2015-03-21
Elon Musk Says Self-Driving Tesla Cars Will Be in the U.S. by Summer
Aaron Kessle, March 19, 2015 “For many drivers who commute long distances, the prospect of owning a self-driving car — where a driver takes his hands off the wheel and feet off the gas — has been an elusive dream. But on Thursday, Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, took a big step in that direction when he announced that the maker of high-end electric cars would introduce autonomous technology by this summer. The technology would allow drivers to have their cars take control on what he called “major roads” like highways.
Mr. Musk said that a software update — not a repair performed by a mechanic — would give Tesla’s Model S sedans the ability to start driving themselves, at least part of the time, in a hands-free mode that the company refers to as autopilot…”
Hmmm…. I may have to eat my insinuations that Musk was all talk and no “walk” with respect to SmartDrivingCars. I’m ordering up a big plate of crow if indeed he releases the software upgrade that actually implements the non-trivial elements of Tesla’s Autopilot which today are all show and no go. Alain
A driverless car is about to go on a 3,500-mile road trip across the US
Dee Ann Durbin, Mar 13, 2015 “…An autonomous car developed by Michigan-based auto supplier Delphi Automotive will soon be making a 3,500-mile journey across the U.S.
A person will sit behind the wheel at all times but won’t touch it unless there’s a situation the car can’t handle. The car will mainly stick to highways….” Read more Hmmm… Very nice to see Delphi out there. Alain
Nvidia Announces Drive PX, Its Self-Driving Car Platform
Eric Johnson, March 17, 2015 “…A developer kit for Nvidia’s self-driving car platform, the Drive PX, will go on sale in May for $10,000, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said today at the company’s GPU Technology Conference.
The platform is powered by two of Nvidia’s Tegra X1 chips and was first teased at CES earlier this year. Huang claimed it’s 3,000 times faster than DAVE, the autonomous vehicle technology developed by DARPA…” Read more Hmmm….Very interesting! See also Forbes. Alain
Video Feature: Inside the F 015, Mercedes’s Self-Driving Car
Mar 19, 2015 “…At a defunct naval base here this week, the luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz put on a display of how it sees that future, in 2030 and beyond, with test runs of its F 015 concept car….” Read more & Watch video
Also the version of the video: Take a Ride Inside the Fully Autonomous Mercedes-Benz F 015
Some other thoughts that deserve your time:
Evaluation of Automated Vehicle Technology for Transit
BDV26 977 ‐07 Jan 2015 “…Many car manufacturers already offer limited AV technology in some of their models. For example, Acura, Lexus, Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMW, and Infiniti all currently offer lane keep assist, advanced collision warning, and adaptive cruise control. However, it remains to be seen what the transit industry will do in regards to AV technology. Read more
Hmmm…The title is a little misleading because, as the report states, this is “an overview of the state of automated vehicle technology in transit”. Missing from the report is any discussion about the success of both automated people movers (APMs) and Driverless Metros (UTOs, Unattended Train Operations). The observation about PRT (“… seems to be an idea whose time will never come.”), but to me “Google Cars” operating in a network of simple narrow exclusive roadways may well tomorrow’s PRT to serve mobility needs that are more diverse that can’t be properly served with simple APM shuttles and loops. Alain
Moovit lands $50 million for crowd-sourced transit info app
Carolyn Said Jan. 14, 2015 Hmmm…Interesting, but it must be easy to raise $$$. Alain
Driverless Cars Will Put Half Our Cops Out of Work
Jay L Zagorsky 3/17/15 “…McKinsey, however, missed one of the key ways in which self-driving cars will dramatically alter society: They will have a tremendous impact on police forces around the world, potentially cutting the need for them in half….” Read more Especially the Department of Justice report: Police Behavior during Traffic and Street Stops, 2011. Alain
Recompiled Old News :
Volvo has a braking system that can stop a 40-ton semi on a dime
Bryan Logan Mar. 5, 2015 Conflation of some old videos in case you missed them Alain
Half-baked stuff that probably doesn’t deserve your time:
Truck Platooning: Driving the Future of Transportation
R. Janssen, et. al. Feb. 2015 Hmmm. While the authors claim “Truck Platooning is the future of transportation in which trucks drive cooperatively at less than 1 second apart…” I’m certainly not convinced that this is anything more that an argument for radio-based- (aka communications/analog–) based adaptive/intelligent cruise control. I simply don’t appreciate the virtues of radio-based intelligent cruise control over existing brake lights (that immediately tell anyone that the brakes are being applied and zero-throttle lights, as exist on NJ commuter buses, that immediately tell everyone that the driver has removed his/her foot from the throttle). The business case, Ch. 5, reveals that the real thrust for Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control is the elimination of the 2nd driver from the 2-truck platoon. That is, Truck Platooning is merely a politically correct way of advancing electronic coupling of two trucks; however, if that is going to be permitted, why not simply permit physically connected “turnpike doubles” They travel even closer together, thus more fuel savings. Does anyone believe that because these trucks are electronically coupled instead of physically coupled any jurisdiction that prohibits Turnpike Doubles would permit single-driver platoons? This is almost a C’Mon Man! Alain
Italdesign Giugiaro imagines the luxury autonomous car of the future
By Stu Robarts, March 13, 2015 “…This is accompanied by a 3D holographic display and two 3.5-in screens on either side that display video feeds from cameras mounted on the exterior of the vehicle. Images from a rear camera are shown on the central screen during maneuvers….” Read more Hmmm…. really???? 50 years from now, will these ideas look as bad as GM’s 1956 imagination of automated highways??? Alain
AeroMobil flying car set to take off in 2017, autonomous version to follow
Michael Gorman March 15, 2015 “AeroMobil has been around for five years, pursuing the dream of building a functional and (somewhat) practical flying car. Its third-gen prototype was revealed last October, and today at SXSW, AeroMobil CEO Juraj Vaculik revealed a bit more about the company’s past and future and the challenges that remain to go from prototypes to fully fledged consumer vehicles - which the company plans to accomplish in 2017. Read more Hmmm… AeroCar ca 1960 Alain
C’mon Man! (These folks didn’t get/read the memo)
NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind Tackles Technology Revolution In Automotive
Doug Newcomb 3/20/2015 Mark Rosekind is still unabashedly pushing V2V and V2I. In his Prepared Remarks “…We continue our years of effort to deliver one of the next great automotive safety innovations: vehicle-to-vehicle communications…this one is the real game changer….will help deliver warnings… (If it is so good why does it only warn?)
C’Mon Man! Alain
Calendar of Upcoming Events:
Autonomous/Connected Vehicle Summit Concord Hilton, Concord CA March 31, 2015
1st Workshop - Socio-economic impact of road transport automation
March 30, 31, 2015
Call for Papers
http://www.driverlesstransportation.com/event/automated-vehicles-symposium-2015
Recent Versions of:
Video shows SMART bus slam into multiple vehicles in West Bloomfield
Mar 3, 2015 Kimberly Gill, Police say bus driver told officers he fell asleep right before collision Video shows a SMART bus slam into several vehicles Oct. 21, 2014 on Maple Road between Middlebelt and Inkster roads in West Bloomfield. Read more
Hmmm… Should have never happened. Bus should not have crashed. It is incumbent on the Transit Industry to install Automated Collision Avoidance Systems in ALL their buses. If they won’t do it voluntarily, the insurance industry and OSHA should force them. Alain
Safety Advocates Call on U.S. DOT to Issue Rule Requiring Crash Avoidance Technology for Large Trucks
Feb 19, 2015 “Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Truck Safety Coalition, the Center for Auto Safety and Road Safe America, filed a petition today with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requesting that the agency initiate rulemaking to require forward collision avoidance and mitigation braking (F-CAM) systems on all new large trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or more. F-CAM technology uses radar and sensors to first alert the driver and then to apply the brakes when a crash is imminent….Petition for Rule Making (PDF); Petition Crash List (PDF); Press Release (PDF)” Read more
to lead development of driverless car technology
The pathway to driverless cars: summary report and action plan
The pathway to driverless cars: a detailed review of regulations for automated vehicle technologies
The above review identifies issues that need to be addressed to enable automated vehicle technology testing on UK roads whilst maintaining high levels of road safety. It covers the best and safest ways to trial vehicles where a qualified individual is present who is capable of taking control of the car. It also looks further ahead, to the implications of potential use of fully autonomous vehicles. Read more Plus read speech Hmmm…
Looks like the UK wants to take the lead. Do we want to watch or help? Plenty for all of us to do. Alain
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
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
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 seem 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 aTaxi 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
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
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