2021-06-17
June 16, 2021 blue; text-decoration: blue; text-decoration: none;”>23rd edition of the 9th year of SmartDrivingCars eLetter
Waymo teams up with trucker JB Hunt on autonomous freight hauling in Texas
A. Hawkins, June 10, “Waymo’s autonomous trucking unit got a boost with the announcement that it would be teaming up with JB Hunt Transport Services, a 56-year-old company based in Arkansas. The two companies will work collaboratively on a pilot project to evaluate the use of Waymo’s autonomous technology to move freight.
The test will
take place in
Texas, with
Waymo's Class
8 autonomous
truck hauling
goods along
Interstate 45
between
facilities in
Houston and
Fort Worth for
one of JB
Hunt's
customers. The
trucks will
operate
autonomously
but will
be supervised
by two Waymo
employees,
a commercially
licensed
driver and a
software
engineer, from
the cab of the
vehicle. If
everything
goes smoothly,
Waymo and JB
Hunt could
decide to work
together on
more freight
hauls in the
future.. ." [Read more](https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/10/22527430/waymo-jb-hunt-autonomous-truck-freight-test-texas) Hmmmm... Nice. We also know that
the sociology
challenges and
the liability
risks require
human
supervision.
Hopefully all
will work out
so that the
two Waymo
employees can
magically
disappear in a
short time.
I have come to realize that this front-end labor investment will be needed to successfully enter any new Driverless Operational Design Domain. These expenses are, in reality, infrastructure expenses: they are front end temporary expenses incurred to certify the viability and safety of the long-run low-cost driverless operation. For Trenton, I see this as requiring 2.5 FTEs per vehicle for two years. A small price to pay to successfully launch affordable mobility to all. Alain
SmartDrivingCars
[Pod-Cast Episode 218](https://soundcloud.com/smartdrivingcar/smart-driving-cars-episode-218),
[Zoom-Cast Episode 218](https://youtu.be/JY3Gvw3VC8A)
w/Xinfeng
Le, Waymo
Product
Manager
F. Fishkin, June 10 , “Have questions about Waymo’s partnership with JB Hunt to test autonomous trucks in Texas? So do we…and Waymo’s Product Manager, Xinfeng Le joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin to provide answers. Plus.. Waymo raises 2 and a half billion dollars, MacKenzie Scott gives away billions, start-up Waabi comes out of stealth, Argo AI plans an IPO and more. “Alexa, play the Smart Driving Cars podcast!”. Ditto with Siri, and GooglePlay … Alain
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](https://www.smartetfs.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
initiative
MacKenzie Scott Gives Away Another $2.74 Billion Even as Her Wealth Grows
N. Kulish,
June 15,
"MacKenzie
Scott promised
she would give
her fortune
away "until
the safe is
empty." That
has proved to
be harder than
expected.
Ms. Scott made
that pledge in
2019, after
her divorce
from Jeff
Bezos. At the
time, her
portion of the
settlement,
some 4 percent
of Amazon
shares, was
valued at
around $36
billion.
Thanks to the
soaring value
of that stock,
Ms. Scott is
accumulating
wealth faster
than she can
give it away.
Though she has
donated more
than $8
billion over
the past 11
months,
primarily
through direct
gifts to
nonprofits,
today she is
richer than
ever, worth
some $60
billion,
according to
Forbes.
In 2020, a
year of
incredible
need, Ms.
Scott gave
away nearly $6
billion to 500
organizations.
Now, for the
third time in
under a year,
[Ms. Scott has announced](https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/seeding-by-ceding-ea6de642bf)
a new round of
grants, worth
a combined
$2.74 billion,
demonstrating
that her
dedication to
rapidly
disbursing her
fortune has
not abated. ... How fantastic is that! Be
sure to read
her post...[https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/seeding-by-ceding-ea6de642bf](https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/seeding-by-ceding-ea6de642bf)
” … said Maribel Morey, founding executive director of the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. “Much as a judge has to explain their logic, or a senator has to answer to their constituents, a philanthropist owes it to the public to explain how and why they came to their decisions.” … What??? Did the NYT include this comment in the interest of “balanced Journalism”??? C’Mon NYT, how can you criticize what MacKensie is doing??? …
“…In a break from the way many foundations operate, Ms. Scott said her gifts were not earmarked for specific programs. “Because we believe that teams with experience on the front lines of challenges will know best how to put the money to good use, we encouraged them to spend it however they choose,” she said… …Absolutely FANTASTIC!!!
“… she had so far shown little interest in the think tanks and research institutes that often shape policy in Washington and statehouses around the country… “She just doesn’t seem to be tuned in to that kind of stuff at all,” Mr. Callahan said. “That reflects an incomplete understanding of how change happens in this country. Change happens from the bottom up, and also the top down.”…
.. What??? What??? I beg to disagree. As if those in the “think tanks and research institutions” are anything more than part of the overhead that she is so elegantly disrupting in an industry (philanthropy) that may well be THE Smokestack of smokestack industries. Read more Hmmmm… MacKensie may well end up being more transformative than Jeff in totally disrupting an insular industry. Alain
First Look TESLA VISION with NO Radar | 2021 Model Y
Dan M., May 27, “We take a First Look TESLA VISION with NO Radar on a 2021 Tesla Model Y. Software version 2021.4.15.11. “ Watchmore Hmmmm… @ 6:14 in, he talks about the non-detection of the vehicle in front of the vehicle directly in front of him. Radar could do that detection can identify the radar signals that pass under the vehicle in front of him, bounced off the pavement, reflected off the vehicle that can’t be seen, bounce off the pavement and be recaptured by the radar unit. While this might be “neat” information to have in some obscure situation, its unreliability disqualifies it from it playing a role in the driving task and certainly doesn’t provide sufficient benefit to require the continued inclusion of radar as a sensor.
@ 8:05 in, he approaches an overpass. I’m certain that the overpass is “seen” by the camera system. Part of the overpass is directly above in the lane ahead. Why isn’t that overpass displayed on the road ahead and annotated with the detected clearance? Why is that “stationary object in the lane ahead” discarded from being displayed on the autoPilot monitor? What other objects are discarded from being displayed when the image processing system detects an object in the lane ahead? Seems like signs and traffic lights are similarly discarded from being displayed. How low do they need to be to not be discarded. What if it is a trailer sitting broadside across the lane ahead? What if it is a firetruck parked under the overpass? Are any of these detected objects passed to Tesla’s collision avoidance system?
I agree that radar (and Lidar) are redundant to image processing. They aren’t even nice-to-haves when the image processing system is designated as the go-to sensor in cases where there is a discrepancy. Alain
Alphabet’s self-driving car company Waymo announces $2.5 billion investment round
L. Feiner, June 16, “Google sibling company Waymo announced Wednesday a $2.5 billion investment round, which will go toward advancing its autonomous driving technology and growing its team.
The funding
round follows
the departure
of Waymo CEO
John Krafcik
in April and
criticism that
the company is
moving slower
than expected
toward
commercialization
of its
technology.
Waymo and
other
self-driving
companies have
found adoption
to be more
difficult than
expected. The
company, for
example, still
largely relied
on human
safety drivers
last summer...
Waymo says it eventually wants individuals to own and operate vehicles using its autonomous driving technology. The company said it’s driven tens of millions of miles on public roads across 25 cities in the U.S. so far…” Read more Hmmmm… Wow! That last sentence implies a real change in Waymo’s business strategy, if it is true. Hard to believe, unless they are going to position it like Tesla’s AutoPilot… can do a lot, but absolutely requires the driver’s butt to be in the driver’s seat and the driver’s mind always focused on overseeing the Waymo driver. If this is true, then Waymo is throwing in the towel on Driverless and putting lipstick on it. Wow! Alain
Waabi launches to build a pathway to commercially viable, scalable autonomous driving
Press release, June 8, “Waabi, founded by AI pioneer and visionary Raquel Urtasun, today launched out of stealth to build the next generation of self-driving technology. Waabi’s innovative approach unleashes the power of AI to “drive” safely in the real world, bringing the promise of self-driving closer to commercialization than ever before.
Waabi also
announced
today a $83.5
million (USD)
Series A
financing with
backing from
best-in-class
investors
across the
technology,
logistics and
the Canadian
innovation
ecosystem. The
round, which
is among the
largest Series
A rounds ever
raised in
Canada, was
led by Khosla
Ventures with
additional
participation
from Uber,
Radical
Ventures, 8VC,
OMERS
Ventures, BDC
Capital's
Women in
Technology
Venture Fund
(WIT), Aurora
Innovation
Inc., AI
luminaries
Geoffrey
Hinton,
Fei-Fei Li,
Pieter Abbeel,
Sanja Fidler
and
others...." [Read more](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/06/08/2243365/0/en/Waabi-launches-to-build-a-pathway-to-commercially-viable-scalable-autonomous-driving.html)
Hmmmm... Very
interesting
that Aurora
Innovations,
Inc. is one of
the
participants
since it
seemed to have
had the
opportunity to
get all of
Waabi's IP and
people when [it "acquired" Uber's ATG in December](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/17/aurora-sends-offers-to-majority-uber-atg-employees-but-not-the-rd-lab/#:~:text=Instead%2C%20Uber%20is%20handing%20over,become%20minority%20shareholders%20of%20Aurora.).
Yet Aurora
seems to be
investing in
the people
that it passed
on in
December. Did
Aurore also
pass on Uber's
ATV's IP that
has now found
its way in
Waabi? Sure
hope this
doesn't end up
being another
[Otto](https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/10/technology/waymo-uber-what-we-learned/index.html).
Alain
U.S. push for self-driving cars faces union, lawyers opposition
D. Shepardson, June 16, “The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday again rejected attempts to lift regulations to allow for the deployment of thousands of autonomous vehicles as union groups and attorneys campaign against the legislative proposal.
The committee
rebuffed the
bid by
Republican
Senator John
Thune to
attach
measures
lifting
regulations on
autonomous
vehicles to a
$78 billion
surface
transportation
bill after he
sought last
month to
attach it in
May to a bill
on China tech
policy....
Thune said that the “Teamsters and trial lawyers” are opposed to self-driving legislation and they “seem to own lock, stock and barrel the Democrats on this committee.”…
The American Association for Justice, which represents plaintiffs lawyers said it “will continue to oppose any legislation that exempts the driverless car industry from basic safety standards, and allows auto and tech companies to avoid being held accountable through the use of forced arbitration clauses…. “ Read more Hmmmm… Nice to hear that lawyers oppose relaxation of basic safety standards that would cause them to become even richer. Alain
Beep Launches Yellowstone’s First Autonomous Shuttles with Local Motors
Beep, June 10, “Beep – a provider of multi-passenger, electric, autonomous mobility solutions – today announced the launch of Yellowstone National Park’s first-ever autonomous shuttle program, called T.E.D.D.Y. (The Electric Driverless Demonstration in Yellowstone), in partnership with Local Motors, a leader in the design and manufacturing of autonomous vehicles. The T.E.D.D.Y. project, an ode to Teddy Roosevelt, will enable the National Park Service to test the feasibility and sustainability of autonomous mobility and better plan for the future of transportation….” Read more Hmmmm… Congratulations. Alain
Argo AI’s CEO says IPO expected within next year
J. Lee, June 9, “Self-driving startup Argo AI, backed by Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), expects to pursue a public listing within the next year, founder and CEO Bryan Salesky said on Wednesday.
"So we're
actively
fundraising
and are going
out this
summer to
raise a
private round
initially,"
Salesky said
at The
Information's
Autonomous
Vehicles
Summit. "And
then we're
looking
forward to an
IPO within the
next year."
"The raise
this year will
definitely
provide
capital that
gives us
plenty of
runway and
will help us
continue to
scale out," he
said, adding
that
autonomous
driving is a
capital-intensive
business..."
[Read more](https://www.reuters.com/technology/argo-ais-ceo-says-ipo-expected-within-next-year-2021-06-09/)
Hmmmm...
"Scale
out"??? They
haven't even
achieved their
1st dollar of
revenue.
Today's
challenge is
getting
started. Yo
date, only
Waymo has
anything that
barely begins
to get started
and that may
well be on
life support.
Alain
Lordstown’s electric pickup plans hit another snag as CEO and CFO resign
F. Lambert, June 14, “Lordstown Motors is again finding itself in hot water on the road to try to bring to market its ambitious electric pickup as both the CEO and CFO are leaving.
The company
was founded
out of a deal
to take over
GM's Lordstown
factory just a
few years ago,
and it plans
to bring an
electric
pickup truck,
the Lordstown
Endurance, to
production
this year.
We previously
stated that
the timeline
was extremely
ambitious due
to the fact
that the
factory needs
to be
completely
retooled, and
Lordstown is
trying to
bring to
market the
first
passenger
vehicle with
in-wheel hub
motors, which
is an untested
technology in
pickup trucks.
Lordstown went
public through
a SPAC deal
last year and
saw its
valuation soar
to up to $4
billion...." [Read more](https://electrek.co/2021/06/14/lordstowns-electric-pickup-plans-snag-ceo-cfo-resign/)
Hmmmm...
Another
Nikola? (which
still [closed @ $15.76](https://www.google.com/search?q=nikola+stock&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS791US791&oq=nikola&aqs=chrome.7.69i57j46i67i433l2j0i433l2j46i67i433l2j0i433j46i433.9734j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
today) Alain
GM-backed Cruise secures $5 billion credit line as it prepares to launch self-driving robotaxis
M. Wayland, June 15,” Cruise, a majority-owned subsidiary of General Motors, has secured a new $5 billion line of credit as it prepares for commercialization of its autonomous ride-hailing business.
The new
credit,
announced
Tuesday, is
being provided
by GM's
automotive
financing arm
to use for the
purchase of
Cruise's
self-driving
Origin
shuttles,
which GM is
expected to
begin
producing at a
factory in
Detroit in
early 2023. It
brings
Cruise's war
chest to more
than $10
billion,
according to
Cruise CEO Dan
Ammann...." [Read more](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/15/gm-backed-cruise-secures-5-billion-credit-for-self-driving-robotaxis.html)
Hmmmm...
Congratulations.
GM already had
a factory
making [Cruise's autonomous Bolt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fyAtZgR4rE). Are
the Origin
shuttles going
to be
manufactured
in the same
plant? "
TuSimple’s self-driving truck network expanding eastward via Texas
N. Carey, June 16,” Self-driving truck technology company TuSimple Holdings Inc (TSP.O) said on Wednesday it will open a new Texas facility that will enable it to put trucks to work hauling freight on the roads of the southeastern U.S. states within six months.
The company,
which outfits
its trucks
with
self-driving
technology, is
opening a new
terminal in
Alliance,
Texas, to
serve the
"Texas
Triangle", an
area that
includes
Dallas,
Houston, San
Antonio, and
Austin, adding
3,000 miles to
its
network...."
[Read more](https://www.reuters.com/technology/argo-ais-ceo-says-ipo-expected-within-next-year-2021-06-09/)
Hmmmm... Seems
to me that
TuSimple is
becoming a
Warehousing
company using
its own trucks
to move
freight
between its
facilities.
At this point,
having
"self-driving"
technology on
its trucks
helps the
influx of
investor
capital while
adding a sea
of red to
their balance
sheet. Alain
How Software Is Eating the Car
R. Charette, June 7, “Predictions of lost global vehicle production caused by the ongoing semiconductor shortage continue to rise. In January, analysts forecast that 1.5 million fewer vehicles would be produced as a result of the shortage; by April that number had steadily climbed to more than 2.7 million units, and by May, to more than 4.1 million units.
The
semiconductor
shortage has
underscored
not only the
fragility of
the automotive
supply chain,
but placed an
intense
spotlight on
the auto
industry's
reliance on
the dozens of
concealed
computers
embedded
throughout
vehicles
today.
"No other
industry is
undergoing as
rapid
technological
change as the
auto
industry,"
says Zoran
Filipi, Chair
of the
Department of
Automotive
Engineering at
Clemson
University's
International
Center for
Automotive
Research.
"This is
driven by the
need to
address
impending,
evermore
stringent CO2
and criteria
emission
regulations,
while
sustaining
unprecedented
rate of
progress with
development of
automation and
infotainment,
and meeting
the customer
expectations
regarding
performance,
comfort, and
utility."
..." [Read more](https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/advanced-cars/software-eating-car)
Hmmmm... A
non-trivial
problem.
Complexity in
the car may
well be
outstripping
any "Moore's
Law"
productivity
improvements.
..""...
Once, software
was a part of
the car. Now,
software
determines the
value of a
car," notes
Manfred Broy,
emeritus
professor of
informatics at
Technical
University,
Munich and a
leading expert
on software in
automobiles.
"The success
of a car
depends on its
software much
more than the
mechanical
side." Nearly
all vehicle
innovations by
auto
manufacturers,
or original
equipment
manufacturers
(OEMs) as they
are called by
industry
insiders, are
now tied to
software, he
says...." ..." An excellent read. Alain
PS I’m told by my Mercedes repair shop that my horn is “on” according to its MB S550 diagnostic system; yet, it doesn’t make a noise when I hit the center of the steering wheel. I’m told they don’t know why is doesn’t blow, but for $1,200 they will try the cheapest possible fix by replacing electronic control unit. If that doesn’t fix it they’ll try the next more expensive fix. Why Mercedes make a horn so complicated?? I give up.
Autonomous vehicle startup Aurora in talks to merge with Reid Hoffman’s SPAC -TechCrunch
Staff, June 4,”Self-driving car startup Aurora is nearing a deal to merge with blank-check firm Reinvent Technology Partners Y , which is backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus and Michael Thompson, TechCrunch reported on Friday…..” Read more Hmmmm… Congratulations, I guess. Alain
You may be paying more for Uber, but drivers aren’t getting their cut of the fare hike
F. Siddiqui, June 10, “Uber passengers paying astronomical fares amid a labor shortage may think the extra money is going to their stressed and overworked drivers.
But drivers
are not being
compensated
based on what
customers pay.
Instead, they
are paid for
their time and
distance —
with added,
predetermined
surge bonuses
controlled by
Uber...." [Read more](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/09/uber-lyft-drivers-price-hike/)
Hmmmm...
Unfortunately,
the Uber/Lyft
business model
is
fundamentally
flawed.
Affordability
is achieved
only through
enslavement of
the driver.
There is no
opportunity to
achieve any
economies of
scale because
output is
fundamentally
proportional
to labor
input.
Uber/Lyft may
well be among
the most labor
intensive
industries.
There is a
reason why
taxi cabs
didn't
dominate
mobility in
the 20th
century. It
is simply too
labor
intensive to
be afforded
(not
completely
obliterate any
personal value
attained by
travel) except
in the most
dire
circumstances
or for folks
for whom money
was no problem
or had someone
else paying
for it. No
wonder the
personal
automobile
became so
popular...
Justify the
occasional
expenses while
experiencing
freedom during
each trip. It
was a
no-brainer.
And still is
... until the
intense labor
charge can
somehow be
eliminated
from each
transaction.
Alain
More On….
Re-see: Pop Up Metro USA Intro 09 2020
H. Poser’77, Sept 13, 2020. “Creating Value for Light Density Urban Rail Lines” . See slides, See video Hmmmm… Simply Brilliant. Alain
0, 0);">[Annual Princeton](https://orfe.princeton.edu/conferences/sdc/session/20210128)SmartDrivingCar
Summit [It is over!!!](https://orfe.princeton.edu/conferences/sdc/session/20210325)
Now time to
actually do
something in
the Trentons
of this
world.
Making Driverless Happen – The Road Forward (Updated)
K. Pyle, April
18, ""It's
time to hit
the start
button," is [Fred Fishkin's](https://www.techstination.com/) succinct way of
summarizing
the next steps
in the Smart
Driving Car
journey.
Fiskin, along
with the LA
Times' [Russ Mitchell](https://twitter.com/russ1mitchell?lang=en)
co-produced
the final
session of the
[2021 Smart Driving Car Summit, Making It Happen – Part 2](https://orfe.princeton.edu/conferences/sdc/session/20210415).
This 16th and
final session
in this
multi-month
online
conference not
only provided
a s[ummary of the thought-provoking speakers](https://viodi.com/2021/04/18/making-driverless-happen-the-road-forward/),
but also
provided food
for thought on
a way forward
to bring
mobility to
"the Trentons
of the World."
Setting the
stage for this
final session,
Michael Sena
provided
highlights of
the Smart
Driving Car
journey that
started in
late December
2020. Safety,
high-quality,
and affordable
mobility,
particularly
for those who
do not have
many options,
was a common
theme to the
2021 Smart
Driving Car
Summit. As
Princeton
Professor
Kornhauser,
the conference
organizer put
it,....." [Read more](https://viodi.com/2021/04/18/making-driverless-happen-the-road-forward/) 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
13th Session Improving the Moving of Goods
12th Session 3/18/21 Human-centered Design of Safe and Affordable Driverless Mobility
11th Session 3/11/21 Incentivizing Through Regulation
10th Session 3/04/21 Incentivizing Through Insurance
9th Session 2/25/21 Can Level 3 be Delivered?
8th Session 2/18/21 Who Will Build, Sell and Maintain Driverless Cars?
[Michael Sena's Slides](https://www.dropbox.com/s/yfzscinfy41vrka/Sena_Session8%20SDC_Summit.pdf?dl=0),
[Glenn Mercer Slides](https://www.dropbox.com/s/8x4sd97vrifa9r9/Mercer_Session8%20SDC_Summit.pdf?dl=0)
7th Session 2/11/21 Finally Doing It
6th Session 2/ 4/21 Safe Enough in the Operational Design Domain
5th Session 1/28/21 At the Tipping Point
4th Session 1/21/21 Why Customers are Buying Them
3rd Session 1/14/21 The SmartDrivingCars We Can Buy Today
2nd Session1/ 7/21 A Look into the Future1st Session:12/17/20Setting the Stage
Kornhauser & He, April 2021“Making it Happen: A Proposal for Providing Affordable, High-quality, On-demand Mobility for All in the “Trentons” of this World”
Orf467F20_FinalReport “Analyzing Ride-Share Potential and Empty Repositioning Requirements of a Nationwide aTaxi System” Kornhauser & He, March 2021 “AV 101 + Trenton Affordable HQ Mobility Initiative”
C’mon Man!(These folks didn’t get/read the memo)
Sunday Supplement
Half-Baked
Click-Bait
Calendar of Upcoming
Events
The 2021 TRB Annual
Automated Road Transportation Symposium
Virtual on July 12-15, 2021
5th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit
Fall 2021 Live in Person To be Announced
Georgia,
serif;">
On the More Technical Side
http://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
K. Lockean’s AV Research Group at U of Texas
and
[The SYMPOSIUM ON THE FUTURE NETWORKED CAR 2021 VIRTUAL EVENT](https://www.itu.int/en/fnc/2021/Pages/default.aspx)
R. Shields, 22 - 25 March, “Recordings from the conference:
Session 1 plus opening: (Regulatory): https://youtu.be/UcDC8gXiUFk
Session 2: ([Cybersecurity](https://youtu.be/ppp2hxlvebY)): [https://youtu.be/ppp2hxlvebY](https://youtu.be/ppp2hxlvebY)
Session 3: [(Automated Driving Systems](https://youtu.be/uL2dRHuX2Cc)): [https://youtu.be/uL2dRHuX2Cc](https://youtu.be/uL2dRHuX2Cc)
Session 4: [(Communications for ADS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFQcL6yfBso)) : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFQcL6yfBso](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFQcL6yfBso)
Read more Hmmmm… Russ, thank you for sharing! Alain
###
These editions re sponsored by the SmartETFs Smart Transportation and Technology ETF, symbol MOTO. For more information head to www.motoetf.com
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 217, Zoom-Cast Episode 217 w/Christorpher Mims, Columnist, Wall Street Journal
F. Fishkin, June 7 , “Are self-driving cars still decades ahead? Wall Street Jopurnal columnist and author Christopher Mims joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at the progress and roadblocks. Plus the latest on Tesla, Cruise, the dramatic rise in road deaths during Covid and more. “
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 216, Zoom-Cast Episode 216 w/Michael Sena, editor The Dispatcher
F. Fishkin, May 28 , “The Future of Mobility is Slowly Coming Into Focus. That’s on top in the June edition of The Dispatcher. From Sweden, publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus better batteries, May Mobility, Tesla and more.
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 215, Zoom-Cast Episode 215 w/Cade Metz, Correspondent, NY Times & Ken Pyle, editor, Viodi.com
F. Fishkin, May 27 , “The Costly Pursuit of Self Driving Cars Continues On and On and On. That’s the headline of a NY Times story this week. The reporter, Cade Metz, also the author of a new book on artificial intelligence, joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser, co-host Fred Fishkin and guest Ken Pyle of Viodi View..”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 214, Zoom-Cast Episode 214
F. Fishkin, May 23 , “An interview with the chief engineer behind Ford’s F150 Lightning EV truck…Waymo shares rider stories and the AFL-CIO tells Congress autonomous vehicles should be required to have human operators. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for those stories and more.”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 213, Zoom-Cast Episode 213 w/Robbie Diamond; Founder, Securing America’s Future Energy
F. Fishkin, May 14 , “The autonomous mobility competition with China. What will it take to succeed? Securing America’s Future Energy founder Robbie Diamond dives in with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus the latest on #AutoX, #Tesla, #GM, #TuSimple and more. Remember to subscribe! And check out this SAFE panel discussion too. “..
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 213, Zoom-Cast Episode 213 w/Robbie Diamond; Founder, Securing America’s Future Energy
F. Fishkin, May 14 , “The autonomous mobility competition with China. What will it take to succeed? Securing America’s Future Energy founder Robbie Diamond dives in with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus the latest on #AutoX, #Tesla, #GM, #TuSimple and more. Remember to subscribe! And check out this SAFE panel discussion too.. https://youtu.be/Z6NBRrtTDnI “
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 212, Zoom-Cast Episode 212 w/Ken Pyle
F. Fishkin, May 8 , “Where does Waymo go from here? Is GM really going to market personal autonomous vehicles? Viodi View managing editor Ken Pyle joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at those issues plus Volkswagen, Tesla, Argo and more.
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 211, Zoom-Cast Episode 211 w/ Michael Sena, Editor of The Dispatcher
F. Fishkin, May 1 , “There’s plenty of combustion around the issue of banning internal combustion engines (ICE). Consultant and The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena joins us for a look at what makes sense…and what doesn’t. Plus #Tesla, #Toyota, #Volkswagen, #Baidu and progress in Florida. …”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 210, Zoom-Cast Episode 210 w/Ken Pyle & Louis Aaron’23
F. Fishkin, April 26 , “Passengers at the Las Vegas Convention Center are about to get their first taste of the new underground mobility service from #Elon Musk’s The Boring Company. Princeton student Louis Aaron has been working there and he joins Viodi View Managing Editor Ken Pyle, Princeton’s Alain ..”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 209, Zoom-Cast Episode 209 w/Clifford Winston, Brookings Inst.
F. Fishkin, April , “The Texas #Tesla crash that killed two continues to make headlines. The impact on the electric and automated vehicle industries? From the Brookings Institution, senior fellow Clifford Winston joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at what the real focus should be on..”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 208, Zoom-Cast Episode 208 w/Prof. Stephen Still, U. of Buffalo
F. Fishkin, April 18, “What does it take to bring about mobility for all in the real world? With help from the federal DOT and a team at the University of Buffalo…some big steps are being taken there. Professor Stephen Still joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that…plus, Tesla, Uber, Cruise and more on Smart Driving Cars.”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 207, Zoom-Cast Episode 207 w/Selika Josiah Talbott
F. Fishkin, April 10 , “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.”
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](https://soundcloud.com/smartdrivingcar/smart-driving-cars-episode-202),
[Zoom-Cast Episode 202](https://youtu.be/Hj3GmnTqfdk) 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](https://soundcloud.com/smartdrivingcar/smart-driving-cars-episode-201),
[Zoom-Cast Episode 201](https://youtu.be/n5oEfvBrWa8)
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](https://soundcloud.com/smartdrivingcar/smart-driving-cars-episode-200),
[Zoom-Cast Episode 200](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVHQuwNT4eY&feature=youtu.be)
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."
Link to previous SDC PodCasts & ZoomCasts
Recent Highlights of:
Self-Driving Cars Could Be Decades Away, No Matter What Elon Musk Said
C. Mims, June 5, “…” Read more Hmmmm… Not to be defensive, but I will be…
“In 2015, Elon Musk said self-driving cars that could drive “anywhere” would be here within two or three years.” … According to my definition, from day-one (>9 years ago), of my 3 (very) different types of SmartDrivingCars:
-
Safe-driving Cars (Automation of Collision Avoidance on cars that we drive all the time. Societal benefit is improved Safety),
-
Self-Driving Cars (Automation of Steering and Braking functions some of the time, in some places, but always requiring driver supervision. Societal benefit is Comfort & Convenience (and NOT any substantive Safety improvements), and
-
Driverless Cars able to go from some origins to some destinations at some times without a driver or attendant on board. Societal benefit is delivering affordable high-quality mobility for almost anyone (and some/many things), from those origin-destination-time combinations. (period! Again, safety is a floor, not a substantive value proposition.)
Elon delivers, every day, “self-driving Tesla” with his autoPilot and FSD features. They deliver very good “Comfort & Convenience” to Tesla owners as long as the driver continues to do their part… always supervise the Tesla’s automation. Cadillac also does it with its SuperCruise, Subaru with its EyeSight, Mercedes with its 997 package, and …
Automakers, Mad Men and modern day commercials seem to make it a habit to oversell and over promise. I admit, Elon may well be at the asymptotic limit of that distribution, but everyone knows that he’s way out there. We consider him entertainment, just as we consider all the money we loose on Fan Duel and in Vegas to be an entertainment expense. Caveat emptor
In 2016, Lyft CEO John Zimmer predicted they would “all but end” car ownership by 2025.
… Hopefully by then, that thought will be in at least some minds. Putting some blemish on what the Mad Men created as an absolute human desire would be a substantial achievement….
In 2018, Waymo CEO John Krafcik warned autonomous robocars would take longer than expected.
… Nothing wrong here…
In 2021, some experts aren’t sure when, if ever, individuals will be able to purchase steering-wheel-free cars that drive themselves off the lot….”
… From the beginning and continue today I argue that there is no market in the personal ownership of Driverless Cars. Why own it??? I can’t even drive it!!! Just to sit in my driveway??? I’m going to make it a business??? I’ll be the smallest businessman in the world, bearing on my shoulders the highest form of personal responsibility, the life & safety of my customer. NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!!
Also… please, not everyone promised anything. And I haven’t even mentioned Steve Schladover who has been stalwart in his efforts to advance this technology in a realistic context.
The Society of Automotive Engineers had, and continue to have, an opportunity to bring realism to this community by, at the very least, simply dropping any reference to anything called “Level 5”. If SAE wishes to be humble and brave, they can also apologize for even suggesting that Level 5’s “everywhere” could ever exist within the lifetimes of any current or soon to be member of SAE. By creating the category, SAE baited the Mad Men, Sunday Supplementers and Click-Bait folks into fantasizing something envisioned by a reputable, serious organization.
SAE, please edit your “Levels literature” by “whiting out” all reference to “Level 5” or adding after any Level 5 “NA”. While you’re at it, do it also for “Level 3” because that’s also a non-starter. Alain May 29, 2021
[The Future of Mobility is Slowly Coming into Focus](https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpeklrq3sgutu1l/The-Dispatcher_June-2021.pdf?dl=0) M.
Sena, June
2021,
"...Mobility-as-a-service
would provide
the business
model to tie
everything
together,
perhaps as an
extension of
your
phone/broadband
subscription.
Private car
ownership
would soon be
a relic of a
bygone age.
This is an interesting narrative, but is not a correct one. Even before COVID-19 changed how people have been living outside of China since Friday, the 13th of March 2020, the picture of everything happening in high density cities was a rumor that companies like WEWORK spread to build their houses of cards. …
One effect of changes that have occurred in where people live and work in and around big cities is a phenomenon that was already well underway before the pandemic but has sped up: the demise of inner city buses. I wrote about this in the December 2018 issue of THE DISPATCHER, Is It Time to Throw the Bus Under the Bus?. I wrote:
We need to
start thinking
outside the
bus. If a city
is serious
about
providing a
useful bus
service, it
needs to run
them
everywhere and
often,
including at
night. It
must,
therefore, get
rid of cars
driving and
parking on its
streets. ..
One effect of changes that have occurred in where people live and work in and around big cities is a phenomenon that was already well underway before the pandemic but has sped up: the demise of inner city buses. I wrote about this in the December 2018 issue of THE DISPATCHER, Is It Time to Throw the Bus Under the Bus?. I wrote:
We need to
start thinking
outside the
bus. If a city
is serious
about
providing a
useful bus
service, it
needs to run
them
everywhere and
often,
including at
night. It
must,
therefore, get
rid of cars
driving and
parking on its
streets. ...
What cities
are doing
today all over
the world is
neither
providing an
adequate
service to
their citizens
nor using the
money
allocated for
transport in a
cost-effective
way...
Bite the bullet and get private cars off the big city streets
The reasons
that people
who live in
cities began
to buy cars
was that they
needed them to
get to their
jobs, the ones
that began
moving out of
the cities in
the '60s to
'campuses'
where there
were no
transit links.
Then they
needed them to
drop off their
children to
day care
centers since
both parents
worked. Then
they needed
them to drop
off their
older
children...
As I said, it is not buses that will meet the need. Neither is it roads filled with taxis. There are taxis offering rides in Trenton and Scranton, but they are not replacing buses because they are too expensive and are often unavailable when demand for them is highest. The Uber/Lyft model can be better at meeting demand, but they are still too costly…”
Read more Hmmmm… Enjoy the whole issue. It is enormously well written! Also listen/watch the SDC Pod/Zoom Cast 216- below with Michael. Alain
[The Costly Pursuit of Self-Driving Cars Continues On. And On. And On.](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/24/technology/self-driving-cars-wait.html) C. Metz,
May 24, "...
So what went
wrong? Some
researchers
would say
nothing —
that's how
science works.
You can't
entirely
predict what
will happen in
an experiment.
...
It's not an
experiment if
you can
predict the
outcome. Why
bother doing
it???
More importantly, Mother Nature is involved and you don’t know what she is going to throw at you. Which is why simulations are not the complete answer… They’ll only regurgitate what you told them to do (which is somewhat useful because they implicate together the things that you thought you knew, giving you new insights.). The challenge is, She’s not involved in the simulation but She is every time you do it… But that’s life and that’s what makes it exiting and worth living…. The self-driving car project just happened to be one of the most hyped technology experiments of this century, occurring on streets all over the country and run by some of its highest-profile companies….
Self-driving tech is not yet nimble enough to reliably handle the variety of situations human drivers encounter each day. It can usually handle suburban Phoenix, but it can’t duplicate the human chutzpah needed for merging into the Lincoln Tunnel in New York or dashing for an offramp on Highway 101 in Los Angele … True! But getting it to work in the Nevada desert and then Pheonix is an enormous accomplishment. Frank didn’t just roll out of the womb and make it in New York. He also went through “..the blues…” where he could actually sing and be appreciated in the “..small towns…” before he made it in NYC. It took GM about ‘12 seconds’ to realize that the required human chutzpah was way to much to get started and they were outathere.
“If you look at almost every industry that is trying to solve really, really difficult technical challenges, the folks that tend to be involved are a little bit crazy and little bit optimistic,” he said. “You need to have that optimism to get up every day and bang your head against the wall to try to solve a problem that has never been solved, and it’s not guaranteed that it ever will be solved.” … Absolutely true. By definition! (I also like to say that you need to be fundamentally stupid; else, you would have known how hard it was going to be and you would have just played golf or video games in your parent’s basement…)
“These cars will be able to operate on a limited set of streets under a limited set of weather conditions at certain speeds,” said Jody Kelman, an executive at Lyft. “We will very safely be able to deploy these cars, but they won’t be able to go that many places.” … Yup!! There is absolutely nothing bad about that. Go someplace else. It doesn’t need to be much tougher that “Chandler”. It doesn’t really need to be any “bigger” than “Chandler”.
Waymo needs what Chandler doesn’t have.. Customers … Definition: folks whose quality-of-life can be substantially improved by what Waymo’s Technology can readily deliver today. )
That's the
market side of
this
initiative
that Silicon
Valley seems
to have
forgotten.
Cool
Technology
doesn't
happen, just
because it is
Technology.
Technology
happens
because it is
Cool. Cool is
the value
proposition,
not
Technology:
else we'd have
[Segways](https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/23/say-so-long-to-the-original-segway/)
and people
wearing [GoogleGlass](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/052115/how-why-google-glass-failed.asp)
all over the
place.
Assisted Driving (what I call Self-drivingCars, or, sorry, SAE Level 1 and Level 2, or Tesla AutoPilot) are Cool (That technology delivers Comfort and Convenience to those that can afford and wish to buy cars). The buyer/customer just relies, for the most part, that engineers are making sure that the Technology works. Customers demand that the Technology adds to what they already enjoy (Cool). Their attention span is really short. The “lipstick” wears off quickly.
For Driverless… not so much Cool in Chandler. Maybe as a fling, or a tale, but actually, the negatives, largely outweigh the positives, think GoogleGlass. Few move or stay in Chandler unless you have a car (~70% Households have 2 or more cars). ‘everyone’ has their own car. So while the Waymo technology might work in Chandler, it doesn’t have enough Waymophiles (customers for whom Waymo substantially improves what they already have for themselves) to make it a Go.
However, take “Trenton”. 70 % of the households have one or zero cars. Many more Trentonians have the opportunity to appreciate the incremental value that Waymo will bring to their lives. They will more easily become Waymophiles if Waymo delivers in Trenton what Waymo has well demonstrated the “Cool” that it can deliver in Chandler. Even if Waymo shuts down until the few roads that it uses are plowed the few times it snows in Trenton. Trenton is Waymos’s (Ford/Argo & GM/Cruise as well) “New York”.
In short… While Chandler is an ideal place for Waymo to start getting its Technology working, Trenton is a great place for them to deliver societal value, which is supposed to be the fundamental mission of these Google “X.Projects” … …”
...X's primary
output
is
breakthrough
technologies
that have the
potential to transform
people's lives
and become
large, sustainable
businesses."
It is time that Waymo begins to take what they’ve accomplished and actually begin to deliver primary output. “Read more Hmmmm… Excellent. Comments in line above. Also Listen/Watch PodCast above. Alain
May 22, 2021
Why I Ride with Waymo: Mike Waymo One, May 13, “… I started taking it to work, and after crunching the numbers for gas, maintenance, insurance, upkeep, and owning a depreciating investment, it was pretty much a no-brainer that we really didn’t need two cars. I sold off my car and made Waymo my choice for commuting to and from work and for trips my wife and I need to take when the other is using our car…” Read more Hmmmm…This is really great that he “crunched the numbers” and found it to be “pretty much a no-brainer”, which is what every real Waymo customer in Chandler has to do to become a Waymo customer. One “doesn’t move to Chandler unless one has “two cars”. See slide 5: 70% of the households have 2 or more cars in Chandler, so most of the folks have had to do the math to become a customer. If Waymo offered the same service in Trenton, where 70% of the households have at most one car and 30% don’t have any, then it doesn’t take much number crunching to appreciate Waymo when walking is the next best way to go.
The Chandler Operational Design Domain (ODD) may be a great place to get the technology working. It may well be the “easiest” ODD in the world. A Trenton ODD may well not be all that much more difficult technologically. What Trenton does have are customers for whom what Waymo can deliver is truly a no-brainer. Alain
May 15, 2021
Autonomous Vehicles: A Framework for Deployment and Safety R. Diamond, May 13, “Join SAFE for an event focused on the importance of autonomous vehicles to our national and economic security and outlining pathways for the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles.
The event will
feature
remarks from
Dr. Steve
Cliff, Acting
Administrator
of NHTSA, a
discussion
between
industry
leaders, and
the release of
a report, "A
Regulatory
Framework for
AV Safety," by
O. Kevin
Vincent,
Associate
General
Counsel,
Regulatory at
Lucid...." [Read more](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efcOl4QT4vg) Hmmmm... A must watch,
complemented
by the [Vincent report](https://www.dropbox.com/s/v7d50nlj2k3o2ud/Kevin-Vincent-Regulatory-Framework.pdf?dl=0) and
our latest [PodCast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biRYIW1ULCo) below.
Alain
May 8, 2021 [Why has't Waymo expanded its driverless service? Here's my theory](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/05/why-hasnt-waymo-expanded-its-driverless-service-heres-my-theory/)
###
T. Lee, May 7,
"Suburban
ride-hailing
is a lousy
business to be
in.
Last October, Waymo did something remarkable: the company launched a fully driverless commercial taxi service called Waymo One. Customers in a 50-square-mile corner of suburban Phoenix can now use their smartphones to hail a Chrysler Pacifica minivan with no one in the driver’s seat.
And then...
nothing. Seven
months later,
Waymo has
neither
expanded the
footprint of
the Phoenix
service nor
has it
announced a
timeline for
launching in a
second city.
It's as if
Steve Jobs had
unveiled the
iPhone,
shipped a few
thousand
phones to an
Apple Store in
Phoenix, and
then didn't
ship any more
for months—and
wouldn't
explain why.
Last Friday,
two Waymo
employees [participated in an "ask me anything" thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SelfDrivingCars/comments/n031vq/you_voted_and_were_excited_to_chat_about_waymo/) on
the
SelfDrivingCars
subreddit, a
watering hole
for
self-driving
industry
insiders.
Questions
about
expansion
plans
dominated the
conversation.
"How are you
going to
scale?" one
redditor
asked. "What
are the
impediments to
service
expansion at
this time?"
The Waymonauts
responded with
maddening
generalities.
"We feel the
same urgency
to scale
quickly that
others do, but
a ton of work
goes into
doing it
safely," wrote
Waymo's Sam
Kansara." [Read more](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/05/why-hasnt-waymo-expanded-its-driverless-service-heres-my-theory/) Hmmmm... Not at all surprising.
Can you
imagine trying
to be better
than one's own
Land Rover or
Porsche in car
country. That
is a heavy
lift. Making
it heavier is
the focus on
today's most
entitled
yuppies.
That's as bad
as the
original focus
of driverless
cars on
1%ers. Waymos
are pure and
simple
mobility
machines to
get you
from/to places
horizontally,
just as
elevators do
vertically ...
just get you
up to the "8th
floor". Why
are elevators
so successful
at what they
do?... Second
best is the
stairwell!
They win all
the time,
hands down.
In Chandler, the “stairwell” is your car parked in your garage. You don’t even have to go outside in all that heat. Waymo’s got to be really good to beat that! Waymo might end up getting close to that good, but in the beginning chances “slim-to-none”. Not that the car in the garage doesn’t have an enormous amount of “excess baggage”. Everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten about it. When even with all of its LiDars, radars and deepLearning, whereas the car with the Mad Men fantasies is way more than half full and your go-to mobility is your car. Your car allowed you to consider the Chandlers of this world as a place whee you want to live. That’s a challenging market place for Waymo. It’s worse than Bing v Google
A better place for Waymo ( or Ford/Argo or GM/cruise) the place to start is to focus on a market where they can easily deliver better service. The obvious market is to provide Waymo mobility to concentrations of households that have zero or only one car. Folks that have been left behind by the automobile and don’t have access to one. Those that have been relegated to take the staircase thereby not even having the opportunity to reach “the eighth floor”; which, once they can using Waymo, would substantially improve their lives. They might in fact appreciate Waymo right out of the box.
Manhattan is one such place, but it has a great subway and safely driving its roads is enormously challenging, so that’s arguably the last place for Waymo to go. However, the census identifies many communities and “inner suburbs” that have substantial densities of zero and one-car household. For example: Trenton New Jersey. Waymo would be the obvious mobility choice. Numerous Trenton residents would readily perceive Waymo as the “Google” in their trip mode-choice.
Another note… trying to sell Waymo technology on its ability to improve safety is a fool’s gambit. Since Waymos don’t misbehave, it is “easy” to make them safer, but that argument is hard to get across Misbehaviors are core to the fantasies of driving and are thus excused and forgotten about. Alain
Alain L. Kornhauser, PhD
Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies, 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)