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5th Annual SmartDrivingCars Summit:  Deployment of High Quality Affordable Mobility for All throughout New Jersey.

Thursday evening Nov. 18, through Saturday Nov. 20, 2021. Live (Covid permitting) Trenton, New Jersey.  This 5th Summit is inspired by the many levels of public-sector, community and neighborhood welcoming and support that now exists in New Jersey for the deployment of high-quality affordable mobility.  Mobility made possible by technology to especially those in New Jersey that, for what ever reason, don’t have access to their own personal car.  

As Robin Chase presented in one of her slides in my course this past week, right now, this instant, 180 million Americans, more than 50%, don’t have access to a car.  All 16 and under, most above 85, the many too poor, half of two person households with one car… That’s more than 50% of our US population.  The mobility equity afforded by this technology can substantially improve the quality-of-life of so many, immediately.

We envision the initial deployment along the lines of what was presented at the end of the 4th SDC Summit this past Spring, in Trenton, the State Capitol, where 70% of the household have access to at most one car.  We believe that this is a perfect Operational Design Domain (ODD) to successfully deploy with the opportunity to expand throughout Mercer County and replicate the  deployment throughout the State.  The welcoming environment now exists in New Jersey to enable a successful Public-Private Partnership to deliver this enhanced mobility to the residents of Trenton and all New Jersians.  The 5th Summit will focus directly on the initial phases of this most equitable mobility deployment in Trenton. Alain

  The Major Problems Blocking America’s Electric Car Future

D. Yergin, Aug. 31, “…Recently, I asked Wagoner about that conversation. “The focus then was on making the internal combustion engine better,” he replied. “I was asking, ‘If we were starting the industry today, what would be different?’”

A pretty clear answer about how different came earlier this month from President Joe Biden when he issued an executive order setting out the goal that “50 percent of all new passenger cars and light vehicles sold in 2030” should be electric. In the order, he instructed government agencies to implement regulatory policies to achieve that goal. “There’s a vision of the future that is now beginning to happen,” said the president. This vision clearly does not involve making the internal combustion engine better….

The third challenge involves the public — the people who buy automobiles….” Read more Hmmmm…  Amazing… This article assumes that electricity that goes through the chargers into the batteries that requires all that mining, transport and processing to capture that electricity and trickle it out as we are leisurely going to grandma’s house, magically appears.  Where does electricity come from?  How is it manufactured, by whom, with what equipment.  What is produced today has persistent customers that aren’t going to go away.

All of our nice ways (solar, wind, hydro and nuclear) to make electricity (electricity is made) are at capacity and we are still using bad ways (coal) and not so bad ways (natural gas) to serve existing customers.

Not so when replacing petroleum with electricity.  One also needs a new way to create the mobility that the petroleum was delivering to its customers consuming mobility.  A whole new layer is needed (the EV).  So maybe for this challenge we should be focusing on “making the internal combustion engine better”, certainly until we get a lot better at solar and wind, else we won’t be able to turn off those coal and natural gas plants for a very long time.

Use of the 5.850-5.925 GHz Band

A Rule by the Federal Communications Commission on 05/03/2021, “C. ITS in the 5.895-5.925 GHz Band

25. To promote the most effective use of the upper 30 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band, the Commission determined that the ITS service should be based on use of one technology, and concluded that C-V2X technology would provide the best means of achieving its goals for ITS in the coming years. In the First Report and Order, the Commission provided technical flexibility to enable ITS licensees currently using DSRC-based technology to operate in this 30-megahertz ITS band until the time ITS services must operate using C-V2X technology. Because the Commission believed that many, if not most, of the active ITS licensees would want to transition to C-V2X technology as soon as possible to speed development and deployment of ITS services, it decided to permit, through its waiver process, the deployment of C-V2X technology during the transition period in a manner that would not interfere with existing DSRC-based operations…  Read more Hmmmm…An important ruling that I had missed.  Alain

  I’m a Lyft Driver. My Passengers Act Like I’m Part of the App

P. Jakubowicz, Sep 4, “…What disturbs me more is how experiencing life through apps may prompt us to reframe our experiences as something different from what they are, into experiences abstracted from objective reality. A layer is created through which empathy and care don’t necessarily pass. That layer is a product of using services designed to make our lives easier, but it also disconnects us from each other. In my case, I felt as if I was seeing how passengers would act if they were in an autonomous car….”  Read more Hmmmm… Very interesting in many ways with serious implications about the sociology challenges of aTaxis (and Siri/Alexa/…/ourselves). Alain

Tesla will make sure you are a good driver before giving you access to Full Self-Driving Beta

F. Lambert, Sep 17, “Elon Musk said that Tesla will use its telemetry data to make sure customers are “good” drivers before allowing them to access its Full Self-Driving Beta software.

This is a tricky situation since those customers already paid for the software.

Last week, Tesla started pushing its new Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta v10 software update to its early access fleet.

Tesla FSD Beta enables Tesla vehicles to virtually drive themselves both on highways and city streets, but it is still considered a level 2 driver assist since it requires driver supervision at all times. The driver remains responsible for the vehicle, and needs to keep their hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take control…. ”  Read more Hmmmm… Yup!  A very tricky situation.  Since it is a “beta” version, then he can do that, but at some point Tesla has to deliver to its customers what was sold to them.  It may well be cheaper, and better, to refund all customers and start the sales process over again.  The second time around Tesla can ensure that customers realize that they must remain vigilant and they are responsible for any mishap that might occur.  At the same time, change the name so that the driver’s responsibility is crystal clear.  This is actually a “winning” strategy because Tesla has gotten a tremendous amount of buzz; folks have bought Teslas, and “80%” of those that bought FSD will buy it again.  They each believe they are “good drivers”.  I’m a good driver!!!!!😎 They’ll sell it to essentially all of us.  Alain

   NHTSA seeking driver-assist data from automakers in Tesla Autopilot probe

A. LaFOrest, Sep 14, ” U.S. auto safety regulators are requesting substantial amounts of data on advanced driver-assistance systems from major automakers to aid their investigation into 12 Tesla crashes involving Autopilot and first responder scenes.

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation sent letters Monday to 12 automakers, including Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Toyota Motor North America and Volkswagen Group of America, to gather information for comparing vehicles equipped with Level 2 driver-assist systems, where the vehicle has the ability to control steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under certain conditions.

For each automaker, the agency is seeking the number of vehicles equipped with Level 2 systems that have been manufactured for sale, lease or operation in the U.S. as well as the cumulative mileage covered with the systems engaged and a log of the most recent updates to the systems.

The agency also is requesting all consumer complaints, field reports, crash reports and lawsuits that may relate to the driver-assist systems.

Automakers must describe the types of roads and driving conditions where the systems are intended to be used, and the methods and technologies used to prevent usage outside the operational design domain specified to customers. In addition, automakers must provide an overview of their approach to enforce driver engagement or attentiveness while the systems are in use…”  Read more Hmmmm… Can’t wait to read the responses.  I wonder if any of the OEM even log “mileage covered with system engaged.”  Why would they? …  NHTSA might request it some day. 

What are the privacy implications?  ??? What other data are my car accumulating on how I use it without telling me (Of course, I didn’t read even the big print in my owner’s manual, let alone the fine print.) Alain

  The Disco Ball Is How You Know She Won’t Give You a Parking Ticket

B. Berman, Sep. 16, “Ms. Devine, 54, is among a loose-knit group of a few dozen San Franciscans who are reclaiming former Go-4 and Cushman parking enforcement vehicles for transportation and personal expression. “If there’s more creativity in the way we move in the world, it’s an antidote to the sad and sunken place that many people find themselves these days,” she said.

The vehicles have a distinct practical advantage. Three-wheelers are legally classified as motorcycles, so they can be parked perpendicular to the curb. As a result, drivers of these mini-trucks — a little over four feet wide — find immediate parking throughout the city while four-wheeled cars circle the blocks in vain, their drivers fuming….” Read more Hmmmm… Brings back memories of Dr. Jon Danna Raggett, my grad student office mate @ Princeton, who, after getting his degree, moved to Vegas and did the same thing with a 3-wheeled postal vehicle, a 1963 Westcoaster Mailster.  This was circa, 1970, 50 years ago.  I visited him and we tooled up to Ceasers Palace with me sitting on a stool in the back.  Jon asked the valet to park it carefully, just as in Ferris Bueller’s  Day Off. 😎 Alain

  The SpaceX Inspiration4 mission splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida’s coast. Its crew of amateur astronauts spent three days in orbit.

M. Roston, Sep. 18, “…” Read more Hmmmm… Nothing but impressive.  Replay @ https://www.spacex.com/launches/  Alain