10.19-SoProud-051522

Sunday May 15, 2022

SmartDrivingCar.com/10.19-SoProud-051522

19th edition of the 10th year of SmartDrivingCars eLetter

From pricing carbon to fighting opioid abuse, ORFE showcased top senior projects

A. Nathans, May 11, “When Serena Ren presented her senior thesis on using machine learning for art appraisals last month, she hoped to see her friend, Joyce Luo, present her thesis on fighting opioid addiction. But since all students in the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering present their theses in parallel sessions, this was impossible.

But on May 4, Ren and Luo finally got to see each other’s presentations in a classroom in Sherrerd Hall, thanks to the department’s first-ever event in which selected students present their thesis work to the whole department…. ” Read more Hmmmm… I’m so proud! Hopefully we’ll be able to release the video so you can enjoy. Keep trying the link:

Princeton ORFE Class of 2022 Senior Thesis Symposium “Best 8”

Isabelle Grosgogeat “Impact of women and minority ownership on private equity“
Joyce Luo “Equitable data-driven resource allocation to fight the opioid pandemic“
Caroline Noonan “The impact of carbon price on power plant dispatch, production costs, and total emissions“
Hari Ramakrishnan “Lighting up dark pools“
Serena Ren “Automatic art appraisals“
Mitchell Stroebell “A comparison of advanced player statistics for the NBA“
Jack Woll “Pairs trading and volatility“
Andre Yin “Equity trading strategies based on macroeconomic event analysis“

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SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast Episode 268/ PodCast 268 Bob Kacergis, CCO, Momentum Dynamics

F. Fishkin, May 15, Wireless electric vehicle charging can make autonomous mobility services more affordable for all. How? Momentum Dynamics Chief Commercial Officer Bob Kacergis explains on episode 268 of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus..Oshkosh, Torc Robotics, Trenton Moves and more.”

Technical support provided by: https://www.cartsmobility.com/

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Important Conferences this week:

1. Monday, May 16 -> Thursday, May 19 … Virtual: The 6th Annual ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium: Driving Accessibility Together… On-line Program Line-up

See especially: Inclusivity for All – Autonomous Vehicles (Panel Discussion) Tuesday, May 17. 1:00 -> 3:00 pm EDT.

2. Monday, May 16 -> Wednesday, May 18 … Live @ InterContinental Hotel , Chicago: 2022 National Shared Mobility Summit… Program

See especially: Automation Meets Shared Mobility: AV Shuttles in the Ecosystem* (Panel Discussion) Wednesday, May 18. 9:10 -> 10:00 am EDT.

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Waymo, Cruise, Chinese Firms Expand Robotaxi Service Areas; It’s On

B. Templeton, May 11, “… Companies will start mostly in snow-free areas, though they will soon feel the call of New York City, the world’s largest taxi market. While their goal is not to be simply a better or cheaper replacement for taxis and TNCs, it’s a good place to start — if you can make it anywhere, you can make it there, to reverse the song lyric….” Read more Hmmmm… Just to be clear to everyone where I stand.. I could not disagree more with Brad on the quoted statement above. In my opinion, NYC is the last place in the USA to deploy Driverless mobility. Moreover, recommending Frank’s views on ‘how to make it anywhere’ may also not be such great advice nor is advice that suggests a startup should start in markets where it is unlikely to be superior to the entrenched products that currently serve that market quite well.

Brad does a nice job describing advances in deployments in Arizona, SF and China. ODD expansion is nice, especially if it can give us some insight in the relationship between ODD size and rides served. These companies are in the “rides business”. It would be very helpful if they divulged something that looked like a balance sheet that divulges, over time as the ODD expands, revenue and marginal operating costs. I’m certain that each is watching these numbers very carefully. Hopefully they’ll share some of this information to help those of us trying to deploy similar mobility systems in markets that are unattractive to these firms.

Finally, some of us in New Jersey are approaching deployment from an orthogonal perspective from that of Brad. For example, we are more than willing to start deploying a system that hasn’t solved the snow problem, the fog problem or the hurricane/heavy rain problems. We’ll be extremely happy to pause service until we’ve had a chance to shovel the snow, for the fog to lift and for the heavy rain to pass. We’d love to have our citizenry benefit from the “Safe, Equitable, Affordable, Sustainable, High-quality” mobility that would be offered the other 24/7/350 days a year when weather is not an issue. This 24/7/350 mobility would be a life-changer compared walking or not going, which are the current two best alternative to many among the 70% of Trenton households that have access to only one or zero cars. (In Manhattan, many things are close and easily walkable, others are readily accessible by a 24/7/365.25 affordable subway system. More than enough yellowCabs/Ubers/Lyfts/blackCars for those using OPM or have so much that affordability doesn’t matter. Many of us with a view from the NYC metro area see things very differently from some in Silicon Valley. Vive la difference! Alain

Facing Higher Grocery Prices, Shoppers Change Habits

M. Cramer, May 15, “… He said he considers himself luckier than other students at the university. At least, he said, he has a car and can drive to Costco to buy food in bulk and save some money…” Read more Hmmmm… A NY Times article may finally be realizing the existence of fundamentally 2 Americas… Those that have access to great mobility (those with access to a car) and those that don’t. The purpose of my 5th Summit is to focus on the ways to begin to deploy the fruits of the $330B investment in automation, connectivity, electrification, and smart mobility (ACES) to make available high-quality mobility to those that don’t have access to a car, as well as those that do, thereby substantially improving their quality-of-accessibility to a level comparable to that which is enjoyed by those of us with access to our own car.

It is very nice that the NY Times has clearly stated in just two sentences the challenge and the obvious societal value. My goodness, MOVES-style mobility could not only allow those that don’t have a car to buy in bulk at Costco, but could also allow them to easily go to Walmart and buy normal quantities of affordable goods. Alain

NY OSHKOSH CORPORATION INVESTS IN ROBOTIC RESEARCH TO BUILD UPON AUTONOMY AND ROBOTICS CAPABILITIES

Press release, April 26, “Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), a leading innovator of mission-critical vehicles and essential equipment, and Robotic Research, a global leader in autonomous mobility and Advance Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) solutions, announced today a strategic partnership and an Oshkosh Corporation investment in Robotic Research to accelerate its innovation and autonomy offerings.

The companies began working together in 2017 on autonomy programs for the U.S. Department of Defense⁠ — Oshkosh is now expanding their relationship with Robotic Research, whose robotics and autonomous driving technologies align well with Oshkosh products and use cases. The new partnership and joint development agreement will further complement Oshkosh’s ongoing work in autonomous vehicles and equipment, providing significant benefits to the millions of people that do essential work every day – including the nation’s soldiers, firefighters and first responders, as well as environmental service and construction workers. … ” Read more Hmmmm… The reason we’ve gotten this far is because DoD has a real need for driverless vehicles and DARPA sponsored the “Challenges”. It is still the best customer for the “Trucking” sector of this technology. Oshkosh & RR have been excellent suppliers to DoD for many years. Congratulations on coming closer together. Alain

Axel Gern to head Torc Robotics Technology and Development Center in Europe

L. Lawton, May 12, “Torc Robotics has tapped Axel Gern, a long-time leader in truck automation, to head its recently opened Torc Europe GmbH engineering facility in Stuttgart, Germany. Gern has been named senior vice president of engineering and managing director for Torc Europe at the technology and software development center.

“We are thrilled to have Axel join our team,” said Michael Fleming, Torc founder and CEO. “We have worked closely with him since before Daimler Truck invested in Torc, and we appreciate his clear vision and strong leadership. He knows the roadmap and the tech, and has earned great respect from Torc’rs.”… ” Read more Hmmmm… This is a real good hire by TORF and really shows their maturity in advancing truck automation with Daimler. Congratulations. Alain

Mercedes Drivers Go Hands-Free on Jammed German Autobahns

S. Nicola, May 12, “… I caught a glimpse of these efforts last week when Mercedes presented its hands-free driving offering in Berlin. Dubbed Drive Pilot, the system is capable of Level 3 automated driving, a notch higher than Tesla’s Autopilot. Drive Pilot will go on sale next week as an option for S-Class and EQS models at a cost of 5,000 euros ($5,270) and 7,430 euros, respectively…” Read more Hmmmm… Very nice that the headline parsimoniously states the Operational Design Domain (ODD) of this automated driving system. The text is not quite as nice by obfuscating the reality by stating “… capable of Level 3 automated driving…” without clearly stating the “Level 3” terms & conditions, the fine print.

Fortunately, Mercedes has implemented this system such that it is only capable of being engaged while in a well defined ODD. Please don’t call it a lemon, or try to get your money back, if it doesn’t turn-on where and when you want it to turn-on and that situation is outside the ODD (the ‘fine print’). And certainly don’t game it or customize it and expect Mercedes to pick up the tab when something bad happens.

It is a great start. People will buy it. They buy Tesla’s FSD for $12k. The question is, how will the customers behave when they realize that the initial “size”not be what they invisioned . Alain

The University of Alabama Team Sets Driverless Car Blistering Speed Record but Does Anyone Care?

P. Corn, May 8, “…” Read more Hmmmm…. Peter, are you sure you aren’t a Kornhauser and simplified you name. I often use “Korn” as my name when making a restaurant reservation. You wrote exactly what I was thinking. Andrew Saxe’08 & I had Princeton’s Prospect 11 up to 75 mph in the California Speedway parking lot prior to the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. We were scared to death. But not all that important when the objective is to let folks who don’t have a car get to a “Walmart” without having to walk. The Why should be important element when deciding on the What in which to invest one’s blood, sweat and tears. Alain

Driverless trucks tech echoes the big tech frenzy of two decades ago

J. Bendel, April 29, “Companies with names like Aurora, Embark, Kodiak, Ike, Plus, TuSimple, Waymo and more are promising to change trucking as we know it. They want to put driverless trucks on the interstates to run linehaul between staging yards near interchanges. At least one company is still trying to sell truck platooning technology.

Will they fundamentally change trucking? Probably not as much as they might think. And they won’t all make the cut. Trucking has been here before. What we have today is a miniature version of the tech frenzy of 20 years ago.

Back in 2002, you heard names like Qualcomm, Internet Truckstop, and PeopleNet, among others – many others. My tech company list from 2002, when I covered the industry, has more than 200 entries. There have been so many name changes and failures, that it’s impossible to say how many survived and in what form. We do know that Qualcomm became Omnitracs, Internet Truckstop became Truckstop.com, and PeopleNet was subsumed by Trimble Inc.

But in 2002 you also heard high-profile names like Aether, Terion, and Transportal. Remember them? You’re forgiven if you don’t. They promised to revolutionize trucking, too….” Read more Hmmmm…. I guess some of us have been around too long and we don’t have enough time left to see the next cycle of promises to “change trucking as we know it” that will emerge in 2042. Alain

Momentum Dynamics presents inductive charging system with two power classes

Press release, May 6, “Momentum Dynamics has announced a wireless system that offers the possibility of both high (50-75 kW) and low (7-22 kW) power charging thanks to a “dual power” mode. The company sees this as nothing less than “a major breakthrough with enormous implications for the EV industry”.

The US developer, which specialises in inductive charging systems for electric vehicles, plays less on the maximum charging power than on the effects in practice. Until now, inductive charging systems have only been designed for one purpose – such as wireless charging of low-power cars in the garage at home or charging heavy-duty vehicles with high power. A car designed for home inductive charging with 7 kW cannot use charging plates with higher power until now….” Read more Hmmmm… This approach to charging seems ideal for MOVES-type driverless mobility systems that incorporate “kiosks” where driverless vehicles wait for customers. Since much of the day, the vehicles are waiting, they can be charging, thus substantially reducing the size of batteries for many, if not essentially all, of the vehicles. For the foreseeable future, the ODDs for these vehicles will be such that trips longer than say 100 miles will be essentially impossible. Trips of greater length will be served by other multi-modal means. All trips will start at a kiosk and, at end will be repositioned to a nearby kiosk where recharging can readily take place while waiting for the next customer(s). Super-sized batteries will not be needed, nor desired. Their higher capital cost will not need to be incurred and their weight will not need to be lugged around. Nice!😎 Also see ZoomCast 256 Alain

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Making it Happen: Trenton MOVES… a Framework for the Deployment of Safe, Equitable, Affordable, Sustainable, High-quality Mobility

A. Kornhauser, Jan 11, 2022 TRB, ” A slide deck describing the framework fora phased deployment of high-quality mobility in Trenton New Jersey that is envisioned to have wherewithal to naturally scale beyond Trenton in a fashion that can be replicated the more than 100 communities across the US that have similar demographic and travel demand characteristics.” Read more Hmmmm… Go through the slides in presentation mode to take advantage of the animations. See ZoomCast 251 Also see ZoomCast 267 Alain

Highlights from the 4th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit (2020-2021)

Making Driverless Happen: The Road Forward (Updated)

K. Pyle, April 18, 2021, “It’s time to hit the start button,” is Fred Fishkin’s succinct way of summarizing the next steps in the Smart Driving Car journey. Fiskin, along with the LA Times’ Russ Mitchell co-produced the final session of the 2021 Smart Driving Car Summit, Making It Happen: Part 2. This 16th and final session in this multi-month online conference not only provided a summary of the thought-provoking speakers, but also provided food for thought on a way forward to bring mobility to “the Trentons of the World.”

Setting the stage for this final session, Michael Sena provided highlights of the Smart Driving Car journey that started in late December 2020. Safety, high-quality, and affordable mobility, particularly for those who do not have many options, was a common theme to the 2021 Smart Driving Car Summit. As Princeton Professor Kornhauser, the conference organizer put it,…..” Read more Hmmmm…. We had another excellent Session. Thank you for the summary, Ken! Alain

Ken Pyle‘s Session Summaries of 4th Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit:

Michael Sena’s Slides, Glenn Mercer Slides

Kornhauser & He, April 2021 “Making it Happen: A Proposal for Providing Affordable, High-quality, On-demand Mobility for All in the “Trentons” of this World”

Orf467F20_FinalReport “Analyzing Ride-Share Potential and Empty Repositioning Requirements of a Nationwide aTaxi System“

Kornhauser & He, March 2021 “AV 101 + Trenton Affordable HQ Mobility Initiative“

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST: Trenton MOVES

Staff, Dec 6, “The New Jersey Department of Transportation (“NJDOT”), an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (“RFEI”) to identify experienced firms capable of introducing a safe, equitable, affordable, sustainable, and efficient on-demand automated vehicle mobility systems in and beyond Trenton, NJ.
NJDOT is soliciting written expressions of interest from qualified and experienced vendors to gain valuable insight from the private industry regarding the goals set forth in the Trenton MOVES (Mobility & Opportunity: Vehicles Equity System) potential project and assess its viability. If and when NJDOT elects to proceed with a potential project, NJDOT may issue formal
Request(s) for Qualifications or Proposals.

The RFEI is available to be downloaded at https://www.nj.gov/transportation/business/procurement/ems/current.shtm…”

Staff, March 2, “…” Read more Hmmmm… Lots of very encouraging and enthusiastic respondents. Thanks to NJ DoT for making the replies available to the public at large on a very timely basis allowing everyone to learn a lot and showing that there is broad and competent interest in deploying Safe, Equitable, Affordable, Sustainable, High-quality Mobility throughout Trenton and beyond. Alain

Calendar of Upcoming Events

May 16 -> 19
On-line

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5th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit

& Community Engagememt

Thursday (evening), June 2, Welcome Reception @ Alain’s home (Registration required)

Friday, June 3, Equitable Mobility Innovation Forum @ Princeton University (Registration required)

June 4, Community Engagemnt @ The Carl A. Fields Center for Equality & Tiger Inn , Princeton, NJ (Covid Registration required)

Live in Person

See ZoomCast 265

Recommended Readings & Background Material

in advance of attendance & participation in
5th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit & Community Engagememt