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Friday, March 5, 2021

SmartDrivingCar.com/9.09-Insurance-030521
9th edition of the 9th year of SmartDrivingCars eLetter

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="126" height="36">  Automated Driving Technologies:  Driving Change in Insurance

K. Pyle, March 5, "It is in the insurance industry’s best interest to use automated driving technology to make things safer through crash avoidance, not just crash mitigation. Unlike crash mitigation, crash avoidance saves the insurance company money. This was Alain Kornhauser’s premise for the Smart Driving Car Summit, Incentivizing Through Insurance. The trillion-dollar question is whether the incentives to automate will overcome the countervailing forces of existing business practices in other parts of the mobility industry?...." Read more  Hmmmm.... We had another excellent Session.  Thank you for the summary, Ken.  Alain

Ken Pyle Session Summaries of 4th Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit:
9th Session    2/25/21  Can Level 3 be Delivered?

 [log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="41" height="42"> SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 202, Zoom-Cast Episode 202 President & CEO, RoadDB

F. Fishkin, March 3, "When will we be able to purchase cars that can largely drive themselves?  It may not be long...but don't expect to vacate the driver's seat.  That's the view of entrepreneur, tech pioneer and RoadDB CEO Russ Shields.   He takes an in depth look at where we are and where we're headed with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin." Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="46" height="52" border="0"> 
The Role of Public Policy in Enabling the Manufacture of Safely-driven Cars and Encouraging the Deployment of Driverless Cars

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" 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="" width="35" height="30">  Honda's part self-driving Legend a big step for autonomous tech

Staff, March 4, " Honda Motor Co Ltd on Thursday unveiled a partially self-driving Legend sedan in Japan, becoming the world’s first carmaker to sell a vehicle equipped with new, certified level 3 automation technology.

The launch gives Japan’s No.2 automaker bragging rights for being the first to market, but lease sales of the level 3 flagship Legend would be limited to a batch of 100 in Japan, at a retail price of 11 million yen ($102,000).

Still, the new automation technology is a big step towards eliminating human error-induced accidents, chief engineer Yoichi Sugimoto told reporters.

The Legend’s “Traffic Jam Pilot” system can control acceleration, braking and steering under certain conditions.

Once the system is activated, a driver can also watch movies or use the navigation on the screen, helping to mitigate fatigue and stress when driving in a traffic jam, Honda said in a statement...."  Read more Hmmmm...   I added the bold emphasis and you must read the fine print, that unfortunately Reuters glossed over.  Honda must stop doing things for "...Bragging Rights..." and stop behaving like Elon!   This isn't really "Level 3" because, rightly so, it requires the driver to have his butt in the driver's seat.  It is also only for low speed. What MUST be clearly stated upfront is the Operational Design Domain that will be strictly enforced and driver mis-use of this functionality will be not be tolerated.  So at low speeds, in acceptable weather, on certain pre-determined roads,...,  and if a non-drowsy, non-impaired licensed driver remains in the driver's seat, then that driver may take his/her "feet off the brake & throttle", "hands off the wheel"  and "eyes off the road" but remain prepared to be required to use his/her feet, hands and eyes to safely drive the cars, if so requested.  Should the driver not respond to such request in a timely manner, Honda assumes no responsibility for any liabilities incurred should the vehicle crash and the"Level 3 flagship Legend" will either stop dead in the middle of the street or pull over to the side of the road and stop.  The Level 3 functionality will not be re-enabled until the driver ... (you fill in the blank).

I agree that this is a start, but it has a very long way to go.  To me, the most important message that needs to be conveyed to a potential buy of this kind of car is: 1.  Mis-use or mis-behavior will not be tolerated.  and 2. While the driver may be enabled to take "feet-off", "hands-off" and "eyes-off" the driver's butt MUST remain in the driver's seat and the driver may not be drowsy or intoxicated!  We can't have Tesla-style videos all over the intertubes showing the mis-use of Honda's Level3 in Japan.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="">  FAA may adopt gender-neutral drone language

S.  Beasley, Feb. 24, "The FAA has asked its drone advisory panel to explore moving away from words like 'unmanned,'manned,'airman' and other gender-specific terms for drones as the agency and industry look to attract a more diverse and younger crop of people to the field.

The agency's Drone Advisory Committee, whose members are mostly drawn from various parts of the drone industry, has been tasked with making recommendations on how the FAA and industry can shift to using gender-neutral language as has been done in other countries as well as at NASA. The U.S. space agency started using gender-neutral words in 2006.

Jay Merkle, who heads the FAA's drone integration office, said during a recent DAC meeting  that the agency would like to see the panel “take the lead in facilitating the adoption of gender-neutral language throughout the drone community” and “really in aviation in general.” Committee members have agreed to establish a task force to examine the issue.

FAA did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the initiative or whether it had been launched under the Biden administration or beforehand...  "  Read more  Hmmmm...  Concern about this fundamentally gender-offensive terminology wasn't mentioned until the 63rd and 64th slide ('Adjourn' was the 68th slide). Probably slid in there after everyone else may have Zoomed off.

What seems worse is this wasn't brought up until after these terms had been proudly and confidently used throughout the earlier portions of the program (at least 46 times in "Drone Advisory Committee Public eBook").  Knowing that this was going to be a topic brought out at the end of the meeting, no one spoke out and said..."Yo!  All day we've been using this fundamentally gender-offensive terminology. Shouldn't we set an example and start right now by cleaning up our terminology!  Plus, let's send a strong message over to the Pentagon, especially the Airforce.  This ends now!" 

That didn't happen!  I guess the "good 'ol boys" are still in charge!  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  THE 25-YEAR-OLD BILLIONAIRE BUILDING THE FUTURE OF SELF-DRIVING CARS

March 2, "Austin Russell is the 25-year-old founder and CEO of Luminar, a startup in Silicon Valley that makes LIDAR sensors for self-driving cars. LIDAR technology had been used for short-distance mapping, but Luminar claims to have a functioning LIDAR that works at 250 meters, which is a breakthrough. Luminar recently went public, making Austin today's youngest self-made billionaire.

And when it comes to self-driving cars, youth is definitely an advantage.  Austin told me we're still years if not decades away from fully self-driving cars, and there's a lot of work to be done to make them safe, effective, and ubiquitous. That work is racing ahead.  ” Luminar has deals with Volvo, Audi, Toyota, and others ” but building a complete self-driving car is still a long-term project.

Here we go..."  Read more  Hmmmm...   A good interview well worth reading.  My issue with Driverless cars for the consumer market is that the development cost for the software are non-trivial, especially relative to any incremental value that might be envisioned relative to "Level3' or "Level 2+".  " Consumer-grade Level4" software must become good/safe enough to do all of the driving and accept all of the safety-related responsibility throughout the Driverless Car's Operational Design Domain (ODD).  (The ODD is the strictly regulated/controlled conditions under which such "Feet-off, Hands-off, Eyes-off, Butt-out (can't rely/fall-back on there being a licensed & capable driver in the driver's seat; car is empty plus, maybe, riders and packages)

That ODD must be "larger enough" to encompass mobility opportunities that deliver more consumer value than the, appropriately financed, development cost of that software. I'll claim that there is little incremental consumer value in not having the consumer do any of the driving (Level4) over even needing to do most of the driving (Level 3).  The only real incremental value is getting you home if you are drunk, (Level3 can't get you all the way from the watering hole to your home; else for that trip it is "Level 4"  

There is also some real value in "giving" rides to individuals that aren't properly licensed to drive (your young children) or those that can't drive for whatever reason.   There is also value in being able to dispatch your car with no one in it to go to someone else and give them a ride... as long as all of the Driverless/Level4 car's activities are strictly contained in the ODD. 

Having a capable licensed driver available as a backup substantially reduces software development cost .  Said another way: the incremental cost of going from a Consumer-viable Level3 car (where the consumer implicitly/explicitly accepts to be responsible and "do the heavy lifting" when things get tough) to Level4 where the "software" has to do all of the lifting, light through heavy,  and accept all of the responsibility, is likely ms more a sufficient number of "early adopters' are willing to endure.  Thus, Level4 as a consumer product is "Dead-on-Arrival" (DoA)! (Very high incremental cost for very little incremental value. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="24" height="33">  Covid's Transportation Tsunami

D. Furchtgott-Roth, March 1, "Covid-19 caused a tsunami of changes to the transportation sector. In its wake, Congress shouldn't design the $1.9 trillion stimulus package as though Americans will eventually return to their pre-pandemic behavior. Instead, legislators should determine what changes in behavior will be permanent and, until the future is clearer, focus on maintaining existing infrastructure rather than building new and ambitious projects.

Some modes of transportation have fared better than others since the pandemic began. A recent Department of Transportation (DOT) report by Steven Polzin finds that passenger cars have seen only a 10 percent decline in mileage, while Amtrak, airlines, public transit, and intercity buses have seen drop-offs in excess of 60 percent. The report projects that only air travel will return to its pre-pandemic level by 2024, while travel via other modes, including cars, will remain about 5 percent to 10 percent lower....

To allocate federal infrastructure dollars wisely, legislators need to know how many people will continue to work from home—and how this share will be divided among cities, suburbs, and rural areas. As our transportation habits have changed, so have the answers to these questions. Congress should take note."  Read more  Hmmmm...   Wise advice here.  Be sure to read Steve Polzin's report: "COVID-19's Effects on The Future of Transportation".  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">   Volvo Plans to Sell Only Electric Cars by 2030

J. Ewing, March 2, "Volvo Cars one-upped larger rivals like General Motors and added momentum to the movement toward electric vehicles on Tuesday by saying it would convert its entire lineup to battery power by 2030, no longer selling cars with internal combustion engines.

The declaration by the Swedish carmaker is the latest attempt by a traditional auto company to break with its fossil fuels past. It is also one of the most ambitious proposals and ratchets up the pressure on others to follow suit.

The auto industry has been moving toward electrification for years, but the shift has taken on new urgency in recent months. President Biden's election, along with his commitment to fight climate change, has raised expectations that the United States will offer the kind of incentives that helped make electric cars the fastest-growing segment of the European market last year...."  Read more  Hmmmm...   We'll address this topic in more depth in the 14th Weekly Session of the Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit at noon on Thursday, April 1: What Will Power Safely-driven Cars?  (no correlation with April Fool's pranks, promise)  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class=""> AAA Survey Shows Less Interest in Self-Driving Cars Than in Fine-Tuning Today's Safety Systems

J. Bartlett, Feb 25, " The road to self-driving cars is paved by the active driver assist systems that are available on most cars today. But while much attention is paid to the potential of an autonomous future, the majority of drivers (80 percent) say they want current systems, like automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assistance, to work better, according to a new survey by AAA..."  Read more  Hmmmm... This should be an important message to OEMs... get Automated Collision Avoidance to really avoid collisions, etc. and the car buying public will be happy. OEMs can readily do that.  Subaru, for one, has been focusing on that.  OEMs can deliver that value now and make more  money.  Insurance will smile all the way to the bank!  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="156" height="24">  Will electric crossovers like Volvo's C40 be the key to mass EV adoption?

R. Mitchell, March 2, "With the introduction of its new C40 Recharge on Tuesday, Volvo became the latest automaker to bet that consumers who have so far been cool to the idea of an electric vehicle might change their minds if it comes in a form they love: the crossover. Whether they do may be crucial to the success of California's plan to end sales of gasoline and diesel cars by 2035.

Volvo joins Ford of Europe and Jaguar in going all in on EVs, promising every car it makes and sells by 2030 will be all-electric. In a webcast to introduce the new vehicle, the company also laid out a radical new retail strategy — the C40 and all electric Volvo cars will be available for purchase only online.

A slew of electric crossovers has hit the market in recent months, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Tesla Model Y and the Volkswagen ID.4...." Read more  Hmmmm... Maybe. We'll see if these are able to eat into Tesla's market share. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Ford: three years of testing self-driving cars in Miami

G. Wilson, March 3, "Marking three years since automotive manufacturer - Ford Motor Company - began its plans to test and commercialise its self-driving services in Miami, we take a look at what the company has been up to in the last three years to develop the technology...." Read more  Hmmmm...  To get all of this to work safely and to "make everyone 'whole' should something bad happen" while you don't have a capable driver in the driver's seat is non-simple!  Elon's fine print requires a capable driver in the driver's seat who will be held responsible to "make everyone 'whole' should something bad happen" because Elon is unwilling to accept that responsibility.  He knows he isn't rich enough and FSD isn't good enough for him to take that risk. As soon as he proclaims that he is accepting that risk, then, maybe,  we'll begin to pay attention to his proclamations about FSD.   Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="112" height="17">   Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta Vs Waymo Driverless Taxi: Real-World Test

S. Loveday, March 4,  "...On the other hand, while Tesla's vehicles require a driver to be in the driver's seat closely monitoring the tech and taking over when necessary,..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  You need not read anymore to realize that what is being compared are two very different animals.  Maybe next time they'll compare a Dodo with an Eagle. (Tesla's the Dodo. 😁) Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  Inspector General's Report Cites Elaine Chao for Using Office to Help Family

E. Lipton, March 3, "While serving as transportation secretary during the Trump administration, Elaine Chao repeatedly used her office staff to help family members who run a shipping business with extensive ties to China, a report released Wednesday by the Transportation Department's inspector general concluded.

The inspector general referred the matter to the Justice Department in December for possible criminal investigation. But in the weeks before the end of Trump administration, two Justice Department divisions declined to do so..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  Trump lies through his teeth,"suggests" that a mob invades the Capitol, has everyone stay at his hotel down the street and "Transportation Department’s inspector general" goes after Elaine. Sure, her husband should have voted for impeachment, but...  C'mon Man!!!    Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Self-driving startups are becoming an endangered species

T. Lee, March 4, "Bloomberg reports that Cruise, a self-driving company jointly owned by GM and Honda, is in talks to acquire the startup Voyage. Founded four years ago, Voyage is working to launch a self-driving taxi service at the Villages, a massive retirement community in Florida.

Bloomberg says that "no deal is imminent," and I don't have any inside information. But such a deal would be consistent with an ongoing trend: it's becoming harder and harder for self-driving startups to remain independent.

Voyage was part of a wave of self-driving startups that were founded between 2013 and 2018. Cruise itself was one of the earliest of these companies; it was co-founded in 2013 by its current CEO Kyle Vogt. Others included nuTonomy in 2013, Zoox in 2014, Drive.ai, Optimus Ride, and TuSimple in 2015, Starsky Robotics, Nuro and Udelv in 2016, Voyage, Aurora, and May Mobility in 2017, and Ike and Kodiak Robotics in 2018.

But over the last three years, these companies have suffered a high attrition rate. Cruise was acquired by GM in 2016. This early acquisition was a sign of confidence in Cruise, and GM has since poured billions of dollars into the startup. Similarly, auto parts maker Aptiv acquired NuTonomy in 2017 and has made its CEO the leader of Motional, a joint venture with Hyundai.

Other startups didn't have such happy exits. Apple acquired Drive.ai in 2019 as the firm was on the verge of shutting down. Trucking startup Starsky shut down last year, and Amazon bought Zoox for a bargain price. Ike sold to its larger startup rival Nuro in late 2020..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  Not listed are the Otto Shenanigans and others.  What everyone is realizing is that SafelyDrivenCars are the purview of the legacy OEM and Driverless mobility, while having enormous upside potential, is requiring equally enormous capabilities/investments to get off the ground.  So far there is only one that has been able to barely get started, and only after a meticulous,well executed and outrageously expensive "Spring Training".  More @ Detroit News if you have a subscription. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="91" height="27">  The power of FMCW Lidar + Scale:Why acquiring OURS lidar unlocks the commercialization of the Aurora Driver

Press release, "Feb 26, "... When we acquired Blackmore in 2019, we said it would be a gamechanger for our ability to pursue autonomous trucking because FMCW lidar allows us to see further and faster than ever before. (Long-range sensing? Check!) Since then, we have moved quickly to deploy our trucks in Texas, outfitted with Aurora's FirstLight Lidar, which allows us to see well beyond 300 meters, measures velocity instantaneously, and is interference-free. Plus, it's purpose-built to meet the needs of the Aurora Driver, on Aurora's timeline.

We focused on performance first, and now it''s time to scale. As we look to expand our fleet and commercialize our driverless trucks, FirstLight Lidar must be increasingly scalable' needs to be smaller and less expensive, but just as powerful. To make that happen, we're excited to announce that we're acquiring OURS Technology, a lidar-on-a-chip company that will help us do just that. (Scalability? Check!) And in addition to their cutting-edge tech, we look forward to having their team join Aurora!..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  Interesting.  "Interference free" is very important, especially at long distance.  The key is to be able to determine one's relative velocity with the objects in the the lane ahead and especially to be able to reliably determine if one is able to pass under stationary objects (objects whose relative speed = current speed) that are positioned in the lane ahead. That is non-easy

It needs to be done in real-time and far enough away so that the truck has time to come to a complete stop.  Certainly, digital map databases are helpful,  But only as long as the stationary object detected ahead is properly correlated to the map database; if it is not, then relegating it as a false positive, as Uber did with Elaine Herzberg, doesn't have a pretty ending.  Stationary object abound in lanes ahead... signs, traffic lights, tree canopies,... Easy to detect and measure location to Evey face point.  Surface point underneath in order to measure clearance... not so much.  I sure hope this LiDAR helps.  If not, then what does it use to justify its expense?  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Nikola admits to making 'inaccurate' statements under disgraced founder

T. Lee., Feb. 27, "Aspiring electric truck maker Nikola has admitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission that nine statements made by founder Trevor Milton were "inaccurate." Milton was forced to resign from Nikola in September, shortly after the falsehoods first came to light.

Between 2016 and 2020, Milton told a series of whoppers about his fledgling truck maker. At a 2016 press event, Milton took to the stage to unveil a prototype of the company's first truck, dubbed the Nikola One. During the event, Milton claimed that the truck "fully functions." In reality, Nikola never got the truck to move under its own power. ..." Read more  Hmmmm... Is Nikola still in business???  I guess SPACs never go away??? Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="91" height="32">  Driverless electric bus hits the road in Spanish city of Málaga

Staff, Feb. 25, "...Despite the advanced technology, there is a driver at the wheel to take control if necessary since Spanish law does not currently allow vehicles to operate without drivers..."  Read more  Hmmmm... Just like almost everything else that is printed with "driverless" in the title... It is total BS, click-bait and not even half-baked.  So depressing!! I just can't understand how financially bankrupt systems think that by just adorning their buses with expensive gizmos that don't improve service frequency or speed and more importantly don't reduce the cost of their current lousy service deserves and ink or accolades. Only with the removal of the driver is the marginal cost of better service have an opportunity to be negative; else, same bad service requiring more public subsidy. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="110" height="23">  Fisker gives up on solid-state batteries after 'breakthrough' with '500 miles range & 1-min charging'

F. Lambert, March 1, "Fisker says that it has given up on solid-state batteries after having announced a “breakthrough” that was supposed to enable “500 miles of range and 1-minute charging” in its electric cars.  After relaunching his electric vehicle startup, Henrik Fisker started making a lot of very ambitious claims about the capabilities of the new company’s future electric cars.

We have highlighted some of those in a report called: “A look at Fisker’s unbelievable claims about its upcoming all-electric car with ‘over 400 miles of range’ & ‘9-minute charging.”  But one of the biggest claims was regarding the batteries that Fisker planned to use.

At first, the company announced that their first car will be powered by a new graphene-based hybrid supercapacitor technology.  That idea didn’t stick for long and Fisker instead announced a solid-state battery “breakthrough” for electric cars with “500 miles range and 1-minute charging.”

As with most battery breakthrough claims, we were skeptical of Fisker’s announcement. Now, a few years later, Henrik Fisker announced that they have actually given up on the supposed breakthrough over a year ago....."  Read more  Hmmmm...   Does it seem that the EV sector is substantially over-hyped with Tesla, Nikola, Fisker, ...  ?  Batteries should have won the "power-plant war in "1905" against Stanley's Steamer and Otto's ICE.  But batteries and sourcing the electrons proved to be a real challenge.  After more than 100 years at trying and under the best imagined environmental and political circumstances, smoke, mirrors and the EV sector may be rising out of the ashes.  Scaling batteries and electrons to efficiently and environmentally meet the nation's mobility needs and aspirations remains a very open challenge.  We'll discuss some of this in the Summit's 14th Session: What will Power SmartDrivingCars? on April 1. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   Uber planning to spin out Postmates' delivery robot arm

K. Karosec, March 4, "Postmates X, the robotics division of the on-demand delivery startup that Uber acquired last year for $2.65 billion, has officially spun out as an independent company called Serve Robotics.  TechCrunch reported in January that a deal was being shopped to investors.

Serve Robotics, a name taken from the autonomous sidewalk delivery bot that was developed and piloted by Postmates X, has raised seed funding in a round led by venture capital firm Neo. Other investors included Uber as well as Lee Jacobs and Cyan Banister's Long Journey Ventures, Western Technology Investment, Scott Banister, Farhad Mohit and Postmates co-founders Bastian Lehmann and Sean Plaice. ..."  Read more  Hmmmm...   If "spinning stuff out" is what is making Uber more valuable, then that may not be saying much about what is being spun out.   Alain

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0">   4th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit  11th Episode at noon on March 11, 2021 TO BE followed by 8 more weekly episodes  through to April15, 2021.  Each episode starting Live on Zoom @ noon Eastern (Princeton Time) and lasting for 1.5 hours or until Discussion with audience ends. 

A. Kornhauser, Feb 6, "The focus of the Summit this year will be moving beyond the AI and the Sensors to addressing the challenges of Commercialization and  the delivery of tangible value to communities.  We've made enormous progress with the technology. We're doing the investment; however, this investment delivers value only if is commercialized: made available and is used by consumers in large numbers.  Demos and one-offs are "great", but to deliver value that is anywhere near commensurate with the magnitude of the investment made to date, initial deployments need to scale.  We can't just have "Morgantown PRT Systems" whose initial deployment has been nothing but enormously successful for 45 years (an essentially perfect safety record, an excellent availability record and customer valued mobility).  Unfortunately, the system was never expanded or duplicated anywhere.  It didn't scale.  It is a one-off.  

Tests, demos and one-offs are nice niche deployments; however, what one really needs are initial deployments that have the opportunity to grow, be replicated and scale.  In 1888, Frank Sprague, successfully deployed a small electric street railway system in Richmond, Va.  which became the reference for many other cites.  "... By 1889 110 electric railways incorporating Sprague's equipment had been begun or planned on several continents..." Substantial scaled societal benefits emerged virally from this technology.  It was eventually supplanted by the conventional automobile but for more than 30 years it delivered substantial improvements to the quality-of-life for many.  

In part, the 4th Summit will focus on defining the "Richmond" of Affordable Shared-ride On-demand Mobility-as-a-Service.  The initial Operational Design Domain (ODD) that safely accommodates Driverless Mobility Machines that people actually choose to use and becomes the envy of communities throughout the country. " Read more Hmmmm... Draft Program is in flux.  Consider all named individuals as "Invited yet to be confirmed". Alain

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


Sunday Supplement


Half-Baked


Click-Bait


Calendar of Upcoming Events:s

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="46" height="52" border="0"> 
The Role of Public Policy in Enabling the Manufacture of Safely-driven Cars and Encouraging the Deployment of Driverless Cars



[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="35" height="36">  and  [log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="91" height="36">
The SYMPOSIUM ON THE
FUTURE NETWORKED CAR 2021 VIRTUAL EVENT - 22–25 MARCH 2021.



[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="62" height="63">

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 201, Zoom-Cast Episode 201 w/Michael Sena, Publisher of The Dispatcher

F. Fishkin, Feb. 26, "Smarter cars need smarter assembly...and location matters.   The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at that, politics, climate and carmakers...plus Tesla, Velodyne, Foxconn and more.."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 200, Zoom-Cast Episode 200 w/Edwin Olsen, CEO, May Mobility

F. Fishkin, Feb. 22, "How May Mobility is building confidence in autonomous transportation and creating a road map for growth through the pandemic and beyond.   CEO and co-founder Edwin Olson joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 199, Zoom-Cast Episode 199 w/Marc Scribner, Senior Transportation Policy Analyst, Reason Foundation

F. Fishkin, Feb. 19, "How the Biden administration & Congress can pave the path for autonomous vehicles.   Reason Foundation Sr. Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to focus on what's next.   Plus jobs and autonomous trucking, Waymo, GM, Ford and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 198, Zoom-Cast Episode 198 w/Dick Mudge, CEO, Compass Transportation & Technology

F. Fishkin, Feb. 13, Which autonomous vehicle companies will be the last standing?   And does private ownership of self driving cars make sense?    Compass Transportation and Technology President Dick Mudge joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest on Tesla, GM, Toyota and more..."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 197, Zoom-Cast Episode 197 w/Michel Parent, Founding Member of SuburVan

F. Fishkin, Feb. 5, "Smart mobility innovation in France.    Dr. Michel Parent founding member of SuburVan is aiming to provide fully autonomous mobility on the outskirts of Paris and more.    He joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest on Ford, GM, Tesla, VW and more...."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 196, Zoom-Cast Episode 196 w/Steve Polzin, Recently US DoT

F. Fishkin, Jan. 24, "Will more safe vehicle technology dampen the push for driverless mobility? Measuring the progress and challenges ahead with Dr. Steven Polzin..former Sr. Advisor, Office of the Ass't. Secretary for Research and Technology in the DOT. He joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin ... plus GM going zero emission, Tesla, Waymo and more.."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 195 Zoom-Cast Episode 195 w/Diana Furchtgott-Roth, G. Washington U.

F. Fishkin, Jan. 24, "What progress has been made towards smarter, safer mobility? The push for a back-up to GPS. Why the jump in vehicle fatalities last year? Those issues and more as former deputy assistant U.S. Transportation Secretary for research and technology Diana Furchtgott Roth joins us. Plus...Microsoft, Cruise, Tesla and more on Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin.

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 194 Zoom-Cast Episode 194  w/Anuj Pradhan, UMass

F. Fishkin, Jan. 15, ""When it comes to vehicle safety technology...should manufacturers be sharing instead of competing? Should there be standardization? Anuj Pradhan, co-director of the Human Performance Lab at UMASS Amherst joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest from GM, Tesla, Mobileye, Nio and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 193 Zoom-Cast Episode 193  w/Bobby Hambrick, AutonomousStuff

F. Fishkin, Jan. 8, "Bobby Hambrick started AutuonomouStuff in a barn in Morton, Illinois....and has pioneered much of the technology moving the autonomous industry forward, now as part of Hexagon. Bobby joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to look back and look ahead. Plus...Apple, Hyundai, Waymo, Tesla and more! "

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 192 Zoom-Cast Episode 192  w/Danny Shapiro, nVIDIA

F. Fishkin, Dec. 30, "NVIDIA continues on a roll powering the Zoox robo taxi unveiled this month by Amazon.    NVIDIA senior director of automotive Danny Shapiro outlines the progress and looks ahead to 2021 in the latest Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. "

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 191  Zoom-Cast Episode 191  w/ Louis Aaron'23 and Joel Johnson

F. Fishkin, Dec. 20, "College student Joel Johnson has been keeping a log of dozens of trips in Waymo's self driving service in Chandler, Arizona, and posting videos on YouTube. Louis Aaron'23, another student, has been working with Elon Musk's Boring Company in Las Vegas. The two share their experiences with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in the latest Smart Driving Cars." 

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 190  Zoom-Cast Episode 190  w/Chris Urmson, Aurora

F. Fishkin, Dec. 15, "With Aurora taking over Uber's self driving efforts,  what is on the horizon for the start up whose leaders have roots at Waymo,  Tesla and Uber?    Co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in this special edition of Smart Driving Cars."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 187  Zoom-Cast Episode 187   w/Michael Sena,  The Dispatcher

F. Fishkin, Nov 25, "What you should know about electric cars, climate change and more.  The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in an eye opening edition of Smart Driving Cars.." 

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 186  Zoom-Cast Episode 186 w/Kelly Funkhouser, Consumer Report

F. Fishkin, Nov 24, "When it comes to active driver assistance systems, what works and what needs improvement?  Some answers from Kelly Funkhouser… program manager for vehicle interface, head of connected and automated vehicles at Consumer Reports.  She joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 186 of Smart Driving Cars."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 185  Zoom-Cast Episode 185 w/Dan Smith, Waymo

F. Fishkin, Nov 20, "Only Waymo has been transporting customers in driverless vehicles without a safety monitor on board.   What goes into that kind of decision?   Waymo Assistant General Counsel Dan Smith joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in this special edition of Smart Driving Cars."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 184  Zoom-Cast Episode 184  w/Marjory Blumenthal, Rand

F. Fishkin, Nov 20, "So when are driverless vehicles safe enough to be deployed? Senior Rand Corporation policy researcher Marjory Blumenthal joins Princeton University's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to examine her latest report and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 183 Zoom-Cast Episode 183   w/Kirsten Korosec

F. Fishkin, Nov 13, "Rivian's hands free driver assistance will be standard equipment...while Ford unveils the E-Transit. TechCrunch Senior Transportation reporter and editor Kirsten Korosec joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Nuro, Tesla, Uber, Lyft, Cruise and more. Plus the coming changes for mobility under a new administration!"

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 182 Zoom-Cast Episode 182

F. Fishkin, Nov 6, "What will a new administration mean for autonomous mobility? And what about the passage of Proposition 22 in California after Uber's big campaign? That plus luxury EVs coming from Bentley....and cheap EVs from China. Join Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 181 Zoom-Cast Episode 181  w/Sheldon Sandler & Glenn Mercer

F. Fishkin, Oct. 30, "Waymo releases self driving data...while traditional car dealers enjoy surprisingly strong profits during the pandemic.   Why?  What about the coming autonomous mobility?  Bell Air Partners' Sheldon Sandler and researcher-consultant Glenn Mercer explain in Episode 181 of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin.  " 

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 180  Zoom-Cast Episode 180 w/John Rich, Ford/Argo, part 2

F. Fishkin, Oct. 15, "Ford and Argo AI have unveiled their next generation self-driving test vehicle. Once again, Ford's Director of Autonomous Vehicle and Technology Development John Rich joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to unveil the technology and the company's self driving business plans."  

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 179 Zoom-Cast Episode 179  w/John Rich, Ford/Argo

F. Fishkin, Oct. 15, "Which autonomous vehicle platforms will survive? The director of Ford's Autonomous Vehicle and Technology Development says there may only be two...and Ford /Argo AI will be one of them. John Rich joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more."  

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 178  Zoom-Cast Episode 178 w/Andrew Hawkins, Verge

F. Fishkin, Oct. 9, "Here we go! Waymo going fully driverless in Phoenix suburb service. The Verge senior transportation reporter Andrew Hawkins joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Tesla... Amazon... Rivian and more.  Subscribe! 

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 177    Zoom-Cast Episode 177 

F. Fishkin, Oct. 2, "New grades for assisted driving systems from Euro NCAP.   But Princeton Professor Alain Kornhauser says the devil is in the details in this edition with co-host Fred Fishkin.  And there's Amazon's success against Covid plusTesla, Uber, GM, Nikola and more.

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 176  Zoom-Cast Episode 176  w/Marc Scribner

F. Fishkin, Sept. 25, "A new government entity to oversee autonomous vehicles? Marc Scribner, Sr. Transportation Policy Analyst at the Reason Foundation on regulation and more with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus...Tesla, Nikola, GM and the California move to ban new gasoline vehicles." 

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 175   Zoom-Cast Episode 175  w/Michael Sena

F. Fishkin, Sept. 18, "Automobility and the future of car dealers...   "The Dispatcher" publisher Michael Sena offers a different take on how car dealers may battle automakers pushing for direct to consumer subscriptions.  That and more in this edition of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin." 

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 174 Zoom-Cast Episode 174 w/Kelly Funkhouser, Consumer Reports

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 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 172Zoom-Cast Episode 172  Special Edition w/Danny Shapiro

F. Fishkin ,Sept. 2, "Mercedes unveils the latest S Class with more computing power than 60 average cars...with NVIDIA playing a big role.   NVIDIA's Director of Automotive Danny Shapiro joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more." 

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 171Zoom-Cast Episode 171 w/Henry Greenidge

SmartDrivingCars  PodCast 170  ZoomCast Episode170  w/Michael Sena

SmartDrivingCars  PodCast Episode 169 ZoomCast Episode 169   w/Anthony Townsend 

SmartDrivingCars  PodCast Episode 168 ZoomCast Episode 168   w/Olaf Sakkers

SmartDrivingCars  PodCast 167  ZoomCast Episode167  w/Robin Chase, Carlos Pardo & Daniel Sperling 

SmartDrivingCars PodCast Episode 166ZoomCast Episode 166 w/Jay Rodgers'95, CEO Local Motors

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" 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

F. Fishkin 16, "Is the option to buy a car at a dealership going to vanish? The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena has a provocative perspective in this edition with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus..an update on the Amazon Zoox deal, autonomous vehicles and how they can help battle discrimination in transportation, TuSimple, Mobileye, Uber, Tesla and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast 164 Episode 164,   Zoom-Cast Episode 163 w/Robbie Diamond 

F. Fishkin, July 9, "Fostering economic opportunity through autonomous technology is the focus of an upcoming report from Security America's Future Energy. Founder and CEO Robbie Diamond shares details and more in this edition with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus ..are armed police officers really needed for traffic enforcement? And the latest from Tesla, Waymo and more.  ..."

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 163Zoom-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.  ."

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 162,  Zoom-Cast Episode 162  w/Cliff Winston

F. Fishkin, June 25, "From the Brookings Institution, Cliff Winston, co-author of Autonomous Vehicles...The Road to Economic Growth? joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus..why are fatal crash rates rising in the midst of a pandemic...plus NVIDIA, Didi, Tesla and more."

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" 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 ..." 
Listen/Watch more  Hmmm...   We only scratched the surface. Alain

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 161,Zoom-Cast Episode 161   w/Alberto Stochino

F. Fishkin, June 17, "Is less data sometimes more when it comes to driverless vehicle technology? Perceptive Founder and CEO Alberto Stochino joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus the DOT's new plan for sharing autonomous safety information, the latest from Tesla, EVs from China and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 160Zoom-Cast Episode 160  w/Jessica Cicchino

F. Fishkin, June 12, "Insurance Institute for Highway Safety  Research VP Jessica Cicchino co-authored a new study saying self driving vehicles could struggle to eliminate most crashes.   She joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to discuss the study.  Plus the latest on Tesla, Ford & VW, Covid-19 and more.  "  

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 159,   Zoom-Cast Episode 159  w/Kara Kockelman

F. Fishkin, June 4, "Prof. Kara Kockelman's focus on smart transportation to save lives, money and the environment has made her a sought after global expert.  The U. of Texas Transportation Engineering Professor joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin on the impact of Covid-19 and much more.  Plus Tesla, Uber, Argo AI and the top smart driving headlines.  For more on Dr. Kockelman's work....please visit...  http://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/kockelman."  

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" 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 ..." 

Listen/Watch more  Hmmm...   We only scratched the surface. Alain

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 158,  Zoom-Cast Episode 158  w/Chunka Mui 

F. Fishkin, May 28, "In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, what are the smartest ways to re-build and plan for the future? Futurist and author Chunka Mui joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Amazon, Zoox, Intel Mobileye, Tesla, Uber and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 157,  Zoom-Cast Episode 157 w/Grayson Brulte 

F. Fishkin, May 21, "Global auto makers must completely re-think their autonomous mobility strategy as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. So says innovation strategist Grayson Brulte of Brulte & Company....who joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus...Waymo, Tesla, Uber and more."  

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" 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?...

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 156,  Cars Zoom-Cast Episode 156  w/Danny Shapiro2 

F. Fishkin, May 14, "With new hardware and software capabilities NVIDIA is expanding into new areas of driver assistance technology. Sr. Director of Automotive Danny Shapiro joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest on Waymo, Voyage, Ford and more. listen and subscribe!"

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 155,Zoom-Cast Episode 155  w/Alex Roy2

F. Fishkin, April 29, "The continuing impact of Covid-19 on autonomous vehicle progress. But it may not be all bad news. Alex Roy...host of the No Parking Podcast and Director of Special Operations at Argo AI joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Tesla, Intel, Lyft, Uber and more. Listen and subscribe!

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 154Zoom-Cast Episode 154   w/Dan Sperling

F. Fishkin, April 29, "Can ride sharing rebound after the pandemic? Daniel Sperling, founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Tesla, Waymo, Ford and more." 

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0">   DrivingTheDebate Episode 001 The Driverless "New Normal" Debate

F. Fishkin, April 27,

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 153Zoom-Cast Episode 153   w/Dick Mudge2
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 152, Zoom-Cast Episode 152  w/Brad Templeton
[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="79" height="18"> SmartDrivingCars Zoom-Cast Episode 148 w/Richard Bishop

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=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.2&filename=hejedgabmgkdglfj.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="115" height="69" border="0">

Friday, February 26, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="133" height="21">  March 2021 Issue

M. Sena, Feb 23, " ... There is no way to test a car virtually...

OEMs are still learning that that today’s cars are not your father’s Oldsmobile. 
Vehicle connectivity is not something that is tacked onto a car, like a battery-operated portable TOMTOM or GARMIN (or CoPilot...Michael, How could you forget?... 😁)...navigation system....

Driving Neat: Can U.S. Take Its Cars Without ICE?..."  Read more  Hmmmm... Plus much much more.  Enjoy!!! Alain

Friday, February 19, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="104" height="32"> COMMENTARY:  How the Biden Administration and Congress Can Pave the Path for Automated Vehicles

M. Scribner, Feb. 11, "“Automated vehicle technology is coming; it’s advancing very quickly,” said now-confirmed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg during his confirmation hearing. “It is something that holds the potential to be transformative and I think in many ways policy has not kept up.”

Secretary Buttigieg is absolutely correct. The U.S. Department of Transportation, specifically the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration division, has a number of tools at its disposal that can be used to modernize the federal regulatory environment to help speed the deployment of automated vehicle technologies that can greatly enhance safety, mobility, and access for all Americans. There is also an important role for Congress, especially at this early stage of automated vehicle development.

To support reform efforts within the executive and legislative branches, my new Reason Foundation policy brief, Challenges and Opportunities for Federal Automated Vehicle Policy, lays out several steps policymakers can take to adapt the automotive regulatory apparatus to automated driving system technologies. The brief is broken into three main sections: defining automated vehicles, a survey of current federal automated vehicle policy development activities, and recommendations for federal policymakers.

The reform recommendations for legislators and regulators are categorized under four themes: ..." Read more  Hmmmm... Read especially: "CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL AUTOMATED VEHICLE POLICY".  Included is an extensive discussion on the SAE Levels where Marc states: "...most legacy automakers and new automated driving developers are planning to avoid SAE Level 3 altogether.."  and  "Given the wide diversity of road network operating conditions, achieving SAE Level 5 poses significant challenges...."  That leaves just two very different classes of AVs ... Safely-driven AVs, encompasing SAE Levels 1 & 2, that assist and support human drivers while requiring that a human driver ensures that the vehicle will be driven safely... and Driverless AVs, SAE Level 4, where the responsibility that the vehicle will be driven safely is entirely borne by the driving technology.  Those are the only two kinds.  Policy should focus on only those two and get those right.  They are they only real opportunities for this technology ... one to help human drivers drive more safely and the other is to drive safely without any help or involvement by anyone riding long with the vehicle.  Thus, the first order of business for Federal Policy is to simplify the process by concentrating on those two very diffent kinds of AVs and get those right.  Alain

Friday, February 12, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="156" height="24">   Biden inherits big traffic safety mess

R. Mitchell, Feb. 4, "Maybe you’ve seen the viral TikTok video of a young man lying in the back seat of his Tesla, covered in blankets, as the car cruises down the highway. The driver’s seat is empty.

If you haven’t, perhaps you’ve seen another like it. Videos of Tesla owners gleefully abusing the Autopilot system, a set of driver-assist technologies including adaptive cruise control, have become something of a genre across social media over the last few years, even as drivers have been killed while trusting it to operate their vehicles for them.

Officially, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration discourages such behavior, running a public awareness campaign last fall with the hashtag #YourCarNeedsYou. But its messaging competes with marketing of Tesla itself, which recently said it will begin selling a software package for Full Self Driving — a term it has used since 2016 despite objections from critics and the caveats in the company’s own fine print — on a subscription basis starting this quarter... "  Read more  Hmmmm... If the driver/owner is expected to be prepared to intervene to maintain safety, then it is NOT full anything, period.  Moreover, if the owner/driver is NOT prepared, nor permitted to intervene to maintain safety, then the fleet operator is required to accept the responsibility and "make whole" any and all liabilities arising from any  and all "at fault" crashes.  Until Elon is willing to step up and take on that responsibility/liability or sell his cars exclusively to operating entities that assume that responsibility his Teslas are NOT full anything, period! Alain

Friday, February 05, 2021

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="39" height="43" border="0"> Analyzing Ride-Share Potential and Empty Repositioning Requirements of a Nationwide aTaxi System

G. Laniewki, Jan 26. "Ride-hailing apps (Uber and Lyft) have long been criticized for their inability to generate profit— especially now, since they have been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic1. It seems that the viability of their businesses relies heavily on automation, eliminating drivers to cut their largest cost and hopefully generating profit.2 This hail-mary strategy rests on that idea that autonomous driving will become a valuable industry—where some have estimated to be worth as much as $1.5 trillion3—and any pioneering company would have a non-nominal market penetration in it.
With that being said, there is a need for research that analyzes the viability of autonomous ridesharing while it’s in its infancy. Our approach is simulation-based and is built from a foundation of work from previous courses:..."  Read more  Hmmmm... Very nice Nation-wide investigation by my students this past Fall. Alain

Friday, January 29, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">G.M. Will Sell Only Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2035

N. Boudette, Jan. 28, "The days of the internal combustion engine are numbered.

General Motors said Thursday that it would phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a seismic shift by one of the world’s largest automakers that makes billions of dollars today from gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

The announcement is likely to put pressure on automakers around the world to make similar commitments. It could also embolden President Biden and other elected officials to push for even more aggressive policies to fight climate change. Leaders could point to G.M.’s decision as evidence that even big businesses have decided that it is time for the world to begin to transition away from fossil fuels that have powered the global economy for more than a century...."  Read more Hmmmm...   Great! (maybe???):   Good News:  Zero emission vehicles; Bad News: From where cometh the marginal electricity that enables that Zero-Emission Vehicle to move and what carries that electricity to the point on the road where that electricity is used to power that Zero-Emission Vehicle?  Until we have a "Zero Emission Battery" and all electricity is created using Zero Emission, GM cannot produce, nor sell, Zero Emission Vehicles that actually move (other than downhill a la Nikola).  So please tout the whole story!!  (Will these EVs be less polluting than an ICE that GM could build and sell "by 2035"? is the real question.  The answer depends on where we will be with electricity production and distribution, the efficiency and makeup of batteries and the improvement of ICEs. (I didn't mean to imply that it was a simple question, but the NY Times should be more than click-bait.).   Alain

Friday, January 29, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="34" height="26">   U Mich's Robert Hampshire joins Biden administration to work in transportation research and technology

J. Karoub, Jan. 21, "Robert Hampshire, associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy whose research and policy engagement focuses on understanding the societal, climate and equity implications of autonomous and connected vehicles and other innovative mobility services, has joined the Biden administration to work in the U.S. Transportation Department.  Robert Hampshire, associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy whose research and policy engagement focuses on understanding the societal, climate and equity implications of autonomous and connected vehicles and other innovative mobility services, has joined the Biden administration to work in the U.S. Transportation Department."  Read more  Hmmmm...  What a fantastic appointment.  Congratulations Robert!  Alain

Friday, January 15, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="34" height="35">  AUTOMATED VEHICLES:  Comprehensive Plan

E. Chao, Jan. 2021, "The Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan (Comprehensive Plan) describes how the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is supporting the safe integration of Automated Driving Systems (ADS)2 into the surface transportation system. It explains Departmental goals related to ADS, identifies actions being taken to meet those goals, and provides real-world examples of how these Departmental actions relate to emerging ADS applications...   "  Read more  Hmmmm...  I guess this is a good plan.  Of course, Safety is #1, as it should be. DoT's #1 public responsibility is Safety.  Whether Cyber Security and Privacy are # 2 and 3  and ahead of Enhanced Mobility and Accessibility is certainly debatable.  And if the Enhanced Mobility and Accessibility of the "mobility disadvantaged that have been left behind by our current favored transport system"  were to be a category, then that one should be right behind Safety at #2 if not ahead of Safety and a solid #1.  The rest. as they should, are appropriately details.  What is most disconcerting about the report are the images. To me, those images depict the current "haves", not "have-nots" and thus don't really address the mobility needs and desires of those whose quality-of-life could be most enhanced by automation technology.  These images seem to focus the Plan on giving those that already have pretty good ways to get around, yet another way to get around, where, when you finally get right down to it, may at best be only slightly better than what they already have.  This Comprehensive Plan should first be focused on providing high-quality affordable mobility to those whose quality-of-life could be most improved by such new technologies  and subsequently serve those that already enjoy and can afford other high-quality forms of mobility.

Also, Elaine, thank you for a really good 4 years.  You (and USDoT) were really the star of what was otherwise a most embarrassing Presidency. Also, thanks to Diana Furchtgott-Roth and many others in US DoT.  Alain

Friday, January 08, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Automatic braking is now on most new cars. But not GM or Fiat Chrysler vehicles

C. Isidore, Dec 17, "Automatic braking, once a feature available exclusively to high-end cars, is becoming common across the industry, according to analysis from Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

But the industry has some notable exceptions, including General Motors (GM) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), which badly trail rivals in offering automatic braking as standard equipment, according to the safety groups.
Automatic braking uses sensors to apply brakes when a vehicle ahead is stopped, and the car's onboard computer can avoid or lessen the impact of an accident. It's an increasingly popular feature with car buyers. Many automakers are emphasizing the feature in their advertising and sales pitches.
Four higher-end brands already had the feature on 99% or better of their vehicles before this past year: Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Tesla (TSLA).
Six more have the feature on at least 96% of the vehicles they sold in the United States between September 2019 and September 2020: BMW, Hyundai, Mazda, Subaru, Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAF). Three more automakers — Ford (F), Honda (HMC) and Nissan (NSANF), had automatic braking on more than 90% of their US vehicles.... "  Read more  Hmmmm... Set up for the 3rd session of the SDC Summit. Alain

Thursday December 31, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Sustainable and Attainable: Zoox Unveils Autonomous Robotaxi Powered by NVIDIA

D. Shapiro, Dec. 17, "When it comes to future mobility, you may not have to pave as many paradises for personal car parking lots.

This week, autonomous mobility company Zoox unveiled its much-anticipated purpose-built robotaxi. Designed for everyday urban mobility, the vehicle is powered by NVIDIA and is one of the first level 5 robotaxis featuring bi-directional capabilities, providing a concrete view into the next generation of intelligent transportation...."  Read more  Hmmmm... Watch Zoom-Cast 192.  Alain

Friday, December 11, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  Uber, After Years of Trying, Is Handing Off Its Self-Driving Car Project

C. Metz & K. Conger, Dec 7, "Uber, which spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a self-driving car project that executives once believed was a key to becoming profitable, is handing the autonomous vehicle effort over to a Silicon Valley start-up, the companies said on Monday.

Uber will also invest $400 million in the start-up, called Aurora, so it is essentially paying the company to take over the autonomous car operation, which had become a financial and legal headache. Uber is likely to license whatever technology Aurora manages to create.

The deal amounts to a fire-sale end to a high-profile but star-crossed effort to replace Uber’s human drivers with machines that could drive on their own. It is also indicative of the challenges facing other autonomous vehicle projects, which have received billions in investments from Silicon Valley and automakers but have not produced the fleets of robotic vehicles some thought would be on the streets by now...." Read more Hmmmm...  Actually a good article.  Alain

Friday, December 04, 2020

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" class="" width="39" height="26">  Nikola Teaches GM a Lesson

S. Wilmot, Nov 30, "Nikola Corp. NKLA 0.76% isn't turning out to be the next Tesla that investors and    were hoping for.

The electric-vehicle startup put its eye-catching “Badger” pickup-truck project on ice Monday as part of a radically shrunken version of its deal with GM. All that is left of the original agreement signed in September is a plan for GM to supply Nikola with fuel-cell technology for U.S. big rigs.

Detroit's biggest auto maker had planned to take an equity stake in Nikola in exchange for building the Badger under contract. But the deal has been in doubt almost from the start after a hedge-fund report detailed the limitations of Nikola's technology, leading to the resignation of founder Trevor Milton.

GM won't sell Nikola fuel cells soon. For all its fanfare about hydrogen, the startup is currently focused on battery-powered versions of its first electric truck, theTre, It hopes to start full-scale production in the fourth quarter of next year in Germany and in early 2022 in Coolidge, Ariz. Hydrogen trucks won't come before 2023, and in Europe Nikola is using Bosch as its fuel-cell supplier.    ..."  Read more Hmmmm... Lessons for many in this endeavor.  See also Andrew Hawkin's take as well as David Morris'.  Alain

Thursday, November 26, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]"> The Vehicle Fuel Debate Has Been Hijacked

M. Sena, Nov. 19, "The lead article this month was inspired by a diagram I received showing how much of the energy that we generate to heat our homes, light up our rooms, make the concrete and steel to build our infrastructure and power our transportation is wasted. It's over two-thirds. Wasted! Half of it is from producing electricity.

There are a spate of battery and hybrid electric cars (and some others) on their way from China to Europe and North America. Some of the ones I describe in the Dispatch Central section will be familiar to readers since I wrote about them earlier. I could not help writing again about Volvo's slow but steady exit from Sweden. In the self-driving and data sharing section there is some interesting news out of the UK and Massachusetts, a state (actually a Commonwealth just like Pennsylvania, my home state) where I registered most of the cars I have owned during the eighteen years I lived there.

Waymo has delivered quite a bit of news to the press during the past few months. It seemed like everyone was putting the same spin on what they were saying. Naturally, I decided to spin in the other direction. In Musings of a Dispatcher I have mused about who is going to be sitting in all of those driverless vehicles. Will they be from Mars or from Venus?..."  Read moreHmmmm... What can I say?? Another great edition of the Dispatcher. Be sure to read all the way through including  "Musings of a Dispatcher: Cars are from Mars".  Enjoy and listen/watch the following Pod/Zoom-casts.  Alain


[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  Waymo's Safety Methodologies and Safety Readiness Determinations

N, Webb, Oct. 30, "As the world's most experienced developer of automated driving systems, Waymo has extensive experience in developing and applying state-of-the-art safety methodologies.  Waymo's methodologies help implement Waymo's forward-looking safety philosophy: Waymo will reduce traffic injuries and fatalities by driving safely and responsibly, and will carefully manage risk as we scale our operations. Waymo's safety methodologies, which draw on well established engineering processes and address new safety challenges specific to Automated Vehicle technology, provide a firm foundation for safe deployment of our Level 4 ADS, which we also refer to as the Waymo Driver. Waymo's determination of its readiness to deploy its AVs safely in different settings rests on that firm foundation and on a thorough analysis of risks specific to a particular Operational Design Domain )...."  Read more Hmmmm...  The process.  Must read!  Alain

[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  Waymo Public Road Safety Performance Data

M. Schwall, Oct. 30, "Waymo's mission to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities and improve mobility for all has led us to expand deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) on public roads without a human driver behind the wheel.  As part of this process, Waymo is committed to providing the public with informative and relevant data regarding the demonstrated safety of Waymo's automated driving system (ADS), which we call the Waymo Driver...." Read more Hmmmm...  The substance.  Must read! ...

I had the priveledge of reviewing Waymo's most recent Safety Reports 1 , 2 (above) 

In the past, safety reports by the AV community have largely been a response to NHTSA'¢s Voluntary Safety Self-Assessments and have, in my opinion, been largely public relations documents.  While generally descriptive about the testing processes they contain very little, if any, substantive information about their safety related experience to-date focused exclusively on driverless operation.

Safe driverless operation is absolutely necessary for AVs to evolve from extremely expensive chauffeured rides to affordable mobility available to essentially anyone throughout an Operational Design Domain (ODD).  Affordability requires that the mobility be delivered without a driver or attendant on-board the vehicle.  Only passengers.  

The decision to remove the driver/attendant rests in part on the shoulders of public safety regulators who need to allow such operation, but more importantly, on the shoulders of the real decision makers at the AV company.  In the end, it is those AV company decision makers who will be held fully responsible for any lapse in the safety of the driverless operation. These decision makers are inside the AV companies and are, of course, privy to all the details and substance about their own safety related driverless operation, which, in the past, has not been shared in their Voluntary Safety Self-assessments.  

My impression is that these just released Waymo Safety Reports contain the substantive information that clearly depicts Waymo's safety-related driverless operational experience.  To me, they read like internal documents meant to guide and inform internal decision makers to objectively decide if a sufficiently safe operational experience has been achieved in order to vote to fully accept the safety responsibility of driverless operation in their Operational Design Domain.  

Given the information that is contained in these documents, it does not surprise me that Waymo decision makers have decided to proceed with driverless operation in the Phoenix Operational Design Domain. Had I had the responsibility of being one of the decision makers reviewing these documents, I would have also voted yes.
Alain 

[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]"> Waymo starts to open driverless ride-hailing service to the public 

K. Korosec, Oct. 8, "Waymo,  the Google  self-driving-project-turned-Alphabet unit, is beginning to open up its driverless ride-hailing service to the public.

The company said that starting today, members of its Waymo One service will be able to take family and friends along on their fully driverless rides in the Phoenix area. Existing Waymo One members will have the first access to the driverless terminology that means no human behind the wheel. However, the company said that in the next several weeks more people will be welcomed directly into the service through its app, which is available on Google Play and the App Store.

Waymo said that 100% of its rides will be fully driverless  which it has deemed its rider only mode. That 100% claim requires a bit of unpacking. The public shouldn't expect hundreds of Waymo-branded Chrysler Pacifica  no human behind the  to suddenly inundate the entire 600-plus square miles of the greater Phoenix area.. ..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  "...fully Driverless...".   That means that Krafcik, the Waymo "Board", Alphabet's Board and all the lawyers have signed off and said... We are safe enough to basically bet the ranch that the expected value of the mobility that we'll be putting out on the streets of our Operational Design Domain, which is under our control, is worth whatever expected risk still exists that some bad things may happen.  That is an enormous hurdle that has been achieved by an entity that has an enormous ranch.  CONGRATULATIONS!!! It hasn't come easy, nor has it come without intese diligence and effort. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Alain

Friday, October 09, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  ASSISTED DRIVING GRADINGS

Staff, Oct. 2020  "On this page you will find the gradings of cars tested by Euro NCAP on automated driving technologies.

For its 2020 assessment of Highway Assist systems, Euro NCAP has developed dedicated test and assessment protocols, divided into two main areas: Assistance Competence, based on the balance between Driver Engagement and Vehicle Assistance, and Safety Backup...."  Read more Hmmmm....Look carefully at each component of the rating system.  NCAP has chosen one algorithmic way of "adding apples and oranges" to get their rating.  Unfortunately they don't divulge the secret formula.  To me, it doesn't seem to be sufficiently iweighted on what I consider to be the most important element... "Collision Avoidance".  If the system doesn't do that well, then why bother being good at Consumer Information (unless that information says clearly that the system doesn't work well".  

If NCAP itself did a good job of Consumer Information then it would divulge its algorithm and allow the consumer to edit its weights to trade-off what the consumer believes is more or less important.  

In all fairness, NCAP does divulge the individual  performance values.  With work, this is really valuable information.  This is a must read!  Alain

Friday, September 25, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="56" height="43">  Proposal for a new UN Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regards to Automated Lane Keeping System 

UN Economic & Social Council, April 6, "The intention of the Regulation is to establish uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS).
        ALKS controls the lateral and longitudinal movement of the vehicle for extended periods without further driver command. ALKS is a system whereby the activated system is in primary control of the vehicle.
        This Regulation is the first regulatory step for an automated driving system (as defined in ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1140) in traffic and it therefore provides innovative provisions aimed at addressing the complexity related to the evaluation of the system safety. It contains administrative provisions suitable for type approval, technical requirements, audit and reporting provisions and testing provisions.
        ALKS can be activated under certain conditions on roads where pedestrians and cyclists are prohibited and which, by design, are equipped with a physical separation that divides the traffic moving in opposite directions and prevent traffic from cutting across the path of the vehicle. In a first step, the original text of this Regulation limits the operational speed to 60 km/h maximum and passenger cars (M1 vehicles).
    This Regulation includes general requirements regarding the system safety and the failsafe response. When the ALKS is activated, it shall perform the driving task instead of the driver, i.e. manage all situations including failures, and shall not endanger the safety of the vehicle occupants or any other road users. There is however always the possibility for the driver to override the system, at any time. 
The Regulation also lays down requirements on how the driving task shall be safely handed over from the ALKS to the driver including the capability for the system to come to a stop in case the driver does not reply appropriately. 
Finally, the Regulation includes requirements on the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) to prevent misunderstanding or misuse by the driver. The Regulation for instance requires that on-board displays used by the driver for other activities than driving when the ALKS is activated, shall be automatically suspended as soon as the system issues a transition demand. These measures are without prejudice to driver behaviour rules on how to use these systems in the Contracting Parties as currently being discussed by the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1) at the time of drafting this document (See e.g. Informal Document 4 Revision 1 of the seventy-eight session of WP.1)...." Read more Hmmmm.... A very important read with many very important details and this is just for Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) which is just the 2nd (baby) step, after adaptive cruise control on the way of "finishing" Level 2 and tip toeing into Level 3 and beyond.  Thank you Russ for bringing this to my attention.  Alain

Friday, September 11, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" 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 VideoWatch 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! 

I really like what Consumer Reports has been doing on this front.  Trying to help consumers understant what is what.  Alain

Friday, September 11, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  Autonomous vehicles could improve policing, public safety, and much more

Thursday, August 20, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="133" height="21">  Creating Standards in an Environment of Mistrust

Saturday, August 8, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  The Biggest Self-Driving Truck Startup Stumbles in Hitting High Goals

Thursday, July 16, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="133" height="21">   Car OEMs Driving Toward Relevance or Perdition

Thursday, July 9, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="125" height="35"> Fostering Economic Opportunity through Autonomous Vehicle Technology 

Thursday, July 2, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]"> Announcing 2020-2021 Fellow-in-Residence Henry L. Greenidge, Esq.

Press release, June 24, "The McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University has announced transportation policy expert Henry L. Greenidge, Esq. as a 2020-2021 Fellow-in-Residence. .."  Read more  Hmmm....  In no uncertain terms, we must make sure that inequities and racism are not explicitly nor even implicitly baked intothe 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

Friday, June 12, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  Society of Actuaries Research Brief Impact of COVID-19, June 12, 2020

Thursday, June 4, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="134" height="21">  Two-way Vehicle Connectivity is a Three-sided Coin That Everyone Wants to Own

Thursday, April 30, 2020 

  Luminaries Battle In Lincoln-Douglas Style Debate About The Future Of Self-Driving Cars

Friday, April 24, 2020 

  What Negative Oil Prices Mean and How the Impact Could Last

Friday, March 27, 2020 

 2020 Hyundai Sonata stars in Super Bowl ad all about 'Smaht Pahk'

Sunday, January 12, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" 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 23, 2019

Self-driving car capital? One senator thinks it can be Florida

Saturday, September 28, 2019

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="116" height="32">Public forum will explore possibility of transit on demand in Princeton

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="107" height="19">Autonomous Vehicles:  A View from Seniors

 [log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" 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 AJR164Sponsors:  Benson (D14); Zwicker (D16); Lampitt (D6)

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

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" 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

Friday, May 25,  2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="44" height="50" border="0">Extracting Cognition out of Images for the Purpose of Autonomous Driving

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

Sunday, December 19, 2015 

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.38&filename=ccalfjfhllohpdpa.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" 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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Alain L. Kornhauser, PhD
Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering
Director, Transportation Program
Faculty Chair, Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering
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Princeton University
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