2016-10-20
October 19, 2016
How Apple Scaled Back Its Titanic Plan to Take on Detroit
M. Gurman, Oct 17, "Apple Inc. has drastically scaled back its
automotive ambitions, leading to hundreds of job cuts and a new
direction that, for now, no longer includes building its own
car, according to people familiar with the project.
Hundreds of members of the car team, which comprises about 1,000
people, have been reassigned, let go, or have left of their own
volition in recent months, the people said, asking not to be
identified because the moves aren't public.
New leadership of the initiative, known internally as Project
Titan, has re-focused on developing an autonomous driving system
that gives Apple flexibility to either partner with existing
carmakers, or return to designing its own vehicle in the future,
the people also said. Apple has kept staff numbers in the team
steady by hiring people to help with the new focus, according to
another person....
Regardless of Apple's struggles, established carmakers have
recognized the threat posed by new entrants and have embarked on
a hiring and acquisition splurge to beef up their software
capabilities. They are wary of allowing technology companies to
own the lucrative software component of new cars..." [Read more](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-17/how-apple-scaled-back-its-titanic-plan-to-take-on-detroit) Hmmm... Very interesting!)
Alain
For The Long Haul, Self-Driving Trucks May Pave The Way Before Cars
U. Berliner, Oct 13, "...And just in case the driverless future
arrives sooner than expected, Rush said he's thinking about a
plan B. Maybe something in computers, like information
technology. Those jobs are safe, right?" [Read more](http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/10/13/497834498/for-the-long-haul-self-driving-trucks-may-pave-the-way-before-cars)Hmmm... Yup! :-) Alain
AI Driving and GTA 5
A. Filipowicz, Oct 2016, "...One major technical challenge on
the road to that goal is reliable and robust perception of the
driving scene. Human drivers predominantly use their eyes to
detect lanes, signs, pedestrians, and other cars. They also are
able to estimate distances to these objects. Computers have yet
to duplicate this capability. Part of the reason why computers
cannot extract the same information as humans from a driving
scene is a lack of data to train them. While there exists plenty
of video footage of driving, videos with appropriate and
accurate annotations - such as distances to lane markings in
each frame - are rare. These annotations are difficult to obtain
in the real world. However, I'm looking into the use of video
games to obtain data needed to train computers to drive.
Specifically, video games allow automated scene generation,
image collection, and measurement of distances....[Read more](http://techtelligent.net/self-driving-and-gta5.html) Hmmm... Yup! :-) Alain
Will driverless cars really save millions of lives? Lack of data makes it hard to know
M. Lewis, Oct 18, “…“One of the hardest questions to answer is, ‘How do these cars compare to human drivers?’ ” Chris Urmson, then the chief of Google’s self-driving car project, told transportation engineers in Washington this year. “And part of the reason why that’s hard is we don’t actually have a good understanding of how good human drivers really are.”
One problem is that the U.S. government keeps no comprehensive
database of crashes. That complicates what otherwise might
seem to be a simple task: figuring out which vehicles are more
likely to crash, human-driven ones or those run by software
and sensors....An annual national tally of crashes relies
heavily on those reported to police. It understates the actual
total of crashes with injuries by at least a quarter and
"property damage only" crashes by anywhere from 60 to 84
percent, they concluded. And they consider those numbers
conservative, given the mishmash of state reporting
requirements and holes in the local data used by federal
agencies.
"It is crazy," said [Myra Blanco](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/Automated%20Vehicle%20Crash%20Rate%20Comparison%20Using%20Naturalistic%20Data_Final%20Report_20160107%20%281%29.pdf),..." [Read more](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/will-driverless-cars-really-save-millions-of-lives-lack-of-data-makes-it-hard-to-know/2016/10/18/6a678520-8435-11e6-92c2-14b64f3d453f_story.html) Hmmm... Most
interesting! Alain
France’s Navya raises $34M for its self-driving shuttle bus, reportedly at a $220M valuation
I. Lunden, Oct 11, "When it comes to self-driving cars, the
public tends to focus on developments for private vehicles for
individuals, but there are also some significant advances
underway in other categories such as shuttle busses.
In the latest piece of news, [Navya](http://navya.tech/),
a startup out of France that makes driverless shuttles, has
raised $34 million (€30 million) in funding to build out its
team, technology and sales. The funding is coming from two
strategic backers, public transportation provider [Keolis](http://www.keolis.com/en) and automotive
parts group [Valeo](http://www.valeo.com/en), along
with Qatari investors Group8.
Navya is not disclosing its valuation but one report from
Funderbeam estimates it at $222 million after this round. Navya
prior to this round had raised $4.5 million (€4.1 million) from
French investors Gravitation, CapDecisif, and Robolution Capital
(an investment fund focused only on robotics investments)...."
[Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/11/frances-navya-raises-34m-for-its-self-driving-shuttle-bus-reportedly-at-a-220m-valuation/)Hmmm... Yup! :-) Alain
Self-Driving Cars Will Be the Best Thing to Happen to Motorcycles
K. Stock, Oct 11, "It all comes down to safety,...The math is as
straightforward as it is compelling. Consider a left turn on an
American road: A vehicle turning across a lane of opposing
traffic has little to do with the bike rider, but is one of the
most dangerous things in motorcycling. When motorcyclists die on
the road, this is how it happens one out of five times,
according to crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.
This year, about 1,000 riders in the U.S. will lose their lives
to the left turns of others. Cars traveling in the same
direction as the motorcycle often don't notice the bike
overtaking on the left. Cars making a turn while coming from the
opposite direction either fail to see the oncoming bike, or
misjudge its speed...." [Read more](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-11/self-driving-cars-will-be-the-best-thing-to-happen-to-motorcycles) Hmmm... And likely what
happened in the Tesla Florida crash. The truck misjudged
the speed of the Tesla and..." Alain
Ford design chief Moray Callum is preparing for a driverless society
T. Warren, Oct 17, “…In the next five years, Ford says it will transform from a company that sells fastback Mustangs to building fleets of autonomous vehicles and launching car-sharing ventures. And as design chief, Callum has the daunting task of determining what Ford’s future will look — a future in which the car could one day be smarter than the driver…. I love driving cars, but I can still see the benefits of the fully autonomous car. I think there will be drivable cars for a long time…“ Read more Hmmm… Interesting. Alain
Driverless car hits lorry during test drive
M. Lin, Oct. 19, "A self-driving car and a lorry collided
yesterday morning, in what is believed to be the first accident
in Singapore involving an autonomous vehicle. No one was
injured when the car knocked into the lorry while changing lanes
in Biopolis Drive at one-north at around 9.30am. The car
belongs to nuTonomy, a start-up software company that is
conducting trials of its self-driving vehicles in the one-north
business district..." [Read more](http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/PDF/AVs-negociating-a-place-on-the-road-1110.pdf)Hmmm... More evidence on
how phenomenally well Google has conducted its 'trials'. Alain
Elon Musk Says Every New Tesla Can Drive Itself
J. Stewart, Oct 19, “…After being upgraded with a suite of cameras and sensors, Musk says this means his cars will have level 5 autonomy—the highest level, which requires zero interaction from the driver…But not for free. As with Tesla’s current “Autopilot convenience features,” turning on that functionality comes at a cost—$8000, up from $3000—even though the hardware upgrades will come standard…” Read moreHmmm… See Tesla Blog posting. I really like Tesla, but there is simply too much Donald in Elon. 1st, it isn’t… now, every new…, but some time in the future, maybe ‘‘by end of next year” and we’ll see about ‘every’. Plus, even then it is NOT Level 5!!! The Tesla will need to be monitored by a human overseer (aka driver) except for the trivial part of parking the car. It won’t be able to go from SF to NYC without anyone in the car. So once again, it is a lot of over-hype and more ‘AutoPiloting’ all over again. The system is good. It provides value, but did Tesla get the Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) system to work so that if a truck cuts off the Tesla on the transcontinental drive it won’t kill the passenger. I also like that Elon has decided to price along the demand curve. Even without being Level 5 and if the AEB also works, then it is worth the $8,000 uptick. Alain
All Tesla Cars Being Produced Now Have Full Self-Driving Hardware
Tesla team, Oct 19, [Read more](https://www.tesla.com/blog/all-tesla-cars-being-produced-now-have-full-self-driving-hardware)Hmmm...Focus on the word
"Hardware". It takes more than hardware. Alain
Germany Says ‘Nein’ to Tesla Calling Its Tech ‘Autopilot’
A. Davies, Oct 18, "..And now, German transport minister
Alexander Dobrindt asked Tesla to ditch the term "Autopilot,"
arguing it can lead consumers to think the car is far more
capable than it is..." [Read more](https://www.wired.com/2016/10/germany-tesla-autopilot/)Hmmm... can't call it
CoPilot either because Tesla doesn't own that trade name. Alain
Paul Minett: Will driverless cars be heaven or hell?
Oct 18. "...Of course, the eventual reality will be somewhere in
between heaven and hell, probably here on earth. The question
is, can civil society influence the extent to which the outcome
is more heavenly, rather than more hellish? Would we want to?
..." [Read more](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11730506)Hmmm... Interesting! Alain
Autonomous Vehicles - Negotiating a Place on the Road
London School of Economics, Oct 2016, Executive Summary, "...We
aim to measure and understand the level of "openness"' people
have towards AVs and, conversely, the situations in which people
hope to avoid engaging with these vehicles. We argue that a
successful introduction of AVs will ultimately depend on
understanding and addressing the complex attitudes that define
the public's view of this new technology....[Read more](http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/PDF/AVs-negociating-a-place-on-the-road-1110.pdf)Hmmm... I haven't been able
to find the full report. May be interesting. Alain
Some other thoughts
that deserve your attention
###
It starts with a single app
Oct 1, “…MaaS Global (short for Mobility as a Service) is the startup behind the most ambitious of Finland’s schemes. At a tap of a smartphone screen its app, Whim, will show the best way to get from A to B by combining public transport and a variety of options from participating private firms. Whim is currently being tested; it is due to go live in Helsinki this autumn and in two other Finnish cities late in the year..” Read moreHmmm…There are ‘hundreds’ of these Apps where a different one is the best in its own particular area. Unfortunately, ‘Google’ isn’t good enough ‘everywhere’ and it may not even be the best anywhere (except maybe Silicon Valley). What is really needed is a “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” App that links to the best App in each area. Alain
Report of Traffic Accident Involving an Autonomous Vehicle (OL 316)
Hmmm… twenty (20) traffic accidents have been reported to date, latest Sept 23, 2016, and all but one, the infamous 2mph ‘crash’ between a Google car and a bus, the fault was clearly on the other vehicle. :-) Alain
Get Off the Trolley Problem
F. Pasquale, Oct 18, “… “Read more Hmmm… I didn’t even want to insert an excerpt (although it is a good article) . If these cars work, they’ll avoid encountering even one of the ugly alternatives, let alone both simultaneously. These are extremely rare events and I agree with the pragmatic misquote. We really have much more important and societally valuable things to do that to procrastinate over the ‘Trolley Problem’. Alain
###
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
Jobs
https://nrel.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NREL/job/CO—Golden/Transportation-Behavior-Analyst_R1580
https://nrel.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NREL/job/CO—Golden/Transportation-Data-Project-Leader_R1582
Half-baked stuff that probably
doesn't deserve your time:
All aboard! Singapore will begin self-driving bus trials: Autonomous vehicles could ease congestion
Reuters, Oct 18, “…It is unclear when the trial will start. Earlier this week, Singapore said it would seek information from the industry and research institutes on the potential use of self-driving vehicles for street cleaning and refuse collection…” Read more Hmmm… Its futuristicvideo that is slightly interesting. Alain
Future for connected cars ‘looks promising, but obstacles remain’
ITS International, Oct 19, “…Matt Kendall, telecoms analyst at The EIU, said: “In many respects, connected cars are already an embedded part of the current motoring environment, with many vehicles on our roads utilising connectedness in the form of GPS, infotainment and on-board vehicle diagnostics. However, the end game for the use of connectedness is the self-driving car, which is able to use connectivity to manoeuvre around, and interact with, its environment….” Read more Hmmm…Great! ‘Connected’ has made gains in TravelTainment, but is waiting for the end-game to contribute to ‘Self-driving’ where it has nothing but obstacles. Alain
Older stuff that I had missed:
Automated Vehicle Crash Rate Comparison Using Naturalistic Data
Myra Blanco, January, 2016 “… This study assessed driving risk for the US nationally and for the Google Self-driving car project. Driving Safety on Public roads was examined in three ways. ..” Read more Hmmm…Excellent! Alain
C’mon Man!(These
folks didn't get/read the memo)
Half of Australians want driverless cars on the road - so they can get drunk at the pub and be driven home
R. Morgan, Oct 13, “Drivers would embrace the introduction of self-driving cars on our roads especially to take control when we are tired, bored or getting home from the pub. A new study of 5,000 Australians over the age of 18 found that the majority of drivers are happy for an autonomous car to take over the wheel when we are tired or when they have consumed alcohol or drugs…“Read moreHmmm… C’mon Australia, ‘Self-driving’ cars are NOT ‘Driverless’ cars which is what you need when you’ve had too much to drink. ‘Self-driving’ can only take you part of the way home, so unless you are happy that the ‘Self-driving’ car picks you up after you’ve staggered to the ‘on-ramp’ and then dumps you in the gutter at the ‘off-ramp’, you are either going to have to stay ‘on the wagon’ or wait until there are ‘Driverless’ cars. This is SERIOUS. There is widespread misunderstanding of the capabilities and limitations of these technologies! There is an enormous difference between Self-driving’ and ‘Driverless’. While we have cars that can ‘Self-drive’ (See Tesla, above) on some roads some of the time, we have zero ‘Driverless’ cars that operate anywhere near any watering hole or near anyplace where anybody lives, anywhere in the world, at any time. And the prospects are not bright that we will have any, any time soon. If these ‘studies’ are to be taken seriously, they need to do a much better job of portraying their hypotheticals. The fault here lies in the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative (ADVI) which properly defines a ‘Driverless’ vehicle as one that replaces ‘all dynamic driving tasks’ but unfortunately has as it’s ‘poster child’ a man sitting behind the wheel praying that the car will negotiate the turn ahead, and ready to save the day, should it begin to fail. This is an image of a ‘Self-driving’ vehicle NOT a ‘Driverless’ vehicle. ADVI should stop confusing the public by either changing its name or changing the images that it uses to portray its mission. Alain
Calendar
of Upcoming Events:
Recent Highlights of:
#
###
October 7, 2016
An Alarming 10% Rise in Traffic Deaths in the First Half of 2016
D. Victor, Oct. 5, “Traffic deaths in the United States rose 10.4 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2015, maintaining a steady climb….
The [numbers were released on Wednesday](https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812332) by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which noted
that Americans drove about 50.5 billion more miles in
the first six months of 2016 than in the first half of
2015, an increase of 3.3 percent....Officials have not
identified a specific cause for the most recent
increase... " [Read more](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/us/traffic-deaths-up-more-than-10-percent-in-first-half-of-2016.html?_r=0)Hmmm...worst kept
secret...Texting!!! It is an epidemic and the way
to address it begins with Automated
Collision Avoidance Systems (ACAS)...what is on
the shelf today (if it only really worked), and a
necessary foundation for Self-driving (which
improves Quality-of-Life for some but increases
VMT) and Driverless (which improves
Quality-of-Life for all and decreases VMT). Alain
October 1, 2016
Do Driverless Cars Favor Urban or Suburban Life?
H. Grabar, Sept 29, “One possibility is that easy mobility—driverless cars, on-demand deliveries, and the like—will dull the pains of suburban life. The long commute, the wasted driving time, the difficulty of running out for a carton of milk—the inconvenience and expense of the subdivision will be melted away by hot new technology. Milk by drone, what a concept!
Another is that easy mobility produces greater
advantages in the city. Carless living is better than
ever. NIMBY battles don't happen because parking and
congestion aren't problems. Wasted auto
infrastructure, like lots and curbside parking and
garages, is converted towards better uses like housing
and restaurants. Maybe a central highway, once
evidence of a city's essential unpleasantness, becomes
a park.... [Read more](http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/09/29/are_driverless_cars_better_for_cities_or_suburbs.html) Hmmm...VERY interesting. My
view: There is essentially zero consumer
demand for Driverless car ownership. Without
a substantial mobility alternative,
suburbanites will buy and love Self-driving
cars. Driverless is a useless upgrade.
However, fleets of Driverless vehicles can provide a compelling alternative. They have a much better opportunity to thrive (be a profitable fleet business) if Driverless makes sharing rides “consumer acceptable/desirable”. This may be achieved through price, amenities, ease-of-use, marketing, ???. Moderate density generates demand that can be readily served with moderate ridesharing that is substantially better than individual car ownership or car-sharing. This kind of elevator-like mobility is better in terms of service, price, overhead, environment, … and it substantially enhances the fundamental attractiveness of medium density urban lifestyle. Thus, ride-share Driverless favors moderate urban while Self-driving favors status quo. Alain
September 23, 2016
Federal Automated Vehicles Policy: Accelerating the Next Revolution In Roadway Safety
September 2016, “Executive Summary…For DOT, the excitement around highly automated vehicles (HAVs) starts with safety. (p5)
…The development of advanced automated vehicle safety technologies, including fully self-driving cars, may prove to be the greatest personal transportation revolution since the popularization of the personal automobile nearly a century ago. (p5)
…The benefits don’t stop with safety. Innovations have the potential to transform personal mobility and open doors to people and communities. (p5)
…The remarkable speed with which increasingly complex HAVs are evolving challenges DOT to take new approaches that ensure these technologies are safely introduced (i.e., do not introduce significant new safety risks), provide safety benefits today, and achieve their full safety potential in the future. (p6) Hmmm…Fantastic statements and I appreciate that the fundamental basis and motivator is SAFETY. We all have recognized safety as a necessary condition that must be satisfied if this technology is to be successful. (unfortunately it is not a sufficient condition, (in a pure math context)). This policy statement appropriately reaffirms this necessary condition. Alain
“…we divide the task of facilitating the safe introduction and deployment (…defines “deployment” as the operation of an HAV by members of the public who are not the employees or agents of the designer, developer, or manufacturer of that HAV.) of HAVs into four sections:(p6) Hmmm…Perfect! Alain
“…1. Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles (p6)…“ Hmmm… 15 Points, more later. Alain
“…2. Model State Policy (p7) The Model State Policy confirms that States retain their traditional responsibilities…but… The shared objective is to ensure the establishment of a consistent national framework rather than a patchwork of incompatible laws…” Hmmm… Well done. Alain
“…3. NHTSA Current Regulatory Tools (p7) … This document provides instructions, practical guidance, and assistance to entities seeking to employ those tools. Furthermore, NHTSA has streamlined its review process and is committing to…” Hmmm… Excellent. Alain
“…4. New Tools and Authorities (p7)…The speed with which HAVs are advancing, combined with the complexity and novelty of these innovations, threatens to outpace the Agency’s conventional regulatory processes and capabilities. This challenge requires DOT to examine whether the way DOT has addressed safety for the last 50 years should be expanded to realize the safety potential of automated vehicles over the next 50 years. Therefore, this section identifies potential new tools, authorities and regulatory structures that could aid the safe and appropriately expeditious deployment of new technologies by enabling the Agency to be more nimble and flexible (p8)…“ Hmmm… Yes. Alain
“…Note on “Levels of Automation” There are multiple definitions for various levels of automation and for some time there has been need for standardization to aid clarity and consistency. Therefore, this Policy adopts the SAE International (SAE) definitions for levels of automation. ) Hmmm… I’m not sure this adds clarity because it does not deal directly with the difference between self-driving and driverless. While it might be implied in level 4 and level 5 that these vehicles can proceed with no one in the vehicle, it is not stated explicitly. That is unfortunate, because driverless freight delivery can’t be done without “driverless”; neither can mobility-on-demand be offered to the young, old, blind, inebriated, …without “driverless”. Vehicles can’t be “repositioned-empty” (which (I don’t mean to offend anyone) is the real value of a taxi driver today). So autonomousTaxis are impossible.
Also, these levels do not address Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) Systems and Automated Lane Keeping Systems which are the very first systems whose on-all-the-time performance must be perfected. These are the Safety Foundation of HAV (Highly Automated vehicles). I understand that the guidelines may assume that these systems are already perfect and that “20 manufacturer have committed” to have AEB on all new cars, but to date these systems really don’t work. In 12 mph IIHS test, few stop before hitting the target, and, as we may have seen with the Florida Tesla crash, the Level 2/3 AutoPilot may not have failed, but, instead, it was the “Phantom Level 1” AEB that is supposed to be on all the time. This is not acceptable. These AEB systems MUST get infinitely better now. It is a shame that AEBs were were not explicitly addressed in this document.
“…I. Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles (p11) A. Guidance: if a vehicle is compliant within the existing FMVSS regulatory framework and maintains a conventional vehicle design, there is currently no specific federal legal barrier to an HAV being offered for sale.(footnote 7) However, manufacturers and other entities designing new automated vehicle systems
are subject to NHTSA's defects, recall and enforcement
authority. (footnote 8) .
and the "[15 Cross-cutting Areas of Guidance](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/technology/the-15-point-federal-checklist-for-self-driving-cars.html?_r=0)" p17)
In sum this is a very good document and displays just how far DoT policy has come from promoting v2v, DSRC and centralized control, “connected”, focus to creating an environment focused on individual vehicles that responsibly take care of themselves. Kudos to Secretary Foxx for this 180 degree policy turn focused on safety. Once done correctly, the HAV will yield the early safety benefits that will stimulate continued improvements that, in turn, will yield the great mobility, environmental and quality-of-life benefits afforded by driverless mobility.
What are not addressed are commercial trucking and buses/mass transit. NHTSA is auto focused, so maybe FMCSA is preparing similar guidelines. FTA (Federal Transit Administration) seems nowhere in sight. Alain
September 4, 2016
How Do You Buy a Million Cars When You Can’t Make a Dime?
B. Simpson, Aug 25, “Isn’t this supposed to be a quiet time for business? …Not in transportation technology.
For instance, Ford announced it was working to launch fully autonomous automobiles by 2021. BMW, Intel and Mobileye joined to say they will have vehicles in production for the same target date. Ridesharing titan Uber says it will launch this month driverless vehicles in Pittsburgh, though some employees will be in the car to ensure safety.
Forget the 10 years down the road baloney. We’ll be Level 4 Autonomous in three to five years.
Yet for all the excitement there’s been some downer news…. Lyft was seeking a buyer, despite the $500 million that GM pumped into it …Earlier this year Lyft pledged… to keep its U.S. losses under $50 million a month….Uber told its investors it lost $520 million in the first quarter, and more than $750 million in the second. This after losing about $2 billion in 2015….It’s valuable to keep in mind the shaky foundations of Uber and Lyft because the two have been touted as an important foundation for the growth of autonomous vehicles. Read moreHmmm…Do read more! It may well be that those that can’t make a dime wont even have the opportunity to buy the driverless vehicles that would allow them to “make a dime”. The real value of the driverless vehicles may well be in their ability to generate operating cash without needing any of the $10B+ expertise/intellectual property amassed by Uber/Lyft in managing self-employed part-timers that aren’t needed. If that is the case, then the makers of those vehicles will manage them for their own account rather than selling them at cost-plus (or the price of those vehicles will be such that only their maker is making any money). Alain August 28, 2016
Prepare to be Underwhelmed by 2021’s Autonomous Cars
August 19, 2016
Ford Promises Fleets of Driverless Cars Within Five Years
N. Boudette, Aug 16, “In the race to develop driverless cars, several automakers and technology companies are already testing vehicles that pilot themselves on public roads. And others have outlined plans to expand their development fleets over the next few years. At a news conference on Tuesday at the company’s research center in Palo Alto, Calif., Mark Fields, Ford’s chief executive, said the company planned to mass produce driverless cars and have them in commercial operation in a ride-hailing service by 2021….
"That means there's going to be no steering wheel.
There's going to be no gas pedal. There's going to be
no brake pedal,'' he said. ...." [Read mor](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/business/ford-promises-fleets-of-driverless-cars-within-five-years.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/business/ford-promises-fleets-of-driverless-cars-within-five-years.html?_r=0)e Hmmm...This
is significant because it implies that Ford, (or
an entity under its control) will operate and
deliver on a day-to-day basis MaaS (Mobility as a
Service). In other words it will both
build/assemble and operate mobility's "Cloud".
The scale economies of such a mobility "cloud" are
arguably much more substantial than that of the
data storage & computing "cloud". Think about
it! Alain
August 8, 2016
Latest to Quit Google’s Self-Driving Car Unit: Top Roboticist
J. Markoff, Aug 5, “ A roboticist and crucial member of the team that created Google’s self-driving car is leaving the company, the latest in a string of departures by important technologists working on the autonomous car project. Chris Urmson, a Carnegie Mellon University research scientist, joined Google in 2009 to help create the then-secret effort. … Read moreHmmm…Very unfortunate. What a great job he has done. All the best. Alain August 1, 2016
Mobileye Ends Partnership With Tesla
M. Ramsey, July 26, “ A key supplier of semiautonomous car technology ended a supply agreement with Tesla Motors Inc. following a high-profile traffic fatality in May involving one of the Silicon Valley company’s electric vehicles. Read moreHmmm….And why in all of this isn’t there a discussion of Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) technology/suppliers?? There must be no consumer/regulatory appeal to AEB? Alain July 21, 2016
Master Plan, Part Deux
Lessons From the Tesla Crash
7 Crash
Hmmm…What we know now (and don’t know):
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 Hmmm..FPO 10:00am, May 16 , 120 Sherrerd Hall, Establishing a foundation for image-based autonomous driving using DeepLearning Neural Networks trained in virtual environments. Very promising. 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. The testimony is Excellent and very compelling! Also see Self-Driving Minnesota Alain
U.S. DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles
Motor Vehicle Deaths Increase by Largest Percent in 50 Years
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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