2015-09-27
2015
Apple Speeds Up Electric-Car Work
D.
Wakabayashi,
Sept 21"...
Besides having
a radical
design, and
innovations in
comfort and
infotainment
system, the
new Apple Car
will have NO
SHOWROOM to
see and buy
the car.
Instead, you
will download
an App from
the Apple
iTunes App
Store. You
will hit one
button, a new
Apple Car with
an Apple Car
salesperson
will drive to
your home or
office and
give you a 30
minute test
drive. The
large 3D iPad
screens in the
car will
provide you
with all the
information
about the car,
and e-mail you
customized PDF
product
sheets. You
can then pick
and choose the
car features
you want via
your Apple Car
App, and even
order it at
anytime right
from the App.
The car will
show up in
your driveway
within two
weeks,
customized
down to the
playlist in
it's embedded
Apple car
radio.
Financing will
be provided by
Apple Finance
(no banks
needed. Why
not, by 2020,
Apple will
have something
like $300
BILLION
DOLLARS in the
bank. More
money then any
finance
company has
access to).
One last
point, as we
are in a
sharing
economy, if
you agree to
go through
training, and
use your Apple
Car to sell
other
customers on
it, your
financing on
the car you
bought will be
lowered by 2%
points. Now
you know why
Detroit, Japan
and Germany
are a little
worried. ..."
[Read more](http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-speeds-up-electric-car-work-1442857105)
Hmmm...What
about
Self-driving???
else, the "...large 3D iPad screens.." will
kill us.
Please Apple,
if you're
going to
completely
distract us,
you MUSRT
drive us!
Alain
autonomousTaxis Could Greatly Reduce Greenhouse-gas Emissions
J. Greenblat,
July 6"...AVs
are
potentially
disruptive
both
technologically
and socially,
with claimed
benefits
including
increased
safety, road
utilization,
driver
productivity
and energy
savings. Here
we estimate
2014 and 2030
greenhouse-gas
(GHG)
emissions and
costs of
autonomous
taxis (ATs), a
class of fully
autonomous
shared AVs
likely to gain
rapid early
market share,
through three
synergistic
eects: (1)
future
decreases in
electricity
GHG emissions
intensity, (2)
smaller
vehicle sizes
resulting from
trip-specific
AT deployment,
and (3) higher
annual
vehicle-miles
traveled
(VMT),
increasing
high-efficiency
(especially
battery-electric)
vehicle
cost-effectiveness.
Combined,
these factors
could result
in decreased
US per-mile
GHG emissions
in 2030 per AT
deployed of
87–94% below
current
conventionally
driven
vehicles
(CDVs), and
63–82% below
projected 2030
hybrid
vehicles,
without
including
other
energy-saving
benefits of
AVs. With
these
substantial
GHG savings,
ATs could
enable GHG
reductions
even if total
VMT, average
speed and
vehicle size
increased
substantially.
Oil
consumption
would also be
reduced by
nearly
100%...." [Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/aTaxi_GHG_Emissions_Greenblatt.pdf) See
also [the supporting paper](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/aTaxi_GHG_Greenblat_Paper.pdf)
Hmmm...Not
enough is said
about the
environmental
contributions
captured by
the
ride-sharing
potential of
aTaxis. My
studies of the
32 million or so trips that
take place on
a typical day
in New Jersey
suggests that
Average
Vehicle
Occupancy
(AVO; defined
as person trip
miles divided
by vehicle
miles, where
neither a
chauffeur nor
a tag-along
rider count as
a trip maker )
which is now
no better than
1.0 goes to
2.0. Which
means that
energy
consumption,
GHG emissions
and other
pollutants are
cut in half,
even before
one realizes
that electric
powered and
efficiently
designed and
sized aTaxis
are even taken
into account.
aTaxis are THE
single biggest
opportunity on
the road to
environmental
sustainability!
Alain
Complex Car Software Becomes the Weak Spot Under the Hood
D.
Gelles, Sept.
26 "... New
high-end cars
are among the
most
sophisticated
machines on
the planet,
containing 100
million or
more lines of
code. Compare
that with
about 60
million lines
of code in all
of Facebook or
50 million in
the [Large Hadron Collider](http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/large_hadron_collider/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier).
..." [Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/business/complex-car-software-becomes-the-weak-spot-under-the-hood.html)
Hmmm...See
VW coverage
below. The
sliminess by
VW may be a
bigger
set-back t
public
adoption than
the first
accident
caused by a SmartDrivingCar.
Very few of
us, if any,
saw this one
coming :-(((
Same on you
VW!!! Alain
Yutong completes world’s first trial operation of unmanned bus
Sept
2, "...On
August 29,
China's
leading bus
maker, Yutong
rolled out the
world's first
driverless
bus, which
successfully
completed its
trial
operation on
the intercity
road from
Zhengzhou to
Kaifeng. With
a distance of
32.6 km, the
intercity road
from Zhengzhou
to Kaifeng
has26 traffic
lights in
total. Despite
this and busy
traffic,
Yutong
driverless bus
successfully
completed a
series of
highly complex
driving acts,
such as
automatic lane
change,
overtake, and
responding
traffic
lights.
Without any
human
assistance,
the bus
arrived at its
destination
with its
highest speed
reaching 68
km/h. ..."[Read more](http://en.yutong.com/pressmedia/yutongnews/2015/2015IBKCFbteUf.html?utm_campaign=cmp_456450&utm_medium=email&utm_source=getanewsletter)
Hmmm...What
is not said is
that there was
a person in
the driver's
seat the whole
time. So it
was
self-driving,
NOT
driverless!
Photoshop!
Alain
Mercedes eyes driverless on-demand limousine service as potential market
Sept
14, "...German
carmaker
Mercedes-Benz
sees business
potential in
offering
on-demand
limousine
services using
driverless
cars, Daimler
Chief
Executive
Dieter Zetsche
said, in what
amounts to a
direct
challenge to
Uber.
Germany's
oldest
carmaker is
considering
setting up
large fleets
of autonomous
cars to cater
to a new
customer base
which is less
attracted to
vehicle
ownership but
still
interested in
using premium
transportation
services like
limousines.
"This is a
concrete
development
goal of ours,"
Zetsche told
Reuters on the
sidelines of a
Mercedes-Benz
event on the
eve of the
Frankfurt auto
show. ..." [Read more](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/14/us-autoshow-frankfurt-limousines-idUSKCN0RE2E020150914?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews)
Hmmm...
Uber,
Mercedes,
Google, Apple,
Enterprise,
Tesla,
Kornhauser,
and every
other Tom,
Dick &
Harry. It is
going to be a
crowded
field. Alain
Some other thoughts that deserve your
Volkswagen Says 11 Million Cars Worldwide Are Affected in Diesel Deception
J Ewing, Sept. 22 “The scope of Volkswagen’s diesel scandal broadened on Tuesday, when the company said that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide were equipped with the same software that was used to cheat on emissions tests in the United States….Volkswagen said it would set aside 6.5 billion euros, or about $7.3 billion, to cover the cost of servicing the affected vehicles “and other efforts to win back the trust …” Read more
Hmmm…This is NOT pretty and well beyond GM’s ignition cover-up or “unsafe at any speed”! This is outright total disregard of basic societal responsibility.
Behavior that
fundamentally
undermines
public trust.
How will their
self-driving
cars deceive
us? Shame on
you VW! Alain
Volkswagen C.E.O. Martin Winterkorn Resigns Amid Emissions Scandal
“…Ferdinand
Piech,
chairman of
the board of
Volkswagen AG
and a major
figure in the
German auto
industry, has
stepped down
after clashing
with other
board members
over his
criticism of
the company's
CEO.
Volkswagen
said in a
statement
Saturday that
Piech, 78, was
resigning with
immediate
effect. ..."
[Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/business/international/volkswagen-chief-martin-winterkorn-resigns-amid-emissions-scandal.html)
Hmmm...
Just the
beginning of
the fall-out.
Alain
As Volkswagen Pushed to Be No. 1, Ambitions Fueled a Scandal
D.
Hakim, Sept 26
"...It is not
Volkswagen's
first run-in
with
regulators
over
emissions.
When the
United States
began
regulating
tailpipe
pollutants in
the 1970s,
Volkswagen was
one of the
first
companies
caught
cheating. It
was fined
$120,000 in
1973 for
installing
what became
known as a
"defeat
device,"
technology to
shut down a
vehicle's
pollution
control
systems. This
time, it
equipped its
vehicles with
software that
was programmed
to fake test
results, an
action the
E.P.A. rebuked
in 1998, when
[it reached a $1 billion settlement with truck-engine manufacturers](http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/22/us/record-penalty-likely-against-diesel-makers.html)
for doing the
same
thing.....
Cheating on
emissions
tests solved
several issues
at once. Not
only were
drivers
rewarded with
better mileage
and
performance,
but the
automaker also
avoided more
expensive and
cumbersome
pollution-control
systems. While Volkswagen cheated behind the
scenes, it
publicly
espoused
virtue. This,
after all, is
the company
that used one
of the largest
advertising
arenas in the
world, the [Super Bowl, to run a commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljI2S7rwZ1Y%20)showing
its engineers
sprouting
angel's wings.
...Confronted
again,
Volkswagen
continued to
maintain that
there was a
problem with
the testers,
not the
vehicles...Government
officials then
increased the
pressure on
the company,
threatening to
withhold
approval for
its 2016
Volkswagen and
Audi diesel
models.
According to
the E.P.A.,
that is what
forced
Volkswagen's
hand. On Sept.
3, a group of
senior
engineers
admitted what
the regulators
had suspected:
.... " [Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/business/as-vw-pushed-to-be-no-1-ambitions-fueled-a-scandal.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0)
Hmmm...So
UGLY!!! Alain
How Improved Vehicle Tech Is Changing the Casualty market
Starting
on Page 35....
T Gage &
R. Bishop "...
Clarifying
Driver
Assistance and
Automation
Vehicle
technology is
at a dramatic
inflection
point. Much of
the recent
press has been
about vehicle
automation—specifically
full
automation,
where you sit
back and watch
a movie in the
front seat. A
vehicle that
does the
driving for
you seems so
far from
today's
experience
that many
believe a leap
to such
technology
must certainly
be in the very
distant
future. While
it's true that
broadly
available,
consumer-ready,
fully
automated
vehicles are
at least a
decade away,
an increasing
number of
vehicles on
the market and
on the streets
already employ
advanced
collision
avoidance
(ACA) systems,
also known as
active safety
systems. These
are the
vehicles that
are reducing
crashes,
reducing risk,
and soon will
be reducing
premiums. In
other words,
the advent of
crash
reductions due
to vehicle
intelligence
occurred
yesterday....
there is
little doubt
that sensors,
processors,
and software
will work
together to
save drivers
from many
common crash
situations.
While these
changes are an
unalloyed
positive
development
for society,
the insurance
industry will
nevertheless
have to cope
with
significant
disruptions to
its
traditional
business model
as premiums
decline. A
proactive
understanding
of ACA
technology,
the timing of
its impact on
the fleet, and
how these
changes will
reverberate
through the
insurance and
adjacent
industries
will separate
companies that
adapt to
vehicle
innovation
from companies
that will be
left
behind...." [Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/OurNationsNeglectedInfrastructure.pdf)
Hmmm...Yup!
Alain
F.A.A. Opens Inquiry After Baby Hurt in Drone Crash
D. Victor,
Sept
23,"...The [Federal Aviation Administration](http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal_aviation_administration/index.html?inline=nyt-org)said it is
stepping up
its
enforcement of
commercial
drone
regulations
after a
growing number
of dangerous
incidents,
including a
crash earlier
this month
that injured
an infant.
..." [Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/drone-crash-injures-baby-highlighting-faa-concerns.html?_r=0)
Hmmm...Drones
today,
autonomousTaxis
tomorrow? How
many infants
were "injured earlier this month" in car accidents?
While there
will still be
some when we
have
autonomousTaxis
and they'll
probably each
make
headlines,
there will be
so many fewer
than there are
today most of
us will be
able to sleep
well at night.
Alain
Five emerging battery technologies for electric vehicles
J. Karsten, Sept 15, “As the 2016 suite of new car models makes evident, electric vehicles are finally gaining real traction in the market. At the turn of the 20th century, more than one quarter of all cars in the United States were electric, yet the electric car had all but vanished by the 1920s. This disappearance was largely due to the insufficient range and power of electric car batteries compared to gasoline engines. Furthermore, electric cars were significantly more expensive than their gasoline counterparts. These same complaints are still heard today, even though battery technology has certainly improved over the last century. Much research and development is being done on battery technology to improve performance while ensuring that batteries are lightweight, compact, and affordable….” Read more Hmmm…Maybe
they are
finally
gaining
traction?
Batteries are
not simple.
They go as far
back as 1835,
with [Thomas Davenport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Davenport_%28inventor%29)
all the best
minds have
tried to
improve
batteries.
They are
really tough!
Alain
Recompiled Old News :
It’s a Beautiful (Pool) Day in the Neighborhood
C. Myhrvold, Apri 15, 2015 “…Our carpooling service, uberPOOL, is helping to make that vision of fewer cars a reality. With uberPOOL you share the ride – and the cost – with another person who happens to be requesting a ride along a similar route. Riders can save up to 50% while adding only a few minutes of time per trip. With the lower prices, people can move past car ownership, as taking Uber becomes less expensive than using and maintaining a personal vehicle. And that impact on congestion can be powerful. …” Read more Hmmm…Interesting.
Alain
Half-baked
stuff that
probably
doesn't
deserve your
time:
IBM boosts connected car data analysis with service launch
C.
Osborne, Sept
15, "... Big
Blue says the
service can
transform data
into
"actionable
insights" for
vehicle
maintenance,
real-time
diagnostics on
engine trouble
and guiding
drivers to the
most efficient
traffic
routes. ..." [Read more](http://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-boosts-connected-car-data-analysis-with-service-launch/) Hmmm...Poor Big Blue. Off on another wrong direction.
What ever
happened to
its stock
price or being
able to make
the right
choice. Why
aren't they
developing the
the
fundamental
vehicle
intelligence
to do
driverless
instead of
doing the
Stalinesque
connectivity?
Alain
###
C’mon Man! (These folks didn’t get/read
the memo)
###
Calendar of Upcoming Events:
###
###
November 4-6, 2015http://www.podcarcity.org/siliconvalley
###
http://www.automatedfl.com/our-efforts/florida-automated-vehicles-summit/
###
###
Recent
Versions of:
#
###
###
###
Automakers Will Make Automatic Braking Systems Standard in New Cars
B.
Vlasic, Sept
11 " Federal
regulators
said on Friday
that 10
automakers had
agreed to
install
automatic
braking
systems, which
use sensors to
detect
potential
collisions, as
standard
equipment in
new vehicles.
But the
automakers
have not set a
timetable for
the
introduction
of the
systems,
...Anthony
Foxx, [the transportation secretary, said](http://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-dot-and-iihs-announce-historic-commitment-10-automakers-include-automatic-emergency) in a
prepared
statement that
emergency
braking
technology
could reduce
traffic deaths
and injuries.
"We are
entering a new
era of vehicle
safety,
focusing on
preventing
crashes from
ever
occurring,
rather than
just
protecting
occupants when
crashes
happen," Mr.
Foxx said....
The 10
companies
"will work
with I.I.H.S.
and N.H.T.S.A.
in the coming
months on the
details of
implementing
their historic
commitment,"
the National
Highway
Traffic Safety
Administration
said in [a statement](http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/nhtsa-iihs-commitment-on-aeb-09112015) (Same
as the DoT
Statement.) [Read more](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/12/business/automakers-will-make-automatic-braking-systems-standard-in-new-cars.html) Hmmm... This is
major because
the automakers
"had
agreed..."
rather than
"the
regulators had
required..."
(although
there seems to
be a little
push-back in
that "...had
not set a
timetable..."
We do know
that many are
now offering
these systems
at a modest
up-sell. So
there may
actually be
substance in
the
announcement.)
What is clear
now is that we
should all
Invest in
insurance
companies that
are creative
in insuring
these new
vehicles!!!
They are
going to
become so
profitable!
Insurance gets
the cash
benefit of the
technology
without having
to pay for
it!!!
Wow!!!Congratulations
Warren
Buffett. He
must have
played a role
in this. He
stands to
benefit so
much. :-)
While trucks
are mentioned,
(amazing that buses aren't;
DoT is SO
BAD!!), they
seem very much
the
stepchild. SO
unfortunate!
:-( Alain
###
Google’s Driverless Cars Run Into Problem: Cars With Drivers
M. Richtel
& C
Dougherty,
Sept. 1 "
Google, ...
has run into
an odd safety
conundrum:
humans.
Last month, as
one of
Google's
self-driving
cars
approached a
crosswalk, it
did what it
was supposed
to do when it
slowed to
allow a
pedestrian to
cross,
prompting its
"safety
driver" to
apply the
brakes. The
pedestrian was
fine, but not
so much
Google's car,
which was hit
from behind by
a human-driven
sedan.
Google's fleet
of autonomous
test cars is
programmed to
follow the
letter of the
law...
Researchers in
the fledgling
field of
autonomous
vehicles say
that one of
the biggest
challenges
facing
automated cars
is blending
them into a
world in which
humans don't
behave by the
book. "The
real problem
is that the
car is too
safe," said
Donald Norman,
director of
the Design Lab
at the
University of
California,
San Diego, who
studies
autonomous
vehicles.
"They have to
learn to be
aggressive in
the right
amount, and
the right
amount depends
on the
culture."... [Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/technology/personaltech/google-says-its-not-the-driverless-cars-fault-its-other-drivers.html?_r=0)
Hmmm...
Much of this
is good;
however, many
of the
comments about
warning
systems being
turned off and
gaps being to
large are a
result of poor
designs and
not the real
issue here
which is that
traffic laws
have been
written to
control human
drivers and
placed in
language that
will cause
human drivers
to achieve the
desired
behavior most
of the time or
at the
critical
times. The
law addresses
the process to
achieve the
desired
outcome, and
not the
outcome
itself. For
example, one
might argue
that the
fundamental
objective of a
stop sign at
an
intersection
is to ensure
that one
proceeds
through the
intersection
only at a time
when there is
no chance of a
collision with
traffic in the
cars traveling
in the thru
lanes.
Because of
human
information
processing
limitations
coming to a
complete stop
is the
parsimonious
way for a
human to
achieve the
desired
outcome. (The
sight-lines on
the approach
to the
intersection
are such that
a human driver
needs to come
to a complete
rest so as to
be able to
"look both
ways" and
determine that
it is safe to
proceed.) If,
however, the
automated
technology
enables the
automated
vehicle to
determine that
it is safe to
proceed prior
to coming to a
complete stop,
why should
that vehicle
be required to
come to a
complete stop?
Speed limits are also an issue. For many, they have little to do with the maximum “safe” speed and their enforcement is totally whimsical. With automated vehicles we have the opportunity to deliver a safe speed limit which can vary along curves, ramps, time-of-day, school in/out, weather, traffic volume, prevailing conditions, etc.
It would be a
shame for the
automated
driving
algorithms to
be cloistered
by the letters
of the
existing
laws. Each of
these traffic
laws need to
be examined
and be re-cast
with a view as
being implemented
explicitly by
the automated
technology.
This may well
be the most
challenging
hurdle facing
SmartDrivingCars.
Alain
Truck Safety Out of the Box from Autonobox
B Simpson,
July 19, 2015
"The premise
is promising.
Develop and
market a
plug-and-play,
forward-avoidance
braking system
for the heavy
vehicle market
that can be
installed
quickly,
upgraded
regularly, and
even
transferred
from vehicle
to vehicle if
necessary.
The Autonobox
System
essentially is
a second
braking system
for heavy-duty
vehicles that
addresses the
long-standing
problem of
brakes that
overheat after
intense use
like a
panic-stop or
sustained use
while going
downhill.... [Read more](http://www.driverlesstransportation.com/truck-safety-out-of-the-box-from-autonobox-9450) Hmmm...A viable after-market retro-fit opportunity.
Alain
###
Self-Driving Cars Could Destroy Fine-Based City Government. What’s the Downside?
S. Shackford,
July 15 "One
of the
propelling
concepts
behind
self-driving
cars isn't
just
innovation for
the sake of
innovation,
leading us to
our sci-fi
Jetsons
future. If
successfully
implemented,
it will make
ground travel
safer,
...Local
governments
have become
increasingly
dependent on
human
screw-ups as a
way to raise
money.
Speeding
tickets. DUI
citations.
Parking
violations.
Those are all
big
money-makers
for
municipalities
that could
very well go
away under a
regime of
self-driving
cars....On top
of that, if
the theory
that self-driving
cars will lead
people to own
fewer
cars holds up,
revenue from
registration
fees will drop
as well.... [Read more](https://reason.com/blog/2015/07/15/self-driving-cars-could-destroy-fine-bas) Hmmm... No downside here! These have to be one
of the most
regressive tax
systems, just
behind
lotteries and
gambling.
Governments
deserve it,
but will save
because they
will need way
police police
who now waste
way too much
of their time
enforcing
traffic laws.
Police have
much better
things to do.
Wins all
around; No
Downside!
Alain
###
Lipinski Continues Efforts to Keep Cars and Other Transportation Safe from Cyber Attacksin Wake of
[Fiat Chrysler Recall](http://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-recalls-1-4-million-vehicles-amid-hacking-concerns-1437751526)
July
28 "...These
vulnerabilities
pose great
risks and the
federal
government
must do more
to help
protect
Americans from
these risks."
Late last
year, the
Cybersecurity
Enhancement
Act,
originally
introduced by
Congressmen
Lipinski, was
signed into
law. The Act
increases the
security of
federal
networks and
information
systems,
improves the
transfer of
cybersecurity
technologies
to the
marketplace,
trains a
cybersecurity
workforce, and
coordinates
and
prioritizes
federal
cybersecurity
research and
development
efforts. " [Read mor](http://www.lipinski.house.gov/press-releases/lipinski-continues-efforts-to-keep-cars-and-other-transportation-safe-from-cyber-attacks-in-wake-of-fiat-chrysler-recall/)e Hmmm... Besides protecting we must also prosecute.
There has to
be bad
consequences
and not
notoriety to
those that do
the nasty
deed. Alain
###
###
###
Center for Automated Road Transportation Safety @ Fort Monmouth is Launched
Monday, July
20, 2015 –
"After more
than three (3)
years of
planning and
several major
meetings the
substantive
launch the
Center for
Automated Road
Transportation
Safety @ Fort
Monmouth
(CARTS@FM)
occurred this
week with the
establishment
of the
not-for-profit.
(501(c) (6)),
New Jersey
Corporation.
The mission of
this Center is
to
substantially
improve safety
on our
existing
conventional
roadway
infrastructure
through the
use of
inexpensive
automated
collision
avoidance
systems
installed on
individual
vehicles
operating
harmoniously
with
conventional
vehicles
throughout
most, if not
all, existing
roadways.
The scope of
CARTS's
mission is
across all
modes that
utilize the
nation's
conventional
road system:
trucks, buses
and cars. .."
[Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/FtMonmouth/NJCARTS/PressRelease_CARTS@FM.pdf)
###
###
###
Automatic Cars Or Distracted Drivers: We Need Automation Sooner, Not Later
D.
Norman 6/4/15
"Imperfect
automation,
continually
getting
better? Or
distracted
drivers,
continually
getting worse?
Choose.
I am fearful
of the rapid
rush toward
full
automation and
have published
numerous
articles about
the
difficulties
we will face
because of the
mismatch of
the automation
and human
behavior.
However, I am
even more
fearful of the
rapid rise of
distracting
devices
installed in
automobiles,
mounted on
dashboards,
worn on the
wrist or body,
or carried on
seats,
pockets, and
laps of
drivers...Each
day seems to
bring a new
distraction.
Heads-up
displays
(HUDs) that
once were aids
to minimizing
distraction by
making it
easier for the
driver to see
navigation
aids and
speed, are now
catching
featuritis,
that deadly
disease which
corrupts
products...."
[Read more](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/automatic-cars-distracted-drivers-we-need-automation-sooner-norman)
Hmmm…. Yup!! Plus more comments from Don… “You might also want to add your traditional sarcasm saying “He saw the light!” or something because up to now, I have been arguing for caution (including my keynote at last years automated Vehicles conference (where I met you) – it’s about to be published in the proceedings. And I have a tech review article about to come out arguing the same caution (except I was just able to add a paragraph saying that all my words of caution are correct, but we still should switch to automation quickly).
The most
dangerous part
of automated
vehicles is
when they are
partially
automated: the
better the
automation,
the less able
a person is
able to take
corrective
action. This
is a point I
have argued
for since my
early work on
aviation
safety some 20
years ago but
has been part
of the human
factors
literature
since long
before that ([Bainbridge](http://www.bainbrdg.demon.co.uk/)Hmmm...it
would not be
bad to re-read
the [1983 paper](https://www.ise.ncsu.edu/nsf_itr/794B/papers/Bainbridge_1983_Automatica.pdf).).
So we have to
skip this
stage if at
all possible.
I have long
argued that we
should have
either all or
none. it is
the mixture
that is
dangerous.
Basically, we
have not
solved the
human element
yet. By this I
mean the
pedestrians,
bicyclists,
skateboards,
manually
driven cars
that will
always be an
issue.
Moreover they
will game the
system:
deliberately
ignoring the
cars under the
assumption
that they are
programmed not
to hit them,
so they can do
anything they
want.
This
assumption
will both
stall traffic,
create
roadblocks,
and also
occasionally
prove to be
false
(automated
cars cannot
overcome the
laws of
physics).
Another
complexity is
aggression.
Drivers have
to be
aggressive to
get through
traffic, but
the amount and
form of
aggression is
cultural.
Pedestrians
behave
differently on
college
campuses (they
think they own
the place)
versus the
same people
just a few
miles away in
cities, where
they are more
lawful. Korean
drivers have
to be
aggressive to
merge. And in
China or
Vietnam or
India? Wow.
Milan drivers
are the most
lawful I have
experienced
recently, but
even they lose
their
patience."
Alain
###
Rep. Lipinski Introduces Future Transportation Research and Innovation Act
I. Sancken
03/29/15,
"Congressman
Dan Lipinski
(IL-3) has [introduced H.R. 2886, the Future Transportation Research and Innovation for Prosperity (TRIP) Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2886/text),
to support
innovative
technologies
that have the
potential to
fundamentally
alter mobility
in America and
beyond.
"Surface
transportation
used to be
rather staid
and
unimaginative,
but today the
very concept
of 'mobility'
is being
reinvented
through
research,
innovation,
and
entrepreneurship,"
said Rep.
Lipinski.
"Rapidly
advancing
automation,
connectivity,
and
information
technologies
are creating
incredible
opportunities
for
transportation
innovation. We
need to
develop
innovative
ways to
improve
safety, ease
congestion,
improve
personal
mobility, and
cut energy
use..." [Read more](http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/la-grange/community/chi-ugc-article-rep-lipinski-introduces-future-transportatio-2015-06-29-story.html#page=1) Hmmm... Excellent! Alain
MOSI debuts nation’s first driverless vehicle open to public
D.
Dangerfield,
6/12/15 "
Imagine a
vehicle that
can drive on
its own. On
Saturday, the
public will be
invited to
take a ride in
one. The new
driverless
Meridian
Shuttle is
part of an
exhibit that
opens at MOSI
on Saturday.
The vehicle
allows up to
eight people
to ride around
the first
floor of the
museum. [Read more](http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/on-the-town/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2015/6/12/mosi_debuts_nation_s.html) Hmmm... It is all about starting. Congratulations!
Alain
###
NTSB Calls for Immediate Action on Collision Avoidance Systems for Vehicles; Cites Slow Progress as Major Safety Issue
6/8/15 "
WASHINGTON –
In a report
released
today, the
National
Transportation
Safety Board
outlined the
life-saving
benefits of
currently
available
collision
avoidance
systems, and
recommended
that the
technology
become
standard on
all new
passenger and
commercial
vehicles.
"You don't pay
extra for your
seatbelt,"
said Chairman
Christopher A.
Hart. "And you
shouldn't have
to pay extra
for technology
that can help
prevent a
collision
altogether."...
[Read more](http://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR20150608b.aspx) Hmmm Yea!!! Finally some semblance of
sanity in
Washington.
Alain
###
###
John F. Nash Jr., Math Genius Defined by a ‘Beautiful Mind,’ Dies at 86
E. Goodmay,
May 24 "...Dr.
Nash and his
wife, Alicia,
82, were in a
taxi on the
New Jersey
Turnpike in
Monroe
Township
around 4:30
p.m. when the
driver lost
control while
veering from
the left lane
to the right
and hit a
guardrail and
another car,
Sgt. Gregory
Williams of
the New Jersey
State Police
said.
The couple
were ejected
from the cab
and pronounced
dead at the
scene. The
State Police
said it
appeared that
they had not
been wearing
seatbelts....
[Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/science/john-nash-a-beautiful-mind-subject-and-nobel-winner-dies-at-86.html)
See also: [John, Alicia Nash Remembered After Fatal Crash](http://www.towntopics.com/wordpress/2015/05/27/john-alicia-nash-remembered-after-fatal-crash/)
A Beautiful Mind Mathematician John Nash and His Wife Killed in N.J. Car Crash ;
Hmmm…
So tragic!!!
What a
crying
shame!!! So
preventable!!!
We will miss
them :-(
Unfortunately,
the NYT and
others tried
but missed the
fundamental
point by
following up
with ["Deaths of Math Genius John F. Nash Jr. and Wife Show Need to Use Seatbelts in Back, Experts Say](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/nyregion/deaths-of-math-genius-john-f-nash-jr-and-his-wife-show-need-to-use-seatbelts-in-back-experts-say.html)
". Why do we
so easily put
up with
crashes in the
first place?
It is as if it
is OK to go
around
crashing, just
put on a seat
belt.
Technology is
available to
avoid crashes,
but there
isn't
sufficient
public policy
focus on
avoiding
crashes to
accelerate its
adoption and
enhancement.
The
fundamental problem
was that the
taxi was not
equipped with
available
automated
stability
control, lane
keeping and
collision
avoidance
systems. This
was not an
accident, it
was a failed
public safety
policy that
refuses to
move beyond
crash
mitigation and
its challenged
"V2x"
initiatives to
embrace
forthright
automated
crash
avoidance.
Moreover, there is a failed Taxi regulatory structure that doesn’t even hint that taxis should have electronic stability control, automated lane keeping and collision avoidance. What is the purpose of taxi regulation, to keep “Ubers” out of business?
It is time for the nation’s transportation policy to focus intelligence/automation on the vehicle in support of the driver. Hopefully Congress will restructure the pending transportation legislation to focus automated vehicle technologies that actively assist drivers when they make driving mistakes. We are not perfect. We deserve a public safety policy that is more mindful of our imperfections. Policy that isn’t aimed at just warning and scolding us but actively takes over and does the right thing. We, not the infrastructure, are the cause of most of the the highway carnage. It is the driver who needs help and our public policy should focus on delivering that help. Alain
###
The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car
Chris Urmson
May 11, 2015
"After 1.7
million miles
we've learned
a lot — not
just about our
system but how
humans drive,
too. The most
common
accidents our
cars are
likely to
experience in
typical day to
day street
driving — light
damage, no
injuries — aren't
well
understood
because
they're not
reported to
police. Yet
according to
National
Highway
Traffic Safety
Administration
(NHTSA) data,
these
incidents
account for
55% of all
crashes. It's
hard to know
what's really
going on out
on the streets
unless you're
doing miles
and miles of
driving every
day. And
that's exactly
what we've
been doing
with our fleet
of 20+
self-driving
vehicles and
team of safety
drivers,
who've driven
1.7 million
miles
(manually and
autonomously
combined). The
cars have
self-driven
nearly a
million of
those miles,
and we're now
averaging
around 10,000
self-driven
miles a week
(a bit less
than a typical
American
driver logs in
a year),
mostly on city
streets. In
the spirit of
helping all of
us be safer
drivers, we
wanted to
share a few
patterns we've
seen. A lot of
this won't be
a surprise,
especially if
you already
know that
driver error
causes 94% of
crashes.
If you spend
enough time on
the road,
accidents will
happen whether
you're in a
car or a
self-driving
car. Over the
6 years since
we started the
project, we've
been involved
in 11 minor
accidents
(light damage,
no injuries)
during those
1.7 million
miles of
autonomous and
manual driving
with our
safety drivers
behind the
wheel, and not
once was the
self-driving
car the cause
of the
accident. ...
We'll continue
to drive
thousands of
miles so we
can all better
understand the
all too common
incidents that
cause many of
us to dislike
day to day
driving — and
we'll continue
to work hard
on developing
a self-driving
car that can
shoulder this
burden for
us." [Read more](https://medium.com/backchannel/the-view-from-the-front-seat-of-the-google-self-driving-car-46fc9f3e6088)
Hmmm.... MUST
reading;
HOWEVER, we
need much more
information to
be released,
not just a few
examples.
Please make
your data
public! We
don't need to
know who
but we
desperately
need to know what
so that not
only Google,
but the rest
of us can... "...work hard on
developing..." SmartDrivingCars "....that can shoulder this burden for us." Alain
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