2017-01-08
January 8, 2017
Coming Highlights of Annual TRB Conference
Data Encryption:
1. Tuesday, Jan 10, 2:15 - 3:15 Marriott Marquis, Marquis
Ballroom Salon 15 (M2) (Panel Discussion)
What Apple's Attempt to Keep the "Back Door" Locked
Means for Transportation
SmartDrivingCars:
1. Monday, Jan 9,
8:00 - 9:45 am, Marriott Marquis Union Station Hotel -
Woodley Park (M3)
Automated Transit Systems Committee (AP040) Meeting
8:00 - 9:45 am, Hall E, Convention Center (Poster), Event
204
Ke Wan & A. Kornhauser, "Road Pricing Through
Financial Derivatives Based on Travel Time"
Lewis Clements & K. Kockelman, "Economic
Effects of Autonomous Vehicles"
R. Ke, J. Spears & J. Lutin, "Automated Vehicle
- Pedestrian Near - Miss Detection Through Onboard Monocular
Vision"
10:15 - 11:00 am, Hall E, Convention Center (Poster),
Event 288
Ke Wan & A. Kornhauser, "Implicit Scenario
Mixture Models for Travel Time Estimation"
10:15 - noon, Convention Center, 207B (Panel Discussion)
J. Anderson , S. Shladover, B. Smith... "Automated
and Connected Vehicles and Tort Law: A Primer"
1:30 - 3:15, Hall E, Convention Center (Poster)
P. Lustgarten & S. Le Vine "Public Opinion and
Consumer Preferences for Selected Attributes of Automated
Vehicles"
1:30 - 3:15, Convention Center 145B (Panel Discussion)
S. Burks, presiding, "Autonomous Trucks: Realities
and Myths"
3:45 - 5:30, Convention Center 151a (Panel Discussion)
S. Barnes, presiding, "Connected and Autonomous
Vehicles: What Transportation Organizations Need to Know"
2. Tuesday, Jan 10,
8:00 - 9:45, Convention Center, Salon C
M. Venner, presiding, "Managing the Transition to
Shared Automated Vehicles"
10:15 - noon, Convention Center, Salon C
S. Shladover, presiding, "Development of
Regulations on Automated Driving Systems"
1:30 - 3:15 pm, Hall E, Convention Center (Poster), Even
671
Shirley Zhu & A. Kornhauser, "Interplay Between
Fleet Size, Level of Service, and Empty Vehicle Repositioning
Strategies in Large-Scale, Shared-Ride Autonomous Taxi
Mobility-on-Demand Scenarios"
Goncalo Correia & B. van Arem, "Model for
Estimating Urban Mobility Patterns Under a Scenario of
Automated Driving: Application to Delft, Netherlands"
3. Wednesday, Jan 11
8:00 - 9:45 am, 145B Convention Center (Lecturn), Event
810
Advanced Automated Transit Trends: Implications for
Policy Makers
A. Kornhauser, "Advanced Transit Automation: An
Opportunity to Lower Costs and Improve Accessibility"
8:00 - 9:45 am, Hall E, Convention Center (Poster), Event
847
Artur Filipowicz, J. Liu & A. Kornhauser, "Learning
to Recognize Distance to Stop Signs Using the Virtual World
of Grand Theft Auto 5"
Paul Carlson, & M. Poorsartep, "Enhancing the
Roadway Physical Infrastructure for Advanced Vehicle
Technologies: Case Study in Pavement Markings for Machine
Vision and Road Map Toward Better Understanding"
Uber debuts Movement, a new website offering access to its traffic data
D. Etherington, Jan 8, "...The basic idea is that Uber has a
lot of insight into how traffic works within a city, and it
can anonymize this data so that it isn't tied to specific
individuals in most cases. So where that's possible, Uber is
going to begin sharing said data, first to specific
organizations who apply for early access, and then eventually
to the general public.
Uber says it was looking at all the data it gathered and began
to realize that it could be used for public benefit, and
assembled a product team to make this happen. The result of
this effort was Movement, which aims to address problems city
officials and urban planners encounter when they're forced to
make key, transformational infrastructure decisions without
access to all of, or the proper information about actual
conditions and causes.
Essentially, according to Uber, it’s hoping to make it easier for those with influence over a city’s transportation picture to make the right decision, and to be able to explain why, where and when the changes are happening with accurate data backing them up. (emphasis added by Alain) It also wants to do this in a way that makes it easy for organizations to work with, so it’s releasing the data organized around traffic analysis zones within cities, which are agreed-upon geographic demarcations that help with existing urban planning and traffic management… Read more Hmmm… Kudos Uber!!! Please release the data to everyone ASAP. Everyone working on SmartDrivingCars should also make publicly available all of the real-time data that they capture about the driving environment. The competitive race to achieve ultimate safety with SmartDrivingCars should NOT be waged with proprietary data about some corner conditions that one just happen to have tripped over. All data about all ‘corner cases’ (and boring cases) should be made available to everyone to use, if they so desire. Being more creative about how to more safely address corner cases is advantage enough. Alain
Self-Driving Vehicles Update
T. Guarriello, Jan 5 Episode 26 [Podcast](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ep.-26-alain-kornhauser-ph.d./id959304430?i=1000379652686&mt=2) Hmmm... Fun PodCast. :-) Alain
Some other
thoughts that deserve your attention
###
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
Half-baked stuff that
probably doesn't deserve your time
Why we aren’t ready for self-driving cars - yet
J. Gallagher, Jan 7, “In the push to put autonomous vehicles on the nation’s roads, the most challenging aspect might be with the roads themselves, and the bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure.
Cities and states have done little to grapple with
the enormous demands that autonomous vehicles will
place on transportation infrastructure and on civic
policy. States and municipalities barely able to
fill potholes today could soon be charged with
creating the world's most sophisticated roads with
embedded sensors, cameras and communication devices
to help autonomous vehicles talk to one another and
the environment around them.... [Read more](http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/2017/01/07/detroit-transportation-mobility-autonomous-semcog/96159502/) Hmmm... Nope!
No one in the self-driving business is asking
cities to do anything. There is a driver in the
car who is expected to deal with the non-self-driving
situations.
Now if Gallagher's talking about 'driverless'
(which is not what was being pitched by any OEM
at CES, maybe even Google has moved it to the
back burner and Uber isn't anywhere close) then
the whole article is infinitely premature.
Plus there is no one working on driverless that is risking his/her future success on any infrastructure improvements (other than maybe paint and signage that first and foremost helps conventional ‘20th century’ human drivers). Alain
###
C’mon Man!(These
folks didn't get/read the memo)
Calendar
of Upcoming Events:
Princeton Alumni & Friends Banquet
Tuesday, 6:00pm Jan 10
Recent Highlights of:
#
###
January 4, 2017
Volume 4, Issue 3
M. Sena, Jan. 5, “In This Issue:
Report from Dispatch Central 1 “…While the 12 million people in the EU who earn their livings directly from the automotive industry are delighted by the news that car sales figures for Novem-ber were up significantly, and it looks like 2016 will be another banner year, there are people in governments doing everything in their power to make both building and owning motorized vehicles economically unviable…” Read more Hmmm…Very interesting!
Autonomous Driving News Apple’s Letter to NHTSA 1 “…The Vehicle Safety Act requires companies to certify vehicles to the FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) before first sale. But this law applies to new motor vehicles intended for sale to the public, and by implication, by companies that make and sell cars, not companies like Apple that may or may not intend to sell cars. Further, FAST Act2 specifically allows car makers, but not non-car makers, to test on public roads without requiring ex-emptions from FMVSS…Read more “ Hmmm… Very interesting!
What Car Companies Are Doing 2 “…So Uber must have made Volvo a pretty sweet offer when it gets rid of all the drivers with their own cars and has its own fleet of driverless cars…Read more” Hmmm…Very interesting!
Reurbanization or Spreading the Sprawl 3 “…Where do you want to go? My chart below has two opposing scenarios. In the top scenario, we keep doing what we have been doing. In the bottom sce-nario, we try to match policies with desired results. You choose…Read more” Hmmm…Very interesting!
Automotive Navigation-The Future of Traffic Info 4 “…ROUTE GUIDANCE WITHOUT
traffic information is useless..[Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/The%20Dispatcher_5_January%202017.pdf)" Hmmm...Stop
right there. We've known that! The connected
world will not get here until most of road
vehicles are part of what will be but a few
competing fleets. It is those fleet
owners/managers that will find it compelling to
deploy connectedness throughout their own
fleets. Any meaningful sharing of data between
competing fleets is not in any future that I
foresee. It may even violate anti-trust laws
(Unless Putin takes over the world). Alain
Musings of a Dispatcher – Civilis cogitationes 6 “…I did not see a lot of people cycling to their jobs when I was in Västerås in the early autumn of this year. Like most places in Europe
and the U.S., when cars became affordable for people
with even modest incomes—starting in the 50s in the
U.S. and in the 60s in Europe—it was a delight for
workers to get out of the rain and snow and into
their own car. It's the same today in emerging
markets, especially China,.." [Read more](http://orfe.princeton.edu/%7Ealaink/SmartDrivingCars/PDFs/The%20Dispatcher_5_January%202017.pdf) Hmmm...Our
only hope is "Driverless"! Alain
December 24, 2016
Waymo’s 100 autonomous Chrysler minivans are here
J. Golson, Dec 19, “Chrysler has completed the 100 autonomous Pacifica minivans that will join the Waymo (née Google) fleet in early 2017. The vans, which are plug-in hybrid variants with Waymo’s self-driving hardware and software built in, are part of a partnership between Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Waymo that was announced earlier this year.
Waymo CEO John Krafcik said last week that his company is not interested in “making better cars.” Instead, it wants to make “better drivers.”…”
Read more Hmmm…Nice that these vehicles are targeted to a ride-sharing market (more seating capacity and easier in&out than the Prius/Lexus/Bug.)
However, the quote by John Krafcik is VERY troubling. To make “better drivers” all one needs is Automated Collision Avoidance systems (or what I’ve termed ‘Safe-driving cars’). That is indeed a laudable goal; however, that goal can be reached with a lot less hardware and software than what is in these modified Pacificas (which have a conventional steering wheel, brake & throttle pedals and driver’s seat). But Safe-driving cars aren’t helpful to the Steve Mahan’s of this world (or to the young, or the Ubers or enable the Modified Pacifica’s to offer inexpensive high-quality shared-ride on-demand mobility to all. Most unfortunately, what all of the extra gizmos on the modified Pacificas enable is for the driver to be better able to consume Google Ads for part of his/her time trapped in this vehicle. So a more honest quote might have been: it wants to make “better drivers who can better consume Google Ads.” No wonder Chris bailed! :-( Alain
December 18, 2016
The California DMV says Uber has to stop operating its self-driving cars in SF
J. Bhuiyah, Dec 14, “…In a letter addressed to Anthony Levandowski, the co-founder of Otto and now head of Uber’s self-driving unit, the California DMV demanded that the ride-hail company stop operating its fleet of self-driving cars…“ Read moreHmmm… This is all so confusing. The letter from DMV describes the ‘testing’ of ‘autonomous technology’, but Uber isn’t ‘testing’, it is operating and it doesn’t describe its cars as ‘autonomous’ anything, but, ‘self-driving’ (which is the correct designation). To me, what Uber is operating is basically the same thing as what Tesla is selling in California. Moreover, Uber’s Self-driving is less ‘autonomous’ in its operation than the operation of ‘electronic stability control (ESC)’ that has been mandated in every car built since 2012 that operate on California roads. (ESC has sensors and control logic that coordinate the operation of the brakes and throttle at the discretion of the sensors and over-ride the intended control actions of the driver. Now that’s real ‘autonomy’ …taking the driver out of the loop at the discretion of some control logic. Anti -lock brakes are similarly ‘autonomous’) Should everyone in California get a letter from DMV? Just think, New Jersey is trying to enact CA-like legislation. :-( Alain
December 14, 2016
Google is spinning off its self-driving car program into a new company called Waymo
A. Hawkins, Dec 13, “Today, Google announced that it would be spinning off its six-year-old self-driving project into a standalone business called Waymo, which stands for “a new way forward in mobility,” according to John Krafcik, the CEO of the new company.
It was previously reported that Google would be
dropping its plan to build its own vehicle without
steering wheels and pedals, instead focusing on
creating the self-driving technology that can be
installed in third-party vehicles. Krafcik didn't
provide much clarity there, but did state
definitively that the new company was still fully
committed to fully autonomous vehicle technology.
"We are all in, 100 percent, on Level Four and Level
Five fully driverless solutions," he said.
Krafcik didn't comment on a report in Bloomberg that
Google would be starting its own ride-sharing
service in partnership with Fiat Chrysler using the
Italian car maker's Pacifica minivans as its fleet
of self-driving taxis. Google and FCA announced
their collaboration earlier this year. Krafcik did
confirm that the self-driving Pacificas were still
in the build phase, but would hopefully be on the
road for testing very soon.
It may be too soon to say that Google is abandoning
its plans to build it's own fleet of driverless
cars, without steering wheels and pedals. That said,
Krafcik made it clear that Waymo "is not a car
company, there's been some confusion on that point.
We're not in business of making better cars, we're
in the business of making better drivers."...[Read more](http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/13/13936782/google-self-driving-car-waymo-spin-off-company) Hmmm... Boy that is a lot of hedging.
If they are in the business of making better
drivers, then all they need to do is to make
Automated Collision Avoidance systems that
actually work... avoid collisions (aka
Safe-driving Cars). That would make all drivers
better drivers, but it wouldn't do anything for
non-drivers... the young, old, poor, blind,
those under the influence, ... Has Google
abandoned all of those folks and reverted to the
'dark-side'? Alain
December 7, 2016
Why the driverless car industry is happy (so far) with Trump’s pick for Transportation secretary
R. Mitchell, Dec 6, “Silicon Valley voted heavily for Hillary Clinton, but companies working on driverless cars seem overjoyed with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Transportation secretary, Elaine Chao. Chao will wield great power over how driverless cars and other automated vehicles will be regulated — or not….Industry insiders say they don’t want Chao to ignore driverless car policy….
Instead, they hope to avoid a patchwork of differing
and conflicting rules across the 50 states. "This
should be centralized," said Alain L. Kornhauser,
director of the transportation program at Princeton
University and an autonomous vehicle expert, "but
that doesn't mean the states don't play a part. It
would be better if we had a common
understanding...." [Read more](http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-chao-trump-driverless-20161205-story.html)Hmmm... Yup! Alain
November 20, 2016
DSRC’s ‘Dead End,’ Says Qualcomm Exec
J, Yoshida, Nov 15, “…Qualcomm’s pending takeover of NXP Semiconductors isn’t making the path to V2X any clearer.
NXP remains a staunch advocate for DSRC-based V2X
(as demonstrated via truck platooning on Munich
roads last week during Electronica). Qualcomm, a
leading voice and force behind the progress of the
cellular standards, is sticking to its cellular
radio technology-based V2X evolution...We see this
as a continued cellular revolution with new elements
coming in... " [Read more](http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330834) Hmmm...V2X is
important, but primarily as a complement to
vehicle-centered automated collision avoidance
and not as a centralized orchestration of
individual vehicles. Finally seeing this as: "We
see this as a continued cellular revolution with
new elements coming in..." may bring
some reality to V2X. Alain
November 6, 2016
Our Driverless Future
S. Helpen, Nov 24, “ Review of Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead by Hod Lipson and Melba Kurma, MIT Press, 312 pp...” Read the review and the book. Hmmm… This book is really about ‘Driverless’ and differentiates it well from ‘Self-driving’, kudos for that. So while it has no equations, it precisely address the issues. I enjoyed Ch 6, First there were Electronic Highways, especially pages 116,7 and, of course, Chapter 7, Build Smart Cars, not Smart Highways. especially pages 137,8 and the subchapter The value of dumb highways. Chapter 10 Deep Learning: The Final Piece of the Puzzle is a very nice background while much is being advanced ‘as we speak’. The book appropriately ends with a chapter about hype, Ch 12 The Ripple Effects which references the Zero Principle, addresses local goods movement and lists the potential losers in this technological revolution. The book ends by supporting the argument that this technological transition is more about the rapid evolution of algorithms than hardware. Bravo! Alain October 27, 2016
Ontario Must Prepare for Vehicle Automation
B. Grush, Oct. 2016, “Two contradictory stories about our transportation infrastructure are currently in circulation. One is that Ontario’s aging, inadequate and congested infrastructure is perennially unable to catch up with a growing and sprawling GTHA. The other is that vehicle automation will soon dramatically multiply current road capacity by enabling narrower lanes, shorter headways and coordinated streams of connected vehicles to pass through intersections without traffic signals to impede flow.
Since the premature forecast of peak car in 2008 and
now the hype surrounding the automated vehicle, we
are often told that we have enough road capacity;
that shared robotic taxis will optimize our trips,
reduce congestion, and largely eliminate the need
for parking. This advice implies we need wait only a
few short years to experience relief from our
current infrastructure problems given by decades of
under-investment in transportation infrastructure.
This is wishful thinking. Vehicle automation will give rise to two different emerging markets: semi-automated vehicles for household consumption and fully automated vehicles for public service such as robo-taxi and robo-transit. These two vehicle types will develop in parallel to serve different social markets. They will compete for both riders and infrastructure. The purpose of this report is to look at why and how government agencies and public interest groups can and should influence the preferred types and deployment of automated vehicles and the implication of related factors for planning…” Read moreHmmm…Bravo! The Key Findings & Recommendations are excellent. This is an excellent report (but it largely misses goods movement.) Especially 5.1 (read ‘semi-autonomous’ as ‘Self-driving’ and ‘full-automation’ as ‘Driverless’. My view: Driverless may well be at the heals of Self-driving because it is a business play rather than a consumer play. Driverless will be ordered by the hundreds or thousands rather than individually.) and, of course Ch 10: Ownership (the business model) is more important than technology. Alain
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
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
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
August 1, 2016
Mobileye Ends Partnership With Tesla
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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