8.53 - Start 4th Summit

January 07, 2021Newsletter archive →

SmartDrivingCars eLetter

13.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif;">    4th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCars Summit

A. Kornhauser, & F. Fishkin, Dec. 17, Video Summary of 1st Session  Setting the Stage

SmartDrivingCars

Pod-Cast Episode 191  Zoom-Cast Episode 191  w/ Louis Aaron'23 and Joel Johnson

F. Fishkin, Dec. 20, "College student Joel Johnson has been keeping a log of dozens of trips in Waymo's self driving service in Chandler, Arizona, and posting videos on YouTube. Louis Aaron'23, another student, has been working with Elon Musk's Boring Company in Las Vegas. The two share their experiences with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in the latest Smart Driving Cars."  Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 190  Zoom-Cast Episode 190

w/Chris Urmson, Aurora

F. Fishkin, Dec. 15, "With Aurora taking over Uber's self driving efforts,  what is on the horizon for the start up whose leaders have roots at Waymo,  Tesla and Uber?    Co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in this special edition of Smart Driving Cars."

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.

Comprehensive regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles proposed to Government

Staff, Dec. 18, "The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (the Law Commissions) have today [18 December 2020] announced landmark proposals that will seek to ensure the safety of self-driving vehicles via a comprehensive new legal framework.

Hailed as "leading the way on the regulation of this technology" by Transport Minister Rachel Maclean, the Commissions propose a new approach to assigning responsibility.

The proposals include:

• Implementing a new, start-to-finish self-driving vehicle safety assurance scheme that includes monitoring performance and software updates throughout the vehicle's life

• Clearly defining the responsibility of drivers, users and fleet owners according to the capabilities of self-driving technologies, ensuring that self-driving vehicles are only ever used in the way they are intended

• Ensuring that manufacturers and technology developers recognise their role in guaranteeing the safety of the vehicle, while freeing the driver from responsibility when the self-driving mode is engaged. This would mean that the user-in-charge (a new concept to describe a former driver once the vehicle is driving itself) would not be criminally liable if an accident occurred whilst the self-driving mode is engaged.  ..." Read more 

  Hmmmm....See following The Guardian article and comment... Alain

Don't blame me if my driverless car crashes into you

T. Adams, Dec 20, "Five years ago, I was invited to test one of Google's prototype driverless cars on the streets near the company's headquarters in California. The car, alive with tech and sensors, navigated the traffic faultlessly and, sitting passively inside it, I could see only a couple of reasons why, by 2020, the vehicles would't be everywhere.

One stubborn problem was the insurer's question of who would be liable in the event of an "autonomous car" being involved in an accident. That came closer to being resolved last week with a framework government legal report suggesting, logically, that responsibility for all motoring offences, even fatal accidents, should transfer from the driver (now the "user-in-charge") to the car-maker or its software.... "  Read more 

Hmmmm.... Can't/won't be the car maker.  The car is the commodity.  It just did what it was told to do.  Those actuators are rock-solid and rarely go bad. Tires hold up the car. Throttle accelerates.  Brake decelerates.  Been doing that well for more than 100 years.  The car didn't didn't make any of the bad decisions that led to the crash.

It has to be the automatedDriver... the software & sensors that sense the environment, make the decisions and "tell" the actuators/car what to do.

It could also be the operator who placed the car in a situation that was outside the automatedDriver's Operational Design Domain.  But again, the automatedDriver should not have permitted/enabled the operator to operate outside of its Operational Design Domain,

So it is the automatedDriver that is the responsible entity and is desperately in need of "insurance" and the ultimate responsibility of determining that it is "Safe Enough" to incur the safety risk of providing affordable driverless mobility in an Operational Design Domain in order to achieve the improvements n quality-of-life afforded by the improved mobility in that ODD.

Since a disproportionate amount of the risk is being taken by the entity that created the automatedDriver that entity should simply buy the cars as a commodity and operate the fleet, .  Alain

Aurora sends offers to majority of Uber ATG employees, but not the R&D lab

K. Korosec, Dec 17, "Autonomous vehicle company Aurora Innovation  sent offers Thursday to more than 75% of employees at Uber  Advanced Technologies Group, just a week after announcing plans to acquire the self-driving subsidiary, according to a source familiar with the post-merger integration plans.

Uber ATG Toronto, which employs about 50 people where the subsidiary conducted its research and development work, did not not made the cut, according to a source. Nor has Uber ATG's chief scientist Raquel Urtasun, who led the Uber ATG R&D team. It was previously confirmed that Uber ATG CEO Eric Meyhofer would not join Aurora once the deal closed. Until today, it was unclear if Urtasun, a University of Toronto professor and the Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning and Computer Vision as well as the co-founder of the Vector Institute for AI, would be moving over to Aurora. Urtasun is considered a leading expert in machine perception for self-driving cars...."  Read more 

Hmmmm.... I interpret this to mean that Chris is confident in Aurora's Driverless technology stack and is looking at this acquisition as enhancing Aurora's ability to safely deliver and scale mobility valued by customers.  Alain

Autonomous Vehicles and the Future of Auto Insurance

K. Stanley, Dec. 2020, "To investigate the impact that autonomous vehicles (AVs) could have on U.S. automobile insurance, researchers interviewed stakeholders and conducted a literature review. A key finding from their research is that the U.S. automobile insurance system should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate the introduction of AVs. Most experts agreed that, although some changes to the U.S. automobile insurance model may be indicated as vehicles are increasingly automated, it is too early to make radical changes to the U.S. automobile insurance system.

In addition, a majority of experts predicted that AVs would be deployed through a fleet ownership model, although their predictions regarding the specific formulation of fleet ownership differed. A majority of experts also said that the insurance claims process for accidents involving AVs and conventional cars would not change significantly in the future, and experts agreed that consumer acceptance was very important to successful AV deployment...."  Read more,

Hmmmm.... Haven't had a chance to fully consume, but ...

1.  Amazing that the researchers spent time on "no-fault' insurance.  This approach implies that crashes are independent of driver mis-behavior. This can only exist if all road vehicles are automated with equally good automated drivers.  No conventional cars being driven by mis-behaving humans.  Since we have barely started automating cars, this isn't going to be a really for a very long time, if ever. (Human-driven horse-drawn carriages still use public roads in Pennsylvania and other states.)  Moreover, insurance itself should be a motivating the car buying public to purchase automated safety features.  This technology fundamentally helps customers from causing crashes when they mis-behave, thus closing the loop and allowing insurance to keep more of the revenue derived from premiums from their customers who purchased crash-avoidance technologies. Making insurance no-fault takes away any financial incentive to purchase or even use technology that makes one a better driver.  That's a monumental incentive that would vaporize with no-fault insurance.  So I find the discussion on Automated technology (Levels 1, 2 or 3) baffling.

The focus is on Autonomous ("Levels 4 & 5") and not really on Automated (Levels 1, 2 or 3).  I, of course, love that Rand organized automated driving of vehicles using public roads into just two groups.  Those that require real-time supervision by fully capable of driving humans (so poorly called "Level 1,2 &3" by SAE/NHTSA) and those that do not need, nor desire, real-time human assistance   ("Level 4".  I prefer to withhold recognition of "Level 5" because it requires the automation system to be able to perform in all circumstances which by its definition is never achievable, so why bother discussing it.  Circumstances are really important in driving.  So important that we should be using "Operational Design Domain" as the descriptor as Rand uses throughout its recent report "Safe Enough".  The ODD for conventional cars requires us to not mis-behave when we drive.  Again, most crashes are occur when conventional cars are operated outside their ODD; when we mis-behave.  One of the fundamental advantages of automation is that the ODD itself ca/must contain a precise definition of its ODD and can be precluded from wandering outside its ODD, kept from mis-behaving. Thus, the precise specifications of the ODD is critical to the discussion/operation of any automated system.)

2. Unfortunately, I found the report very hard to digest. While it contains a realization that Autonomous vehicles ("Level 4")  will be primarily "Owned" and operated by Fleets, accommodation of private ownership seems to get in the way.  Instead of grouping Fleet owners with individual consumers, these should have been treated separately.   It is all about who is responsible for safe operation.  For Fleets, Fleet owners/"substantial entities" are responsible for safety.  These entities have substantial resources and stakes.  Individuals have limited resources and have very little opportunity to capture any benefits/efficiencies in scale.  Fleets have assets at-risk (reputation .. etc.), can self-insure and have access to re-insurance.  Individuals can readily walk away, have limited resources and are unlikely to be able to maintain the technology sufficiently well without their continued oversight; thus, effectively negating/voiding the "Level 4"  functionalities.  These two "customers" of  Autonomous vehicles ("Level 4") need to be treated separately as they are today.  personal car insurance is very different than corporate fleet insurance.

3. There is implication in the presentation that this technology evolves Level to higher Level.  There is not at all necessarily true.  In fact, some/many feel that "Level 3" is infeasible because "responsibility" for the safe operation of the vehicle must be adopted by the manufacturer when the car is being operated automatically and can revert to the driver when the driver is driving.  That would require the manufacturer to assume responsibility for the good working order of the automation function.  Will any manufacturer ever feel that it has enough control and oversight on the maintenance aspects of privately owned to ever agree to accept the responsibility of its safe operation? OEMs have never been in that business and I can't imagine they'll ever want to go there.  Alain

What The EV And AV Community Wants From A Biden Administration

S. Talbott, Dec. 17, "Dear President-Elect Biden,

This year it appears that you will be the one who will be able to grant us our Christmas wish for the upcoming year. The United States of America has had a very very difficult year and what we need from You is a vision of a better built tomorrow that takes into account the transportation needs of all. Mr. Biden that will require an Autonomous/Electric Vehicle Czar. The Czar's mandate should be to provide a strategy and develop a framework for Autonomous and Electric Vehicles that prioritizes equity in transportation.

We know that much like other industries, parts of the transportation industry have suffered greatly during this year. Unlike sales of vehicles over $30,000, sales for vehicles under $30,000 have been decimated by the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. The truth is that the inequities in the transportation market mirror the rest of society where we see a world of have and have nots. ...

Transportation equity should be a cornerstone of the work that you do in your administration. If we want to build back and build back better, then there has to be a recognition of the lack of transportation options for too many.

President-elect Biden the political economy of Autonomous and Electric vehicles calls for a White House Czar and that's all we want for Christmas (along with the pandemic to go away)."  Read more 

Hmmmm....Well said, Selika.  Alain

Battery prices have fallen 88 percent over the last decade T. Lee, Dec. 18, "The average cost of a lithium-ion battery pack fell to $137 per kWh in 2020, according to a new industry survey from BloombergNEF. That's an inflation-adjusted decline of 13 percent since 2019. The latest figures continue the astonishing progress in battery technology over the last decade, with pack prices declining 88 percent since 2010.

Large, affordable batteries will be essential to weaning the global economy off fossil fuels. Lithium-ion batteries are the key enabling technology for electric vehicles. They're also needed to smooth out the intermittent power generated by windmills and solar panels.

But until recently, batteries were simply too expensive for these applications to make financial sense without mandates and subsidies. Now, that is becoming less and less true. BloombergNEF estimates that battery-pack prices will fall to $100 per kWh by 2024. That's roughly the level necessary for BEVs to be price-competitive with conventional cars without subsidies. Given that electric vehicles are cheap to charge and will likely require less maintenance than a conventional car, they will be an increasingly compelling option over the next decade...."   Read more 

Hmmmm.... This is non-trivial! Electric motors are much more simple (fewer parts)  than ICEs, and don't require a transmission.  If batteries become as cheap as a gas tank (still have a long way to go, but order-of-magnitude reduction in 10 yeas is a start), and if we can generate all the electricity we need without coal (EVs consume new electricity, which comes from coal that we would not have had to burn), then EVs may actually make real sense.    Alain

Inside Zoox's six-year ride from prototype to product

K. Korosec, Dec 15, "Zoox, the autonomous vehicle company that was acquired this year by Amazon, revealed this week the product of six years of work: A purpose-built self-driving vehicle designed to carry people — and someday maybe even packages — in dense urban environments.

The company's story has captured the attention of skeptics and supporters alike, perhaps because of its secretive nature and outsized mission. Unlike its rivals, Zoox  is developing the self-driving software stack, the on-demand ride-sharing app and the vehicle itself. Zoox also plans to own, manage and operate its robotaxi fleet.

It's been an expensive pursuit that almost led to its demise before Amazon snapped it up — and the mission is still far from over. But today, as an independent Amazon subsidiary, it has the financial support of one of the world's most valuable public companies.

TechCrunch interviewed Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson about the company's milestone, the vehicle design, its exit to Amazon and what lies ahead...."  Read more 

Hmmmm.... Very interesting.  Alain

Sustainable and Attainable: Zoox Unveils Autonomous Robotaxi

Press release, Dec 17, "...Unlike current passenger vehicles that focus on the driver, Zoox is designed for riders. The vehicle was built from the start to optimize features necessary for autonomous, electric mobility, such as sensor placement and large batteries.

Each vehicle features four-wheel steering, allowing it to pull into tight curb spaces without parallel parking. This capability makes it easy for Zoox to pick up and drop off riders, quickly getting to the curb and out of the flow of traffic to provide a better and safer experience.

The vehicle is bidirectional, so there is no fixed front or back end. It can pull forward into a driveway and forward out onto the road without reversing. In the case of an unexpected road closure, the vehicle can simply flip directions or use four-wheel steering to turn around. No reversing required.

Inside the vehicle, carriage seating facilitates clear visibility of the vehicle's surroundings as well as socializing. Each seat has the same amount of space and delivers the same experience — there's no bad seat in the house. Carriage seating also makes room for a wider aisle, allowing passengers to easily pass by each other without getting up or contorting into awkward positions..."  Read more 

Hmmmm.... I guess, but... the vehicle itself seems to be just a 1st cut and pretty much a continuation of ZooX rather than some new insight from Amazon.  Why is entry from the side?  Why facing seats?  What about wheel chair accessibility? No OLED screens?  Cup holders?? Doesn't seem to have leveraged much from the removal of the requirement to accommodate a human driver and the replacement of the ICE & transmission with electric motors.  Alain

The Station: Uber's 2020 evolution and QuantumScape's big breakthrough

K. Korosec, Dec 14, The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive it every Saturday in your inbox.

Hi friends and new readers, welcome back to The Station, a newsletter dedicated to all the present and future ways people and packages move from Point A to Point B...."  Read more 

Hmmmm.... In case I've missed some things, Kirsten probably has it here.  Alain

C'mon Man!(These folks didn't get/read the memo)

Sunday Supplement

Half-Baked

Walmart removes the safety driver from autonomous trucking tests

N. Lavars, Dec 15, ".... The next phase of the trials will see these trips carried out without anybody onboard, beginning next year. ..." (Alain's emphasis) Read more 

Hmmmm.... Let's wait until the "next phase" actually starts before we get too excited here.  The headline should at best read:  "... In the Next Phase Walmart Plans to Remove..."  Alain

Click-Bait

Calendar of Upcoming Events:s

font-family: Georgia, serif;">4thAnnual PrincetonSmartDrivingCar Summit

Description of Weekly Series on Zoom Next Episode: noon ET

A Look into the Future Expert Perspectives on Automated Driver Assistance and Affordable Mobility Princeton University Princeton, NJ

On the More Technical Side

http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/

These editions are sponsored by the SmartETFs Smart Transportation and Technology ETF, symbol MOTO. For more information head to www.motoetf.com

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 189  Zoom-Cast Episode 189

F. Fishkin, Dec. 11, "With the 4th Annual Princeton Smart Driving Cars Summit about to get underway...a preview of what's to come. Plus..Aurora takes over Uber's self-driving car project, Cruise tests fully driverless behind the wheel, is Apple planning a self-driving surprise and more. Join Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin ...and subscribe!" SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 188  Zoom-Cast Episode 188

F. Fishkin, Dec. 6, "The Nikola saga continues, AutoX goes fully driverless with robotaxis in China...plus Luminar, Tesla, TuSimple and more. Join Princeton University's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for Episode 188 of Smart Driving Cars."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 187  Zoom-Cast Episode 187 w/Michael Sena, 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.."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 186  Zoom-Cast Episode 186 w/Kelly Funkhouser, 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."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 185  Zoom-Cast Episode 185 w/Dan Smith, F. Fishkin, Nov 20, "Only Waymo has been transporting customers in driverless vehicles without a safety monitor on board.   What goes into that kind of decision? Waymo Assistant General Counsel Dan Smith joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin in this special edition of Smart Driving Cars."  Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 184  Zoom-Cast Episode 184  w/Marjory Blumenthal,  Rand

F. Fishkin, Nov 20, "So when are driverless vehicles safe enough to be deployed? Senior Rand Corporation policy researcher Marjory Blumenthal joins Princeton University's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to examine her latest report and more."  Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 183 Zoom-Cast Episode 183   w/Kirsten Korosec F. Fishkin, Nov 13, "Rivian's hands free driver assistance will be standard equipment...while Ford unveils the E-Transit. TechCrunch Senior Transportation reporter and editor Kirsten Korosec joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Nuro, Tesla, Uber, Lyft, Cruise and more. Plus the coming changes for mobility under a new administration!"  Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 181 Zoom-Cast Episode 181  w/Sheldon Sandler & Glenn Mercer F. Fishkin, Oct. 30, "Waymo releases self driving data...while traditional car dealers enjoy surprisingly strong profits during the pandemic.   Why?  What about the coming autonomous mobility?  Bell Air Partners' Sheldon Sandler and researcher-consultant Glenn Mercer explain in Episode 181 of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin.  "

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 180  Zoom-Cast Episode 180 w/John Rich, Ford/Argo, part 2

F. Fishkin, Oct. 15, "Ford and Argo AI have unveiled their next generation self-driving test vehicle. Once again, Ford's Director of Autonomous Vehicle and Technology Development John Rich joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to unveil the technology and the company's self driving business plans."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 179 Zoom-Cast Episode 179  w/John Rich, Ford/Argo SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 178  Zoom-Cast Episode 178 w/Andrew Hawkins, Verge SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 177    Zoom-Cast Episode 177

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 176  Zoom-Cast Episode 176 w/Marc Scribner

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 175   Zoom-Cast Episode 175  w/Michael Sena

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 174 Zoom-Cast Episode 174 w/Kelly Funkhouser, Consumer Reports

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 173 Zoom-Cast Episode 173  w/Nathanial Beuse SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 172Zoom-Cast Episode 172  Special Edition w/Danny Shapiro

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 171Zoom-Cast Episode 171 w/Henry Greenidge

SmartDrivingCars  PodCast Episode 170  ZoomCast Episode170  w/Michael Sena SmartDrivingCars  PodCast Episode 169 ZoomCast Episode 169  w/Anthony Townsend SmartDrivingCars  PodCast Episode 168 ZoomCast Episode 168  w/Olaf Sakkers SmartDrivingCars  PodCast Episode167  ZoomCast Episode167  w/Robin Chase, Carlos Pardo & Daniel Sperling SmartDrivingCars PodCast Episode 166ZoomCast Episode 166 w/Jay Rodgers'95, CEO Local Motors

Episode 005   AmaZooks

• Zoom-inar Video (Video replay) AmaZooks

• PodCast (Audio Only)   AmaZooks

SmartDrivingCars PodCast Episode 165,ZoomCast Episode165 w/Michael Sena

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast 164 Episode 164,   Zoom-Cast Episode 163 w/Robbie Diamond

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 163, Zoom-Cast Episode 163 w/Henry Greenidge SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 162,  Zoom-Cast Episode 162  w/Cliff Winston

Episode 004  Insurance: For or Against SmartDrivingCars?

• Zoom-inar (Video replay)  Insurance: For or Against SmartDrivingCars?

• PodCast (Audio Only) Insurance: For or Against SmartDrivingCars?

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 161,Zoom-Cast Episode 161   w/Alberto Stochino

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 160, Zoom-Cast Episode 160  w/Jessica Cicchino

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 159,  Zoom-Cast Episode 159  w/Kara Kockelman   DrivingTheDebate Episode 003  Everyone's for Connectivity; but...

• Zoom-inar (Video replay)  Everyone's for Connectivity; but...

• PodCast (Audio Only) Everyone's for Connectivity; but...

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 158,  Zoom-Cast Episode 158  w/Chunka Mui

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 157,  Zoom-Cast Episode 157 w/Grayson Brulte

DrivingTheDebate Episode 002  The Future of Public Roadway Transit

• Zoom-inar Video (Video replay)Smart Driving Cars: The Future of Public Roadway Transit

• PodCast (Audio Only) Smart Driving Cars: The Future of Public Roadway TransitSmartDrivingCars

• Pod-Cast Episode 156,  Cars Zoom-Cast Episode 156  w/Danny Shapiro2

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 155,Zoom-Cast Episode 155  w/Alex Roy2 SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 154, Zoom-Cast Episode 154   w/Dan Sperling

DrivingTheDebate Episode 001 The Driverless "New Normal" Debate

• Zoom Video

• SmartDrivingCar PodCast (Audio Only) Smart Driving Cars: The Driverless New Normal Debate

• Zoom Audience Questions (Only a few were addressed in Zoom-inar)

• Zoom Audience Comments

• YouTube Video

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 153, Zoom-Cast Episode 153 w/Dick Mudge2

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 152,Zoom-Cast Episode 152 w/Brad Templeton

SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 148  Zoom-Cast Episode 148 w/Richard Bishop

SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 147 - Michael Sena SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 142 - J. Hughes SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 141- A. Roy SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 139- Randal O'Toole SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 135 - with Jim Atkinson SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 130 with Dick Mudge & Michael Sena

SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 112 - J. Hardiman NJM SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 110 - Lance Elliot SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 108 3rd Summit Wrapup SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 107 3rd Summit Leilei Shinohara & Staff Sergeant Terence McDonnell SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 106 3rd Summit David Kidd & Cecillia Feeley SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 104 3rd Summit Anil Lewis & Katherine Freund SmartDrivingCars  Podcast Episode 97 - Michael Sena'69 SmartDrivingCars Episode 71-Ralf Nader'55 SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 69 - Chunka Mui SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 65 - Bernard Soriano, CA DMV SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 58-Keith Code,Motorcycles SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 55-Larry Burns, Autonomy

Recent Highlights of:

December 11, 2020

Uber, After Years of Trying, Is Handing Off Its Self-Driving Car Project 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

December 04, 2020   Nikola Teaches GM a Lesson 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 "Badger" 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 alsoAndrew Hawkin's take as well as David Morris'.  Alain

Nikola stock plunge continues as insider lockup period ends T. Lee, Dec 1, "In June, aspiring hydrogen truckmaker Nikola became a publicly traded company thanks to a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. That transaction included a 180-day lockup for company insiders, designed to prevent them from dumping their shares on unsuspecting investors in the first few days of trading.

Today is the first day those insiders can sell their shares, and Nikola's stock price is down 15 percent. That's on top of yesterday's 26 percent decline after Nikola announced it was canceling its Badger pickup truck...." Read more 

Hmmmm... More lessons.  Alain

November 26, 2020

The Vehicle Fuel Debate Has Been Hijacked

M. Sena, Nov. 19, "The lead article this month was inspired by a diagram I received showing how much of the energy that we generate to heat our homes, light up our rooms, make the concrete and steel to build our infrastructure and power our transportation is wasted. It's over two-thirds. Wasted! Half of it is from producing electricity.

There are a spate of battery and hybrid electric cars (and some others) on their way from China to Europe and North America. Some of the ones I describe in the Dispatch Central section will be familiar to readers since I wrote about them earlier. I could not help writing again about Volvo's slow but steady exit from Sweden. In the self-driving and data sharing section there is some interesting news out of the UK and Massachusetts, a state (actually a Commonwealth just like Pennsylvania, my home state) where I registered most of the cars I have owned during the eighteen years I lived there.

Waymo has delivered quite a bit of news to the press during the past few months. It seemed like everyone was putting the same spin on what they were saying. Naturally, I decided to spin in the other direction. In Musings of a Dispatcher I have mused about who is going to be sitting in all of those driverless vehicles. Will they be from Mars or from Venus?..."  Read more

Hmmmm... What can I say?? Another great edition of the Dispatcher. Be sure to read all the way through including  "Musings of a Dispatcher: Cars are from Mars".  Enjoy and listen/watch the following Pod/Zoom-casts. Alain November 20, 2020

Active Driving Assistance Systems: Test Results and Design Recommendations

Staff, Nov. 2020, "In line with Consumer Reports"  mission to create a fair, safe, and consumer-driven marketplace, this report has been written for the industry to provide more explanation and guidance on the state of Active Driving Assistance systems based on our recent evaluation. While the systems are not equally capable, and may be designed with different usage intentions, C's evaluation focused on real-world driving experience of consumers, keeping safety at the forefront. Our goals:

• Support the creation of government policies and company practices to ensure that innovation and safety go hand-in-hand

• Use consumer data to inform the industry of best-practices to aid in development

•  Influence the safe design, testing, and deployment of systems consumers will like and use

•  Advocate for transparency and clarity in marketing and consumer education of system

In 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 NOT turn off the ACC. It should ONLY disengage the acceleration/throttle function of the ACC.

Tapping of the brakes by the driver is an indication that the driver no longer wishes to accelerate, NOT that the driver no longer wishes to slow down or stop.  So why do these systems turn off ACC (which disengage both the acceleration and deceleration functions, rather than just turning off the acceleration/throttle function. (I think that I actually know why... it is an SAE "recommendation".  Just another

Alain L. Kornhauser, PhD

Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering

Director, Transportation Program

Faculty Chair, Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering

229 Sherrerd Hall

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

609-258-4657 (o)

609-980-1427 (c)

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