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Saturday, April 10, 2021

SmartDrivingCar.com/9.14-Welcoming_in_NJ-041021
14th edition of the 9th year of SmartDrivingCars eLetter

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="79" height="23"> Stop, Inform, Wait! How To Handle An Autonomous Vehicle Incident

S. Talbott, April 9, "...Waymo is an autonomous vehicle company that is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google. In calendar year 2019 Waymo’s vehicles drove an impressive 6.1 million miles. According to Car and Driver, the average person drives 13,500 miles per year. Additionally, Car and Driver reported last year that approximately 80 companies are testing driverless vehicles. That’s a lot of miles on our roadways.

...Since Autonomous Vehicles will not be subject to the human actions of distraction ...  I prefer to say..."will not be subject to driver misbehavior"  Texting while driving is misbehavior, as is tailgating, executive speeding, falling asleep, daydreaming, drinking,  ... they should be able to reduce the majority of those crashes making our roadways considerably safer than they are today. But, if we are honest and are objectively looking at vehicle crashes, we know that some crashes will still occur. Not necessarily because of a failing on the part of the Autonomous Vehicle technology, but because they will be interacting on our roadways with other vehicles some of which will not be driven autonomously. There will be interaction with pedestrians, bicyclists and Autonomous Vehicle deliveries and scooters, plus a host of other modes of transportation on our roadways.

As we begin to ready the public for widespread use of Autonomous Vehicles, we need to prepare the occupants of these vehicles and the communities in which they will ride how to respond in the event of a crash..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  (emphasis added) A most important subject. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="126" height="36">  Driverless Lessons from the Sunshine State to the Garden State

K. Pyle, April 9, "The interesting thing about this [autonomous vehicle] technology is that it has enormous potential for improving quality of life. With that statement, Princeton Professor Alain Kornhauser set the stage for the penultimate session of the Smart Driving Car Summit, Making It Happen – Part 1 .  With a line-up of political leaders, this panel looked at what is necessary to cross the chasm from early adoption to the mainstream market for shared driverless vehicles.

Kornhauser points out that this technology is new and different. But the point of this panel was not to discuss the technology. An underlying assumption of this panel was that the technology will be able to match that of a human in each Operational Design Domain. Kornhauser’s concern is

“If communities don’t embrace it, cherish it, welcome it, it (shared driverless) may never happen.”  And, if it does not happen, the potential societal benefits will never occur.

The most impressive thing about the April 8th, 2021 panel, however, has nothing to do with autonomous vehicles. It was a productive and non-partisan conversation facilitated by Kornhauser. There were no “Ds” or “Rs”, only Americans exchanging ideas and lessons learned on the best way to set policy for this still-emerging market.

If You Can Make It in Trenton, You Can Make It Anywhere #......" Read more  Hmmmm.... We had another excellent Session.  Thank you for the summary, Ken!  Alain

Ken Pyle's Session Summaries of 4th Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit:
14th Session    What Will Power Safely-driven Cars

 [log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="41" height="42"> SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 207, Zoom-Cast Episode 207  w/Selika Josiah Talbott

F. Fishkin, April10 , "When a driverless vehicle crashes...what should passengers, other vehicle owners, law enforcement and first responders do? American University Professor Selika Josiah Talbott says the time for planning is now. She joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Tesla, Apple and more in the latest Smart Driving Cars." Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!".  Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay ...  Alain

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Working at the Grass Roots Level to Create a Welcoming Environment in the Trentons of this World

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="44" height="44" border="0">   The SmartDrivingCars eLetter, Pod-Casts, Zoom-Casts and Zoom-inars are made possible in part by support from the Smart Transportation and Technology ETF, symbol MOTO.   For more information: www.motoetf.com.  Most funding is supplied by Princeton University's Department of Operations Research & Financial Engineering and Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (PAVE) research laboratory as part of its research dissemination initiatives.


[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  Tiger Woods Was Clearly Speeding, So Why Didn’t He Even Get a Ticket?

K. Draper, March 9, "To anybody who has ever received a speeding ticket, the resolution of the investigation into Tiger Woods’s car crash in February might seem odd.

Despite the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s determination that Woods drove well above 80 miles per hour in a 45 m.p.h. zone, he was not given a ticket or charged with reckless driving. Law enforcement officers did not conduct field sobriety tests or obtain a search warrant for a blood test or toxicology report.
...“I think that, based on the physical punishment he suffered, it is more of a case of ‘What’s the point in charging him?’” Carey said." Read more  Hmmmm... The more important question may well be... Why  did Tiger's car allow him to misbehave to such an extent on this road?  It knew the speed limit.  It knew where he was.  It probably knew he was texting, if he was.  It knew how fast he was going. Its advertising tantalized his misbehavior.  When does the inducer and enabler of the misbehavior start "getting a ticket" and start being held liable? The car was watching and knew what was going on.  It saw everything that led up to it. It should be a product defect, if it allows the user to misbehave in using it.  I could have said "no to drugs" ("no to allowing the technology to be used in situations that the designers and producers of the technology know that bad things can happen.)  Luckily, the pain was only inflicted on the user and some may say he deserves what he got.   Good thing that you weren't jogging along that road at that time, then...  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="126" height="36">  A New Mapping Camera Assembly & More?

K. Pyle, April 10, "Could this be a new way for Google or some other entity to capture images and metadata of the streets and buildings in a community? This module was recently seen strapped to a ski rack on an unmarked mini-SUV in Silicon Valley. It features seven cameras (6 each providing horizontal view with one pointing upwards)...."  Read more Hmmmm...Hopefully the one pointing straight up will be able to more reliably determine the clearance under objects along each road segment.   If maintained/current, this could go a long way towards eliminating false braking applications and essentially eliminate everyone's stationary object in lane ahead "fugetaboutit" problem with a one-time, real-time lookup in Google's streetview as to the minimum clearance in the route ahead.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">   Tesla Owners Take To Reddit Asking What Happens If 'Full Self Driving' Isn't Real

J. Torchinskys, March 25, "I wouldn’t call what’s happening a meltdown exactly, maybe more of a collective moment of clarity. Right now on Reddit’s r/teslamotors forum there’s an intense and very serious conversation about the now-$10,000 level 2 driver assist package that Tesla calls “Full Self-Driving” (FSD)—specifically, whether the features Tesla and Elon Musk started promising back in 2016 will ever actually exist, and what kind of legal exposure Tesla has if it fails to deliver. People have put down real money and haven’t yet gotten what they were expecting, which has led to these difficult conversations...."  Read more  Hmmmm...   Self-driving means that the car can drive itself under the driver's supervision.  It is NOT driverless.  The fine print is clear. 

The issue may instead be an accounting question... when can Tesla/Elon accrue how much of the "$10k" price tag when FSD is something that is going to be delivered in some (unspecified) future software download onto hardware that was installed in the car delivered to the car owner.  Can the "cost ' of the tangible hardware be set at $10k and the "over-the-air" software byte stream be set at the cost of downloading it "over-the-air" which is essentially zero?   If not, then is Tesla properly accounting for that "revenue"?  Maybe the SEC and the IRS should be sniffing around.  Alain

M. Perry, March 23, "The animated bar chart race visualization above shows the world’s top ten producers of motor vehicles from 1950 to 2020 using data from the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (English version of OICA). The annual OICA motor vehicle production figures include passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, minibuses, trucks, buses, and coaches. Here are some observations of this visualization:..."  Read more  Hmmmm...   The animation of these data is a must watch!!!    Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Ford-Backed Self-Driving Startup Argo AI Mulling IPO This Year

K. Naughton, April 2, ".Argo AI, the self-driving startup backed by Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG, is considering going public as soon as this year, according to people familiar with its plans.

Bryan Salesky, Argo’s co-founder, told employees in an all-hands meeting April 1 the company is looking to boost its funding as it comes closer to commercializing its self-driving technology, said the people, who asked not to be identified revealing internal discussions. Ford, which invested $1 billion in Argo in 2017, plans to roll out robo-taxis and driverless delivery pods in 2022...."  Read more  Hmmmm...  Why not.  It may well be the cheapest money.  What if it's market cap becomes greater than Ford's???  At least the Ford family will be happy.. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="97" height="22">  Toyota and Lexus Join Tesla and GM in Level 2 Semi-Autonomous Driving Fray

C. Golden, April 9, "For the moment, it's lonely at the top of the semi-autonomous mountain. In the U.S., Tesla's massively popular and somewhat controversial Autopilot is challenged only by GM's Super Cruise, though state-of-the-art Level 2 (and beyond) systems from Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and Ford are either on their way or available in other markets. Toyota is the latest to join the Level 2 fray, announcing a new partially hands-free highway driving assist suite for the new Toyota Mirai FCV sedan and and the refreshed Lexus LS family.
The new tech is available exclusively in Japan for the moment, but a form of this new system will arrive on U.S.-market, all-wheel-drive Lexus LS sedans this fall under the "Lexus Teammate" label. Here, Teammate-equipped LSs will feature an advanced form of lane keep assist, along with hands-off acceleration, braking, and steering in the right conditions. Depending on what settings inputs from the driver, the LS will follow the vehicle ahead in the lane, navigate interchanges, traffic jams, and change lanes..."  Read more  Hmmmm...   I added the emphasis on "...in the right conditions."  These should NOT be allowed into US Dealerships unless they include technology that allows these capabilities to be engaged by the driver ONLY when the "right conditions exist", which always includes that the driver's butt is in the driver's seat and that the driver is alert and cognizant of the surrounding driving environment.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="117" height="20">  Apple chief Tim Cook talks of autonomous cars

April 6, "..."We love to integrate hardware, software and services, and find the intersection points of those because we think that's where the magic occurs."

Cook hinted that an option could be for Apple to build an autonomous-driving technology platform used by auto makers.

He expressed admiration for electric car maker Tesla, which is among companies developing autonomous driving capabilities in vehicles...."  Read more  Hmmmm...   Listen to PodCast.  In last week's Session 14 of the SDC Summit, Adam Jonas said emphatically: "The Apple Car will NOT have a tailpipe!". Information you can take to the bank!  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Uber and Lyft have a driver shortage problem, and it’s costing them a lot of money

A. Hawkins, March 30, "Uber and Lyft have a driver shortage problem. With the number of US-based drivers for both apps down around 40 percent, the two companies are pledging to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to lure people back into the driver seat.

Uber announced Wednesday that it was launching a $250 million “stimulus” for drivers in the hopes of speeding their return to the platform.

“In 2020, many drivers stopped driving because they couldn’t count on getting enough trips to make it worth their time,” Dennis Cinelli, Uber’s vice president for mobility in the US and Canada, wrote in a blog post. “In 2021, there are more riders requesting trips than there are drivers available to give them—making it a great time to be a driver.”..."  Read more  Hmmmm...   Fundamental problem with Uber & Lyft (&Didi)... They can't scale affordably.  Not enough people willing to work at what is not a living wage to affordably serve anything more than a small niche (< 1%) of the person trip market. That's why driverless technology is absolutely needed if we want any substantial adoption of mobility-as-a-service.  Just think, none of these incentives would be needed by the driverless car technology to provide on-demand, high-quality service essentially everywhere (except where so few people live that only a very very few miss out or the densest parts of our cities that already have fine subways, (again, they actually amount to very few).)   That code simply does what the coder wanted the code to do. That code and the hardware that it needs to do its thing,  scales fundamentally because it is largely fixed cost which is Moore's Lawish and has essentially no variable costs.   Plus that code doesn't have a family to feed nor to pay a child's college tuition, or... so it isn't required to generate exorbitant margins. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  Amazon workers in Bessemer have voted not to form a union

T. Lee, April 9, "Update: A majority of workers have voted not to form a union at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bessemer, Alabama. The result of the NLRB initial vote count was 1,798 votes against the union and 738 in favor. Hundreds of additional ballots were not counted because their authenticity was disputed. But the "no" side already has a majority of the 3,215 votes cast, making the issue moot.

Original story, April 8: A closely watched effort to unionize an Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama appears to be headed for defeat. With about half the votes counted, 1,100 workers have voted against forming a union, while only 463 voted in favor..."  Read more  Hmmmm... No comment. Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" width="80" height="22">  Watch: Dubai’s ‘Jetman’ jetpack marks an impressive milestone in autonomous human flight

P. Dialani, April 4, "..." Read more Hmmmm... This really should be in Click-bait, but Video  is interesting and it looks like it works, but it is NOT "autonomous".  Not anymore than the Wright Brother's plane was autonomous.  Can you see Lime flooding US cities with "JetMan_Share".   Alain

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0">   4th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit  16th Episode at noon on April 15, 2021 TO BE followed by Summary Session on April 22, 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 Hmmmm... Draft Program is in flux.  Consider all named individuals as "Invited yet to be confirmed". Alain

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


Sunday Supplement


Half-Baked


Click-Bait



Calendar of Upcoming Events

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Working at the Grass Roots Level to Create a Welcoming Environment in the Trentons of this World


 [log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="177" height="68" border="0">
K. Lockean's AV Research Group at U of Texas

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="22" height="22">  and  [log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="56" height="22">   The SYMPOSIUM ON THE FUTURE NETWORKED CAR 2021 VIRTUAL EVENT

 R. Shields, 22 - 25 March, "Recordings from the conference:
Read more  Hmmmm...  Russ, thank you for sharing!  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="62" height="63">

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 206, Zoom-Cast Episode 206  w/Stan Young, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

F. Fishkin, April 2, "When it comes to future mobility, what will fuel the vehicles?   How can the shortcomings of electric vehicles be overcome?   Stanley Young, Mobility Systems team lead for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin..."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 205, Zoom-Cast Episode 205  w/Michael Sena; Editor The Dispatcher.  President, MLSena Consulting

F. Fishkin, March 26, "Every driverless car should take the same tests that we take..and have the same responsibilities.   So says Michael L. Sena in the latest edition of The Dispatcher.  He joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus the latest from Tesla and more...on Episode 205 of Smart Driving Cars..."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 204, Zoom-Cast Episode 204  w/Andrew Rose, President, OnStar Insurance Services  

F. Fishkin, March 15, ".With GM aiming to upend the car insurance industry, the President of the automaker's new OnStar Insurance Services, Andrew Rose joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. What advantages will OnStar insurance bring to the table...and a look at the future of auto insurance.."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 203, Zoom-Cast Episode 203   AV 101: A. Kornhauser

F. Fishkin, March 13, ".GM's move to transform auto insurance through OnStar Insurance:   Is it a win, win for all?      Is adaptive cruise control prompting some drivers to speed?     And what does Tesla really mean by "full self driving"?   Just some of the questions tackled  in the latest edition of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 202, Zoom-Cast Episode 202 President & CEO, RoadDB

F. Fishkin, March 3, "When will we be able to purchase cars that can largely drive themselves?  It may not be long...but don't expect to vacate the driver's seat.  That's the view of entrepreneur, tech pioneer and RoadDB CEO Russ Shields.   He takes an in depth look at where we are and where we're headed with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 201, Zoom-Cast Episode 201 w/Michael Sena, Publisher of The Dispatcher

F. Fishkin, Feb. 26, "Smarter cars need smarter assembly...and location matters.   The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at that, politics, climate and carmakers...plus Tesla, Velodyne, Foxconn and more.."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 200, Zoom-Cast Episode 200 w/Edwin Olsen, CEO, May Mobility

F. Fishkin, Feb. 22, "How May Mobility is building confidence in autonomous transportation and creating a road map for growth through the pandemic and beyond.   CEO and co-founder Edwin Olson joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 199, Zoom-Cast Episode 199 w/Marc Scribner, Senior Transportation Policy Analyst, Reason Foundation

F. Fishkin, Feb. 19, "How the Biden administration & Congress can pave the path for autonomous vehicles.   Reason Foundation Sr. Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to focus on what's next.   Plus jobs and autonomous trucking, Waymo, GM, Ford and more."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 198, Zoom-Cast Episode 198 w/Dick Mudge, CEO, Compass Transportation & Technology

F. Fishkin, Feb. 13, Which autonomous vehicle companies will be the last standing?   And does private ownership of self driving cars make sense?    Compass Transportation and Technology President Dick Mudge joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest on Tesla, GM, Toyota and more..."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 197, Zoom-Cast Episode 197 w/Michel Parent, Founding Member of SuburVan

F. Fishkin, Feb. 5, "Smart mobility innovation in France.    Dr. Michel Parent founding member of SuburVan is aiming to provide fully autonomous mobility on the outskirts of Paris and more.    He joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that...plus the latest on Ford, GM, Tesla, VW and more...."

SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 196, Zoom-Cast Episode 196 w/Steve Polzin, Recently US DoT

F. Fishkin, Jan. 24, "Will more safe vehicle technology dampen the push for driverless mobility? Measuring the progress and challenges ahead with Dr. Steven Polzin..former Sr. Advisor, Office of the Ass't. Secretary for Research and Technology in the DOT. He joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin ... plus GM going zero emission, Tesla, Waymo and more.."

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

F. Fishkin, Jan. 24, "What progress has been made towards smarter, safer mobility? The push for a back-up to GPS. Why the jump in vehicle fatalities last year? Those issues and more as former deputy assistant U.S. Transportation Secretary for research and technology Diana Furchtgott Roth joins us. Plus...Microsoft, Cruise, Tesla and more on Smart Driving Cars with Princeton's Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin.

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 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 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, 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 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

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 172Zoom-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 171Zoom-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 166ZoomCast Episode 166 w/Jay Rodgers'95, CEO Local Motors

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0">  SmartDrivingCar 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 163Zoom-Cast Episode 163  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."

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0"> DrivingTheDebate 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 ..." 
Listen/Watch more  Hmmm...   We only scratched the surface. Alain

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

F. Fishkin, June 17, "Is less data sometimes more when it comes to driverless vehicle technology? Perceptive Founder and CEO Alberto Stochino joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus the DOT's new plan for sharing autonomous safety information, the latest from Tesla, EVs from China and more."

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

F. Fishkin, June 12, "Insurance Institute for Highway Safety  Research VP Jessica Cicchino co-authored a new study saying self driving vehicles could struggle to eliminate most crashes.   She joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to discuss the study.  Plus the latest on Tesla, Ford & VW, Covid-19 and more.  "  

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 159,   Zoom-Cast Episode 159  w/Kara Kockelman

F. Fishkin, June 4, "Prof. Kara Kockelman's focus on smart transportation to save lives, money and the environment has made her a sought after global expert.  The U. of Texas Transportation Engineering Professor joins Princeton's Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin on the impact of Covid-19 and much more.  Plus Tesla, Uber, Argo AI and the top smart driving headlines.  For more on Dr. Kockelman's work....please visit...  http://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/kockelman."  

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0">  DrivingTheDebate Episode 003  Everyone's for Connectivity; but...

F. Fishkin, June 2, "But the debate is not really about technology nor is it about who delivers the best value for the money or the most privacy. It is about ..." 

Listen/Watch more  Hmmm...   We only scratched the surface. Alain

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."  

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0">  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 154Zoom-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." 

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="38" height="42" border="0">   DrivingTheDebate Episode 001 The Driverless "New Normal" Debate

F. Fishkin, April 27,

SmartDrivingCars  Pod-Cast Episode 153Zoom-Cast Episode 153   w/Dick Mudge2
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 152, Zoom-Cast Episode 152  w/Brad Templeton
[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="79" height="18"> SmartDrivingCars Zoom-Cast Episode 148 w/Richard Bishop

Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 147 - Michael Sena
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 142 - J. Hughes
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 141- A. Roy
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 139- Randal O'Toole
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 138-Nick Zart
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 136
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 135 - with Jim Atkinson
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 130 with Dick Mudge & Michael Sena
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 112 - J. Hardiman NJM
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 110 - Lance Elliot
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 108 3rd Summit Wrapup
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 107 3rd Summit Leilei Shinohara & Staff Sergeant Terence McDonnell
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 106 3rd Summit David Kidd & Cecillia Feeley
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 104 3rd Summit Anil Lewis & Katherine Freund
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 97 - Michael Sena'69
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 71-Nader'55
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 69 - Chunka Mui
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 65 - Bernard Soriano, CA DMV
Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 58-Keith Code, Motorcycles
 Smart Driving Cars Podcast Episode 55-Larry Burns, Autonomy

Recent Highlights of:

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Friday, April 2, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="79" height="23">  Waymo Chief John Krafcik Resigns, Co-CEOs Tapped To Run Alphabet’s Self-Driving Tech Giant

A. Ohnsman, April 2, "John Krafcik, the auto industry veteran who’s run Waymo for over five years, is stepping down as CEO of the Alphabet Inc. self-driving tech giant and is being replaced by two high-ranking company executives.

...Takedra Mawakana, Waymo’s chief operating officer, and Dmitri Dolgov, its long-time CTO, are both being promoted to co-CEOs, the company said. Krafcik will continue to work with Waymo as an advisor.

“After 5 exhilarating years leading this team, I’ve decided to depart from my CEO role at Waymo & kick-off new adventures,” he said on Twitter. “To start, I’m looking forward to a refresh period, reconnecting with old friends & family, and discovering new parts of the world.”..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  John, thank you for a fantastic 5 years and for keeping Waymo focused on bringing high-quality, affordable mobility to all.  Doing good for many isn't easy.  Enjoy and thank you!!  Alain

Friday, March 26, 2021

 [log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="159" height="14"> Labor to DOT: Scrap Trump administration’s automated vehicles plan

J. Gallagher, March 24, "Two prominent labor unions want the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to reject the Trump administration’s automated vehicle (AV) strategy for relying too much on the viewpoint from industry without enough attention paid to potential damage to worker safety and jobs.

The 38-page Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan (AVCP), one of the last documents released for public comment by DOT under Secretary Elaine Chao before she left the administration in January, laid out the previous administration’s vision for integrating AVs – both cars and heavy trucks – into the U.S. transportation system.

The plan received 23 comments before the comment period closed on Tuesday, with trucking technology companies generally supporting the strategy and labor rejecting it.

“This document doubles down on the previous administration’s irresponsible, hands-off approach to AV deployment and regulation and mostly boosts the agency’s role as cheerleader and enabler rather than safety regulator,” wrote John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), which represents transit workers...."  Read more  Hmmmm...  One might suggest that TWU's position is enormously short sighted.  Transit pre_Covid served 1% of the person-miles in the US.  That is a niche of a niche.  During Covid, almost anyone who could affords a car and didn't have one, bought one. Transit ridership took an enormous hit. Even with enormous subsidy, Transit, especially bus transit, is hardly ever the "mode of choice" for anyone because its level-of-service is fundamentally poor. It serves relatively few locations, loosely connected by a route which delivers service only at infrequent fixed times.  Essentially no other consumer commodity today operates with so little regard to its customer's real-time needs and desires.  Even network television has adapted to become demand-responsive as opposed to take-it-or-leave-it.

Conventional transit is labor intensive  because it needs a chauffeur for each vehicle and that chauffeur deserves nice working conditions and a living wage.  Unfortunately, the service that a chauffeur can deliver can't attract enough customers to make that service a going concern.  However, an automated driver can arguably deliver demand-responsive service while having the total cost of its working conditions and level-of-effort be substantially less than a TWU driver.  This might let a Transit entity to actually develop a going concern that would serve 10x or more person-miles and create better paying and better working conditions for all TWU members.

More importantly, there is no downside for the TWU with these automated drivers.  If they aren't substantially better than a TWU driver, they won't be adopted by any Transit operator.  If they are, they'll so improve the level-of-service that ridership will boom and there will be better jobs for all TWU members and more.  There is no downside here. All of this is in the TWU's best interests.  Alain

Friday, March 19, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="60" height="21">  Tesla's "Full Self Driving" Beta Is Just Laughably Bad and Potentially Dangerous

M. Hogan, March 19, "A beta version of Tesla's "Full Self Driving" Autopilot update has begun rolling out to certain users. And man, if you thought "Full Self Driving" was even close to a reality, this video of the system in action will certainly relieve you of that notion. It is perhaps the best comprehensive video at illustrating just how morally dubious, technologically limited, and potentially dangerous Autopilot's "Full Self Driving" beta program is...." Read more  Hmmmm...  The Video is MUST watch.  This is what I would call a "Semi-SelfDriving Alpha" product in this Operational Design Domain (non-dense city/commercial suburban streets, during daylight, in clear weather with moderate temperature conditions).

Drivers have four (4) "responsibilities".  1. Feet/foot on/near the pedals, 2. Hand(s) on the wheel, 3. Eyes on the road, and 4. Butt in the driver's seat (and possibly 5.... Have reasonable cognitive brain functions).  If the Operational Design Domain is a straight lane with a slight downgrade and nothing else around, my "55 Chevy" can "Self-drive" and even be "Driverless".  I don't even have to be in it.  However, we must all agree, that we can't call my "55 Chevy" a "Driverless" car. We can't even call it a Self-driving because I'm going to need to have my butt is the driver's seat to do something when the ODD changes (the road turns , ...) and it is, at best, Semi-Self driving because my eyes will need to be on the road for me to realize that the "55 Chevy" is about to exit its ODD.  It is going to need help from me to not crash. 

So Elon's FSD is definitely Semi-SelfDriving because its ODD doesn't come close to including many of the situations that it found in its video journey above.  It is Alpha because any potential user can be expected to have little if any idea what is required to use this product without getting hurt.  So,  please be very careful out there and don't stop paying attention to the road ahead!!! Alain

Saturday, March 13, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="68" height="33">  General Motors Aims to Transform Auto Insurance Industry with OnStar Insurance

Press Release, March 11, "GM announced it will take its relentless focus on safety and delivering a world-class customer experience one step further with OnStar Insurance. ...  OnStar Insurance Services intends to leverage its unique understanding of the vehicles GM produces to offer..." Read more  Hmmmm.... See Kornhauser's Automated Driving of Road Vehicles 101: Why, What, Where, When.  Also:
Given that: 
1.  ">90%" crashes involve driver misbehavior;
2.  OEMs are including more SmartDriving technology in cars.  That technology comes in two part:
    a.  SafelyDriven technology which "works" essentially everywhere, all the time to avert crashes by mitigating driver misbehavior, see #1 above.. 
        i. Examples: anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, automated emergency braking, blind spot warning, ...)
       ii. Liability/Insurance implications: the better these work the lower the expected liability, the lower the expected LOSS and the happier the company that insures their owners. 😁!
        iii. OnStar/GM Insurance Advantage: They know earlier and better how well these systems can be expected to work. They designed and tested the systems before they put them in the showroom and have "the data" to compute better expected liabilities by driver characteristics and thus be better able to craft and price an insurance product for each purchaser of a GM vehicle.  Simply, they will be better able to "know when to hold 'em .. know when to fold 'em ... they can better know what's comin'".
    b.  SelfDriving technology which works only some of the time and some of the places  (Don't worry, as soon as they work all of the time and all of the places it will be a very big deal and you'll know it, but don't hold your breath.)

Nor do any of them perform better than an average driver that is not misbehaving.  Again, don't hold your breath.  Consequently these systems are Comfort & Convenience features that, at best, should not degrade safety.  To not degrade safety, these systems must work properly when engaged by the driver and the driver must not engage them when and where these systems aren't going to work properly. (... Drivers must not misbehave in the use of these systems (... Use these systems outside their certified Operational Design Domain, ODD)).
            i. Examples: Cruise Conroe (Feet-off , but required the driver to steer (Hands-on), be aware and alert (Eyes-on) and be seated in the driver's seat (Butt-in), and available only in a certain speed range, lane-grade range, doesn't respond to traffic signals, doesn't work if there is a stationary object in the lane ahead, ...); Automated lane keeping ({Feet-on, Hands-off, Eyes-on, Butt-in}, but only if proper lane markings exist); Automated parking ({Feet-off, Hands-off, Eyes-on, Butt-out} all starting from speed zero in an area that is recognized by the systems as a parking opportunity); StupidSummon ({Feet-off, Hands-off, Eyes-on, Butt-out}, but only available within the driver's own property), "Level3" ({Feet-off, Hands-off, Eyes-off, Butt-in}, but only on some certified in real time road segments.)
            ii. Liability/Insurance implications: To date these systems have been sold on a "buyer beware" basis in that all liability implications of their use fell on the shoulders of the driver and their insurer.  Consequently, misuse of these systems was the driver's/insurer's "problem".  Unfortunately, misuse of these systems and the resulting degradation of safety can be expected to cause regulators to insist that future versions of these SelfDriving technologies must include monitoring systems that preclude them from being available, let alone be used, outside of their real-time Operational Design Domain(ODD) for which their functionality has been "certified by the OEM" to not degrade safety.  This "floor" for safety can be expected to be that experienced by an average non-misbehaving driver in similar driving situations.

This implies that if a crash happens during the use of one of these systems, it is 1. one of these "rare" events in which the driver was not misbehaving.  The insurer is dragged in and may well be liable (This is what insurance is supposed to be all about), or 2. the system failed in its automated driving function.  The OEM is dragged in and may well be liable  from a product liability standpoint or 3. the driver was mis-behaving in the use of the system.  This means that the system failed in precluding the system's use.  The OEM is dragged in and may well be liable from a product liability standpoint.

3.  Implications on Insurer:   Let:
$Aij be the distribution of expected expenses of "being dragged in and possibly having to pay  damages" if driver i of GM car with features j gets involved in a "Rare events" crash, or crashes, over the duration of the insurance policy.
    (This expense distribution is largely a function of the kinds of driving driver i is going to do.  Its estimation is independent of any proprietary product information held by GM.  OnStarInsurance is not advantaged.)

$Bij be the distribution of expected expenses of "being dragged in" if driver i of GM car with features j gets involved in a crash, or crashes, resulting from the failure of features j to avoid the crash when driver i was misbehaving.
    (This expense distribution would arise from situations in which GM's SafelyDriven technology didn't perform perfectly. Given all of the testing that GM conducts on each of its technologies prior to their placement for sale in showroom, having access to those testing data allows OnStarInsurance to more accurately estimate this distribution.  OnStarInsurance is substantially advantaged.
   
$Cij be the distribution of expected expenses of "being dragged in" if driver i of GM car with features j gets involved in a crash when the System was engaged  and the incident occurred outside the System's certified ODD.
     (This expense distribution would arise from situations in which GM's automated Comfort&Convenience features either didn't perform as well as a well-behaving driver inside the feature's certified ODD, or driver i was able to mis-use the system by engaging it outside its ODD.  Again, given all of the testing that GM conducts on each of its technologies prior to their placement for sale in showrooms, having access to those testing data also allows one to more accurately estimate this distribution.  OnStarInsurance is substantially advantaged.)

In pricing insurance, the insurer must estimate the distribution of expected expenses associated with the crashes driver i can be expected to have in car with features j over the life of the policy and price that insurance product accordingly.  

For an outside insurer, call them WB: the expenses expected to be incurred over the life of the policy to insure Driver i in the purchase of a GM car with features j = $WBij = {$Aij}wb + {$Bij}wb + {$Cij}wb

For GM: the expenses expected to be incurred over the life of the policy to insure Driver i in the purchase of a GM car with features j = $GMij = {$Bij}gm + {$Cij}gm (They get dragged in to all of the "non-rare" crashes because of product liability responsibility

For OnStar Insurance: the expenses expected to be incurred over the life of the policy to insure Driver i in the purchase of a GM car with features j = $OSij = {$Aij}os (Since GM is already dragged in, no need for OnStarInsurance to also be drawn in to defend themselves.).

Consequently, OnStar has a fundamental pricing advantage because $OSij << $WBij.  Plus OnStar/GM can better estimate the $Bij and $Cij distributions. Thus OnStar "knows when to hold 'em.." in the insurance pricing game.

Finally, it is very much in GM's interest to get its SafelyDriven technologies as perfect as possible so as to minimize {$Bij}gm on every vehicle GM sells and to forbid, as best as possible, the mis-use/availability of it SelfDriving Comfort&Convenience features outside their ODD to minimize {$Cij}gm on every vehicle GM sells.  

The above is an extraordinarily strong financial incentive for GM to make its SafelyDriven and Comfort&Convenience automated driving technologies as good as possible and, if they are going to do that, GM might as well also be in the insurance business.  Alain

Friday, March 5, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="126" height="36">  Automated Driving Technologies:  Driving Change in Insurance

K. Pyle, March 5, "It is in the insurance industry's best interest to use automated driving technology to make things safer through crash avoidance, not just crash mitigation. Unlike crash mitigation, crash avoidance saves the insurance company money. This was Alain Kornhauserâ's premise for the Smart Driving Car Summit, Incentivizing Through Insurance. The trillion-dollar question is whether the incentives to automate will overcome the countervailing forces of existing business practices in other parts of the mobility industry?...." Read more  Hmmmm.... We had another excellent Session.  Thank you for the summary, Ken.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="133" height="21">  March 2021 Issue

M. Sena, Feb 23, " ... There is no way to test a car virtually...

OEMs are still learning that that today's cars are not your father's Oldsmobile. 
Vehicle connectivity is not something that is tacked onto a car, like a battery-operated portable TOMTOM or GARMIN (or CoPilot...Michael, How could you forget?...!)...navigation system....

Driving Neat: Can U.S. Take Its Cars Without ICE?..."  Read more  Hmmmm... Plus much much more.  Enjoy!!! Alain

Friday, February 19, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="104" height="32"> COMMENTARY:  How the Biden Administration and Congress Can Pave the Path for Automated Vehicles

M. Scribner, Feb. 11, "Automated vehicle technology is coming; it's advancing very quickly," said now-confirmed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg during his confirmation hearing. “It is something that holds the potential to be transformative and I think in many ways policy has not kept up.”

Secretary Buttigieg is absolutely correct. The U.S. Department of Transportation, specifically the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration division, has a number of tools at its disposal that can be used to modernize the federal regulatory environment to help speed the deployment of automated vehicle technologies that can greatly enhance safety, mobility, and access for all Americans. There is also an important role for Congress, especially at this early stage of automated vehicle development.

To support reform efforts within the executive and legislative branches, my new Reason Foundation policy brief, Challenges and Opportunities for Federal Automated Vehicle Policy, lays out several steps policymakers can take to adapt the automotive regulatory apparatus to automated driving system technologies. The brief is broken into three main sections: defining automated vehicles, a survey of current federal automated vehicle policy development activities, and recommendations for federal policymakers.

The reform recommendations for legislators and regulators are categorized under four themes: ..." Read more  Hmmmm... Read especially: "CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL AUTOMATED VEHICLE POLICY".  Included is an extensive discussion on the SAE Levels where Marc states: "...most legacy automakers and new automated driving developers are planning to avoid SAE Level 3 altogether.."  and  "Given the wide diversity of road network operating conditions, achieving SAE Level 5 poses significant challenges...."  That leaves just two very different classes of AVs ... Safely-driven AVs, encompasing SAE Levels 1 & 2, that assist and support human drivers while requiring that a human driver ensures that the vehicle will be driven safely... and Driverless AVs, SAE Level 4, where the responsibility that the vehicle will be driven safely is entirely borne by the driving technology.  Those are the only two kinds.  Policy should focus on only those two and get those right.  They are they only real opportunities for this technology ... one to help human drivers drive more safely and the other is to drive safely without any help or involvement by anyone riding long with the vehicle.  Thus, the first order of business for Federal Policy is to simplify the process by concentrating on those two very diffent kinds of AVs and get those right.  Alain

Friday, February 12, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="156" height="24">   Biden inherits big traffic safety mess

R. Mitchell, Feb. 4, "... "  Read more  Hmmmm... If the driver/owner is expected to be prepared to intervene to maintain safety, then it is NOT full anything, period.  Moreover, if the owner/driver is NOT prepared, nor permitted to intervene to maintain safety, then the fleet operator is required to accept the responsibility and "make whole" any and all liabilities arising from any  and all "at fault" crashes.  Until Elon is willing to step up and take on that responsibility/liability or sell his cars exclusively to operating entities that assume that responsibility his Teslas are NOT full anything, period! Alain

Friday, February 05, 2021

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.5&filename=lmjdiniodjkflpia.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="39" height="43" border="0"> Analyzing Ride-Share Potential and Empty Repositioning Requirements of a Nationwide aTaxi System

G. Laniewki, Jan 26. ":..."  Read more  Hmmmm... Very nice Nation-wide investigation by my students this past Fall. Alain

Friday, January 29, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">G.M. Will Sell Only Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2035

N. Boudette, Jan. 28, "The days of the internal combustion engine are numbered.

General Motors said Thursday that it would phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a seismic shift by one of the world's largest automakers that makes billions of dollars today from gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.
.."  Read more Hmmmm...   Great! (maybe???):   Good News:  Zero emission vehicles; Bad News: From where cometh the marginal electricity that enables that Zero-Emission Vehicle to move and what carries that electricity to the point on the road where that electricity is used to power that Zero-Emission Vehicle?  Until we have a "Zero Emission Battery" and all electricity is created using Zero Emission, GM cannot produce, nor sell, Zero Emission Vehicles that actually move (other than downhill a la Nikola).  So please tout the whole story!!  (Will these EVs be less polluting than an ICE that GM could build and sell "by 2035"? is the real question.  The answer depends on where we will be with electricity production and distribution, the efficiency and makeup of batteries and the improvement of ICEs. (I didn't mean to imply that it was a simple question, but the NY Times should be more than click-bait.).   Alain

Friday, January 29, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="34" height="26">   U Mich's Robert Hampshire joins Biden administration to work in transportation research and technology

J. Karoub, Jan. 21, "Robert Hampshire, associate professor at the University of Michiga'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 ..  Read more  Hmmmm...  What a fantastic appointment.  Congratulations Robert!  Alain

Friday, January 15, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="34" height="35">  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  Hmmmm...  I guess this is a good plan.  Of course, Safety is #1, as it should be. DoT's #1 public responsibility is Safety.  Whether Cyber Security and Privacy are # 2 and 3  and ahead of Enhanced Mobility and Accessibility is certainly debatable.  And if the Enhanced Mobility and Accessibility of the "mobility disadvantaged that have been left behind by our current favored transport system"  were to be a category, then that one should be right behind Safety at #2 if not ahead of Safety and a solid #1.  The rest. as they should, are appropriately details.  What is most disconcerting about the report are the images. To me, those images depict the current "haves", not "have-nots" and thus don't really address the mobility needs and desires of those whose quality-of-life could be most enhanced by automation technology.  These images seem to focus the Plan on giving those that already have pretty good ways to get around, yet another way to get around, where, when you finally get right down to it, may at best be only slightly better than what they already have.  This Comprehensive Plan should first be focused on providing high-quality affordable mobility to those whose quality-of-life could be most improved by such new technologies  and subsequently serve those that already enjoy and can afford other high-quality forms of mobility.

Also, Elaine, thank you for a really good 4 years.  You (and USDoT) were really the star of what was otherwise a most embarrassing Presidency. Also, thanks to Diana Furchtgott-Roth and many others in US DoT.  Alain

Friday, January 08, 2021

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="">  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.

.. "  Read more  Hmmmm... Set up for the 3rd session of the SDC Summit. Alain

Friday, December 11, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" alt="" class="" width="50" height="39">  Uber, After Years of Trying, Is Handing Off Its Self-Driving Car Project

Friday, December 04, 2020

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" class="" width="39" height="26">  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. ..."  Read more Hmmmm... Lessons for many in this endeavor.  See also Andrew Hawkin's take as well as David Morris'.  Alain

Thursday, November 26, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]"> 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.
..."  Read moreHmmmm... 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

[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  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 Hmmmm...  The process.  Must read!  Alain

[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  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 Hmmmm...  The substance.  Must read! ...

I had the priveledge of reviewing Waymo's most recent Safety Reports 1 , 2 (above) 

In the past, safety reports by the AV community have largely been a response to NHTSA'¢s Voluntary Safety Self-Assessments and have, in my opinion, been largely public relations documents.  While generally descriptive about the testing processes they contain very little, if any, substantive information about their safety related experience to-date focused exclusively on driverless operation.

Safe driverless operation is absolutely necessary for AVs to evolve from extremely expensive chauffeured rides to affordable mobility available to essentially anyone throughout an Operational Design Domain (ODD).  Affordability requires that the mobility be delivered without a driver or attendant on-board the vehicle.  Only passengers.  

The decision to remove the driver/attendant rests in part on the shoulders of public safety regulators who need to allow such operation, but more importantly, on the shoulders of the real decision makers at the AV company.  In the end, it is those AV company decision makers who will be held fully responsible for any lapse in the safety of the driverless operation. These decision makers are inside the AV companies and are, of course, privy to all the details and substance about their own safety related driverless operation, which, in the past, has not been shared in their Voluntary Safety Self-assessments.  

My impression is that these just released Waymo Safety Reports contain the substantive information that clearly depicts Waymo's safety-related driverless operational experience.  To me, they read like internal documents meant to guide and inform internal decision makers to objectively decide if a sufficiently safe operational experience has been achieved in order to vote to fully accept the safety responsibility of driverless operation in their Operational Design Domain.  

Given the information that is contained in these documents, it does not surprise me that Waymo decision makers have decided to proceed with driverless operation in the Phoenix Operational Design Domain. Had I had the responsibility of being one of the decision makers reviewing these documents, I would have also voted yes.
Alain 

[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]"> 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.
..."  Read more  Hmmmm...  "...fully Driverless...".   That means that Krafcik, the Waymo "Board", Alphabet's Board and all the lawyers have signed off and said... We are safe enough to basically bet the ranch that the expected value of the mobility that we'll be putting out on the streets of our Operational Design Domain, which is under our control, is worth whatever expected risk still exists that some bad things may happen.  That is an enormous hurdle that has been achieved by an entity that has an enormous ranch.  CONGRATULATIONS!!! It hasn't come easy, nor has it come without intese diligence and effort. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Alain

Friday, October 09, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  ASSISTED DRIVING GRADINGS

Staff, Oct. 2020  "On this page you will find the gradings of cars tested by Euro NCAP on automated driving technologies.

Friday, September 25, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="56" height="43">  Proposal for a new UN Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regards to Automated Lane Keeping System 

Friday, September 11, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="76" height="18"> Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving Capability' Falls Short of Its Name

Saturday, August 8, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]">  The Biggest Self-Driving Truck Startup Stumbles in Hitting High Goals

Thursday, July 16, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="133" height="21">   Car OEMs Driving Toward Relevance or Perdition

Thursday, July 9, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="125" height="35"> Fostering Economic Opportunity through Autonomous Vehicle Technology 

Thursday, July 2, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]"> Announcing 2020-2021 Fellow-in-Residence Henry L. Greenidge, Esq.

Thursday, April 30, 2020 

  Luminaries Battle In Lincoln-Douglas Style Debate About The Future Of Self-Driving Cars

Friday, April 24, 2020 

  What Negative Oil Prices Mean and How the Impact Could Last

Friday, March 27, 2020 

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

Sunday, January 12, 2020 

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="30" height="33">   Hmmmm... Reflections

A. Kornhauser, Jan 12,    Hmmmm...   Self-driving cars are hot and the OEMs are responding.  I'm about to buy a new Subaru Outback and EyeSight is standard.  It is no longer just AutoPilot or expensive options that car salesmen don't sell.  Car companies, as reflected in what is in showrooms and what was promoted at CES, have realized the comfort and convenience of Self-driving technology (cars that have a lot of the Safe-driving car features but also enable you to take your feet off the pedals and hands off the wheel at least for short periods of time. These technologies are really becoming the 'chrome and fins' that sell cars to individuals in the 2020s.  The momentum is all behind that happening and there is little Washington or Trenton or Princeton Council can do about it.  Hopefully part of that momentum will be to make these systems actually work well,  especially the Automated Emergency Braking Systems (MUST quit assuming that all stationary objects in the lane ahead can be passed under and consequently each is disregarded.  As Tesla is finding out, sometimes those objects are parked firetrucks.) and begin to put hard limits on over-speeding, tailgating and use while driver is impaired.  Self-driving cars are unfortunately going to lead to substantial urban sprawl, increased VMT, increased congestion and do nothing to help the energy and pollution challenges of our addiction to the personal automobile.  Only 'Waymo-style Driverless' (autonomousTaxis, (aTaxis)) tuned to entice ride-sharing can potentially stem the tide of ever more personal car ownership and ever expanding urban sprawl.  Alain

Monday, January 6, 2020 

Hmmmm...I'm Back

A. Kornhauser, Jan. 6,    Hmmmm...   I'm in rehab and hope to go home on Wednesday morning. Thank you to so many of you for all the good wishes and prayers.  They each helped.  I'm looking to making a full recovery.  Remember, if you don't feel well, get evaluated by a doctor.  I was totally clueless about what hit me from out of nowhere.  Alain

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Self-driving car capital? One senator thinks it can be Florida

Saturday, September 28, 2019

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="116" height="32">Public forum will explore possibility of transit on demand in Princeton


 [log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="94" height="29"> Market Framework and Outlook for Automated Vehicle Systems

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 

New Jersey Pending Legislation re: Autonomous Vehicles

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 moreHmmmm.... Things are beginning to move in New Jersey.  Alain

[log in to unmask]" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="39" height="43"> Testimony of Alain Kornhauser, Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology - Monday, October 22, 2018 - 10:00:00 AM 

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

Tuesday, June 12,  2018

 CPUC AUTHORIZES PASSENGER CARRIERS TO PROVIDE FREE TEST RIDES IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WITH VALID CPUC AND DMV PERMITS

Friday, May 25,  2018

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 Hmmmm.... Uber must believe that its systems are better at avoiding Collisions and Automated Emergency Braking than Volvo's.  At least this gets Volvo "off the hook".  

"...According to data obtained from the self-driving system, the system first registered radar and LIDAR observations of the pedestrian about 6 seconds before impact, when the vehicle was traveling at 43 mph..." (= 63 feet/second)  So the system started "seeing an obstacle when it was 63 x 6 = 378 feet away... more than a football field, including end zones!    

"...As the vehicle and pedestrian paths converged, the self-driving system software classified the pedestrian as an unknown object, as a vehicle, and then as a bicycle with varying expectations of future travel path..." (NTSB: Please tell us precisely when it classified this "object' as a vehicle and be explicit about the expected "future travel paths."  Forget the path, please just tell us the precise velocity vector that Uber's system attached to the "object", then the "vehicle".  Why didn't the the Uber system instruct the Volvo to begin to slow down (or speed up) to avoid a collision?  If these paths (or velocity vectors) were not accurate, then why weren't they accurate?  Why was the object classified as a   "Vehicle" ??  When did it finally classify the object as a "bicycle"?  Why did it change classifications?  How often was the classification of this object done.  Please divulge the time and the outcome of each classification of this object.  In the tests that Uber has done, how often has the system mis-classified an object as a"pedestrian"when the object was actually an overpass, or an overhead sign or overhead branches/leaves that the car could safely pass under, or was nothing at all?? (Basically, what are the false alarm characteristics of Uber's Self-driving sensor/software system as a function of vehicle speed and time-of-day?)   

"...At 1.3 seconds before impact, (impact speed was 39mph = 57.2 ft/sec) the self-driving system determined that an emergency braking maneuver was needed to mitigate a collision" (1.3 x 57.2 = 74.4 ft. which is about equal to the braking distance. So it still could have stopped short.

"...According to Uber, emergency braking maneuvers are not enabled while the vehicle is under computer control, to reduce (eradicate??) the potential for erratic vehicle behavior. ..." NTSB:  Please describe/define potential  and erratic vehicle behavior   Also please uncover and divulge the design & decision process that Uber went through to decide that this risk (disabling the AEB) was worth the reward of eradicating " "erratic vehicle behavior".  This is fundamentally BAD design.  If the Uber system's false alarm rate is so large that the best way to deal with false alarms is to turn off the AEB, then the system should never have been permitted on public roadways.  

"...The vehicle operator is relied on to intervene and take action. " Wow!  If Uber's system fundamentally relies on a human to intervene, then Uber is nowhere near creating a Driverless vehicle.  Without its own Driverless vehicle Uber is past "Peak valuation".   

"...The system is not designed to alert the operator. " That may be the only good part of Uber's design.  In a Driverless vehicle, there is no one to warn, so don't waste your time.  If it is important enough to warn, then it is important enough for the automated system to start initiating things to do something about it.  Plus, the Driver may not know what to do anyway.  This is pretty much as I stated in PodCast 30 and theMarch 24 edition of SmartDrivingCar, See below.Thursday, May 10,  2018

Tuesday, April 17, 2017

  Don't Worry, Driverless Cars Are Learning From Grand Theft Auto

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.36&filename=ajafjpkfaclhelpc.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="44" height="50" border="0">Extracting Cognition out of Images for the Purpose of Autonomous Driving

announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles 

Sunday, December 19, 2015 

imap:<a href=[log in to unmask]:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E3022058?part=1.38&filename=ccalfjfhllohpdpa.png" class="" _mf_state="1" title="null" src="cid:[log in to unmask]" width="68" height="44" border="0">Adam Jonas' View on Autonomous Cars

Video similar to part of Adam's Luncheon talk @ 2015 Florida Automated Vehicle Symposium on Dec 1.  Hmmm ... Watch Video  especially at the 13:12 mark.  Compelling; especially after the 60 Minutes segment above!  Also see his TipRanks.  Alain


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Alain L. Kornhauser, PhD
Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering
Director, Transportation Program
Faculty Chair, Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering
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Princeton University
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