2015-02-07
Germany’s A9 autobahn to become test track for self-driving cars
Tony Borroz,
Jan. 27, 2015
“Germany’s Minister of Transport has announced a project that will see a section of the A9 autobahn that connects Berlin and Munich set it up for autonomous vehicle testing.
Hanging digital bells and whistles on the A9 will include infrastructure provisions for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, as well as liberating a chunk of the 700 MHz radio spectrum so the test cars can talk back and forth. The project is expected to get underway later this year….” Read more This is interesting. Alain
The pros and cons of a driverless future
Tony Borroz,
Jan. 29, 2015
“…Scott Le Vine, Alireza Zolfagharib, and John Polak have a different take. …have recently published a study that, while not slamming on the brakes for self-driving cars, does point out that it might not all be a smooth road ahead.
“Autonomous cars are expected to increase road network capacity and reduce the disutility of travel time,” but “ … under certain circumstances these benefits may be in conflict.”…Read more Hmmm The key is “casual ride-sharing”. Alain
Kick-Off Meeting at Fort Monmouth for New Jersey Center for Automated Vehicles
Friday, Jan.30, 2015 – More than thirty of New Jersey’s transportation leaders in government, industry, and universities gathered at Fort Monmouth in Oceanport, New Jersey to develop the business plan for creation of a New Jersey Center for Automated Vehicles… Read More Moving forward :-) Alain
Uber plans its own driverless car research center with Carnegie Mellon
Mark Sullivan Feb 2 “Uber is working with Carnegie Mellon University to open a new tech center devoted to developing autonomous driving vehicles, among other things. The new research-and-development facility, the Uber Advanced Technologies Center, will be near Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. Earlier today, reports surfaced that the two organizations had partnered, and now Uber has confirmed it. In the announcement, the companies say the center will serve for “research and development, primarily in the areas of mapping and vehicle safety and autonomy technology.”… Read more Hmmm… These centers are popping up all over the place. Is this Tesla-styled hype or does Uber really have the where-with-all to fund such a center. It certainly stands to benefit enormously if and when aTaxis can be purchased at your nearest showroom. However, can you imagine the competition they’ll face from everyone else that will putting their aTaxis out there to autonomously chauffeur anyone around? Alain
Google reportedly working on an Uber competitor, could use their autonomous cars
“According to a recent report, Google is preparing to launch a ride-hailing service similar to Uber. ..” Read more Hmmm … Plus competition from Google; Uber may be in trouble. Alain
Ford announces new European research collaborations for innovation in mobility and autonomous vehicles
February 4, 2015 “Ford President and CEO Mark Fields outlines Ford Smart Mobility plan during International CAR Symposium in Bochum, Germany, and announces new research collaborations driving innovative thinking in mobility and autonomous vehicles
Ford partners with RWTH Aachen University to study innovative business models and customer expectations during the two-year Personal Mobility Experience Innovation project
Ford also contributes to U.K. Autodrive driverless and connected cars initiative…” Read more
Audi pushes toward fully autonomous cars
Feb 2, “Audi plans to start offering advanced self-driving features in its cars by the end of next year. The company’s technology boss, Ulrich Hackenberg, meanwhile, expects fully autonomous vehicles to be ready for serial production within 10 years. …” Read more
“M-City” project gives a look into the future of connected cars
Stephen Clark, Jan 29, 2015 “… Called “M-City” the property will include a network of roads, intersections, roundabouts, buildings and obstructions; all designed to test automated vehicle systems…” Read more and see video.
Hmmm
Progress!! Now its about testing automated
…
!?! Alain
Update On:
Google warns California DMV away from regulating self-driving cars
Allen Young, Jan 27 “Google Inc. company officials warned the California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday against establishing a government process for measuring the safety of driverless cars, saying regulators may not be able to understand the technology.
Google representatives spoke Tuesday morning at a public workshop attended by more than 100 car manufacturers, state workers, lobbyists and safety advocates. Google officials argued that the technology behind autonomous vehicles is too intricate for state government representatives to fully grasp — and therefore regulate. Google instead suggested that regulators look to the company’ own safety process….” Read more Hmmm “… too intricate for state government representatives to fully grasp” Whew, Excuse us!!!! Alain
Update from an SDC reader:
Hi Alain, I was at the CA DMV hearing and was sitting right next to our friends at Google. The reporting around this is, as usual, was taken a bit out of context. Brian Soublet from the DMV was very clear about the fact that the DMV lacked technical expertise to properly evaluate self-certification by OEM’s, and the Google rep was simply repeating that as part of his argument.
The elephant in the room was that the DMV was tasked by the state with the incredibly difficult task of deciding what products to allow on public roads despite the fact that they haven’t the budget, expertise, or resources to do so. In fact, we weren’t able to identify anyone who was really capable of doing this, which is why self-certification seemed like the only logical choice.
Very interesting stuff. I think the ultimate outcome of these hearing will ripple across other forward-thinking states very quickly. The stakes are high out here in California.
Thank you for the clarification. To me what is important is that the public/regulatory sector needs to up its game and acquire the needed expertise so as to properly represent the public sector in this important endeavor. Leaving everything to “Google” seems exceedingly short-sighted.
Hope all is well.
Alain
Some other thoughts that deserve your time:
What Do Driverless Cars Have to Do With Organ Donors?
Justine Hofherr,01.23.15 “…Fitzpatrick acknowledged that with the advent of seat belts, air bags, and more congested (aka slower) roadways, the percentage of donors that are the result of auto accidents has declined over time….” Read more Hmmm There are some downsides. As are the loss of some very good taxi cab jobs, and impacts to the emergency medical, legal, replacement parts and collision repair industries. :-( I recall sitting with the owner of a Mercedes dealership. I’m praising their 997 package for avoiding crashes and he’s relating how a customer bought replacement Mercedes because of its crash worthiness when they totaled their previous Mercedes. The irony is, had they had a 997 package, that owner would have sold but one, not two Mercedes. Can’t win ‘em all. :-( Alain
Debunking the myth of the American love affair with cars
Emily Badger, January 28, 2015 “…If you believe that cars are the best way to get everywhere — to the neighborhood grocer, to a job downtown, to a weekend vacation — then the prospect of driverless cars would only improve that picture. Now we can do work while we’re driving to work! Now we can plan meals on the way to buying them! If you decide where to shop or dine based on the ease of parking, driverless cars can solve that problem, too. Soon cars will do all of our parking for us — or entirely eliminate the need!
This picture, though, doubles down on all the ideas we’ve inherited about cars, without considering that perhaps we may want some other future: one where “foot travelers” regain some of their lost rights to the public way, or where we create subway systems so appealing people who can afford BMWs prefer the underground. Maybe in this future driverless cars serve a specific purpose, not every purpose, and we’re cautious about how we remake our cities to make way for them…” Read more
Bosch booms
Bosch supplies many of the key parts for Google’s highly publicised autonomous car and is also a supplier to Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW’s self-driving prototypes. Read more
An Old Guy’s Take On Driverless Cars
Hugo Becker, Feb 4 “…The elephant in this room, however, is which car companies can make the jump. BMW would appear to be tied to the Ultimate Driving Machine slogan, and yet they are positioning themselves to morph into autonomous driving. We’ve seen their self-driving cars on race tracks, we know their dedication to low-cost, lightweight CFRP production, and we know they are pioneering ever more connected cars. But can they bridge the mental hurdle a shopper has when driving is no longer part of the equation.
Premium/luxury – with an emphasis on comfort – will sell autonomous cars purchased by individuals – low-priced and mid-range autonomous vehicles are likely to be purchased by service providers (driverless taxis). How will BMW find a way of standing out from the pack? Of all the companies producing premium vehicles currently, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz would seem to have a less difficult transition – their current customer base will welcome autonomous cars. With BMW it may be more difficult to make that transition….” Read more
Researchers improve artificial intelligence algorithms for semi-autonomous vehicles
Feb 03, 2015 by Aaron Dubrow “…In his talk at the “Blue Sky” session at AAAI, Zilberstein argued that in many areas, including driving, we will go through a long period where humans act as co-pilots or supervisors, passing off responsibility to the vehicle when possible and taking the wheel when the driving gets tricky, before the technology reaches full autonomy (if it ever does)…” Read more
Half-baked stuff that probably doesn’t deserve your time:
Apple trying ‘very hard’ with $250K bonuses to nab Tesla engineers as van sightings proliferate
“…Some, like technology analyst Rob Enderle, believe those vans are test mules for new self-driving car technology. An alternative — and more likely — scenario is that Apple is preparing a major data collection initiative for Apple Maps, much like Google’s Street View project….” Hmmm…
The alternative has probability -> 1.0 Alain
MW Security Flaw Reminds Automakers That Cars Can Be Hacked
| Feb 01, 2015 | Jordan Ecarma “…The automaker is not aware of any vehicles that have been hacked in connection with the problem. …” Read more Hmmm …Do we really want all of our vehicles interconnected? Value of connectivity grows from zero non-linearly as the square of the functioning penetration rate. Probably, so does the nightmare. Is the net ever above zero? Alain |
The cold, hard truth about autonomous vehicles and weather
Doron Levin, Feb. 2, “What happens when your car with autonomous features is stuck in a snow storm?…” Read more Hmmm Probably the same thing that happens to your conventional car…Just this past week, a weather forecast led to the declaration of a “state of emergency” in New Jersey. The purpose of automation is to substantially reduce crashes, not reduce “states of emergencies”. Alain
C’mon Man!
(These folks didn’t get/read the memo)
Calendar
of Upcoming Events:
Autonomous/Connected Vehicle Summit Concord Hilton, Concord CA March 31, 2015
Call for Papers
##
http://www.driverlesstransportation.com/event/automated-vehicles-symposium-2015
Job Postings
A postdoc position on Automated and Connected Vehicle Energy Analysis, Intern as well as regular full time positions for general Vehicle/Transportation Energy Analysis, and an Urban Sciences Program Development position.
All of the positions can be accessed by searching for postings under “Center #5400 (Transportation and Hydrogen Systems)” from the below link,
https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGWebHost/searchopenings.aspx?partnerid=25104&siteid=5189
Recent Versions of:
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January 29, 2015
NHTSA adding automatic braking to recommended safety tech list
Jan 25 “…US Department Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced the addition of two automatic emergency braking systems to the recommended list of safety features under the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)…
Emergency braking systems are slowly becoming the norm in safety evaluations. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety now requires it for a model to earn a Top Safety Pick + rating, and the tech is a must to score five stars in the Euro NCAP crash test.
Be sure to read the included Foxx’s Press Release:
“PRESS RELEASE January 22, 2015, WASHINGTON – Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to add two cutting-edge automatic emergency braking systems to the recommended advanced safety features included under its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) – the latest step in a half-century of safety innovations that have saved more than 600,000 lives, according to new research NHTSA released today….” Read more Hmmm… this is really good. Especially if the “plan” is actually implemented and if it is extended to buses and trucks. Alain
January 22, 2015
State-wide aTaxi Service
Serving New Jersey’s Personal Mobility Needs with the Casual Sharing of autonomousTaxis (aTaxis): Land Use, Personal Travel Demand, Casual Ride-sharing Potential, Fleet Size Requirements and Empty aTaxi Management. Orf 467F14 Student Reports for each of New Jersey’s counties.
Even though these are unedited student reports they contain substantial information and perspectives on the opportunities and challenges for aTaxis to adequately serve the majority of New Jersey’s mobility needs. While there are significant causal ride sharing opportunities during peak hours in peak directions, sufficient to eliminate congestion, and aTaxis can substantially increase the utilization (by a multiple of 5) of NJ Transit’s rail system by providing efficient and high quality “last mile” mobility to/from rail stations, it is unlikely that average vehicle occupancy (AVO = personTripMiles/aTaxiMiles) for all trips, all day could reach a level of 2.0. Moreover, that is before one accounts for empty aTaxi repositioning that enables the sharing of aTaxis. These reports are the first that begin to address the empty aTaxis problem. It is non-trivial especially if one wishes to have multiple sized aTaxis so as to have the size of the serving aTaxi more closely match the number of shared rides that are being served. The spatial-temporal imbalances of the shared-ride demand seems to impose a great deal of empty repositioning. It may well turn out that having only four passenger aTaxis may be better than having a fleet consisting of 2 and 6 passenger aTaxis. The reduction in empty repositioning of a uniform fleet of aTaxis may well compensate for the extra energy consumed by a larger aTaxis when a smaller two passenger aTaxis could have done the job and the foregoing of some shared riding when two four passenger aTaxis need to be used because a single 6 passenger aTaxis was not available to serve the six travelers. Alain
January 4, 2015
New York Bus Driver Arrested After Fatally Striking Pedestrian
MARC SANTORA DEC. 24, 2014 “A Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus driver was arrested on Wednesday after his bus struck and killed a 78-year-old man on Tuesday night in Brooklyn. The driver, Reginald Prescott, was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian and violation of highway law, the police said.
Mr. Prescott, 57, was driving a B44 bus eastbound on Farragut Road in East Flatbush when he made a turn onto New York Avenue around 6 p.m., according to the police. As he was making the turn, Jean Bonne-Annee was crossing the street and was struck by the bus, the police said…” Read more
Hmmm… Tragic for everyone. Such accidents would be largely avoidable if transit buses were equipped with pedestrian detection and automated collision avoidance systems that are almost at hand. These systems are close to being ready for “prime time”. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA, whose main mission is safety!) could substantially accelerate the effectiveness and adoption of such technology by focusing some of its research budget on this technology. Alain
December 21, 2014
Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche to Deliver Keynote Address at 2015 CES
Arlington, VA – 10/06/2014 – “The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced that Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, will deliver a 2015 International CES® keynote address focused on the latest advances in autonomous vehicle technology. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2015 CES, the global gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, will run January 6-9, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dr. Zetsche will discuss autonomous vehicle technology and its impact on society, mobility and environment, as well as raise ideas and questions for the future. In addition to his insights on the future of Daimler Intelligence Drive, Dr. Zetsche’s 2015 CES keynote will feature the world-debut of a new car concept. His address is slated for 8 PM Monday, January 5 at the Chelsea Theater within the Cosmopolitan.” Read more Daimler will have a Level 4 Research Car at their booth on January 6 ONLY! Alain
December 12, 2014
2014 Florida Automated Vehicle Summit
Florida DOT is blazing the trail for the integration of automated vehicles into existing traffic operations and leading by example with pilot projects, research projects, and open dialogue to ensure that Florida serves as a fertile proving ground for these exciting new technologies. Agenda Register
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