2017-01-20
January 20, 2017
Fiscal Year 2016 SRD Program Grant Selections
Public Announcement, Jan 22: "Pierce Transit will receive
$1,664,894 to deploy buses equipped with collision avoidance
warning systems or automatic braking features. The objective
of this project is to deploy and demonstrate collision
avoidance technology in partnership with the Washington
State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP), a collaborative
organization of 25 Washington public transit agencies that
combine their resources to provide and purchase insurance
coverage, manage claims and litigation, and receive risk
management and training. Pierce Transit will work with WSTIP
to accurately determine the business case for investing in
these technologies." [Read more](https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation/fiscal-year-2016-srd-program-grant-selections) Hmmm... Finally!! More
than 3 years since Lou Sanders of APTA, Jerome Lutin and
I first proposed to FTA to do such a thing for the
benefit of the entire bus transit industry (which FTA
deemed as non-worthy) the FTA has finally turned around
and jumped on-board. The unfortunate news: we lost 3
years. The fortunate news: the process of substantially
reducing bus crashes is finally underway thanks to the
hard work in the interim by Jerome Lutin and Jerry
Spears (formerly of WSTIP). This and the good news
below from Tesla may finally enlighten the insurance
industry to play a leadership role in the market
adoption of SafeDrivingCars/Buses/Trucks.
Congratulations Jerome & Jerry! Alain
Serving the Nation’s Personal Mobility Needs with the Casual Sharing of autonomousTaxis & Today’s Urban Rail, Amtrak and Air Transport Systems ODI
A. Kornhauser, Jan 14, “Orf467F16 Final Project Symposium quantifying implications of such a Nation-wide mobility system on Average Vehicle Occupancy (AVO), energy, environment and congestion, including estimates of fleet size, needed empty vehicle repositioning, and ridership implications on existing rail transit systems (west, east, NYC) and Amtrak of a system that would efficiently and effectively perform their ‘1st mile’/’last-mile’ mobility needs. Read more Hmmm… Linked are powerPoint summaries of these elements. Draft reports on each topic will be available soon, to be followed by a complete Final Report in early February. Alain
###
ODI (Office of Defects Investigation) Findings on Tesla AEB & AutoPilot
###
Jan 19, “… Summary: … NHTSA’s examination did not identify any defects in the design or performance of the AEB or Autopilot systems of the subject vehicles nor any incidents in which the systems did not perform as designed. AEB systems used in the automotive industry through MY 2016 are rear-end collision avoidance technologies that are not designed to reliably perform in all crash modes, including crossing path collisions. The Autopilot system is an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) that requires the continual and full attention of the driver to monitor the traffic environment and be prepared to take action to avoid crashes. Tesla’s design included a hands-on the steering wheel system for monitoring driver engagement…
... ODI analyzed data from crashes of Tesla Model S and
Model X vehicles involving airbag deployments that
occurred while operating in, or within 15 seconds of
transitioning from, Autopilot mode. Some crashes involved
impacts from other vehicles striking the Tesla from
various directions with little to no warning to the Tesla
driver. Other crashes involved scenarios known to be
outside of the state-of-technology for current-generation
Level 1 or 2 systems, such as cut-ins, cut-outs and
crossing path collisions....
...The Florida fatal crash appears to have involved a
period of extended distraction (at least 7 seconds)..." .Hmmm... nothing else is written about this
nor is a basis given for the 'at least 7 seconds'.
Possibly the most important information revealed in
this summary is Figure 11, p11: "...
Figure 11 shows the rates calculated by ODI for
airbag deployment crashes in the subject Tesla
vehicles before and after Autosteer installation.
The data show that the Tesla vehicles crash rate
dropped by almost 40 percent after Autosteer
installation...
...A safety-related defect trend has not been
identified at this time and further examination of
this issue does not appear to be warranted.
Accordingly, this investigation
is closed. " [Read more](https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2016/INCLA-PE16007-7876.PDF) Hmmm... WOW!!! . Every
word of this Finding is worth reading. It basically
exonerates Tesla, states that AEBs (Automated
Emergency Braking) systems don't really work and
aren't designed to work in some scenarios (straight
crossing path (SCP) and left turn across path (LTAP),
see p 2,3). ...which suggests, to me, that DoT/NHTSA
should be placing substantial efforts on making these
systems really work in more scenarios. And... there
is the solid data that 'AutoSteer" reduced
Tesla crashes by almost 40%!!! WOW!! Will Insurance
now finally get on-board and lead? Alain
Accelerating the arrival of self driving cars: Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser
Fred Fishkin, Jan 19, Listen to this interview: Watch the video Hmmm… Love Fred! Alain
Bringing Smart Transport to Texans: Ensuring the Benefits of a Connected and Autonomous Transport System in Texas
FHWA/TX-16/0-6838-2, K. Kockelman et al. “This project develops and demonstrates a variety of smart-transport technologies, policies, and practices for highways and freeways using connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs), smartphones, roadside equipment, and related technologies. The intent is to maximize the benefit of these technologies in terms of improved driver safety, reduced congestion, and agency cost savings. For example, in a well-implemented system, advanced CAV technologies may reduce current crash costs by at least $390 billion per year. A poorly implemented system could significantly detract from or reverse these benefits…“ Read moreHmmm… An extensive report that covers essentially all of the topics and does so very well but does suffer from too much influence of obsolete Fed DoT perspectives such as consistently using the term CAV which implicitly places ‘Connected’ before/above ‘Automated’. My view is that ‘Connected’ is great, once market penetration gets above 70%, but until then everyone needs to be holding their breath; whereas, automation delivers substantial value to each customer, even the very first. Delivering value from the very start is what makes automation so attractive; while, in-feasibility until market dominance, makes ‘Connected’ an ‘stepchild of an overburdened public sector that has way many more worthy dependents’.
There is a significant effort and emphasis placed on
surveys and focus groups which is laudable; however,
there are so much misconceptions and misunderstandings
about this technology, its implications on our
individual lives and it is changing so fast that it is
extremely challenging to reach any substantive
conclusions. The right questions are being asked, but
are these questions and their ramifications really
understood by the respondents?
Similarly, the simulations are good but are they
representative of the future reality. This is always
the fundamental question in interpreting the results of
any simulation. It is especially challenging here
because 'we don't know what we don't know'. In any
event, this is a very strong effort to gauge this
technology and is highly recommended reading to all.
Alain
When It Comes to Safety, Autonomous Cars Are Still “Teen Drivers”
J. Hsu, Jan 18, "Automakers ask drivers to trust and share
the nation's roadways with autonomous vehicles, but there is
no easy answer as to when they will be considered "safe" ...[Read more](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-it-comes-to-safety-autonomous-cars-are-still-teen-drivers1/) Hmmm... While we may
not be able to declare them safe, they certainly, to
date, have not been unsafe. Maybe we should simply
continue to be at least as careful as we have been to
date and let it play out. Certainly there isn't much at
risk and the existing conventional system is, by at
least some measures, unsafe. So let's remain vigilant,
careful and stay out of the way. Alain
Neurala Announces $14 Million Series A to Bring Deep Learning Neural Network AI Software to Drones, Self-Driving Cars, Toys and Cameras
Jan 17, "Neurala, the software company that has invented The
Neurala Brain, a deep learning neural networks platform that
is making smart products like toys, cameras and self-driving
cars more autonomous, interactive and useful, today
announced the closing of a $14 million series A funding
round....[Read more](http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170118005301/en/Neurala-Announces-14-Million-Series-Bring-Deep) Hmmm...
Congratulations! Alain
Tesla’s new VP of Autopilot Software explains why he made the move from Apple
F. Lambert, Jan 18 "Earlier this month, Chris Lattner
announced that [he was leaving Apple](https://electrek.co/2017/01/10/tesla-hires-chris-lattner-creator-of-swift-programming-language-apple-lead-autopilot-software/) to lead Tesla's Autopilot software
team after a decade at the Cupertino company where he led
the development of the Swift programming language and
developer tools...."I've been writing code for more than 30
years, and 16 of those years have been in the developer
tools space. I love it, but I am ready to move on to
something else. Autopilot is clearly incredibly important to
the world because of its ability to save people's lives (and
increase convenience). It is also a very, very hard
technology problem and my experience building large scale
software and team building is useful. Of course, I've also
been a huge Tesla fan for some time."..."[Read more](https://electrek.co/2017/01/18/tesla-vp-of-autopilot-software-apple/) Hmmm...
Congratulations! 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
RoadX Program Paves the Way for Smarter Mobility
J. Seward, Jan 17, “Roadways that communicate with and charge the electric vehicles that drive on them. Smart freeway ramps that direct cars away from traffic jams…But, first, those technologies must be tested under real-time road conditions. That’s where the Colorado Dept. of Transportation’s new program comes into play. Dubbed RoadX, it seeks to revolutionize transportation systems and implement a slew of bold mobility concepts within the next 10 years…. Read moreHmmm… maybe, but don’t read the part about “…Tube Travel If Colorado is chosen to host the new Hyperloop network, construction of the first Rocky Mountain phase would feature a 40-mile segment, running north from Denver International Airport to Greeley, Colo…” Totally ‘Off-the wall” I guess the infrastructure guys just want to build stuff with OPM (Other People’s Money). Has ENR become the CNN of Engineering? Alain
###
C’mon Man!(These
folks didn't get/read the memo)
Mass. law would tax autonomous vehicles by the mile
D. Adams, Jan 9 “A bill set to be introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature Friday would allow self-driving cars on public roads, but impose a mileage-based tax on their use, allow some large municipalities to ban them, and require all such cars to be zero-emissions vehicles.
The measure, sponsored by Representative Tricia
Farley-Bouvier, a Pittsfield Democrat, and Senator
Jason Lewis, a Winchester Democrat, is the latest
attempt to enact statewide rules for autonomous
vehicles after several similar bills failed to
advance last year..." [Read more](https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/01/19/proposed-state-law-would-require-emissions-free-autonomous-vehicles-and-tax-them-mile/0Bdd6LRNzgMGpHGIzzT5DO/story.html)Hmmm...
C'mon Boston. There's barely a handful of
these entities on the road and you are already
trying to crush them. You should be worrying
more about crushing the Steelers than
SmartDrivingCars. [C'mon Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDfVG2SaQpI)!! Alain
New York transportation group seeks 50-year ban on driverless cars
P. Tracy, Jan 17 “New York’s Upstate Transportation Association (UTA) and Independent Drivers Guild (the IDG is the first labor group recognized by Uber) are working to ban self-driving vehicles in the state to prevent the potential loss of thousands of jobs. And UTA, which represents taxi, livery, medical transportation, and paratransit drivers, is asking for a 50-year ban on self-driving cars.
"It doesn't do anything for the local economy to
have driverless cars," John Tomassi, the president
of the Upstate Transportation Association, told
CNN. "I'm sure there's a little bit of job
creation, but nothing that will match the number
of jobs lost."..." [Read more](http://www.dailydot.com/debug/autonomous-vehicle-ban/)Hmmm...
Where was John Tomassi a hundred year ago to
save the jobs of elevator operators. The
automation of elevators helped change city
skylines around the world. There
are about 80,000 elevators in NYC. The
support/maintenance of those elevators
likely require way more workers than the
peak in operator employment. There
are
only 13,237 taxi cabs that serve less
than 1% of today's trips.
Fleets of driverless cars could readily
serve an order of magnitude more trips. Very
likely that the maintenance and operation of
that fleet would create jobs that would more
than employ every current driver.
Plus, if John is successful, the innovations will occur outside of New York, much as if he would have been around and successful 100 years ago. NYC’s, skyline might now be in Boston or New Jersey or ??? and Manhattan would be like Martha’s Vineyard, C’Mon Man! … :-) Alain
Calendar
of Upcoming Events:
Recent Highlights of:
#
###
January 13, 2017
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx Announces New Federal Committee on Automation
News, Jan 10, “…U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “I’m proud to announce this new automation committee, and look forward to seeing its members advance life-saving innovations while boosting our economy and making our transportation network more fair, reliable, and efficient.”… Read more Hmmm… Excellent!!! Congratulations Chris, Bryant, Missy and everyone else. Alain
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 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
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 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
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 1, 2016
Mobileye Ends Partnership With Tesla
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
2016
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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