom-Cast Episode 173 w/Nathanial Beuse
F. Fishkin, Sept. 4, "Moving forward with autonomous vehicle testing, the head of safety at Uber's Advanced Technology Group is pledging safety data transparency. Nat Beuse joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co host Fred Fishkin for that and more on the latest mobility headlines."
SmartDrivingCars
Pod-Cast
Episode 172
Zoom-Cast
Episode 172
Special
Edition
w/Danny
Shapiro
SmartDrivingCars
Pod-Cast
Episode 171
Zoom-Cast
Episode 171
w/Henry
Greenidge
F. Fishkin,
Aug. 30, "What
should
autonomous
mobility
companies be
doing to win
support from
black
communities?
Why is it
important?
Henry
Greenidge…Fellow
in residence
at the
McSilver
Institute for
Poverty Policy
and Research
at NYU joins
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhausere
and co-host
Fred Fishkin
for that
plus...Uber,
Voyage, Tesla
and more...."SmartDrivingCars PodCast 170 ZoomCast Episode170 w/Michael Sena
F. Fishkin,
Aug 20, "Tesla
grows while
other
automakers
flounder. And
creating
standards in
an era of
mistrust. The
Dispatcher
publisher
joins
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser and
co-host Fred
Fishkin in a
thought
provoking
episode.
Plus...transportation
planning
during and
after the
pandemic...NVIDIA...and
more."
SmartDrivingCars PodCast Episode 169 ZoomCast Episode 169 w/Anthony Townsend
F. Fishkin Aug 13, "Ghost Road.. Beyond the Driverless Car author Anthony Townsend brings a unique viewpoint to the debate on the future of mobility...and the impact of the pandemic on ride sharing. Townsend joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and the latest developments from Uber, Lyft, Tesla and more."
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
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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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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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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
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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
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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:
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Friday, September 11, 2020
[log in to unmask]"
alt=""
class=""> Autonomous
vehicles could
improve
policing,
public safety,
and much more
Saturday, August 29, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="123"
height="22">
Uber
Expands
Self-Driving
Safety Report
After NTSB
Slams Culture
K. Laing,
Aug 28, "Uber
Technologies
Inc. vowed to
make public
more safety
information
regarding its
self-driving
cars after the
National
Transportation
Safety Board
placed partial
blame for a
fatal 2018
crash on the
company’s
policies.
The company
made the
pledge in an
update to its
voluntary
safety
assessment,
filed Aug. 28
with the
National
Highway
Traffic Safety
Administration. It marked the first major attempt by Uber to allay
criticism of
its autonomous
driving
program since
the NTSB board
reached its
conclusions
regarding a
Tempe, Ariz.,
crash in 2018
believed to be
the first
fatal
pedestrian
accident
involving a
self-driving
vehicle.
“We support
the idea of
transparency
and making the
public
understand
what we do,”
Nat Beuse,
head of safety
at Uber’s
Advanced
Technologies
Group, said in
an interview.
The new filing
is a “complete
update” from
Uber’s initial
offering to
regulators in
2018, he said.
In the
document, Uber
touts
“enhancements,”
including the
public release
of a “Safety
Case
Framework”
that it
pledges to
make
open-sourced
for peer
review. The
company also
details new
internal
safety
management
procedures and
the
establishment
of an
independent
Safety and
Responsibility
Advisory
Board...." Read
more Hmmmm....This is really good news
coming out of
Uber. Thank
you Nat!!
Alain
Thursday, August 20, 2020
[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""
width="133"
height="21">
Creating
Standards in
an Environment
of Mistrust
M. Sena, Sept, 2020, "Will ITS standards work fall prey to geopolitical conflicts and meddling? How many exclusive partners can Waymo manage? Will Geely Auto and Volvo Cars merge or not? Is the StarLink satellite broadband initiative going to be another win for Elon Musk? What effects are COVID-19 having on the car industry? We are not out of the woods yet with this current plague, and governments seem to be taking very different tacks as they navigate their boats through these troubled waters. ...." Read more Hmmmm.... Another Excellent Dispatcher. Be sure to listen/watch Corresponding PodCast 170 w/Michael Sena. Alain
Thursday, August 13, 2020
[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
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 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
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
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
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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