C. Metz
& K.
Conger, Dec 7,
"Uber, which
spent hundreds
of millions of
dollars on a
self-driving
car project
that
executives
once believed
was a key to
becoming
profitable, is
handing the
autonomous
vehicle effort
over to a
Silicon Valley
start-up, the
companies said
on Monday.
Uber will also
invest $400
million in the
start-up,
called Aurora,
so it is
essentially
paying the
company to
take over the
autonomous car
operation,
which had
become a
financial and
legal
headache. Uber
is likely to
license
whatever
technology
Aurora manages
to create.
The deal
amounts to a
fire-sale end
to a
high-profile
but
star-crossed
effort to
replace Uber’s
human drivers
with machines
that could
drive on their
own. It is
also
indicative of
the challenges
facing other
autonomous
vehicle
projects,
which have
received
billions in
investments
from Silicon
Valley and
automakers but
have not
produced the
fleets of
robotic
vehicles some
thought would
be on the
streets by
now...." Read
more Hmmmm... Actually a good
article.
Alain
Video version of SmartDrivingCars PodCast 189... Alain
[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="44" height="44" border="0"> The SmartDrivingCars eLetter, Pod-Casts, Zoom-Casts and Zoom-inars are made possible in part by support from the Smart Transportation and Technology ETF, symbol MOTO. For more information: www.motoetf.com. Most funding is supplied by Princeton University's Department of Operations Research & Financial Engineering and Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (PAVE) research laboratory as part of its research dissemination initiatives.
K. Korosec,
Dec. 8, "Uber
has offloaded
its air taxi
enterprise
Elevate to
Joby
Aviation, the
last of
several
moonshots to
be sold by the
ride-hailing
company in a
pursuit to
stick to its
core business
and reach
profitability.
The
transaction
announced
Tuesday is
part of a
complex deal
that includes
Uber investing
$75 million
into Joby and
an expanded
partnership
between the
two companies.
Last year,
Uber and Joby,
which is
developing an
all-electric,
vertical
take-off and
landing
passenger
aircraft,
signed on as a
vehicle
partner for
Uber’s Elevate
initiative.
Joby was the
first partner
to commit to
deploying air
taxi services
by 2023.
The $75
million
investment
comes in
addition to a
previously
undisclosed
$50 million
investment
made as part
of Joby’s
Series C
financing
round in
January 2020,
Uber said. To
date, Joby
Aviation has
raised $820
million. Uber
has invested a
total of $125
million into
the startup.
..." Read more Hmmmm...
Good way to put a floor on pipe
dream. Alain
K. Cheng,
Dec. 9, "A
test of a
prototype of a
rocket that
Elon Musk has
dreams of
sending people
to Mars in
flew several
miles high on
Wednesday. But
in attempting
to land, it
hit the ground
too fast and
exploded.
That was the
latest test,
partly
successful, in
the
development of
next-generation spacecraft built by SpaceX, Mr. Musk’s rocket company.
SpaceX’s live
broadcast
showed the
smoldering
remains of the
rocket,
named
Starship, at
the company’s
test site in
southern
Texas.
“Awesome
test,” read
text across
the screen of
the broadcast
after the
fiery
conclusion.
“Congratulations,
Starship
team!”..." Read
more Hmmmm... Watch
this video.
Really
impressive!!!
Alain
These
editions are
sponsored by
the SmartETFs
Smart
Transportation
and Technology
ETF, symbol
MOTO. For more
information
head to www.motoetf.com
F. Fishkin,
Nov 25, "What
you should
know about
electric cars,
climate change
and more. The
Dispatcher
publisher
Michael Sena
joins
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser and
co-host Fred
Fishkin in an
eye opening
edition of
Smart Driving
Cars.."
F. Fishkin, Nov 24, "When it comes to active driver assistance systems, what works and what needs improvement? Some answers from Kelly Funkhouser… program manager for vehicle interface, head of connected and automated vehicles at Consumer Reports. She joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 186 of Smart Driving Cars."
F. Fishkin,
Aug 20, "Tesla
grows while
other
automakers
flounder. And
creating
standards in
an era of
mistrust. The
Dispatcher
publisher
joins
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser and
co-host Fred
Fishkin in a
thought
provoking
episode.
Plus...transportation
planning
during and
after the
pandemic...NVIDIA...and
more."
F. Fishkin Aug 13, "Ghost Road.. Beyond the Driverless Car author Anthony Townsend brings a unique viewpoint to the debate on the future of mobility...and the impact of the pandemic on ride sharing. Townsend joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and the latest developments from Uber, Lyft, Tesla and more."
F. Fishkin
Aug 8, "Is
Tesla a tech
stock? Or a
fashion
product? Maniv
Mobility's
Olaf Sakkers
authored a
piece on
Medium with
that title and
he joins
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser
& co-host
Fred Fishkin
for that
plus... GM's
would be Tesla
challenger
Cadillac
Lyriq,
TuSimple,
Uber, Ford and
more."
F. Fishkin
July 29, "In
the midst of a
pandemic, what
is the future
of ride
sharing and
mobility?
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser and
co-host Fred
Fishkin are
joined by
Robin Chase
and Carlos
Pardo of the
New Urban
Mobility
Alliance and
the director
of the
Institute for
Transportation
Studies at U C
Davis, Daniel
Sperling to
dig into the
challenges
ahead."
F. Fishkin, July 20, "Is Driverless home delivery the fastest route to Affordable Mobility for the Mobility Disadvantaged? ... "
F. Fishkin, July 2, "Transportation, racial injustices and changing the thinking around the future of mobility. NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy & Research fellow Henry Greenidge joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in an eye and mind opening episode of Smart Driving Cars. Plus Amazon, Zoox, Waymo, Tesla & more. ." ... Alain
F. Fishkin,
June 2, "But
the debate is
not really
about
technology nor
is it about
who delivers
the best value
for the money
or the most
privacy. It is
about ..."
S. Wilmot,
Nov 30,
"Nikola Corp.
NKLA 0.76%
isn’t
turning out to
be the next
Tesla that
investors—and
General Motors
GM -0.67%
—were hoping
for.
The
electric-vehicle
startup put
its
eye-catching
“Badgerâ€
pickup-truck
project on ice
Monday as part
of a radically
shrunken
version of its
deal with GM.
All that is
left of the
original
agreement
signed in
September is a
plan for GM to
supply Nikola
with fuel-cell
technology for
U.S. big rigs.
Detroit’s
biggest auto
maker had
planned to
take an equity
stake in
Nikola in
exchange for
building the
Badger under
contract. But
the deal has
been in doubt
almost from
the start
after a
hedge-fund
report
detailed the
limitations of
Nikola’s
technology,
leading to the
resignation of
founder Trevor
Milton.
GM won’t
sell Nikola
fuel cells
soon. For all
its fanfare
about
hydrogen, the
startup is
currently
focused on
battery-powered
versions of
its first
electric
truck, the
“Tre.†It
hopes to start
full-scale
production in
the fourth
quarter of
next year in
Germany and in
early 2022 in
Coolidge,
Ariz. Hydrogen
trucks won’t
come before
2023, and in
Europe Nikola
is using Bosch
as its
fuel-cell
supplier.
..." Read
more Hmmmm... Lessons for many in this
endeavor. See
also Andrew
Hawkin's take
as well as David
Morris'.
Alain
â— Support the creation of government policies and company practices to ensure that innovation and safety go hand-in-handIn October 2020, Consumer Reports published ratings of Active Driving Assistance Systems, defined as systems that allow the driver to use Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Keeping Assistance (LKA) to simultaneously control both the speed and steering of the vehicle. An industry webinar was also held...." Read more Hmmmm.... A MUST read along with "Cadillac's Super Cruise Outperforms Other Driving Assistance Systems". Most unfortunately, CR has not picked up on my main complaint about ACC: Tapping of the brakes by the driver turns off the ACC! This is BAD!!! Even the hardest, let alone the slightest, engagement of the brakes should NOTturn off the ACC. It should ONLYdisengage the acceleration/throttle function of the ACC!
â— Use consumer data to inform the industry of best-practices to aid in development
â— Influence the safe design, testing, and deployment of systems consumers will like and use
â— Advocate for transparency and clarity in marketing and consumer education of systems
K. Pyle,
Nov 12, "A key
recommendation
from the 2017
pilot was to
explore
whether paying
at the pump
could work for
a road charge
just like it
does for the
gas tax. How
could the user
experience be
as easy as
possible? With
support from a
federal
Surface
Transportation
Funding
Alternative
grant,
California
will test how
road charge
can work with
four
technologies:
usage-based
insurance,
ridesharing,
electric
vehicle
charging
stations/pay-at-the-pump
systems, and
autonomous
vehicles.
Interested in
participating?
The
demonstration
will begin in
January 2021
and run for
six months.
Complete the Contact Us data
form to
express your
interest in
volunteering
for one or
more
demonstration
phases.... " Read
moreHmmmm... New Jersey is seeking
volunteers for
its version of
this. Participation is easy. You will
enroll via a
quick, online
enrollment
process, plug
a mileage
reporting
device into
your vehicle
and drive.
During the
pilot, you
will receive
monthly
simulated
statements
that compare
what you pay
in current
state fuel
taxes to what
you could pay
in an MBUF
system. It is
okay if you
are not
driving as
much as you
typically
would because
of the
COVID-19
Pandemic.
Your driving
data and
feedback
provided
through
anonymous
online surveys
will help us
understand key
issues such as
privacy,
equity and
administrative
costs with an
MBUF
system.
Please contact [log in to unmask] to participate and help n the New Jersey version. Use Subject: Please send, Body:Mileage-Base User Fee (MBUF) Demonstration registration information . We need volunteers. Thank you for helping. Alain
W.
Kaufman, Nov.
4, "Tesla
recently made
headlines with
the beta
launch of its
Full
Self-Driving
system. That
system comes
with a
disclaimer
saying,
“It
may do the
wrong thing at
the worst
time, so you
must always
keep your
hands on the
wheel and pay
extra
attention to
the
road.â€ÂÂ
Tesla’s system has impressive capabilities, but
it’s
definitely not
hands-free
driving. A few
years ago,
news stories
seemed to say
that
autonomous
vehicles were
just a few
years away.
Well,
it’s
been a few
years and
autonomous
vehicles are,
alas, still in
the future.
Right now,
there is no
car on sale
that can drive
itself without
requiring the
driver to pay
attention to
the road and
be prepared to
take control
of the
vehicle. In
fact, some
automakers
have slowed
down their
timelines.
Here are three
reasons why
you
can’t
buy a
self-driving
car today and
one place
you’re
likely to find
them
first....
Waymo Team, Oct. 30, "On October 8th, Waymo opened its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the general public in Phoenix. Right now members of the public are hailing vehicles with no human driver controlling the car – either in the vehicle or remotely – to help them get to where they’re going as part of their everyday lives...." Read more Hmmmm...
N, Webb,
Oct. 30, "As
the
world’s
most
experienced
developer of
automated
driving
systems
(“ADSsâ€ÂÂ),
Waymo has
extensive
experience in
developing and
applying
state-of-the-art
safety
methodologies.
Waymo’s methodologies help implement
Waymo’s
forward-looking safety philosophy: Waymo will reduce traffic injuries
and fatalities
by driving
safely and
responsibly,
and will
carefully
manage risk as
we scale our
operations.
Waymo’s
safety
methodologies,
which draw on
well
established
engineering
processes and
address new
safety
challenges
specific to
Automated
Vehicle
(“AVâ€ÂÂ)
technology,
provide a firm
foundation for
safe
deployment of
our Level 4
ADS, which we
also refer to
as the Waymo
Driverâ„¢.
Waymo’s determination of its readiness to deploy its
AVs safely in
different
settings rests
on that firm
foundation and
on a thorough
analysis of
risks specific
to a
particular
Operational
Design Domain
(“ODDâ€ÂÂ)...." Read
more Hmmmm... The process. Must
read! Alain
M. Schwall, Oct. 30, "Waymo’s mission to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities and improve mobility for all has led us to expand deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) on public roads without a human driver behind the wheel. As part of this process, Waymo is committed to providing the public with informative and relevant data regarding the demonstrated safety of Waymo’s automated driving system (ADS), which we call the Waymo Driver...." Read more Hmmmm... The substance. Must read! ...
I had the priveledge of reviewing
Waymo’s
most recent
Safety
Reports 1 , 2 (above)
In the past, safety reports by the AV community have
largely been a
response to
NHTSA’s Voluntary
Safety
Self-Assessments and
have, in my
opinion, been
largely public
relations
documents.
While
generally
descriptive
about the
testing
processes they
contain very
little, if
any,
substantive
information
about their safety
related experience
to-date
focused
exclusively on
driverless
operation.
Safe driverless operation is absolutely necessary for
AVs to evolve
from extremely
expensive
chauffeured
rides to
affordable
mobility
available to
essentially
anyone
throughout an
Operational
Design Domain
(ODD).
Affordability
requires that
the mobility
be delivered
without a
driver or
attendant
on-board the
vehicle. Only
passengers.
The decision to remove the driver/attendant rests in
part on the
shoulders of
public safety
regulators who
need to allow
such
operation, but
more
importantly,
on the
shoulders of
the real
decision
makers at the
AV company.
In the end, it
is those AV
company
decision
makers who
will be held
fully
responsible
for any lapse
in the safety
of the
driverless
operation.
These decision
makers are
inside the AV
companies and
are, of
course, privy
to all the
details and
substance
about their
own safety
related
driverless
operation,
which, in the
past, has not
been shared in
their
Voluntary
Safety
Self-assessments.
My impression is that these just released Waymo Safety
Reports
contain the
substantive
information
that clearly
depicts
Waymo’s
safety-related
driverless
operational
experience.
To me, they
read like
internal
documents
meant to guide
and inform
internal
decision
makers to
objectively
decide if a
sufficiently
safe
operational
experience has
been achieved
in order to
vote to fully
accept the
safety
responsibility
of driverless
operation in
their
Operational
Design
Domain.
Given the information that is contained in these
documents, it
does not
surprise me
that Waymo
decision
makers have
decided to
proceed with
driverless
operation in
the Phoenix
Operational
Design Domain.
Had I had the
responsibility
of being one
of the
decision
makers
reviewing
these
documents, I
would have
also voted
yes.
Alain
J. Davis,
Oct 20,
"Launching a
self-driving
service is
complex. Many
different
pieces need to
come together
to create a
trusted and
scalable
self-driving
service that
provides value
to customers
and the cities
they operate
in. At Ford,
we are taking
a thoughtful
approach to
how we bring
together all
these pieces
to help shape
the future of
self-driving
vehicles. One
important part
of this
service is the
vehicle, which
will allow us
to stand up
our
self-driving
business.
Meet the
Fourth
Generation
Self-Driving
Test Vehicle:
Beginning to
roll out this
month, Ford
and Argo
AI‘s
fourth-generation self-driving test vehicles are built on the Escape
Hybrid
platform and
feature the
latest
advancements
in sensing and
computing
technology.
The Escape
Hybrid is also
the
architecture
and platform
we have chosen
to use to
bring our
autonomous
vehicle
service
online....." Read more Hmmmm.... See
video.
Imprssive.
Listen/watch
SmartDrivingCars PodCast / ZoomCast with John Rich. CNBC's
take as
well as THe
Detroit News.
Alain
J.
Szczesny, Oct
7, "Ford Motor
Co.’s push to broaden its self-driving vehicle
technology
portfolio, led
to it taking a
stake in a
Silicon Valley
company
developing
lidar systems
needed to help
guide
autonomous
vehicles.
The automaker
revealed it
owns a 7.6%
stake, or
13.06 million
shares, in
Velodyne
Lidar,
according to a
report filed
with the
Securities
Exchange
Commission.
With the
shares trading
at $17.40 per
share, the
stake is worth
approximately
$227.2
million. Ford
filed the
report to
remain
compliant with
the SEC...." Read more Hmmmm.... Interesting, but even
more
interesting is
the
SmartDrivingCarsPodCast / ZoomCast with John Rich. Alain
Staff,
Oct. 2020 "On
this page you
will find the
gradings of
cars tested by
Euro NCAP on
automated
driving
technologies.
For its 2020
assessment of
Highway Assist
systems, Euro
NCAP has
developed
dedicated test
and assessment
protocols,
divided into
two main
areas:
Assistance
Competence,
based on the
balance
between Driver
Engagement and
Vehicle
Assistance,
and Safety
Backup...." Read
more Hmmmm....Look carefully at each
component of
the rating
system. NCAP
has chosen one
algorithmic
way of "adding
apples and
oranges" to
get their
rating.
Unfortunately
they don't
divulge the
secret
formula. To
me, it doesn't
seem to be
sufficiently
iweighted on
what I
consider to be
the most
important
element...
"Collision
Avoidance".
If the system
doesn't do
that well,
then why
bother being
good at
Consumer
Information
(unless that
information
says clearly
that the
system doesn't
work well".
If NCAP itself did a good job of
Consumer
Information
then it would
divulge its
algorithm and
allow the
consumer to
edit its
weights to
trade-off what
the consumer
believes is
more or less
important.
A.
Efrati, July
22, "In just
five years,
TuSimple has
become the
biggest and
most visible
developer of
self-driving
trucks,
raising more
cash and
putting more
robotic big
rigs on the
road than any
rival.
High-profile
customers
including UPS
have
contracted to
let TuSimple
haul their
cargo on the
highway.
Executives
have forecast
heady revenue
and predicted
that fully
automated,
driverless
trucks are in
sight.
Instead,
TuSimple has
fallen short
of
expectations,
hampered by
the same
technological
challenges
that have
afflicted
other
developers of
self-driving
vehicles. It
had predicted
several
hundred
million
dollars of
revenue by
this year, but
instead
acknowledges
revenue is
minimal,
according to
the
company’s
financial
projections
reviewed by
The
Information.
And it has
fallen short
of its
timeline for
removing human
backup
drivers,
repeatedly..," Read
more Hmmm....
I simply don't
understand why
they have to
be focusing on
Driverless
right from the
beginning.
There is
substantial
RoI for
Safe-driving
Trucks...
reduced
expected
liability
(~$10/truck/year);
improved
comfort,
quality of
work place,
reduced
anxiety, ...
of drivers
yielding
improved
driver
recruiting and
retention;
improved
on-time
deliveries;
... continue
to yield very
attractive
RoIs for just
for
Safe-driving
truck
technology,
aka "Level
1/2". Why
isn't tuSimple
starting with
this
technology to
build its
advanced
distribution
network????
Alain
R. Bishop,
Mar 24, "I met
Stefan
Seltz-Axmacher
for the first
time in
November 2015
at the Florida
Automated
Vehicles
Summit. Not
long after, we
met at the
Blue Danube
coffee shop in
Alameda, CA so
he could tell
me about his
vision for
Starsky
Robotics. When
he
energetically
described his
remote-driving-for-trucks approach, I was skeptical.
“Remote
driving is
hard,â€ÂÂ
I said.
“The
military has
struggled with
this for
years. Its
harder than it
looks.†On the technical side, latency for secure
communications
is
challenging.
On the
operational
side,
re-creating
enough on-road
reality
(situational
awareness) for
a remote
driver is
difficult when
going for the
high levels of
safety needed.
Seltz-Axmacher
remained
bullish on the
approach and
at that time
went on to
found Starsky
Robotics as
one of the
earliest truck
AV startups,
later closing
a $16.5M
Series A
funding round
in March 2018,
and then
hauling
freight while
developing
both remote
and automated
driving
ability.
Initially,
Starsky’s
concept was
all about
remote driving
for first/last
mile. They
later expanded
their offering
to include
fully
automated
highway
driving on
limited
freight
corridors.
Now, Starsky
has become the
first casualty
within a
crowded truck
automation
space, and
Seltz-Axmacher
has provided
us with an
intriguing
post-mortem in
a recent
Medium post.
Most of the
media coverage
I’ve seen has acted as echo chambers for
Seltz-Axmacher’s
perspective.
Here I offer a
counterpoint
based on my
longtime
involvement in
truck
automation
plus
discussions
with many
others in the
truck
Automated
Driving
Systems (ADS)
startup space,
many of them
irate at what
they see as
unfounded
assertions
made in the
original post.
My sources
tell me that
because
Seltz-Axmacher
hasn't
experienced
their
technology nor
been briefed
on their
technical/safety
approach, he
has no basis
to make
sweeping
claims about
the entire
industry...." Read
more Hmmmm... Listen
to PodCast 148.
or/and Watch
us on YouTube.
Alain
A. Kornhauser, Jan 12, Hmmmm... Self-driving cars are hot and the OEMs are responding. I'm about to buy a new Subaru Outback and EyeSight is standard. It is no longer just AutoPilot or expensive options that car salesmen don't sell. Car companies, as reflected in what is in showrooms and what was promoted at CES, have realized the comfort and convenience of Self-driving technology (cars that have a lot of the Safe-driving car features but also enable you to take your feet off the pedals and hands off the wheel at least for short periods of time. These technologies are really becoming the 'chrome and fins' that sell cars to individuals in the 2020s. The momentum is all behind that happening and there is little Washington or Trenton or Princeton Council can do about it. Hopefully part of that momentum will be to make these systems actually work well, especially the Automated Emergency Braking Systems (MUST quit assuming that all stationary objects in the lane ahead can be passed under and consequently each is disregarded. As Tesla is finding out, sometimes those objects are parked firetrucks.) and begin to put hard limits on over-speeding, tailgating and use while driver is impaired. Self-driving cars are unfortunately going to lead to substantial urban sprawl, increased VMT, increased congestion and do nothing to help the energy and pollution challenges of our addiction to the personal automobile. Only 'Waymo-style Driverless' (autonomousTaxis, (aTaxis)) tuned to entice ride-sharing can potentially stem the tide of ever more personal car ownership and ever expanding urban sprawl. Alain
A. Kornhauser, Jan. 6, Hmmmm... I'm in rehab and hope to go home on Wednesday morning. Thank you to so many of you for all the good wishes and prayers. They each helped. I'm looking to making a full recovery. Remember, if you don't feel well, get evaluated by a doctor. I was totally clueless about what hit me from out of nowhere. Alain
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autonomousTaxi (aTaxi) stop facilitating true ride-sharing to any destination within the autonomous transit system's Operational Design Domain. The first of what may well become a half million or so others. Each strategically located to be less that a 5 minute walk from essentially any of the billion or so person trip ends that are made on any typical day in the USA (outside of Manhattan (whose subway stations provide the comparable accessibility). Twenty million or so aTaxi vehicles could readily provide on-demand, share-ride mobility from these ~0.5M aTaxi stops. Provided would be essentially the same 24/7 on-demand level-of-service as we do for ourselves with our own conventional automobiles; however, this mobility would be affordably achieved using half the energy, creating half the pollution, eliminating essentially all the congestion, doubling conventional transit ridership and making such improved mobility available to those who today can't or wish not to drive a conventional automobile. This is a MAJOR 1st. Alain
Oct 16, Establishes
fully
autonomous
vehicle pilot
program A4573 Sponsors:
Zwicker (D16);
Benson (D14)
Oct 16, Establishes New
Jersey
Advanced
Autonomous
Vehicle Task
Force AJR164Sponsors:
Benson (D14);
Zwicker (D16);
Lampitt (D6)
May
24, "About
9:58 p.m., on
Sunday, March
18, 2018, an
Uber
Technologies,
Inc. test
vehicle, based
on a modified
2017 Volvo
XC90 and
operating with
a self-driving
system in
computer
control mode,
struck a
pedestrian on
northbound
Mill Avenue,
in Tempe,
Maricopa
County,
Arizona.
...The
vehicle was
factory
equipped with
several
advanced
driver
assistance
functions by
Volvo Cars,
the original
manufacturer.
The systems
included a
collision
avoidance
function with
automatic
emergency
braking, known
as City
Safety, as
well as
functions for
detecting
driver
alertness and
road sign
information.
All these
Volvo
functions are
disabled when
the test
vehicle is
operated in
computer
control..." Read
more Hmmmm.... Uber must believe
that its
systems are
better at
avoiding
Collisions and
Automated
Emergency
Braking than
Volvo's. At least this gets Volvo
"off the
hook".
"...According to data obtained from the self-driving
system, the
system first
registered
radar and
LIDAR
observations
of the
pedestrian
about 6
seconds before
impact, when
the vehicle
was traveling
at 43 mph..." (=
63
feet/second)
So the system
started
"seeing an
obstacle when
it was 63 x 6
= 378 feet
away... more
than a
football
field,
including end
zones!
"...As the vehicle
and pedestrian
paths
converged, the
self-driving
system
software
classified the
pedestrian as
an unknown
object, as a
vehicle, and
then as a
bicycle with
varying
expectations
of future
travel
path..." (NTSB: Please tell us
precisely when
it classified
this "object'
as a vehicle and
be explicit
about the
expected "future
travel
paths." Forget the path, please just tell us the precise
velocity
vector that
Uber's system
attached to
the "object",
then the
"vehicle".
Why didn't the
the Uber
system
instruct the
Volvo to begin
to slow down
(or speed up)
to avoid a
collision? If
these paths
(or velocity
vectors) were
not accurate,
then why
weren't they
accurate? Why
was the object
classified as
a
"Vehicle" ?? When did it finally classify the object as a "bicycle"? Why did
it change
classifications?
How often was
the
classification
of this object
done. Please
divulge the
time and the
outcome of
each
classification
of this
object.
In the tests
that Uber has
done, how
often has the
system
mis-classified
an object as a"pedestrian"when the object was
actually an
overpass, or
an overhead
sign or
overhead
branches/leaves
that the car
could safely
pass under, or
was nothing at
all??
(Basically,
what are the
false alarm
characteristics
of Uber's
Self-driving
sensor/software
system as a
function of
vehicle speed
and
time-of-day?)
"...At 1.3 seconds before impact, (impact speed was 39mph = 57.2 ft/sec) the self-driving system determined that an emergency braking maneuver was needed to mitigate a collision" (1.3 x 57.2 = 74.4 ft. which is about equal to the braking distance. So it still could have stopped short.
"...According to Uber, emergency braking maneuvers are not
enabled while
the vehicle is
under computer
control, to
reduce (eradicate??) the potential for erratic
vehicle
behavior.
..." NTSB: Please describe/define potential and erratic vehicle behavior Also
please uncover
and divulge
the design
& decision
process that
Uber went
through to
decide that
this risk
(disabling the
AEB) was worth
the reward of
eradicating " "erratic vehicle behavior". This is fundamentally BAD design. If the Uber
system's false
alarm rate is
so large that
the best way
to deal with
false alarms
is to turn off
the AEB, then
the system
should never
have been
permitted on
public
roadways.
"...The vehicle operator is
relied on to
intervene and
take action. " Wow!
If Uber's
system
fundamentally
relies on a
human to
intervene,
then Uber is
nowhere near
creating a
Driverless
vehicle.
Without its
own Driverless
vehicle Uber
is past "Peak
valuation".
Video similar to part of Adam's Luncheon talk @ 2015 Florida Automated Vehicle Symposium on Dec 1. Hmmm ... Watch Video especially at the 13:12 mark. Compelling; especially after the 60 Minutes segment above! Also see his TipRanks. Alain
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