2016-02-26
SmartDrivingCars-????-021816
Vancouver councillor wants city to prepare for driverless cars T. Fletcher, Feb 18 “Driverless cars might seem like a futuristic dream, but a city councillor doesn’t want Vancouver to take a hands-off approach to the emerging technology. Coun. Geoff Meggs is steering a motion slated for next Tuesday’s council meeting asking city staff to look into the impact of self-driving vehicles and how to maximize the benefits of the technology for Vancouver and the city’s economy.
Although the city's transportation 2040 plan, which outlines a
strategy for how people and goods will move in and around
Vancouver for the next 30 years, was adopted only four years
ago, Meggs said it fails to address driverless technology....
"It may be a powerful tool or there may be problems with it, but
at the moment, it's an empty category in a lot of our thinking,"
Meggs told Metro. "We don't want our (transportation) plan,
which we just did, to be obsolete before it even starts."..." [Read more](http://www.nsc.org/NewsDocuments/2016/mv-fatality-report-1215.pdf) Hmmmm...Yup! Obviously,
"obsolescence before ribbon cutting" is something all cities
should try to avoid. Alain
How Driverless Cars Can Reshape Our Cities
P. Sisson, Feb 25 “A potential shift to a society of riders could reclaim roadways for green space and help reshape the public realm..” Read more Hmmmm…Of course I like my comments. :-) I don’t think we’ll do “shared-ownership”. We’ll buy the mobility “by the drink” from a mobility service company” and not buy with our neighbors a “bottle to share” . Remember, “fractional ownership” is a real struggle in the air mobility and vacation home industries. No one is happy! Alain
Secretary Of Transportation: ‘I See The Future’ When I’m In A Self-Driving Car
Feb 22, R. Siegel, "NPR's Robert Siegel speaks to Secretary of
Transportation Anthony Foxx about the legal ramifications of
self-driving automobiles and what the government is doing to
usher in this new technology....." [Read more](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/02/05/382664837/map-the-most-common-job-in-every-state) [See Also](https://twitter.com/SecretaryFoxx/status/701903264351006720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Hmmm... Excellent! Alain
The Lipinski Transportation Note (Feb. 25, 2016)
Feb 25 “ $500 million will be made available for transportation projects across the country under another round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program. The 2016 TIGER grant program will focus on capital projects that generate economic development and improve access to reliable, safe and affordable transportation for communities…” Read more Hmmm… Real Economic Recovery can also be generated by Investing in research in automated vehicles. Just a thought… since it is supposedly all about “reliable, safe and affordable” and there doesn’t seem to be any other federal AV money until 2017 at the earliest for something where the Feds are already playing catch-up Alain
NHTSA Just Approved GM’s Fancy New Rear-View Camera Mirror
Feb 22, J. Westbrook, "In the letter below, released by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today, the
organization deemed Cadillac's new mirror/camera equipment,
called the "Full Display Mirror," legal under the existing
safety requirements for an inside rear view mirror:...It always
interests me how these letters are worded, with NHTSA
essentially saying "it's not NOT allowed," which is equivalent
to an okay..." [Read more](http://jalopnik.com/the-nhtsa-just-approved-gms-fancy-new-rear-view-camera-1760692513) [Listen to Story](http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=467704538&m=467704539) Hmmmm...Another
step forward. (And to some..If the lens gets dirty, clean
it; if the sky falls, be under it.) Alain
Semi-Autonomous Cars Compared! Tesla Model S vs. BMW 750i, Infiniti Q50S, and Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
Feb '16 , "So while we're getting worse behind the wheel, the
sensors and algorithms capable of saving us from ourselves are
getting better. And though we're not convinced that this will
ever yield totally hands-off personal transportation, [scores of manufacturers are working feverishly to prove us wrong](http://www.caranddriver.com/features/semi-autonomous-cars-compared-tesla-vs-bmw-mercedes-and-infiniti-feature-autonomous-milestones-page-7)..As
usual, our test regimen is a balanced mix of on-road evaluations
and proving- grounds tests. Other than noting which car can and
which can't steer you snugly against a curb, we skipped
automatic-parking maneuvers. All these cars and many others on
the market keep watchful eyes on your blind spots, a second form
of artificial intelligence we're taking for granted here. To
verify that adaptive cruise control works to maintain a safe
interval between your car and the one immediately ahead when an
intruder barges into your lane, we used a foam-filled Volkswagen
Golf decoy owned by Bosch to supplement our over-the-road
observations....
"[Read more](http://www.caranddriver.com/features/semi-autonomous-cars-compared-tesla-vs-bmw-mercedes-and-infiniti-feature)Hmmmm...Well worth
reading. Just the facts, mam! Alain
Car Sharing Will Keep Growing, but It Will Not Disrupt the Automotive Industry
Feb. 23, “While the Growth of Car Sharing Will Create New Opportunities for Incumbents and New Players, It Will Reduce New-Vehicle Sales by Only 1%,… At the same time, the extremely high utilization rates of AVs will likely limit sales into car-sharing fleets.” Read moreespecially the Report Hmmmm…Agreed, Car-sharing is challenged as noted above and BCG does identify that automation and Ride Sharing will disrupt the auto industry. Alain
Toyota create ‘crash test cyclist’ to help develop driverless cars
M. Glaskin, Feb 10 , "The car maker has built a cycling crash
test dummy in order to assess the radar technology on the
driverless cars it's developing..."[Read more](http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/toyota-create-crash-test-cyclist-to-help-develop-driverless-cars-211316) Hmmmm...Great! Alain
Some other thoughts
that deserve your attention
Carnegie Mellon gets $5 million gift from Posner family
D. Erdeley, Feb 19 “…Carnegie Mellon University added $5 million to its Presidential Scholarship Fund, courtesy of a gift in memory of the late Henry Posner Jr. and his wife, Helen.
CMU officials said the gift from CMU trustee Anne Molloy and
her husband, railroad entrepreneur Henry Posner III of
Pittsburgh, will underwrite a minimum of five undergraduate
scholarships a year at the Oakland school. [Read more](http://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/advanced-cars/meet-zoox-the-robotaxi-startup-taking-on-google-and-uber) Hmmmm...This is
Extremely kind and generous of the Molloy/Posners. Alain
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
Comments on Proposed AV Regulations in California
R. Peterson, Feb 23, “…Although section 38750 attempts to assign the regulation of “autonomous vehicles” to the DMV, the definition of “autonomous vehicle” was unworkable and outdated soon after its adoption. The definition attempts to draw a distinction between systems that “enhance safety or provide driver assistance” (listing, but not limiting them to a list of systems that existed at the time), but attempts to exclude from these safety enhancing features, those technologies “capable” of driving the vehicle “without active control or monitoring of a human operator.”
There are two faults in this definition. First, it seems to
attempt a distinction between safety enhancing features and
autonomous vehicles. This is a false dichotomy. By taking
drunk, distracted, careless, and sleepy human drivers with
their limited skills out of the primary role of driving,
autonomous technology is safety enhancing. It just happens to
bring in its train a number of additional utilities and
benefits that most safety features do not deliver. This is
hardly a vice.
Secondly, the definition turns on "capability," not the OEM's
purpose or intention. 227.02(d). Almost as soon as section
38750 was adopted, and before these proposed regulations were
published, vehicles "capable" of driving themselves within the
parameters for which they were designed were on the roads and
legal in every state, including California. [Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/RPeterson_CA_DMV%20_RegsComments032316.pdf) Hmmmm...Excellent.
Alain
Recompiled Old News & Smiles:
###
Half-baked stuff
that probably doesn't deserve your time:
SELF-DRIVING CARS: WILL THEY REDUCE ENERGY USE?
Energy Leeds, Feb 2016 "... Energy Use = Energy Efficiency
of Travel × Travel Demand ... people generally prefer the
privacy and convenience of car, but also appreciate the
driving-free experience of public transport...The lower
travel and concomitant energy use and carbon emissions,
could increase by 5% from mid-level automation to Excellent, so far, but...
up to 60% for a high penetration of self-driving cars in the
USA ...Thus, stopping short of fully self-driving cars may
be more beneficial from an energy perspective. That is where the Half-baked comes in.
Leeds fundamentally assumes that individuals, as opposed
to fleets, are going to buy driverless vehicles. My
expectation is that Fleets (aka Ubers) will easily
outbid individuals to buy and operate the fully
driverless vehicles in a shared-ride mode; So the +60%
actually becomes -50% in Figure 1. [Read mor](http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/research/MobilityEnergyFutures_-_SelfDrivingCars.pdf)e and Related
pieces [Will self-driving cars reduce energy use and make travel better for the environment?](https://theconversation.com/will-self-driving-cars-reduce-energy-use-and-make-travel-better-for-the-environment-55363) and [Help or hindrance? The travel, energy and carbon impacts of highly automated vehicles](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856415002694) assume that fully
automated vehicles will be owned by individuals. I
respectfully disagree. That world view is the critical
assumption. We'll need to wait and see which reality
plays out in this Universe. Alain
###
C’mon Man! (These folks
didn't get/read the memo)
###
Calendar of
Upcoming Events:
The Business of Autonomous Vehicles
March 22-23, 2016
Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Francisco Airport
Recent
Highlights of:
#
###
February 18, 2016
Motor Vehicle Deaths Increase by Largest Percent in 50 Years
Press Release Feb 16 “With continued lower gasoline prices and an improving economy resulting in an estimated 3.5% increase
in motor-vehicle mileage, the
number of motor-vehicle deaths
in 2015 totaled 38,300,
up 8% from 2014.
The 2015 estimate is
provisional and may be revised
when more data are available.
The total for 2015 was up 8%
from the 2013 figure. The
annual total for 2014 was
35,398, a less than 0.5%
increase from 2013. The 2013
figure was 3% lower than 2012.
The estimated annual
population death rate is 11.87
deaths per 100,000 population,
an increase of 7% from the
2014 rate. The estimated
annual mileage death rate is
1.22 deaths per 100 million
vehicle miles traveled, an
increase of 5% from the 2014
rate. [Read more](http://www.nsc.org/NewsDocuments/2016/mv-fatality-report-1215.pdf)Hmmmm...This
is REALLY BAD news. Come
on insurance. This is
costing you money!
Accident rates going up
means that your actuarials
are behind, your regulated
pricing lags and you are
losing money. To get
ahead of your actuarials,
you MUST incentivize the
adoption of automated
collision avoidance
systems. You'll then do
very well, thank you AND
help society. Alain
February 9, 2016
Budget of the U.S. Government, FY 2017
Feb. 9, “…(3) Accelerate the integration of autonomous vehicles, low-carbon technologies, and intelligent transportation systems into our infrastructure….
- Providing almost $400 million on average per year in funding over the next 10 years for the deployment of self-driving vehicles. Investments would help develop connected infrastructure and smart sensors that can communicate with autonomous vehicles, support R&D to ensure these vehicles are safe and road ready, and expand at-scale deployment projects to provide “proving grounds” for autonomous self-driving and connected vehicles in urban and highway settings.
Read moreHmmmm…major
victory...not only: "...for autonomous
self-driving...", bit also
stated before: "... and connected...".
Alain
January 28, 2016
London’s first driverless cars revealed
The consortium behind the trial has decided to adapt electric passenger shuttles that are currently in service at Heathrow Airport for use in Greenwich. Unlike the Heathrow pods, they will not need dedicated tracks.
The Greenwich trial is one of
four in the UK to test
driverless technology and
public reaction to it..."This
vehicle has millions of miles
under its belt and now we have
to take it outside of the
track and modify it for use on
pavements," he added. The
so-called UltraPODs currently
in service at Heathrow carry
passengers between the car
park and Terminal 5. In the
five years they have been in
use, they have carried 1.5
million passengers and
traveled three million
kilometers (1.8 million
miles)...." [Read more](http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35432687) Hmmm...Wow!!
... PRT evolving
to be
autonomousTaxis!
Wow!!! :-) Alain
January 14, 2016
###
Obama’s $4 Billion Plan for Self-Driving Cars Will Make Google Very Happy
M. Bergen, Jan 14 “The Obama Administration has seen the self-driving future, and it’s jumping aboard. At the Detroit auto show on Thursday morning, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will unveil a plan to develop a national blueprint for autonomous driving technology within the next six months. He will also announce that President Obama is planning to insert $4 billion into the 2017 budget for a 10-year plan to support and “accelerate” vehicle automation projects.
"We are on the cusp of a new
era in automotive technology
with enormous potential to
save lives, reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, and transform
mobility for the American
people," Secretary Foxx said
in a statement. ...But here's the
part of Foxx's talk that
really matters for Google:
These national rules will
allow fully driverless cars..."
[Read More](http://recode.net/2016/01/14/obamas-4-billion-plan-for-self-driving-cars-will-make-google-very-happy/) Hmmm...
A [few months ago](http://www.its.dot.gov/press/2015/ngv_tech_announcement.htm) it
was $42M for Connected
Vehicles. Today it is
100x for automated
vehicles! Finally
Secretary Foxx.."[YES! YES! JESUS H. TAP-DANCING CHRIST... I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX5tfRdkoY0)"
(Blue
Brothers)
Yea!!!!! :-)
Alain
January 3, 2016
Google Pairs With Ford To Build Self-Driving Cars
J. Hyde & S. Carty, Dec. 21 “Google and Ford will create a joint venture to build self-driving vehicles with Google’s technology, a huge step by both companies toward a new business of automated ride sharing, …According to three sources familiar with the plans, the partnership is set to be announced by Ford at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. By pairing with Google, Ford gets a massive boost in self-driving software development; while the automaker has been experimenting with its own systems for years, it only revealed plans this month to begin testing on public streets in California….
Google already has several
links to Ford; the head of the
self-driving car project, John
Krafcik, worked for 14 years
at Ford, including a stint as
head of truck engineering, and
several other ex-Ford
employees work in the unit as
well. Former Ford chief
executive Alan Mulally joined
Google's board last year.
And Ford executives have been
clear for years that the
company was ready to embrace a
future where cars were sold as
on-demand services. Ford CEO
Mark Fields has repeatedly
said Ford was thinking of
itself "as a mobility
company," and what that would
mean for its business" [Read more](https://www.yahoo.com/autos/google-pairs-with-ford-to-1326344237400118.html) Hmmm...Not
surprising and not
exclusive. :-)
Alain
December 19, 2015
Adam Jonas’ View on Autonomous Cars
Video similar to part of Adam’s Luncheon talk @ 2015 Florida Automated Vehicle Symposium on Dec 1. Hmmm … Watch Video especially
at the 13:12 mark.
Compelling; especially
after the 60 Minutes
segment above! Also see
his [TipRanks](https://www.tipranks.com/analysts/adam-jonas).
Alain
###
October 02, 2015
###
“60 Minutes” test-rides Mercedes-Benz self-driving car
Oct 2 “As Google’s driverless cars have logged more then a million miles in the past six years, the rest of the auto industry is racing to keep up. Computer scientist Ralf Herrtwich hits the road with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker to demonstrate Mercedes-Benz’s most advanced self-driving prototype. Watch the full story Sunday on “60 Minutes.” Watch video and watch 60 minutes on Sunday Oct 4. This is really becoming mainstream.
Congratulations Ralf!
Alain
August 28, 2015
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
July 3, 2015
###
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, 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
May 29, 2015
###
###
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
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