2024-09-27
Click or tap if you trust this link. Friday, September 27, 2024
29h edition of the 12th year of SmartDrivingCars eLetter
M. Sena, September 26, “… It is when management becomes detached from the business, the nitty gritty details, that things start to slide and principles are compromised. This is what appears to have happened at OnStar with customer data being shared with data aggregators and used for rating the driving performance for insurance purposes. Automotive companies used to pride themselves on having management and directors who knew the business. Now they pride themselves on having people who know nothing about the business. It’s time for the pendulum to swing back.”
Read more Hmmmm… Another wonderful and provocative issue. Enjoy! Alain
The Real Case for Driverless Mobility
Narrated by Fred Fishkin, Available now
Just Published!!!
Go to Amazon.com…
SmartDrivingCars
ZoomCast 381/ PodCast 381 – w Michael Sena: data privacy, Northvolt, Tesla and more.
F. Fishkin, Sept 27, “The privacy of the data and communications in your car. That’s topic one as The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 381 of Smart Driving Cars. Plus…what happened to Northvolt, what will happen at Tesla’s robotaxi unveil and more. Tune in and subscribe!
- 0:00 open
- 0:54 Vehicle telecommunications and data privacy battle
- 22:40 What happened to Sweden’s Northvolt
- 27:17 The efforts to stop the importing of inexpensive Chinese vehicles. Is the rest of the world toast?
- 45:55 Tesla prepares for the robotaxi unveiling October 10
- 54:35 Reuters reports Waymo discussions with Hyundai on vehicle platform and remarks from Waymo co-CEO at University of Michigan
- 1:00:35 Two of Alain’s students deliver at the Next Generation Systems Conference
Tesla sends out invites to Robotaxi Event: Here’s the details
J. Klender, Sept. 25, “Tesla is sending out the invitations to its Robotaxi Event at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Los Angeles, scheduled for October 10. Tesla started sending out invitations on Wednesday just after 5 p.m. EDT, with the title “We, Robot,” as it will show off its fully autonomous vehicle platform in about two weeks.
Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley said: “Heading into Tesla’s 10/10 robotaxi event, we are, frankly, struggling to see how the day can live up to investors’ high expectations. Other than demonstrating FSD v12.5 and offering rides in a Gen 1 ‘Cybertcab,’ what else is in store?”
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Hmmmm… To me, it is the gen 1 “Cybercab”. Hopefully it is not the 2-seater images that have been floating around for years. Whatever! Alain
Tesla Full Self-Driving third-party testing shows ridiculous 13 miles between interventions
F. Lambert, Sept. 26, “One of the biggest concerns about Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) program is that the automaker has always refused to share intervention data or any data about the program three years into it. We have to rely on anecdotal evidence and crowdsourced data, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave some credibility to by commenting positively on it despite it being reasonably bad.
For example, the more than 14,000 miles of crowdsourced data for FSD v12.5.1 versions show 31 miles between disengagement and 174 miles between critical disengagement: Now, we get some more independent testing from AMCI Testing, an independent automotive testing firm. AMCI drove more than 1,000 miles on FSD 12.5.1 and 12.5.3 in a 2024 Model 3 Performance with Hardware 4 in different driving environments. The results are even worse than most of the FSD critiques thought. AMCI is reporting over 75 interventions or once every 13 miles on average: The company shared a video series of some of the most impressive moves by Tesla’s system and some of its fails: …”
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Hmmmm… Watch Video! Not very impressive; or, is it??? It depends on the application. Think about it. If the application is a random car buyer wanting to hop in the back seat anywhere, then … Oh NO you don’t!!! If …, then … Maybe??? Alain
Waymo Rumored In Talks With Hyundai, While Motional CEO Leaves
B. Templeton, Aug 30, “Reuters reported rumors from the South Korean Electronic Times that Waymo was in discussion with Hyundai Motor Group over the potential use of an Ioniq 5 based vehicle as an alternate platform for their 6th generation Waymo driver, which is based today on a Zeekr vehicle from China. Zeekr stated there is no change to their relationship with Waymo, and Hyundai declined to comment.
At the same time, Motional, the robotaxi company now primarily owned by Hyundai, announced that its founder/CEO Karl Iagnemma will become a strategy advisor and be replaced by CTO Laura Major who will be interim CEO. The events are probably unrelated…”
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Hmmmm… Waymo looks like it is between a rock & a hard place here. Maybe they should go back to Stellantis or VW. Alain
Tesla’s new Actually Smart Summon Update is INCREDIBLE
AI Driver, Sept. 26, “…”,
Watch video Hmmmm… Totally irresponsible!!! How can someone be so irresponsible to remotely operate a full-sized car in the presence of unsuspecting individuals. How can one be such a narcissist as to claim “… as you probably know, I always try to push the limits as far as possible…” when you are actually putting people in danger. What??? Do this on your own property, with your own family as guinea pigs. Irresponsible of Tesla to allow this application to not be strictly restricted to use only on one’s own property and NOT on anyone else’s.
Stupid Summon, as it should be called in its current state of deployment has the unfortunate opportunity to ruin everything associated with driverless cars. It is fine to use in one’s own property, but to indiscriminately use it to show off one’s “manhood” and entitlement is totally reprehensible. Alain
| [Tesla Makes $140,000/Car More Than Ford | Tesla’s $16 Billion Dollar Advantage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmAv5cPLm6A&t=329s) |
R. Shaw, Sept. 22, “Breaking down Tesla’s huge lead in the EV Industry, and how it’s possible. …”
Read more Hmmmm… While one-sided and is click-baitish title, this makes a very substantive case. Alain
Biden Administration Proposes Ban on Chinese Software in Vehicles
D. Sanger, Sept. 23, “The Biden administration announced a sweeping initiative on Monday to ban Chinese-developed software from internet-connected cars in the United States, justifying the move on national security grounds. The action is intended to prevent Chinese intelligence agencies from monitoring the movements of Americans or using the vehicles’ electronics as a pathway into the U.S. electric grid or other critical infrastructure.
The move, most likely the last major cutoff of Chinese products into the United States under the Biden administration, follows the same logic that resulted in the ban on Huawei telecommunications equipment and the investigations into Chinese-made cranes operating at American ports. …”
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Hmmmm… There’s no way we’re going to let those Trojan Horses through our gates until we become friendly again. We should do that. Alain
| [The Waymo Way: Making Autonomous Driving a Reality | Dmitri](https://youtu.be/s_wGhKBjH_U)Dolgov |
R. Shewale, Sept. 17, “Dmitri Dolgov (PhD CSE 2006) is the co-CEO of Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to be the world’s most trusted driver. Dmitri is CSE’s Alumni Merit Award Winner for 2024, and delivered this lecture while visiting campus on September 13, during Homecoming weekend. …”
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Hmmmm… Very informative. A must watch, especially the description of the automated driver. Alain
Using Autonomous Taxis to Create Shared Mobility: An Overview and a Dive into Data Management
T. Mwangi’26 & S. Navaratnam-Tomayko’26, Sept. 22, “Presentation made at Next-Generation Transport Systems Conference (NGTS-4) @ Purdue University. “
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Hmmmm… So proud of them and they won one of the two “best paper” awards. Alain