https://www.princetondiary.com/smartdrivingcar/6.45-nVIDIA-102418
45th edition of the 6th year of SmartDrivingCars
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
part7.B5E07CAD.183281EF@princeton.edu”> Nvidia delivers its self-driving car safety report to the feds
A. Hawkins, Oct 23, "Nvidia, one of the world’s best known manufacturers of computer graphics cards, released its autonomous driving safety report on Tuesday. The Santa Clara-based company, which for several years has been engaged in a high-stakes venture to build the “brains” that power self-driving cars for major automakers like Volvo, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, is only the fifth company to delivery its voluntary safety report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration….
The 20-page safety report highlights the “four pillars” of Nvidia’s approach to autonomous driving technology: AI chips like Pegasus and Xavier that power the vehicles’ operations; data centers to process the massive amounts of data produced by fleets of self-driving cars; the company’s Drive Constellation simulation software to enable virtual world testing; and adherence to federal and international safety standards…. Nvidia is only the fifth company to release its safety report under the voluntary guidelines created by the US Department of Transportation…." Read more Hmmmm…. Also listen to PodCast Episode 63 with Danny Shapiro. Alain
part11.CD17AC82.8504B442@princeton.edu”> Safety Is What Drives Us: Introducing the NVIDIA Self-Driving Safety Report
D. Shapiro, Oct 23, "Autonomous vehicles promise to reduce traffic accidents by replacing unpredictable human drivers with artificial intelligence. But how do manufacturers ensure these new drivers are truly safe? To help answer that, NVIDIA has released the Self-Driving Safety Report.
With this report, we are opening up our development processes. We show how we harness the unprecedented computing power of GPUs to create functionally safe self-driving systems. Achieving the highest levels of compute enables us to incorporate diversity and redundancy into every solution — from sensor types to processors to algorithms — ensuring there is never just one line of defense in the event of a failure.
As a solutions provider to the vast majority of vehicle makers, suppliers, sensor makers, startups and mapping companies in the autonomous driving space, NVIDIA makes safety our first priority. And we have integrated it into every step of the development process…
The Four Pillars of Safe Autonomous Driving Safe autonomous driving is built on four fundamental pillars. With high-performance compute at their core:
Pillar 1: An Artificial Intelligence Design and Implementation Platform…NVIDIA DRIVE is the world’s first scalable artificial intelligence (AI) platform that spans the entire range of autonomous driving, from assisted highway driving to robotaxis. It consists of hardware, software, and firmware that work together to enable the
production of automated and self-driving vehicles.
Pillar 2: Development Infrastructure That Supports Deep Learning… NVIDIA DRIVE Perception Infrastructure delivers and supports massive data
collection, deep learning development, and traceability to support large autonomous fleets.
Pillar 3: Data Center Solution for Robust Simulation and Testing… NVIDIA DRIVE Constellation is a data center solution that enables developers to test and validate the actual hardware and software that will operate in an autonomos vehicle before it’s deployed on the road. NVIDIA DRIVE Constellation™ is a data center solution that enables developers to test and validate the actual hardware and software that will operate in an autonomous vehicle before it’s deployed on the road.
Pillar 4: Best-in-Class, Pervasive Safety Program… Throughout our program, we benchmark ourselves…" Hmmmm…. Good structuring of the elements addressing the SmartDrivingCar safety challenge. Link to the report: SELF-DRIVING SAFETY REPORT 2018 . Alain
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 63- Danny Shapiro, nVIDIA
F. Fishkin, Oct 26, "NVIDIA is out with its first self driving safety report and in Episode 63 of the Smart Driving Cars Podcast, NVIDIA’s Director of Automotive, Danny Shapiro, joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to chat about what is in it…and more. Also…the NJ legislature, with help from Alain…is starting to take action. Plus the latest from Ford. Tune in and subscribe! " Hmmmm…. Now you can just say "Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!" . Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay. Alain
Real information every week. Lively discussions with the people who are shaping the future of SmartDrivingCars. Want to become a sustaining sponsor and help us grow the SmartDrivingCars newsletter and podcast? Contact Alain Kornhauser at alaink@princeton.edu! Alain
part18.C481C4F4.51AB04AF@princeton.edu”>NJ Lawmakers Consider Rules, Urge Task Force for Driverless Cars
M. Booth, Oct 22, "New jersey lawmakers are taking the first steps toward joining the majority of other states in authorizing and regulating autonomous vehicles on the state’s roadways.
The Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology and the Transportation and Independent Authorities committees held a joint hearing Monday to consider whether autonomous vehicles, which do not require drivers at the wheel during normal operations, should be allowed to be operated and tested in the state.
The combined committees did not take action on most of the bills, but did recommend that the Legislature create a task force to further consider the issue. New Jersey is only one of a handful of states that have done nothing to address what is fast becoming a worldwide trend.
The combined committees invited industry experts to testify on the issue.“What I would love to see is for these vehicles to come to New Jersey and be put to work,” said Alain Kornhauser, a professor of operations research and financial engineering at Princeton University and a longtime proponent of the use of autonomous vehicle…" Read more Hmmmm…. New Jersey may finally be waking up. 🙂 Alain
part21.F862E915.CFD3DB09@princeton.edu”>New Jersey Pending Legislation re: Autonomous Vehicles
Oct 16, Establishes fully autonomous vehicle pilot program A4573 Sponsors: Zwicker (D16); Benson (D14)
"This legislation would authorize a one-year pilot program to enable autonomous vehicle testers, including institutions of higher education, to test autonomous vehicles on highways in the state, in specific locations and on specific routes, as well as within the boundaries of Fort Monmouth. An autonomous vehicle tester must be approved by the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission…."
Oct 16, Establishes New Jersey Advanced Autonomous Vehicle Task Force AJR164 Sponsors: Benson (D14); Zwicker (D16); Lampitt (D6)
"The purpose of this task force would be to conduct a study of advanced autonomous vehicles and make recommendations on laws, rules and regulations that the state could enact to safely integrate advanced autonomous vehicles on the state’s highways, streets and roads. …"
Oct 16, Directs MVC to establish driver’s license endorsement for autonomous vehicles A4541 Sponsors: Zwicker (D16); Benson (D14); Lampitt (D6)
"This legislation, which has been introduced in prior legislative sessions dating back to 2012, would direct the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission to establish a driver’s license endorsement for the operation of autonomous vehicles on the highways, roads and streets of NJ. It would also direct the Commission to adopt regulations that would include:…" Read more Hmmmm…. Things are beginning to move in New Jersey. Alain
part28.6AB73D79.0D9BD022@princeton.edu”>Testimony of Alain Kornhauser, Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology – Monday, October 22, 2018 – 10:00:00 AM
part21.F862E915.CFD3DB09@princeton.edu”>Audio Recording of Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology – Monday, October 22, 2018 – 10:00:00 AM
part33.0D04D833.0D54057E@princeton.edu”>ARE NJ ROADS READY FOR DRIVERLESS CARS?
D. Flammia, Oct 22, "…State lawmakers on Monday listened to hours of testimony on the development and regulation of autonomous vehicles. Afterwards, they advanced a measure establishing a task force that would conduct a study of these smarter vehicles, and make recommendations on laws related to their eventual usage in the Garden State…" Read more Hmmmm…. It is a start. Alain
part7.B5E07CAD.183281EF@princeton.edu”> Ford will test self-driving cars in Washington, DC, with an emphasis on ‘equity’
A. Hawkins, Oct 22, "…As for “equitable deployment,” in its negotiations with the municipal government of DC, Ford agreed to operate its vehicles in all eight of Washington’s neighborhoods, or “wards,” in an effort to reach different types of residents as it nears a commercial launch of its self-driving service. That means using lidar to capture the rainbow-hued outlines of the motorcades and monuments that line the streets of Washington’s tourists sections, as well as the dilapidated strip malls and crumbling townhouses in the city’s less-well-off neighborhoods. Ford will also spend cash to train local residents for auto technician careers that could involve self-driving vehicles in the future…." Read more Hmmmm…. Nice that Ford sees autonomousTaxis (aTaxis) as mobility producing machines and those that may well be able to benefit most may well be the most Mobility Disadvantaged. Alain
part39.7D5AD369.E9DF8120@princeton.edu”> Tesla shares soar on surprise third-quarter profit that beats Wall Street expectations
D. Kopecki, Oct 24, "Tesla shares soar on surprise third-quarter profit that beats Wall Street expectations…" Read more Hmmmm…. Wow!! Congratulations Elon. Alain
part42.73FB863E.9B887F5A@princeton.edu”> Feds shut down self-driving school bus pilot in Florida
T. Lee, Oct22, "The Trump administration has taken a hands-off approach to regulating self-driving cars, but on Friday, federal regulators decided that one self-driving car project had gone too far. In a sharply worded statement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has ordered the French transportation company Transdev to stop transporting schoolchildren in a self-driving vehicle in Florida.
So why did the feds shut down this project while allowing lots of others to continue with minimal oversight?…" Read more Hmmmm…. Very interesting. NHTSA is paying attention. Alain
part45.9D49C49F.7E7BFC50@princeton.edu”> Mapping Every Driverless Car Crash in California So Far
T. Fogden, Oct 22, "…The map below shows where all of the autonomous cars have crashed in California. You can zoom in-or-out or click the sidebar to view more detail about the crashes:…As you can see, Cruise (a GM subsidiary) and Waymo (a Google subsidiary) are the biggest offenders, being involved in 51 and 37 crashes respectively. In fact, Cruise has had cars involved in three separate incidents within 65 yards of each other on Division Street in San Francisco…." Read more Hmmmm…. Play with the interactive map. Most interesting! Find the "hit by golf ball" crash. Alain
part39.7D5AD369.E9DF8120@princeton.edu”> From Ford to Volkswagen, rivals become frenemies to share the cost of building self-driving cars
P. Eisenstein, Oct 20,"Ford this week announced plans to expand its work with Mahindra Group, one of India’s largest car companies, to find ways to collaborate on advanced powertrains, connected car technologies and even new vehicles.
The new agreement comes as the auto industry rumor mill buzzes with reports of a possible new partnership between Ford and Volkswagen. Meanwhile, the No. 2 automaker’s cross-town rival, General Motors, this past month announced a tie-up of its own to an erstwhile rival, Hondawhich is planning to invest $2.75 billion over the next decade on the joint development of autonomous vehicles…. Read more Hmmmm…. Seems like a questionable pairing. Why are two "car as a commodity" companies joining forces? Strange. Alain
part51.0E54AA1D.0F6CB4CC@princeton.edu”> Addison Lee aims to deploy self-driving cars in London by 2021
G. Topham, Oct 22, "Self-driving car services could be on the streets of London within three years under a partnership between the private hire firm Addison Lee and the British driverless car pioneers Oxbotica. The companies have signed a deal to develop and deploy autonomous vehicles in the city by 2021.
Oxbotica will start mapping more than 250,000 miles of public roads in and around London from next month, using its technology to create a comprehensive map of every traffic feature.
While the link-up could eventually allow Addison Lee’s fleet of black Mercedes and Prius cabs to be driven autonomously, the 5,000 drivers in London will remain employed, the firm says. However, it could also offer a cheaper, autonomous ride-sharing version of its hire service. The first stage is likely to be in corporate shuttles, around airports or campuses…." Read more Hmmmm…. OK, but by 2021 the world of Mobility on Demand and the ride-hailing of aTaxis may not be new news. Alain
part54.D8AA2A89.7CA556DA@princeton.edu”> Shaken by hype, self-driving leaders adopt new strategy: Shutting up
D. Harwell, Oct 18, "… Aurora has quickly become one of the industry’s most promising challengers, with a founding trio of veteran automation experts, including Urmson, Anderson and Drew Bagnell, formerly of Uber’s self-driving division… " Read more Hmmmm…. Somewhat interesting. Alain
Half-baked stuff that probably doesn’t deserve your time
C’mon Man! (These folks didn’t get/read the memo)
Calendar of Upcoming Events:
The End of Driving Workshop
Planning for Autonomous Vehicles Now
Dec 6, 2018
Mississauga, ON, Canada
//alaink@exchangeimap.princeton.edu:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png”>
3rd Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit
evening May 14 through May 16, 2019
Save the Date; Reserve your Sponsorship
Catalog of Videos of Presentations @ 2nd Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit
Photos from 2nd Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit
Program & Links to slides from 2nd Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit
On the More Technical Side
https://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/