2016-04-24
April 23, 2016
###
N.J. superintendent killed while jogging was struck by student late for trip
K. Shea, April 19, “…The Robbinsville High School student who was driving the car that struck and killed the district’s superintendent Tuesday morning
was late for a school trip when
the crash occurred, according to
two sources involved in the
investigation...." [Read more](http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2016/04/student_who_struck_superintendent_was_late_for_cla.html) Hmmm...Most
tragic in so many dimensions!!!
HOWEVER, it was NOT the student
that STRUCK the Superintendent,
it was the CAR. AND the CAR
needs to start being held
responsible for ALLOWING such
tragedies to ruin so many
lives. It is very likely that
this tragedy could have been
averted had the car been
equipped with an automated
collision avoidance system
and/or lane-keeping system.
Given the availability of these
"tragedy avoidance systems", we
should all be asking why this
CAR wasn't equipped with such a
system and why all cars aren't
so equipped. Certainly innocent
runners and dogs need to be
asking such questions. So too,
that young lady's car insurance
company; it must be muttering:
"shouda bought her that
upgrade". What about the car
companies themselves who are
largely just sitting on the
technology or the dealerships
that don't feel compelled to
espouse the benefits of such
technology while pushing more
"horsepower" and "Corinthian
Leather" (and worse yet:
"AooleCarXYZ" that distracts
drivers). We all know that
Washington is broken. Them
staying out of the way is
probably best (although
aggressively applying better
human-visible paint/laneMarkings
and human-readable signs would
go a long way to helping both
attentive drivers and automated
lane-keeping systems). Everyone
else has fundamental
self-interest at stake and each
needs to stop pointing the
finger to the frail human
driver. We have the technology
and the the self-interest to
make mobility substantially
safer. Let's really get on with
it. It's time! Alain
Make American Transportation Great Again: Autonomous Taxi Fleet Management Strategies
S. Zhu, Thesis, "...Using a fleet of
vehicles of varied sizes and a data
set of synthesized travel demand for
the state of New Jersey, this thesis
analyzes the benefits of ridesharing
for New Jersey and explores various
fleet management strategies and the
costs associated with these
strategies. Ridesharing is able to
increase average vehicle occupancy
from 1 to 1.74 and reduces total
vehicle miles traveled by 43%. Even in
an upper bound case, the total number
of vehicles needed to serve all of New
Jersey's travel demand is less than
50% of the number of vehicles
currently on the road today in New
Jersey, which would have significant
benefits in terms of congestion and
pollution...." [Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/Zhu,Shirley_Final_Thesis2016.pdf) Hmmm..Very
interesting. Alain
Quantifying the Potential for Dynamic Ride-Sharing of New York City’s Taxicabs
S. Baht, Thesis,"...This study
confirms the existing potential for
ride-sharing in the New York City
Area, with ride-sharing simulations
exhibiting a significantly higher
average vehicle occupancy and
requiring a lower fleet size than
"direct" or non-ride-sharing
schemes..."[Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/Bhat,Suraj_Final_Thesis2016.pdf) Hmmm..Very
interesting. Alain
A Ridesharing Analysis with a Hitchhiking Modification Applied to Taxi Trips in New York
A. Schindele, Thesis, "...This thesis
supplements the analysis with the
addition of a "hitchhiking" policy.
With such a policy in place, a taxi
would, in addition to the original
ridesharing mechanics, pick up
passengers en route to its destination
or destinations...."[Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/Bhat,Suraj_Final_Thesis2016.pdf) Hmmm..Very
interesting. Alain
Autonomous taxis: Why you may never own a self-driving car
D. Cardinal, April 18, “As the once unimaginable self-driving car moves closer to becoming a reality, the next question is “When can I buy one?” At the same time, some researchers, like Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser, and the University of Texas’s Kara Kockelman, have started to wonder whether you’ll ever need to. …” Read more Hmmm..Very
nice summary. Also read [comments](http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/176672-autonomous-taxis-why-you-may-never-own-a-self-driving-car)
( I like Koll-Aid). Alain
Nvidia goes all-in on self-driving cars, including a robotic car racing league
D. Cardinal, April 6, “…Jealous? You too can build a (small) self-driving car!…Startup JetsonHacks has taken MIT’s RACECAR autonomous car learning platform and made it accessible to the DIY community with detailed assembly instructions, and cost-saving hardware options to make it more affordable than the University’s original version. The RACECAR is a massive kit bash of an offf-the-shelf RC vehicle — a Traxxas Rally — so that all the DIY fun is concentrated on the control and programming. The brain is (naturally) a Jetson TK1, running Robot OS (ROS)…” Read more Hmmm…Interesting.
Alain
‘Door to Door,’ by Edward Humes
Book review, M. Roach, “DOOR TO DOOR: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation By Edward Humes, 372 pp. Harper/HarperCollins Publishers. $27.99….In the 1920s, drivers plowed into oncoming traffic and bicyclists and trees just as they do now, but no one talked about automobile accidents. Back then, notes Edward Humes… these events were known as “motor killings.” And citizens were outraged. They rioted and demanded reforms. They staged “massive parades” in protest. It was the kind of civil unrest that would come to be associated with social injustice and the Vietnam War…. Read more Hmmm…I/we should read the book. Sounds very timely. Alain
Self-driving vehicle tests won’t need permission to use public roads, say NPA guidelines
National, April 2016, “Japan will not impose time and place restrictions on autonomous driving tests on public roads, according to draft guidelines released by the National Police Agency last week.
Those hoping to experiment using
self-driving cars will be allowed to
do so without obtaining permission
to use public roads as long as they
comply with rules such as having a
driver and passenger in the
car...The NPA will finalize the
guidelines after seeking public
feedback until May 7." [Read more](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/11/national/self-driving-vehicle-tests-wont-need-permission-to-use-public-roads-say-npa-guidelines/#.Vx05QTArJD5) Hmmm...Encouraging.
Alain
DT and 5G Lab Germany Collaborate on Technology to Enable Network-Connected Autonomous Vehicles
Press release, Feb 24, "..IDT's
RapidIO technology will be used to
explore two key elements of the
network. First, the 100ns latency
RapidIO switching and interconnect
technology will be used to realize 5G
Lab Germany's vision of transforming
the vehicle into a connected appliance
by networking it with a 5G base
station's "edge computing" server.
Second, it is planned for RapidIO
technology to be evaluated to connect
multiple vehicle sensors in real time
for the mission-critical sensor fusion
network essential for the self-driving
or computer-assisted driving
experience. A RapidIO-connected
heterogeneous computer network will
run real-time analytics to assist
various network devices, including
vehicles.." [Read more](http://www.idt.com/about/press-room/idt-and-5g-lab-germany-collaborate-technology-enable-network-connected-autonomous-vehicles) Hmmm...
Encouraging. Alain
Singapore to welcome its first fleet of driverless pods this year
E. Loi, April 21, "...SMRT is teaming
with Dutch automated-vehicle makers
2getthere to bring its systems to
Singapore..." [Read more](http://www.stuff.tv/sg/news/singapore-welcome-its-first-fleet-driverless-pods-year) Hmmm...
Nice seeing 2Getthere making
progress beyond [Masdar](http://www.2getthere.eu/category/masdar/).
Alain
Self-Driving Car Completes 1,200-Mile Roadtrip Across China
April 17, "Chongqing Changan
Automobile Co., Ford Motor Co.'s
partner in China, said it completed a
1,200-mile road trip to test a [self-driving car](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-23/china-s-changan-auto-to-send-driverless-car-on-1-200-mile-test) as part of its ambitions to
produce highly automated vehicles by
2020.
The car set off from the company's
headquarters in Chongqing and reached
Beijing after six days, the automaker
said in a statement to the Shenzhen
stock exchange. The driverless car
employed cameras and radar to test
automatic cruising, lane-keeping and
changing, assisted driving during
traffic congestion, and speed
reduction through traffic sign
recognition and voice control,
according to the company...." [Read more](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-18/china-s-changan-auto-completes-1-200-mile-autonomous-drive-test) Hmmm...Sounds
like a good test. Hopefully
they'll publish the
results/findings. Alain
Some other
thoughts that deserve your
attention
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
Recompiled
Old News & Smiles:
Half-baked stuff
that probably doesn't deserve
your time:
Driving to Safety: How Many Miles of Driving Would It Take to Demonstrate Autonomous Vehicle Reliability?
N. Kalra and S. Paddock. April 2016,
"How safe are autonomous vehicles?
The answer is crucial for developing
sound policies to govern their
deployment. One proposal to assess
safety is to test-drive autonomous
vehicles in real traffic, observe
their performance, and make
statistical comparisons to human
driver performance. This approach is
logical, but is it practical?... [Read more](http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1478.html) Hmmm...[Worth reading the whole report.](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/RAND_TestingAV_HowManyMiles.pdf)
(So maybe it is slightly better
than Half-baked). It lays out
what everyone already knows. The
4 questions that it asks are
appropriate ONLY if one realizes
that the safety implications of
a driven-mile vary enormously
over many dimensions! The
safety implications of "a
mile-driven" here under these
circumstances is not necessarily
anywhere close to the same as "a
mile driven" under different
circumstances. Everyone knows
that. Luckily, "policy-oriented
deployment" is not what is going
to lead to development and
market adoption of this
technology. It will be the
realization that one only need
this technology to work during
the miles when drivers are
inattentive which is obvious to
even the most casual policy
maker. C'mon Rand!
Alain
U-M, Toyota announce plan to equip 5,000 Ann Arbor cars for connected vehicle research
M. Durr, April 13, “The partnership aims to help the newly launched Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment (AACVTE) deploy 5,000 vehicles in the area that are equipped with a vehicle awareness device that will transmit speed and positioning data to other vehicles that are equipped with the same device as well as the surrounding environment where research equipment will be located on the roadside and at intersections…Plans are to add 1,500 vehicles a year to the program.”Read more Hmmm… While 1,500 vehicles a year is substantial for V2I, it doesn’t begin to scratch the surface for V2V. Will all these cars also have Automated Collision Avoidance and Lane Keeping? It would be nice to see V2I get beyond the “back-seat driver” mode. Alain
Nauto raises $12 million for driverless car technology that’s street-legal today
L. Kolodny, Apr 13, “The latest company to attract a round of funding for driverless car technology is Palo Alto-based NAUTO, co-founded in 2015 by CEO Stefan Heck and CTO Frederick Soo.
Andy Rubin's hardware focused
venture fund, Playground Global,
led the $12 million investment in
Nauto, joined by Draper Nexus.
Heck explained, "Our systems today
help humans drive better, safer,
smarter and faster in terms of
avoiding congestion and traffic.
They retrofit into existing cars,
and eventually will enable true
autonomy in new or older
vehicles."...Nauto also
automatically understands when a
collision is about to happen, and
records the scene inside and
outside of the car then.
Images and data about the incident
are stored in the cloud, and can
be shared with a fleet manager or
driver via Nauto's mobile app,
which proves handy for resolving
questions of liability [Read more](http://www.idt.com/about/press-room/idt-and-5g-lab-germany-collaborate-technology-enable-network-connected-autonomous-vehicles) Hmmm...
Driverless, really???
Sounds like a dashCam warning
a driver. Hmmmm??Alain
Hyundai Motor Group Announces Roadmap for Connected Car Development
Press release, April 5, “…Along with the roadmap, Hyundai Motor Group plans to embark on a new era of connecting the ‘Car to Life’, as cars are increasingly at the center of our lifestyles…Autonomous driving provides utmost safety by connecting a vehicle to city and road infrastructure…” Read more Hmmm…
Excuse me, but "connecting a
Hyundai to city and road
infrastructure" does NOT
provide "utmost safety".
Something must have been lost
in translation. Alain
The Far-Out Near Future of Cars
J. Will, Apr 2016, “…t will likely be a decade or more before armies of legislators untangle the legal issues such vehicles raise. In the meantime, you can drive a car off the lot today — or soon, anyway — packed with features that sound like they were cooked up by a nerdy screenwriter: cars that can see around corners, smart windshields that highlight a stray pedestrian, and cars that know how you’re feeling. Here’s the stuff you should be excited about now.”Read more Hmmm… Way too much testosterone when one’s just trying to get someplace. :-( Alain
###
C’mon Man! (These folks didn’t get/read
the memo)
Calendar
of Upcoming Events:
http://www.autonomoustrucksevent.com/agenda-mc
Workshop on Automated Vehicle Policy and Regulation:
The National Transportation Center, University of Maryland
May 18, 2016
Recent
Highlights of:
#
###
Automated Vehicle Operational Guidance Public Meeting
April 8,"At
this meeting,
NHTSA sought
input on
planned
operational
guidelines for
the safe
deployment of
automated
vehicles (AV).
Of high
importance to
the agency is
information on
the roadway
scenarios and
operational
environments
that highly
automated
vehicles will
need to
address, and
the associated
design and
evaluation
processes and
methods needed
to ensure that
AV systems are
able to detect
and
appropriately
react to these
scenarios" [Read more](http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/nhtsa-meetings-automated-vehicles-03112016) Hmmm...[Watch testimony](https://youtu.be/J_RvYZR_HLA)
, especially:
[testimony of Dr. Jerome Lutin](https://youtu.be/J_RvYZR_HLA?t=17014). Alain
Hearing focus of SF 2569 Autonomous vehicles task force establishment and demonstration project for people with disabilities
March 23 Hmmm... [Watch the video of the Committee Meeting](http://mnsenate.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=235).
The testimony
is Excellent
and very
compelling!
Also see [Self-Driving Minnesota](http://www.selfdrivingmn.org/)
Alain
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
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
[Mailto:alaink@princeton.edu](Mailto:alaink@princeton.edu)
This list is
maintained by
[Alain Kornhauser](mailto:alaink@princeton.edu) and hosted by the [Princeton University LISTSERV](http://lists.princeton.edu).
| Unsubscribe | Re-subscribe |
This list is maintained by Alain Kornhauser and hosted by the Princeton University LISTSERV.