2021-01-24

9.03 - Misbehavior

January 24, 2021Newsletter archive →

J. Karoub, Jan. 21, "Robert Hampshire, associate professor at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy whose research and policy engagement focuses on understanding the societal, climate and equity implications of autonomous and connected vehicles and other innovative mobility services, has joined the Biden administration to work in the U.S. Transportation Department. Robert Hampshire, associate professor at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy whose research and policy engagement focuses on understanding the societal, climate and equity implications of autonomous and connected vehicles and other innovative mobility services, has joined the Biden administration to work in the U.S. Transportation Department." Read more

Pod-Cast Episode 195 Zoom-Cast Episode 195 w/Diana Furchtgott-Roth, G. Washington U.

F. Fishkin, Jan. 24, "." Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!". Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ... Alain

4th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit

How demographics, COVID-19 and the new U.S. administration will change the equation for safely-driven and driverless cars

Georgia, serif;"> Video Summary of 1st Session: Setting the Stage

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.

T. Mann, Jan 21, "Former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg pledged Thursday his support forPresident Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure-rebuilding planduring a confirmation hearing before a Senate panel.

The $2 trillion target is tied to Mr. Biden's goal to use climate change as a wedge for economic development, focused on rebuilding roads and bridges and expanding zero-emission mass transit and electric-car infrastructure. In all, the administration seeks to spend $7 trillion over a decade to combat climate change, his campaign and third-party experts have said.

Mr. Buttigieg, Mr. Biden's nominee to lead the Transportation Department, told the Senate Commerce Committee that he would pursue the administration's goals to drive federal spending on roads, rails and bridges...." Read more

NHTSA, Dec 202, "A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first 9 months of 2020 shows that an estimated 28,190 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents an increase of about 4.6 percent as compared to 26,941 fatalities reported to have occurred in the first 9 months of 2019, as shown in Table 1. Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the first 9 months of 2020 decreased by about 355.5 billion miles, or about a 14.5-percent decrease. Also shown in Table 1 are the fatality rates per 100 million VMT, by quarter. The fatality rate for the first 9 months of 2020 increased to 1.35 fatalities per 100 million VMT, up from the 1.10 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first 9 months of 2019 " Read more

FT, Jan. 19, "Microsoft has invested in Cruise, the General Motors driverless car unit, in a $2 billion funding round that gives the autonomous driving company a $30 billion valuation.

Cruise, which was bought by GM for "more than $1 billion" in 2016, when it had just 40 employees, now has almost 2,000 staff and accounts for more than 40 percent of GM's $71.5 billion market capitalisation...." Read more

W. Boston, Jan 19, "Five years and nearly $50 billion into the auto industry's biggest bet on electric vehicles, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and his guest, Chancellor Angela Merkel, stood in anticipation as the first ID.3, Germany's long-awaited answer to Tesla, rolled off the assembly line.

The event at the company's flagship EV plant just over a year ago marked a "systemic shift from the combustion engine to the electric vehicle," said Thomas Ulbrich, leader of the ID.3 effort.

The car, however, didn't work as advertised.

It could drive, turn corners and stop on a dime. But the fancy technology features VW had promised were either absent or broken. The company's programmers hadn't yet figured out how to update the car's software remotely. Its futuristic head-up display that was supposed to flash speed, directions and other data onto the windshield didn't function. Early owners began reporting hundreds of other software bugs...." Read more

P. McGeehan, Jan 21, "Few public spaces in the country have been derided so thoroughly and so often as the Port Authority Bus Terminal in the heart of Manhattan.

The dreary 70-year-old station, with its leaky ceilings and dingy vestibules, has become synonymous with the overburdened, crumbling infrastructure that has made commuting in New York City a slog.

Now, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the busiest bus terminal in the country, has settled on a final proposal for transforming it into a 21st-century transit hub capable of handling many more buses. The project's announcement on Thursday follows the opening on Jan. 1 of the Moynihan Train Hall, a majestic, light-filled terminus meant to alleviate overcrowding at Pennsylvania Station.... The Port Authority wants the new terminal to be able to handle 1,000 buses during the peak evening rush hour, up from about 850 today. It also would be designed to provide charging equipment for electric buses, according to the plan...." Read more

Opinion, Jan. 21, "The coronavirus pandemic is jeopardizing the long-term health of the public transit systems that provide a crucial circulatory system for major American cities — particularly for lower-income residents who depend on trains and buses to get to work, the market or the doctor.

Transit authorities have tried to ride out the pandemic, which has sharply reduced ridership and farebox revenues, by curtailing service. In New York, where the subway famously runs through the night, the subway no longer runs through the night. Metra, the Chicago area's primary commuter rail service, has suspended roughly half of its daily schedule. Atlanta's regional transportation agency has stopped running buses on more than 60 of its 110 bus routes.

These transit cuts are yet another area in which affluence has shaped the experience of the pandemic. Many well-to-do commuters are able to work from home, or to drive to the office. The changes amount to an inconvenience. Millions of lower-income Americans, meanwhile, work in jobs that require their presence, and they cannot afford to get to work in other ways. They must leave home earlier, wait longer, walk farther and return later. What once took half an hour may now take two hours. A direct commute may now require two transfers...." Read more

A. Kharpal, Jan 20, "President Donald Trump has pardoned Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer sentenced to prison for stealing trade secrets relating to driverless cars from the search giant.

On Wednesday, Levandowksi was among dozens of individuals who received a full pardon from Trump on his last night in the White House.

The White House listed tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey as supporters of Levandowski's pardon. Thiel was a major supporter and advisor for the 2016 campaign, but did not back Trump's reelection effort. Luckey hosted a fundraiser for Trump just weeks before the 2020 election...." Read more

A. Fox, Jan 11, "The time for consumer autonomous cars is fast approaching, and investors can already kick the tires. Auto supplier Aptiv showed off its improving self-driving abilities at a virtual Consumer Electronic Show on Monday, indicating that some autonomous services, such as robotaxis, are just around the corner.

Aptiv (ticker: APTV) announced a new brain, or system architecture, for intelligent vehicles as well as its next-generation ADAS, or advanced driver assistance systems, products.

ADAS, pronounced "eh-das," is industry jargon for autonomous driving. At its most sophisticated level, the cars drive themselves. The details in the news releases appear arcane, but they demonstrate how close the world is to fully autonomous driving—as well as what challenges remain..." Read more

K. Pyle, Dec. 21, "By relying on internally generated cash-flow and never receiving outside investment, Dr. Alain Kornhauser explains how he was able to keep a firewall between his interests in ALK Technologies and his teaching at Princeton. From humble beginnings in 1979, ALK grew to approximately 200 people and in January 2013, it was sold to Trimble Navigation......." Read more

K. Pyle, Jan. 16, "The road to safe-driving is one with a destination that is always just out of reach. That is, paraphrasing Princeton Professor Dr. Alain Kornhauser, 100% risk-free transportation is unachievable. With that in mind, Kornhauser did an excellent job of organizing a panel of experts from Europe and America to discuss existing and future solutions to make human-driven vehicles safer.

Moderated by Consumer Reports' Head of Connected and Automated Vehicles, Kelly Funkhouser, the panel consisted of human factors experts representatives from European and U.S. safety rating institutes. The most important message from these esteemed experts, that regardless of the safety features of any new car, it is imperative that the driver remain fully engaged in the driving experience. ..." Read more

A. Hawkins, Jan. 14, "BMW is suspending its two-year-old car subscription service, The Verge has learned.

Access by BMW was launched in 2018 in Nashville as a pilot project to test out whether customers would want to have access to a fleet of fancy cars but not necessarily own one. But recent requests to sign up have been met with a disclaimer that the service is in the process of shutting down. A Nashville resident who was interested in applying for the subscription service was told that it was going to be defunct by the end of January.

"Unfortunately the Access by BMW subscription program is ending on January 31st and we are no longer taking new members," a sales representative said in an email...." Read more

I. Fried, Jan 22, "Apple's moves toward breaking into the market for self-driving cars have come in fits and starts, but it has big ambitions for the space and is moving forward both with its own efforts and with potential partnerships with automakers.

Why it matters: Apple has great businesses in phones and computers, but its long-term growth potential will depend on conquering an entirely new market. Improving health care and playing a role in autonomous vehicles appear to be its two biggest bets on that front.

What's happening:... The bottom line: Whatever Apple is doing will take time. Given how much work still needs to be done on automated driving, Abuelsamid said that probably puts an Apple car, or even a service, "likely in the second half of the 2020s."" Read more

F. Lambert, Jan 21., "TikTok star criminally uses Tesla Autopilot and posts video evidence..." Read more

K. Korosec, Jan. 15, " Another Uber spinout is in the works. Postmates X, the robotics division of the on-demand delivery startup that Uber acquired last year for $2.65 billion, is seeking investors in its bid to become a separate company, according to several people familiar with the plans.

The startup is being referred to as Serve Robotics, a nod to the yellow and black-emblazoned autonomous sidewalk delivery bot that was developed and piloted by Postmates X. The Serve robot, which recently partnered with Pink Dot Stores for deliveries in West Hollywood, will likely be the centerpiece of the new startup...." Read more

F. Lambert, Jan 22, "A new Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study by JD Power shows that electric car owners will not go back to gas, but brand loyalty is a bit more "fickle."..." Read more

K. Korosec, Jan. 13, " The electric, autonomous vehicles of the future might be manufactured by Apple's main supplier Foxconn and Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

The two companies have agreed to form a joint venture focused on contract manufacturing for automakers, with a specific focus on electrification, connectivity and autonomous driving technology as well as vehicles designed for sharing. Each party will hold an equal 50% stake in the new joint venture. The board of directors will consist of five members, with Foxconn appointing three, including the chairman, and Geely Holding appointing two, according to a statement issued by the two companies....." Read more

A. Hawkins, Jan 19, "Microsoft is joining forces with Cruise, the self-driving subsidiary of General Motors, to help speed up the commercialization of autonomous vehicles. The software giant is also chipping in on a new equity investment of $2 billion for Cruise, along with previous investors Honda and GM, bringing the AV company's valuation up to a whopping $30 billion.

Microsoft and Cruise are entering "a long-term strategic relationship" — though the partnership won't be exclusive. It is one of Microsoft's first partnerships with an autonomous vehicle company. (The company also struck a deal with UK-based startup Wayve last October.) As part of the deal, Cruise will use Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform, to help speed up the process of making money off its fleet of autonomous vehicles. For its part, Microsoft will leverage its relationship with Cruise to expand more into the transportation sector.... " Read more

0, 0);">Annual PrincetonSmartDrivingCar Summit 5th Episode at noon on Jan. 28, 2021 TO BE followed by 11 more weekly episodes through to April15, 2021. Each episode starting Live on Zoom @ noon Eastern (Princeton Time) and lasting for 1.5 hours or until Discussion with audience ends. A. Kornhauser, Feb 6, "The focus of the Summit this year will be moving beyond the AI and the Sensors to addressing the challenges of Commercialization and the delivery of tangible value to communities. We've made enormous progress with the technology. We're doing the investment; however, this investment delivers value only if is commercialized: made available and is used by consumers in large numbers. Demos and one-offs are "great", but to deliver value that is anywhere near commensurate with the magnitude of the investment made to date, initial deployments need to scale. We can't just have "Morgantown PRT Systems" whose initial deployment has been nothing but enormously successful for 45 years (an essentially perfect safety record, an excellent availability record and customer valued mobility). Unfortunately, the system was never expanded or duplicated anywhere. It didn't scale. It is a one-off.

Tests, demos and one-offs are nice niche deployments; however, what one really needs are initial deployments that have the opportunity to grow, be replicated and scale. In 1888, Frank Sprague, successfully deployed a small electric street railway system in Richmond, Va. which became the reference for many other cites. "... By 1889 110 electric railways incorporating Sprague's equipment had been begun or planned on several continents..." Substantial scaled societal benefits emerged virally from this technology. It was eventually supplanted by the conventional automobile but for more than 30 years it delivered substantial improvements to the quality-of-life for many.

In part, the 4th Summit will focus on defining the "Richmond" of Affordable Shared-ride On-demand Mobility-as-a-Service. The initial Operational Design Domain (ODD) that safely accommodates Driverless Mobility Machines that people actually choose to use and becomes the envy of communities throughout the country. " Read more

Events:s

4th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit

How demographics, COVID-19 and the new U.S. administration will change the equation for safely-driven and driverless cars

Georgia, serif;"> Video Summary of 1st Session: Setting the Stage Georgia, serif;">

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 194 Zoom-Cast Episode 194 w/Anuj Pradhan, UMass

F. Fishkin, Jan. 15, ""When it comes to vehicle safety technology...should manufacturers be sharing instead of competing? Should there be standardization? Anuj Pradhan, co-director of the Human Performance Lab at UMASS Amherst joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest from GM, Tesla, Mobileye, Nio and more." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 193 Zoom-Cast Episode 193 w/Bobby Hambrick, AutonomousStuff

F. Fishkin, Jan. 8, "Bobby Hambrick started AutuonomouStuff in a barn in Morton, Illinois....and has pioneered much of the technology moving the autonomous industry forward, now as part of Hexagon. Bobby joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to look back and look ahead. Plus...Apple, Hyundai, Waymo, Tesla and more! "

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 192 Zoom-Cast Episode 192 w/Danny Shapiro, nVIDIA

F. Fishkin, Dec. 30, "NVIDIA continues on a roll powering the Zoox robo taxi unveiled this month by Amazon. NVIDIA senior director of automotive Danny Shapiro outlines the progress and looks ahead to 2021 in the latest Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. "

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."

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." 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, The Dispatcher

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, Consumer Report

F. Fishkin, Nov 24, "When it comes to active driver assistance systems, what works and what needs improvement? Some answers from Kelly Funkhouserâ€¦ 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, Waymo 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." 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."

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!"

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 182 Zoom-Cast Episode 182 F. Fishkin, Nov 6, "What will a new administration mean for autonomous mobility? And what about the passage of Proposition 22 in California after Uber's big campaign? That plus luxury EVs coming from Bentley....and cheap EVs from China. Join Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 181 Zoom-Cast Episode 181 w/Sheldon b & 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 F. Fishkin, Oct. 15, "Which autonomous vehicle platforms will survive? The director of Ford's Autonomous Vehicle and Technology Development says there may only be two...and Ford /Argo AI will be one of them. John Rich joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 178 Zoom-Cast Episode 178 w/Andrew Hawkins, Verge F. Fishkin, Oct. 9, "Here we go! Waymo going fully driverless in Phoenix suburb service. The Verge senior transportation reporter Andrew Hawkins joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Tesla... Amazon... Rivian and more. Subscribe!

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 177 Zoom-Cast Episode 177

F. Fishkin, Oct. 2, "New grades for assisted driving systems from Euro NCAP. But Princeton Professor Alain Kornhauser says the devil is in the details in this edition with co-host Fred Fishkin. And there's Amazon's success against Covid plusTesla, Uber, GM, Nikola and more. SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 176 Zoom-Cast Episode 176 w/Marc Scribner

F. Fishkin, Sept. 25, "A new government entity to oversee autonomous vehicles? Marc Scribner, Sr. Transportation Policy Analyst at the Reason Foundation on regulation and more with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus...Tesla, Nikola, GM and the California move to ban new gasoline vehicles."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 175 Zoom-Cast Episode 175 w/Michael Sena F. Fishkin, Sept. 18, "Automobility and the future of car dealers... "The Dispatcher" publisher Michael Sena offers a different take on how car dealers may battle automakers pushing for direct to consumer subscriptions. That and more in this edition of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin."

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

F. Fishkin, Sept. 4, "Moving forward with autonomous vehicle testing, the head of safety at Uber's Advanced Technology Group is pledging safety data transparency. Nat Beuse joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co host Fred Fishkin for that and more on the latest mobility headlines." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 173 Zoom-Cast Episode 173 w/Nathanial Beuse F. Fishkin, Sept. 4, "Moving forward with autonomous vehicle testing, the head of safety at Uber's Advanced Technology Group is pledging safety data transparency. Nat Beuse joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co host Fred Fishkin for that and more on the latest mobility headlines." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 172 Zoom-Cast Episode 172 Special Edition w/Danny Shapiro

F. Fishkin ,Sept. 2, "Mercedes unveils the latest S Class with more computing power than 60 average cars...with NVIDIA playing a big role. NVIDIA's Director of Automotive Danny Shapiro joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 171 Zoom-Cast Episode 171 w/Henry Greenidge

SmartDrivingCars PodCast 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 167 ZoomCast Episode167 w/Robin Chase, Carlos Pardo & Daniel Sperling SmartDrivingCars PodCast Episode 166 ZoomCast Episode 166 w/Jay Rodgers'95, CEO Local Motors

Zoom-inar Episode 005 AmaZooks

F. Fishkin, July 20, "Is Driverless home delivery the fastest route to Affordable Mobility for the Mobility Disadvantaged? ... "

SmartDrivingCars PodCast Episode 165,ZoomCast Episode165 w/Michael Sena

F. Fishkin 16, "Is the option to buy a car at a dealership going to vanish? The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena has a provocative perspective in this edition with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus..an update on the Amazon Zoox deal, autonomous vehicles and how they can help battle discrimination in transportation, TuSimple, Mobileye, Uber, Tesla and more." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast 164 Episode 164, Zoom-Cast Episode 163 w/Robbie Diamond

F. Fishkin, July 9, "Fostering economic opportunity through autonomous technology is the focus of an upcoming report from Security America's Future Energy. Founder and CEO Robbie Diamond shares details and more in this edition with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus ..are armed police officers really needed for traffic enforcement? And the latest from Tesla, Waymo and more. ..." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 163, Zoom-Cast Episode 16 3 w/Henry Greenidge 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. ."

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

F. Fishkin, June 25, "From the Brookings Institution, Cliff Winston, co-author of Autonomous Vehicles...The Road to Economic Growth? joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus..why are fatal crash rates rising in the midst of a pandemic...plus NVIDIA, Didi, Tesla and more."

Episode 004 Insurance: For or Against SmartDrivingCars?

F. Fishkin, June 23, "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 ..."

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

F. Fishkin, May 28, "In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, what are the smartest ways to re-build and plan for the future? Futurist and author Chunka Mui joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Amazon, Zoox, Intel Mobileye, Tesla, Uber and more." SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 157, Zoom-Cast Episode 157 w/Grayson Brulte

F. Fishkin, May 21, "Global auto makers must completely re-think their autonomous mobility strategy as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. So says innovation strategist Grayson Brulte of Brulte & Company....who joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus...Waymo, Tesla, Uber and more."

DrivingTheDebate Episode 002 The Future of Public Roadway Transit F. Fishkin, May 14, "Will the Bus be Thrown Under the Bus?...

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 156, Cars Zoom-Cast Episode 156 w/Danny Shapiro2 F. Fishkin, May 14, "With new hardware and software capabilities NVIDIA is expanding into new areas of driver assistance technology. Sr. Director of Automotive Danny Shapiro joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest on Waymo, Voyage, Ford and more. listen and subscribe!"

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 155,Zoom-Cast Episode 155 w/Alex Roy2 F. Fishkin, April 29, "The continuing impact of Covid-19 on autonomous vehicle progress. But it may not be all bad news. Alex Roy...host of the No Parking Podcast and Director of Special Operations at Argo AI joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Tesla, Intel, Lyft, Uber and more. Listen and subscribe!

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 154, Zoom-Cast Episode 154 w/Dan Sperling F. Fishkin, April 29, "Can ride sharing rebound after the pandemic? Daniel Sperling, founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Tesla, Waymo, Ford and more."

DrivingTheDebate Episode 001 The Driverless "New Normal" Debate F. Fishkin, April 27,

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 15 3 w/Dick Mudge2

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 152,Zoom-Cast Episode 15 2 w/Brad Templeton

SmartDrivingCars Podcast Episode 148 w/Richard Bishop

SmartDrivingCars Zoom-Cast Episode 148 w/Richard Bishop

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 58-Keith Code,Motorcycles

Recent Highlights of:

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AUTOMATED VEHICLES: Comprehensive Plan E. Chao, Jan. 2021, "The Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan (Comprehensive Plan) describes how the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is supporting the safe integration of Automated Driving Systems (ADS)2 into the surface transportation system. It explains Departmental goals related to ADS, identifies actions being taken to meet those goals, and provides real-world examples of how these Departmental actions relate to emerging ADS applications... " Read more

January 08, 2021

Automatic braking is now on most new cars. But not GM or Fiat Chrysler vehicles C. Isidore, Dec 17, "Automatic braking, once a feature available exclusively to high-end cars, is becoming common across the industry, according to analysis from Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

But the industry has some notable exceptions, including General Motors (GM) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), which badly trail rivals in offering automatic braking as standard equipment, according to the safety groups.

Automatic braking uses sensors to apply brakes when a vehicle ahead is stopped, and the car's onboard computer can avoid or lessen the impact of an accident. It's an increasingly popular feature with car buyers. Many automakers are emphasizing the feature in their advertising and sales pitches.

Four higher-end brands already had the feature on 99% or better of their vehicles before this past year: Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Tesla (TSLA).

Six more have the feature on at least 96% of the vehicles they sold in the United States between September 2019 and September 2020: BMW, Hyundai, Mazda, Subaru, Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAF). Three more automakers — Ford (F), Honda (HMC) and Nissan (NSANF), had automatic braking on more than 90% of their US vehicles.... " Read more

December 31, 2020 Sustainable and Attainable: Zoox Unveils Autonomous Robotaxi Powered by NVIDIA D. Shapiro, Dec. 17, "When it comes to future mobility, you may not have to pave as many paradises for personal car parking lots.

This week, autonomous mobility company Zoox unveiled its much-anticipated purpose-built robotaxi. Designed for everyday urban mobility, the vehicle is powered by NVIDIA and is one of the first level 5 robotaxis featuring bi-directional capabilities, providing a concrete view into the next generation of intelligent transportation...." Read more

December 11, 2020

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

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 were hoping for.

The electric-vehicle startup put its eye-catching â€œBadgerâ€ 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, theTre, 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

November 26,

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

Staff, Nov. 2020, "In line with Consumer ReportsÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ 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, CR'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

Advocate for transparency and clarity in marketing and consumer education of systems

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

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 more

November 6, 2020

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, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œIt 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.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â

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....

EDMUNDS SAYS: You probably won't be able to buy an autonomous car any time soon. But expect autonomous fleet services to begin expanding in the near future." Read more

Sharing our safety framework for fully autonomous operations 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 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" either in the vehicle or remotely ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" to help them get to where they're going as part of their everyday lives...." Read more

Waymo's Safety Methodologies and Safety Readiness Determinations N, Webb, Oct. 30, "As the world's most experienced developer of automated driving systems, 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 technology, provide a firm foundation for safe deployment of our Level 4 ADS, which we also refer to as the Waymo Driver. 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 )...." Read more

Waymo Public Road Safety Performance Data 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

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Friday, October 23, 2020 How Ford's Next-Gen Test Vehicle Lays the Foundation for Our Self-Driving Business 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'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

rgb(51, 51, October 16,

Ford Reveals Stake in Newly Public Velodyne Lidar 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

rgb(51, 51, October 09, 2020 Waymo starts to open driverless ride-hailing service to the public

K. Korosec, Oct. 8, "Waymo, the Google self-driving-project-turned-Alphabet unit, is beginning to open up its driverless ride-hailing service to the public.

The company said that starting today, members of its Waymo One service will be able to take family and friends along on their fully driverless rides in the Phoenix area. Existing Waymo One members will have the first access to the driverless terminology that means no human behind the wheel. However, the company said that in the next several weeks more people will be welcomed directly into the service through its app, which is available on Google Play and the App Store.

Waymo said that 100% of its rides will be fully driverless which it has deemed its rider only mode. That 100% claim requires a bit of unpacking. The public shouldn't expect hundreds of Waymo-branded Chrysler Pacifica no human behind the to suddenly inundate the entire 600-plus square miles of the greater Phoenix area.. ..." Read more

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

UN Economic & Social Council, April 6, "The intention of the Regulation is to establish uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS).

ALKS controls the lateral and longitudinal movement of the vehicle for extended periods without further driver command. ALKS is a system whereby the activated system is in primary control of the vehicle.

This Regulation is the first regulatory step for an automated driving system (as defined in ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1140) in traffic and it therefore provides innovative provisions aimed at addressing the complexity related to the evaluation of the system safety. It contains administrative provisions suitable for type approval, technical requirements, audit and reporting provisions and testing provisions.

ALKS can be activated under certain conditions on roads where pedestrians and cyclists are prohibited and which, by design, are equipped with a physical separation that divides the traffic moving in opposite directions and prevent traffic from cutting across the path of the vehicle. In a first step, the original text of this Regulation limits the operational speed to 60 km/h maximum and passenger cars (M1 vehicles).

This Regulation includes general requirements regarding the system safety and the failsafe response. When the ALKS is activated, it shall perform the driving task instead of the driver, i.e. manage all situations including failures, and shall not endanger the safety of the vehicle occupants or any other road users. There is however always the possibility for the driver to override the system, at any time.

The Regulation also lays down requirements on how the driving task shall be safely handed over from the ALKS to the driver including the capability for the system to come to a stop in case the driver does not reply appropriately.

Finally, the Regulation includes requirements on the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) to prevent misunderstanding or misuse by the driver. The Regulation for instance requires that on-board displays used by the driver for other activities than driving when the ALKS is activated, shall be automatically suspended as soon as the system issues a transition demand. These measures are without prejudice to driver behaviour rules on how to use these systems in the Contracting Parties as currently being discussed by the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1) at the time of drafting this document (See e.g. Informal Document 4 Revision 1 of the seventy-eight session of WP.1)...."Read more

But for now, Full Self-Driving Capability, which includes features that can assist the driver with parking, changing lanes on the highway, and even coming to a complete halt at traffic lights and stop signs, remains a misnomer ...Yes!... Below, we explain each feature in the suite, its intended use, and how each performed in our tests.... " Read more

rgb(51, 51, August 20, 2020 Creating Standards in an Environment of Mistrust

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Saturday, The Biggest Self-Driving Truck Startup Stumbles in Hitting High Goals rgb(51, 51, 255);">Thursday, Car OEMs Driving Toward Relevance or Perdition

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Thursday, Fostering Economic Opportunity through Autonomous Vehicle Technology rgb(51, 51, 255);">Thursday,

Announcing 2020-2021 Fellow-in-Residence Henry L. Greenidge, Esq. Press release, June 24, "The McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University has announced transportation policy expert Henry L. Greenidge, Esq. as a 2020-2021 Fellow-in-Residence. .." Read more

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Thursday, Two-way Vehicle Connectivity is a Three-sided Coin That Everyone Wants to Own

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Thursday,

Luminaries Battle In Lincoln-Douglas Style Debate About The Future Of Self-Driving Cars rgb(51, 51, 255);">Friday,

What Negative Oil Prices Mean and How the Impact Could Last rgb(51, 51, 255);">Friday,

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Friday, January 31, 2020

2020 Hyundai Sonata stars in Super Bowl ad all about 'Smaht Pah k'

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Sunday, January 12,

A. Kornhauser, Jan 12,

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Monday, January 6, 2020

A. Kornhauser, Jan. 6,

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Saturday, November 23, 2019 Self-driving car capital? One senator thinks it can be Florida rgb(51, 51, 255);">

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Saturday, September 28, 2019 Public forum will explore possibility of transit on demand in Princeton

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Saturday, August 17, 2019 Autonomous Vehicles: A View from Seniors

rgb(51, 51, 255);">Thursday, November 22,

October 24,

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)

Oct 16, Directs MVC to establish driver's license endorsement for autonomous vehicles A4541 Sponsors: Zwicker (D16); Benson (D14); Lampitt (D6)..." Read more

A udio Recording of Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology - Monday, October 22, 2018 - 10:00:00 AM

PRELIMINARY REPORT: HIGHWAY: HWY18MH010 (Uber/Herzberg Crash) 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

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

(o)

(c)

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)

2021-01-24

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