2016-03-21
Daimler offenbar vor Megaauftrag von Uber
M. Freitag, Mar 18, "Der Stuttgarter Autokonzern
Daimler hat den wahrscheinlich größten Auftrag
seiner Geschichte erhalten. Der amerikanische
Taxidienst Uber wolle langfristig eine sechsstellige
Zahl an S-Klasse-Karossen abnehmen, berichtet das
manager magazin in seiner neuesten Ausgabe
(Erscheinungstermin: 18. März).
Daimler-Chef Dieter Zetsche und Uber-CEO Travis
Kalanick hätten dies vereinbart, heißt es in Kreisen
beider Unternehmen. Die Bestellung hänge allerdings
noch an diversen Bedingungen.... " [Read more](http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/autoindustrie/daimler-uber-soll-autonom-steuernde-s-klassen-bestellt-haben-a-1082886.html)
Hmmmm...Also check out the following
Uber seeking to buy self-driving cars: source
Reuters, Mar 19, "Ride-hailing service Uber
[UBER.UL] has sounded out car companies about
placing a large order for self-driving cars, an auto
industry source said on Friday. "They wanted
autonomous cars," the source, who declined to be
named, said. "It seemed like they were shopping
around." Loss-making Uber would make drastic
savings on its biggest cost -- drivers -- if it were
able to incorporate self-driving cars into its
fleet....Earlier on Friday, Germany's Manager
Magazin reported that Uber had placed an order for
at least 100,000 Mercedes S-Class cars, citing
sources at both companies....
The top-flight limousine, around 100,000 of which
Mercedes-Benz sold last year, does not yet have
fully autonomous driving functionality.." [Read more](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-uber-idUSKCN0WK1C8) Hmmmm...Uber
has the current valuation to place the order;
however, they aren't the only ones that will
want to place an advance order for such a
fleet. Lyft will want to, Enterprise-Rent
-A-Car (remember, they "pick you up" (while
incurring an enormous labor expense) and all of
the AlainkAutonomousTaxi companies that see the
economic opportunity of providing on-demand
mobility without incurring labor cost. It will
be interesting to watch the bidding war for
these driverless vehicles. All of this will be
going on while Alphabet gobbles up the market
with its own vehicle that it keeps for itself.
Advertisers are already in the back seat of
conventional cabs. While that revenue isn't
enough to pay for the driver, it is likely to
substantially offset aTaxi's operating and
capitalization costs. What's Alphabet's other
business?? :-) Alain
###
Sidewalk Labs is making a tool to prep cities for self-driving cars
A. Hawkins, Mar 17, “Sidewalk Labs, the “smart city” company spun off from Google last year, unveiled a new tool Thursday it built to help cities better manage traffic congestion, parking problems, and ultimately prepare themselves for the expected onslaught of self-driving cars. Flow is described as a “transportation platform” that uses aggregated, anonymous traffic data to help city managers identify bottlenecks or redirect trains and buses to transit-starved neighborhoods, as well as drivers get real-time parking information during their commutes…The Quid…: the winning city will also get Sidewalk Labs’ Flow platform, as well as up 100 public Wi-Fi hubs, much like the LinkNYC kiosks the company is currently installing in New York City. If the city authorizes it, those hubs will also contain sensors that the company says can help route drivers directly to available parking, and allow cities to adjust transit routes or change traffic patterns to respond to real-time demands. The Pro Quo…: Flow will also gather data from third-party apps like Google Maps and Waze (both owned by Sidewalk Labs’ parent company). Read more Hmmmm…OK, I guess it is a deal!?! Alain
Autonomous Cars Aren’t Perfect, but How Safe Must They Be?
T. Krisher, Mar 17, "In Austin, Mayor Steve Adler
says Google cars in his city haven't caused any
crashes, and he believes they bring safety benefits.
"We don't get perfection with regular drivers
either," he says..." [Read more](http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/autonomous-cars-perfect-safe-37721238) Hmmmm...A
reasonable, brief back and forth on the issues.
Perfection, it is not; but Perfection
doesn't exist anywhere. It is the best
opportunity to improve the status quo. Stay with
what you tolerate today, or evolve into a better
future. Your call, Ms/Mr Politician. Alain
Hyundai Motor to Invest 2 Trillion Won in Self-driving Car Commercialization within 5 Years
J. Suk-yee, Mar 16, ". Krisher, Mar 17, "Hyundai
Motor Group is gearing up efforts to develop
self-driving cars amid explosive interest in the
historic go match between Google's artificial
intelligence (AI) AlphaGo and Korea's top-ranked Lee
Se-dol.
Google is a step ahead in this sector. However,
Hyundai Motor will be competitive enough when the
company jumps into the business in earnest since
there is only a small technical gap.
According to industry sources on March 15, Hyundai
Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors are
aiming to commercialize self-driving cars within
five years. In order to do so, they will invest over
2 trillion won (US$1.68 billion), and make every
effort to develop various autonomous driving
technologies, including the autonomous driving
system in congested areas, and hire more expert..."
[Read more](http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/ict/14106-investment-car-ai-hyundai-motor-invest-2-trillion-won-self-driving-car) Hmmmm...Sure!
Alain
Self-Driving Cars Won’t Work Until We Change Our Roads—And Attitudes
A. NG, Mar 15,"AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WILL join human
drivers on our roads sooner than most people think.
At Baidu, we plan to put commercial, self-driving
cars on the roads by 2018. But the way to make them
safe is not to make them act just like human driven
cars—in fact, the limitations of today's technology
mean that's not feasible. Instead, we should make
modest changes to our infrastructure, program these
cars to behave as predictably as possible, and teach
the public new ways to interact with them..."[Read more](http://www.wired.com/2016/03/self-driving-cars-wont-work-change-roads-attitudes/)Hmmm...
An appropriate part of the discussion, but we
should continue to move forward as much as we
can without waiting for the infrastructure
improvements, including moving forward in
limited areas where no improvements are
necessary. Alain
Standards to Support Connected Vehicle Deployment
ITSJPO, Mar 17, "The U.S. Department of
Transportation (USDOT) is pleased to announce IEEE's
publication of three standards to support connected
vehicle deployment.
These standards are:
-
[Read more](http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1103439157490&ca=99e7ca90-db9a-4a33-ae1d-c682ba36dc4d) Hmmmm...OK. Alain
Some other
thoughts that deserve your attention
Google’s AI Wins Fifth And Final Game Against Go Genius Lee Sedol
C. Metz, Mar 13,"The win puts an exclamation point
on a significant moment for artificial intelligence.
... Lee Sedol could not climb back to finish within
one win of his artificially intelligent rival. But
he did lead Game Five in the early going, after a
significant error by AlphaGo—an error that looked
amateurish to the human eye. As the Google machine
dug out of its hole in the second half of the
contest, Game Five grew into the most exciting of
the series, a game balanced on a knife edge,
exceeding even the drama of Lee Sedol's win in Game
Four.
The Korean showed—in swashbuckling fashion—that
humans still carry talents that no machine can
duplicate. Yes, early in the five-game series, he
struggled to deal with the pressure—a very human
failing. But as the match continued, he adapted to
what he saw from his opponent in previous
games—something AlphaGo can't yet do...
AI is flawed. But it is here.[Read more](http://www.wired.com/2016/03/googles-ai-wins-fifth-final-game-go-genius-lee-sedol/)Hmmmm..
It's all over!! Alain
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
Recompiled Old News
& Smiles:
Increasing Mobility in Southern California: A New Approach
B. Feigenbaum, Nov 2015: “….While the region continues to spend significant resources on new rail lines, Southern California residents are taking fewer transit trips per capita today than 20 years ago. Transit-dependent residents must rely on a smaller bus network that fails to adequately serve their needs…This study examines Southern California’s mobility challenges in detail. While the Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) Long Range Transportation
Plan includes some new capacity, it does not
allocate nearly enough resources to improving
mobility. The region's planned transportation
approach of investing heavily in fixed-rail
transit and land-use changes to reduce the
extent of driving can benefit the region but
the approach will not significantly reduce
traffic congestion or improve transit service
in Southern California. The current plan would
lead to only a modest increase in transit's
market share, while overall congestion would
continue to increase. While non-automobile
alternatives—including a larger and
better-designed bus network, sidewalks for
walking and a bike network for
commuting—definitely have an important role to
play, they alone cannot reduce congestion...."
[Read more](http://reason.org/files/southern_california_mobility_plan.pdf) Hmmmm...Good
news: It recognizes that continuing the
current spending on infrastructure is
non-optimal; however, it doesn't seem to
be aware of the possibility of driverless
shared-ride transit. Maybe
we will just walk and ride bikes?
Oh well?? :-( It is old
news (2015) and it does have a good
compilation of statistics that document
the past. Alain
Peuguot Autonomous Road Trip Wraps Up With 600 Kilometers Through Spain
K. Field, Mar 18, “I few months ago, Peugeot embarked on a 3,000 kilometer road trip through France and Spain. This would normally not be a big deal, as humans all around the world take road trips a few thousand kilometers long, myself included… however, Peugeot took this road trip in its new autonomous driving Citroen…” Read moreand see video Hmmmm…Old news but video worth watching. Alain
Half-baked
stuff that probably doesn't deserve your time:
Car Safety at Any Price
M Naranjo, Feb 23, "Consumer Reports sees FCW and
AEB as the most promising safety breakthroughs in
the automobile industry since the advent of
electronic stability control almost two decades
ago. We are urging automakers to make
those features standard on all cars, from luxury
to economy models, as quickly as possible...." [Read more](http://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/car-safety-at-any-price/) Hmmmm...It is
very nice that CR is urging automakers to
..., (something that they have just done);
unfortunately, it is really disappointing to
read everything else that is in their [April 2016 Annual Auto Issue](http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2016/04/index.htm). It reads
as if it was written by Madison Avenue or Mad
Men and should be titled "Using 1960 Mentality
in Buying a Car". The cover is all Machismo
with a 3/4 shot of a red "Power of Prius"
improving the lowly "Green" car. Their brand
Profiles each lead with the size of the engine
and Safety is never mentioned (although it is
an afterthought with "...and Safety"). Their
comparison table of attributes has the Safety
column filled with "NA"s. I guess "Safety" is
Not Applicable to their ratings?? Safety is
essentially absent from the very publication
that is supposed to provide independent sanity
to consumer purchasing. No
wonder Safety doesn't sell. The
consumer product that is the largest cause of
death for those of us between the ages of 5-35
and for which there is evolving technology
that can substantially mitigate that statistic
is brushed under the carpet by CR with a
simple "NA". What a shame! Alain
Railway Rises on Oahu, as Does Anger Over Cost
A. Nagourney, Mar 20, “From the start — when Honolulu officials began talking about building a 20-mile elevated train line near the southern coast of Oahu — there were concerns. How much would it cost? What would it do to the character of a state that has long celebrated its natural beauty and isolation? Can an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean handle the kind of ambitious public works project one would associate with urban centers like Boston and New York?
Eight years after voters in Hawaii approved a
referendum clearing the way for construction of
the rail line, many of the concerns that have
been voiced during a 40-year debate over the
project have turned out to have merit. The
project was initially projected to cost $4.6
billion, but that number now is $6.7 billion,
forcing the city in January to approve a
five-year extension of a general excise tax
surcharge to help cover the overrun...it could
have the distinction of being, on a per-capita
basis, the most expensive transit project in the
country's history ..." [Read Mor](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/21/us/hawaii-struggles-to-keep-rail-project-from-becoming-a-boondoggle.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=wide-thumb&module=mini-moth®ion=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below)e Hmmmm...At
least it is the first driverless system in
US and (hopefully?) the last. Just think
what a $5B infusion into autonomousTaxis
would do...produce more and better mobility
but the construction trade unions wouldn't
be happy. The[Simpsons saw this coming in January 199](http://www.kisspanda.net/the-simpsons-season-4-episode-12-marge-vs-the-monorail/)3;
[the Simpson Monorail song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhpO_WcR_jE) . Alain
WhitePaper: Automated Driving and Platooning: Issues and Opportunities
Tech & Maintenance Council, Sept 21,2015,
"This white paper examines the intensive activity
in the development and introduction of Automated
Vehicles (AVs) and identifies potential issues and
opportunities. The paper is intended to promote
better understanding of this emerging technology
and serve as a platform for discussing key areas
of interest and concern on the part of commercial
fleets..."[Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/ITFVHA15AutomatedDrivingAndPlatooning_Sept_2015.pdf)Hmmmm...The AV part is somewhat OK, but
the platoon part fails to identify what % of
current truck-miles are operated such that
there are even two trucks going in the same
direction at the same time at about the same
location on any highway. Those are the only
truck-miles that could benefit from platooning
if all trucks have the enabling
technology. Except for the (short) truck
corridor outside the Port of Long Beach, the
Northern section of the NJ Turnpike, parts of
the XBronx DistressWay, and the upper decks of
the GWB and the Verrazano, the % of truck
miles is very small, likely less than 5% . On
those named sections it is likely less than
50% (and combined they account for a very
small portion of the nation's truck miles).
If only half of the fleet is so equipped, then
all of these numbers need to be multiplied by
the product of the penetration percentage (in
this case: 0.25). So these are very very
small opportunities. No wonder the report
said nothing about this. Nor mentioned was
the disruption that would be caused to current
operations if trucks were somehow coordinated
to maximize platooning. Chances that the
benefits of platooning could outweigh the
additional costs incurred by the needed
disruption is, in my mind, Slim2None. No wonder these issues aren't
contained in this "grey paper" (doesn't
deserve to be called a "white paper").
Moreover, it doesn't cover the short-term
benefits of AV in the form of Automated
Braking and Automated Lane Keeping on
insurance (self and otherwise) and driver
quality-of-life. At best Half-Baked! Sorry!
Thanks to G. Mercer for
sending a copy of this "white" paper. Alain
How George Hotz Plans To Beat Tesla And Google With His Robocar Startup
Mar 2016, "Behind his showboating lies a keen
desire to build a real company around self-driving
cars and, more importantly, artificial
intelligence. ..."[Read more](http://www.forbes.com/sites/aarontilley/2016/03/08/george-hotz-comma-ai/?utm_campaign=ForbesTech&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Technology&linkId=22222007#6b2230f8493b)Hmmmm...You are welcome to join the club,
but at some point you'll need substance. Alain
###
C’mon Man!
(These folks didn't get/read the memo)
Revisiting Street Intersections Using Slot-Based Systems
R. Tachet, Mar. 16, Hmmmm...This
is just &*^%$*. I can't even suggest any
part of this to read. Slotted intersections were
thoroughly studied 40 years ago with PRT if not
before and have no hope of seeing the light of
day unless all cars are centrally managed. Why
was this re-visitation published??? [C'mon Man!](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjuqNHt9c_LAhXL0h4KHZdyAcYQtwIIMTAG&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKC3loQ2EV8M&usg=AFQjCNEfhqUstISkgRS1BrcXSNkC10gQvg&sig2=2J4WR2NTLDO5PiNgnY5-fA&bvm=bv.117218890,d.dmo)Alain
Calendar
of Upcoming Events:
The Business of Autonomous Vehicles
March 22-23, 2016
Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Francisco
Airport
Workshop on Automated Vehicle Policy and Regulation:
The National Transportation Center, University of Maryland
May 18, 2016
Recent
Highlights of:
#
###
U.S. DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles
Press Release, Mar
17, NHTSA &
IIHS "announced
today a historic
commitment by 20
automakers
representing more
than 99 percent of
the U.S. auto
market to make
automatic
emergency braking
a standard feature
on virtually all
new cars no later
than NHTSA's 2022
reporting year,
which begins Sept
1, 2022.
Automakers making
the commitment are
Audi, BMW, FCA US
LLC, Ford, General
Motors, Honda,
Hyundai, Jaguar
Land Rover, Kia,
Maserati, Mazda,
Mercedes-Benz,
Mitsubishi Motors,
Nissan, Porsche,
Subaru, Tesla
Motors Inc.,
Toyota, Volkswagen
and Volvo Car USA.
The unprecedented
commitment means
that this
important safety
technology will
be available
to more
consumers more
quickly than
would be
possible
through the
regulatory
process...The
commitment takes
into account the
evolution of AEB
technology. It
requires a level
of functionality
that is in line
with research and
crash data
demonstrating that
such systems are
substantially
reducing crashes,
but
does not stand
in the way of
improved
capabilities
that are just
beginning to
emerge.
The performance
measures are based
on real world data
showing that
vehicles with this
level of
capability are
avoiding crashes..[Watch NHTSA video on AEB](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Src2jhS4wcA) [Download AEB video from IIHS](https://www.hightail.com/download/ZWJVbGtNR3NrWTg4RmNUQw)[Read more](http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/nhtsa-iihs-commitment-on-aeb-03172016) Hmmmm...Fantastic!
Automakers
leading with
regulatory
process
staying out of
the way.
Alain
GM Buying Self-Driving Tech Startup for More Than $1 Billion
D. Patrick Mar 11,”General Motors GM 1.43% this morning announced that it will acquire Cruise Automation, a San Francisco-based developer of autonomous vehicle technology. No financial terms were disclosed, but Fortune has learned from a source close to the situation that the deal is valued at “north of $1 billion,” in a combination of cash and stock.
Talks between the
two companies
originally related
to a strategic
investment by GM
in Cruise, which
was planning to
raise a new round
of venture capital
funding. But that
quickly morphed
into an
acquisition
discussion with
the entire
agreement getting
hashed out in less
than six weeks. [Read more](http://fortune.com/2016/03/11/gm-buying-self-driving-tech-startup-for-more-than-1-billion/)Hmmmm...That
sets the bar.
Reminiscent of
[AOL paying $1.1B for MapQuest](http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/2068.html)
resulting in [NavTeq getting $8.1B from Nokia](http://mashable.com/2007/10/01/nokia-navteq/#CnEKJL0cUOqM)
followed by [Here getting $3B from MB et al](http://mashable.com/2007/10/01/nokia-navteq/#CnEKJL0cUOqM).
[Deja vu all over again!](http://yogiberramuseum.org/just-for-fun/yogisms/)
Very
interesting
:-) Alain
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN: How we found (and lost) the dream of Personal Rapid Transit
A. Robertson, Feb
10 , Feb. "...Half
a century after
its heyday, the
Alden StaRRcar
clearly wasn't
made for its
world. It looks
like a white
flatiron with
wheels or a sleek,
plastic bullet,
dwarfed by the
regal sedans of
1960s Detroit. It
belongs in one of
Buckminster
Fuller's domed
cities, a vehicle
for traveling
under the
geodesics of a
bubble-topped
Manhattan. Its
future wasn't one
of highways, but
of narrow cement
tracks looping
gracefully between
city and suburb,
connecting
increasingly
alienated parts of
the American
landscape...
Once considered a
key to solving
urban blight, the
StaRRcar was part
of a public
transit revolution
that never was —
but one that would
help launch one of
the weirdest and
most politicized
public
infrastructure
experiments of the
20th century. It's
an old idea that
today, in an age
of self-driving
cars, seems by
turns
impractically
retro and
remarkably
prescient...
PRT's invention is
attributed to a
transportation
expert named Donn
Fichter, but the
central idea was
conceived,
remixed, and
adapted by many in
the 1950s and
1960s. While the
details varied,
the prototypical
PRT system was a
network of narrow
guideways
populated by small
passenger pods.
When commuters
arrived, they
would hit a button
to select a
destination,
calling one of the
pods like a taxi.
Then, instead of
running on a set
line, the pod
would use
guideways like a
freeway system,
routing around
stations in order
to take passengers
directly to their
final stop.
The system was
designed to be
everything that
existing public
transportation
wasn't. Pods would
carry only as many
people as an
average car,
guaranteeing a
nearly private
ride. Riders
wouldn't need to
follow a timetable
or wait for other
people to enter
and exit the
system. Because
the pods would
only be dispatched
on demand, cities
could run service
to many
low-traffic areas
without worrying
about waste. There
were no drivers to
train or pay, and
the pods could run
quietly on
electrical power
instead of with
fossil fuels...
Multiple plans for
personal rapid
transit fell
through, whether
because of budget
problems,
logistical issues,
or political power
struggles....
And as in the
'60s, we're
talking about
whether
self-driving
vehicles could
spell the end of
private cars...."[Read more](THE%20ROAD%20NOT%20TAKEN:%20How%20we%20found%20%28and%20lost%29%20the%20dream%20of%20Personal%20Rapid%20Transit)Hmmmm...A
must read.
Pretty much as
I remember
it. I lived
much of it,
including
designing
10,000
station,
10,000 mile
PRT networks
that could
serve all of
New Jersey's
needs for
personal
mobility. The
good news was
that the
area-wide
systems would
provide great
mobility for
all. The bad
news: No
viable way to
start. The
best starting
places could
each be
readily served
by
conventional
systems with
no technology
risk. Without
a place to
start, PRT
never got a
chance to
flourish in
the vast areas
that are
un-servable by
conventional
technology.
Moreover, PRT
needed the
diversion of
public sector
capital funds
that weres already in the back pocket of those pedaling the
conventional
technologies.
Consequently,
the personal
auto has
reigned on.
Today
is different.
With PRT, even
the first
vehicle needed
a couple of
stations and
interconnecting
guideway (and
all of the
discussion and
heartache was
about the
location and
cost of those
initial
stations and
guideway).
With
autonomous
taxis sharing
existing
roads, one can
begin with a
single vehicle
capable of
serving many
existing
places without
needing to
pay-for/justify
any
infrastructure.
That is today's fundamental
opportunity,
in contrast to
PRT's
monumental
infrastructure
burden even
for one
vehicle.
That's why
aTaxis are
destined to
finally
deliver PRT's
utopian
mobility to
all and
substantially
transform our
cities and
suburbs. Alain
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
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
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
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
###
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
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
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](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Videos/AdamJonas10T_MorganStanley.mp4) 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
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