2016-06-27
Who Will Build the Next Great Car Company?
E. Griffith, June 24, “…Also, he’s hit the decoy plenty of times. In 2012 he even did it in front of Ford’s board of directors. Back then the idea of self-driving cars looked, to Ford’s leadership, like a frivolous Silicon Valley moonshot. Four years later things have dramatically changed. Today Ford’s vehicle lineup features more than 30 options for semiautonomous features, including the automatic brakes I tested, and the company is aggressively working on cars that fully drive themselves. By year-end the company expects to have the largest fleet of autonomous test vehicles of any automaker.
Ford is not
alone. The
entire
automotive
industry is in
the midst of a
radical
transformation
that is
reshaping the
very definition
of what it means
to be a car
company. There
is hype, hope,
fear, and
insecurity—and
at the center of
it all is the
self-driving
car. Thanks to
cheap sensors,
powerful
machine-learning
technology, and
a kick in the
butt from the
likes of Google
and Tesla
Motors ,
driverless
vehicles are
becoming a
sooner-than-you-think
reality...." [Read more](http://fortune.com/self-driving-cars-silicon-valley-detroit/) Hmmm...A very good summary of where the industry
stands with
respect to
Self-driving;
however, it
really doesn't
address
Driverless, (autonomousTaxi (aTaxi) shared-ride on-demand transit). It makes no
mention of the
low-speed [Easy Mile](http://easymile.com/), [2GetThere](http://www.2getthere.eu/),
[CityMobil2](http://www.citymobil2.eu/en/)approaches.
Fortune is
still seeing a
personal car
future and not
a
Mobility-on-Demand
future. That
would be way
too
disruptive.
See also the [intro video](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjOgvOwqMjNAhWD7D4KHaKBBboQtwIIJTAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffortune.com%2Fself-driving-cars-silicon-valley-detroit%2F&usg=AFQjCNEAKqTgIv3IkKMPgmuTWrldf5Wn0w&sig2=K7e6Mhjn1jDEYqvjwMklZw&bvm=bv.125596728,d.cWw) Alain
Self-driving cars could flip the auto insurance industry on its head
J. Peltz, June 20, “…Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Corp. owns Geico insurance, told an automotive forum last year that “we would not be throwing a party at our insurance business” when self-driving cars arrive, even though that day remained “a long ways off.”….” Read moreHmmm…I simply don’t understand insurance. Is all of this talk just propaganda to ensure astronomical profits by the first movers??! Alain
Lipinski Connected Cars Roundtable 6/22/2016
Jun 23, "Policy
Roundtable ---
''The Road
Ahead:
Developing
Policies to Make
Connected &
Automated
Vehicles a
Reality'' [See Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV5ZrulkoyE&feature=youtu.be) Hmmm...Interesting, but still way too focused on
Connected
rather than
Automated and
still focused
on moving
vehicles
instead of
moving
people. While
Congressman
Lipinski
mentions that
"good paint"
is an
important
infrastructure
need he
quickly
diverts to
championing
"Connected".
Big Brother
continues to
want to
control all of
this
autonomy. Oh
well... Listen
on. Alain
[Crash Avoidance Technologies: Assessing The Building Blocks
For Tomorrow’s Driverless Vehicles](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Presentations/ZubyIIHS_Presentation_2106.pdf)
D. Zuby, June
22,
[Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Presentations/ZubyIIHS_Presentation_2106.pdf)
Hmmm....PowerPoint
presentation
at I-95
Corridor
Coalition AV
Conference
that presents
the actual
performance to
date of
automated
collision
avoidance
systems. It
is really
depressing how
poorly the
first round of
automated
crash
avoidance
systems
actually
worked (They didn't).
It also
properly
projects how
long it will
take for these
systems to
penetrate the
market if they
follow the
adoption curve
of Electronic
Stability
Control
....Unless
something else happens...aftermarket participation, safety finally selling, Silicon
Valley really
jumping in,
???? (Notice I
didn't add
Government/PublicSector
doing
something). [My presentation @ I-95CC AV Conf](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Presentations/I95_Presentation.pdf)
Presentation
by [Jerome Lutin](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Presentations/LutinI-95CC_AV_Conf2016.pdf)
Alain
Can the 2017 Volvo S90 ride safety and self-driving to serious market share?
B. Howard, June
14, "...Pilot
Assist takes
over driving
chores and keeps
the S90 aligned
in the center of
the lane, while
tracking the
speed of the
vehicle in front
to maintain a
safe following
distance.
There's
virtually no
interstate with
a curve too
sharp for Pilot
Assist to
handle. ..you
could override
Pilot Assist,
but it took some
effort. It
worked well from
speeds all the
way up to the 80
mph limit down
to a stop, then
back up to
speed. The X90
tracked very
close to the
middle of the
road; once in a
while it veered
a foot or two
off center, then
returned. It
handled the
gentle curves of
limited access
roads well. It
won't pull out
and pass slower
cars...."[Read mor](http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/229969-can-the-2017-volvo-s90-ride-safety-and-self-driving-to-serious-market-share)e Hmmm...A contender to Tesla's AutoPilot??? Also see
video: [Watching my Volvo XC90 drive itself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmdWBH-IvDg),
by F. Azad
from last
August. Alain
The Self-Driving Car Generation Gap
B. Allenby, June
22 "...""Cars
have long been
symbols for
personal
freedom. With
the open road
before you you
can go
anywhere—from
behind the wheel
you really take
control of your
destiny. In this
regard, cars are
empowering.
Ownership means
that you have
the means to be
independently
mobile, that you
own not just a
vehicle but
choice as well."
You're not
buying two tons
of material;
you're buying
the open road.
That's why
getting your
driver's license
used to be the
critical rite of
passage for any
adolescent
American male.
But here the
operative phrase
is "used to
be.".." [Read mor](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/06/the_self_driving_car_generation_gap.html)e
Hmmm...Interesting
perspective.
Alain
Some
other thoughts
that deserve
your attention
Columbus, Ohio officially winner of DOT Smart City Challenge and $140 million in innovation grants
J. Donovan, June 23, “With the Columbus Dispatch (and many possible runner-up cities) reporting two days ago that Columbus was the winner of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge, official word was silent until this afternoon.
Today in Columbus,
U.S. Secretary of
Transportation
Anthony Foxx
officially
recognized and
announced — to a
full house at the
Douglas Community
Center in the
neighborhood of
Linden — that the
city is indeed the
winner and will
reap the benefits
of victory; a $40
million grant from
the DOT, $10 from
Paul Allen's
Vulcan Inc., plus
$90 million in
local matching
contributions.
Plans for the grants will include:..13,000 busses and cars to be connected with vehicle-to-vehicle communications…“ Read more Hmmm…Total shock that Columbus won, but now it makes perfect sense…This is DoT’s last gasp at keeping V2V alive. Great!!??? Oh well the $40M from DoT is really chump change that will barely pay the overhead associated with the DoT involvement. Austin, Pgh, SF, Portland… This is actually good news for you. (Also it is easy to “grow fast” when the denominator is close to zero.) Alain
You can now take a Grab car from Singapore to Malaysia (and back)
J. Bhuiyan, June 18,
"...The company
conducted its own
survey of its riders
who typically
commute along this
route and found that
88 percent of riders
were willing to
carpool and 89
percent of car
owners would be
willing to pick up
other people on
their way to and
from work..." [Read more](http://www.recode.net/2016/6/18/11968738/grab-singapore-malaysia-hitch) Hmmm...Some
insight that
ride-sharing is
attractive. Alain
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
Recompiled
Old News &
Smiles:
CityMobil2: Trikala
Feb 2016, See video Hmmm…Excellent video of a low-speed driverless demonstration. Alain
A Real-Time Commute on Autopilot
T. Burch, Apr 24 See Video. Hmmm…A really good video of the use of AutoPilot on a wide variety of roads. Alain
Tesla Model S and X owners can now trial Autopilot before buying it
D. Muoio, Apr 18, “Those who purchased the Model S or Model X after 2014 have gotten to experience Tesla’s hardware Autopilot, which includes safety features like automatic braking, lane switching and blind spot warnings. But in January, the company rolled out some sweet convenience features, like self-parallel parking and the ability to summon your car. To get those convenience features, Tesla owners have to drop $2,500. But Tesla is now offering owners the ability to test the feature for an entire month before committing to purchasing it. The reason Tesla can offer a trial is because the convenience features can get pushed through via a software update, meaning Tesla owners can turn it on or off at anytime….Read more Hmmm…It costs them ZERO to offer this. See the video: We put Tesla’s Autopilot to the ultimate test in the most stressful driving city in America. Alain
Semi-Autonomous Cars Compared! Tesla Model S vs. BMW 750i, Infiniti
M. Simari, Feb
2016,
"...Using a
50-mile mix of
freeway
stretches,
rural
two-lanes, and
city streets,
we tabulated
exactly how
many guidance
interruptions
were caused by
broken lane
marks,
inconsistent
pavement
patches,
intersections,
and exit and
entrance
ramps. We also
noted when a
car lost the
lane-keeping
sense for no
apparent
reason. Then
we ranked the
four
contenders
according to
the number of
control lapses
each test car experienced..." [Read more](http://www.caranddriver.com/features/semi-autonomous-cars-compared-tesla-vs-bmw-mercedes-and-infiniti-feature) Hmmm...Excellent comparison of the best of what can
be bought
today. Alain
Half-baked
stuff that
probably
doesn't
deserve your
time:
The social dilemma of autonomous vehicles
J-F. Bonnefon, et al. June 24, “…Although these scenarios appear unlikely, even low-probability events are bound to occur with millions of AVs on the road. Moreover, even if these situations were never to arise, AV programming must still include decision rules about what to do in such hypothetical situations. Thus, these types of decisions need be made well before AVs become a global commodity….” Read more Hmmm…At least the authors realize that that this issue is totally irrelevant by relying on premises such as: “even low-probability events are bound to occur” and “AV programming has to consider situations that are never to arise”. Maybe this is why noting ever happens in Washington … no problem killing 100 people per day on the nation’s roads Let’s contemplate our “never arise” navel.
Agreed,
nothing has
absolute zero
probability,
or certainty
(except death
and taxes :-)
, also no two
outcomes have
exactly the
same moral
values (if
they are even
measurable and
by whose edict
at what
time).
Finally, the
issue isn't
even
well-posed in
that
situations are
not created
instantaneously
but evolve in
time so that
prudent AV
programming
should better
be focused on
not allowing
the vehicle to
evolve into a
situation in
which there is
even one
person at
risk, let
alone find
itself between
"a rock and a
hard place".
Finally, the
authors don't
reference any
of the work by
[Chris Gerdes](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/539731/how-to-help-self-driving-cars-make-ethical-decisions/)
and [P. Lin](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/the-ethics-of-autonomous-cars/280360/) on
this topic.
Do NOT watch
Science's [dumbed-down video](%E2%96%B6+1:36,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBkQQ6czRJI) Has
Science Mag.
gone the way
of the History
Channel???
Alain
###
###
C’mon Man!
(These folks
didn't get/read
the memo)
Should Your Driverless Car Hit a Pedestrian to Save Your Life?
J. Markoff, June 23 “…A new research study, however, indicates that what people really want to ride in is an autonomous vehicle that puts its passengers first. If its machine brain has to choose between slamming into a wall or running someone over, well, sorry, pedestrian.
In this week's
Science magazine (Hmmm...See
above in Half-Baked),
a group of
computer
scientists and
psychologists
explain how they
conducted six
online surveys of
United States
residents last
year between June
and November that
asked people how
they believed
autonomous
vehicles should
behave..."[Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/24/technology/should-your-driverless-car-hit-a-pedestrian-to-save-your-life.html) Hmmm...When
is the NYT
going to get
back to
printing "All
the News
that's fit to
print"? This
is NOT news,
the
philosophical
argument is
ancient and
the Science
article isn't
even a
particularly
good or new
(unless you
are really
keen on a
thimble full
of on-line
surveys. [C'mon Man!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zr91-n4nvY) Alain
Moscow to explore high-speed Hyperloop commuter transport system
Reuters, June 21,
"Moscow has signed
an agreement with
Los Angeles-based
company Hyperloop
One to explore
building a
futuristic,
high-speed
transportation
system known as a
Hyperloop in the
Russian capital.
A Hyperloop involves
using magnets to
levitate pods inside
an airless tube,
creating conditions
in which the
floating pods can
shuttle people and
cargo at speeds of
up to 750 mph (1,200
kph)...." [Read more](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/22/moscow-to-explore-high-speed-hyperloop-commuter-transport-system) Hmmm...Next
the North
Koreans will
jump in and
we'll have a
real "Hyperloop
Race". [C'mon Man!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftiG4B6z0Xk)
Alain
Calendar of Upcoming Events:
ITE + ARRB Present Driverless Vehicles: Progress in the U.S. and Australia Webinar
Thursday, June
30, 2016,
6:00 PM - 7:30
PM (UTC-5:00)
Eastern Time
(US &
Canada)
Recent
Highlights of:
#
###
Planning for the Autonomous Vehicle Revolution
J. DeAngelis,
June 15,
"...autonomous
vehicles (AVs)
also stand to
disrupt the
norms of both
transportation
and land use
planning.
According to a
new report
from the
Florida State
University
Department of
Urban &
Regional
Planning
titled
Envisioning
Florida's
Future:
Transportation
and Land Use
in an
Automated
Vehicle World,
AVs may exert
as great an
influence on
the built
environment as
the mass
production of
the automobile
did in the
early to
middle 20th
century.
Parking
minimums,
street design,
rights of way,
development
demand,
signage and
signalization,
building
siting and
design, access
management,
and their
accompanying
norms and
standards have
the potential
to change
dramatically
over the next
40-50
years.a..." [Read more](https://www.planning.org/blog/blogpost/9105024/)Hmmm.... Land-use implications are THE big unknowns.
See report
next. Alain
It’s No Accident: Advocates Want to Speak of Car ‘Crashes’ Instead
M Richtel, May 22, “ Roadway fatalities are soaring at a rate not seen in 50 years, resulting from crashes, collisions and other incidents caused by drivers.
Just don't
call them
accidents
anymore.
That is the
position of a
growing number
of safety
advocates,
including
grass-roots
groups,
federal
officials and
state and
local leaders
across the
country. They
are
campaigning to
change a
100-year-old
mentality that
they say
trivializes
the single
most common
cause of
traffic
incidents:
human error.
"When you use
the word
'accident,'
it's like,
'God made it
happen,' "
Mark Rosekind,
the head of
the National
Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, said at a driver safety conference this month at the
Harvard School
of Public
Health. "In
our society,"
he added,
"language can
be
everything."
Almost all
crashes stem
from driver
behavior like
drinking,
distracted
driving and
other risky
activity.
About 6
percent are
caused by
vehicle
malfunctions,
weather and
other
factors...." [Read issue of SDC](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/23/science/its-no-accident-advocates-want-to-speak-of-car-crashes-instead.html?_r=1)
with this
article. Mark
is absolutely
correct here.
Language
matters and it
is NOT an
accident. it
is a Total
Poop Show!. Alain
Derailment of Amtrak passenger train 188, Philadelphia, PA, May 12, 2015 NTSB/ DCA15MR010
Public meeting of May 17 “… Executive Summary…This report addresses the following safety issues:
-
Crewmember situational awareness and management of multiple tasks….
-
Positive train control. In the accident area, positive train control had not yet been implemented at the time of the accident, but it has since been implemented. The NTSB found that the accident could have been avoided if positive train control or another control system had been in place to enforce the permanent speed restriction of 50 mph at the Franklin Junction curve.
Hmmm… Kudos to NTSB for finding “…the accident could have been avoided if positive train control or another control system had been in place to enforce…”
HOWEVER, given
that PCT was [mandated by Congress in 2008](https://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/Details/L03588)
with a
deadline of
December 15,
2015 and that
6 months
before the
deadline PTC
had NOT been
implemented on
Amtrak's
highest volume
segment
(PHL-NYC) is
so
unacceptable
that this
deserved to
have been
their #1
bullet. NOT
some poor
train engineer
that was
simply trying
to do a job
made
enormously
more dangerous
and stressful
because Amtrak
management
failed to
implement in a
timely manner
what had been
mandated by
its "sugar
daddy"!! So
the NTSB
"threw" the
engineer
"under the
bus" and
essentially
all of the
news reports
pointed to the
engineer
rather than
Amtrak's
senior
(mis)management
([The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2016/02/the-mystery-of-amtrak-188/458967/),
[NBC](http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Deadly-Amtrak-Crash-Philadelphia-NTSB-Cause-379762581.html),
[Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/ntsb-prepared-to-release-report-on-last-years-deadly-amtrak-wreck/2016/02/01/3c9f7e46-c837-11e5-88ff-e2d1b4289c2f_story.html), [WSJ](http://www.wsj.com/articles/ntsb-says-engineer-in-2015-philadelphia-amtrak-crash-lost-situational-awareness-1463497474),
[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/magazine/the-wreck-of-amtrak-188.html?_r=0)
etc. Why
didn't the NYT
do a long
story on why
Amtrak
management
didn't install
PTC in a
timely
manner???)
My point here
is larger in
that this same
issue exists
in the rest of
the transit
industry where crash-avoidance technology exists today that can substantially reduce
collisions and
do so while
printing money
for the
transit
industry. [Dr. Jerome Lutin and I](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/LutinKornhauser_2016TRB_BusACAS.pdf) have
pointed out to
deaf ears that
automated
collision
avoidance
systems exist
today for
buses whose
costs are
substantially
less than the
net present
value of the
liability that
these buses
can be
expected to
impose on
society. This
is about the cash
that a
hopelessly
bankrupt
transit
industry has
to pay out
because it
isn't
installing
existing crash
avoidance
technology
that is
available
today. On top
of that cash
are all of the
societal
benefits
associated
with
eliminating
collisions.
There is no
rush (not even
a faint
heart-beat) by
the industry
to do this.
FTA is totally
asleep, yet
bus drivers
continue to be
placed in some
of the most
stressful and
unsafe working
conditions
without the
help that such
technologies
can deliver.
I can't be
more blunt...
The major
cause of
accidents in
the transit
industry is
the fact that
the management
of the transit
industry is
not installing
in its fleets
existing and
available
automated
collision
avoidance
systems. What
is even more
derelict is
that new bus
procurement
don't include
such
provisions
either. When
is the finger
going to
finally be
pointed
towards
"Management"
and the FTA
instead of the
poor bus
driver or
train
engineer? NTSB
is getting
close by at
least
putting it
2nd, but if
the public is
to become
aware, it will
need to rise
to the top
bullet. Alain
Extracting Cognition out of Images for the Purpose of Autonomous Driving
Chenyi Chen
PhD
Dissertation ,
"...the key
part of the
thesis, a
direct
perception
approach is
proposed to
drive a car in
a highway
environment.
In this
approach, an
input image is
mapped to a
small number
of key
perception
indicators
that directly
relate to the
affordance of
a road/traffic
state for
driving....." [Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/Theses/chenyiPhDfinal_ExtractingCognitionOutOfImagesForThePurposeOfAutonomousDriving.pdf)
Hmmm..[FPO 10:00am, May 16 , 120 Sherrerd Hall](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/Presentations/ChenyiFPO.pdf),
Establishing a
foundation for
image-based
autonomous
driving using
DeepLearning
Neural
Networks
trained in
virtual
environments.
Very
promising. Alain
###
Beverly Hills to Develop Autonomous Vehicles
M. Walker
April 15, "The
Beverly Hills
City Council
voted
unanimously
this week to
adopt a
resolution to
develop
driverless
vehicles that
will provide
public
transportation
throughout the
city.
The program is
part of
Beverly Hills
mayor John
Mirisch's plan
for a
municipally
owned fleet of
autonomous
vehicles that
would function
as an
on-demand car
shuttle
service to and
from any
address in the
city. .." [Read more](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/beverly-hills-develop-autonomous-vehicles-884316) Hmmm...Communities
all around the
nation should
follow what
BH, Austin and
a few other
communities
are doing.
There is an
opportunity to
begin
on-demand
shared-ride
"21st Century
Public
Transit"
mobility using
volunteer
drivers to
initiate and
thoroughly
demonstrate
this low-cost
mobility in
preparation
for a massive
roll-out that
can take place
once
driverless
cars can
extend/replace
the volunteer
drivers. [Staff report](http://www.beverlyhills.org/cbhfiles/storage/files/148071911817855902/StaffReportAVs3-22-16.pdf) on
the matter; [another article](http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/beverly-hills-votes-to-create-autonomous-vehicle-program/?_escaped_fragment_=#); [landing page for the program](http://www.beverlyhills.org/living/autonomousvehicles/#CNTSTN_2296).
Alain
###
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 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
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
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](file:///C:/Users/alaink/Desktop/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
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
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
###
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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