2021-10-25
October 24, 2021
blue;
text-decoration:
blue;
text-decoration:
none;">41st
edition of the
9th year of
SmartDrivingCars
eLetter
###
Amazon’s self-driving cars are coming to downtown Seattle. Safety advocates are not pleased
K. Long, Oct
19, "... But
an
announcement
Monday from
Amazon's
self-driving
car unit Zoox
that it will
soon start
testing its
autonomous
vehicles in
downtown
Seattle drew
criticism from transportation-safety advocates. The early promise of the technology,
they said, has
been
overshadowed
by a string of
crashes and
near-misses,
due in part to
lax oversight
of the rapidly
growing
sector..." [Read more](https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazons-self-driving-cars-are-coming-to-downtown-seattle-safety-advocates-are-not-pleased/) Hmmmm... First news out of the
box from the
home town
paper is this. So discouraging. You
just can't
win. 😭
Alain
SmartDrivingCars
[Pod-Cast Episode 238](https://anchor.fm/smartdrivingcars/episodes/Smart-Driving-Cars-Episode-238-Futurist--Author-Chunka-Mui-e1949gd)[,](https://soundcloud.com/smartdrivingcar/smart-driving-cars-230-with-tim-higgins-author-of-power-play) [Zoom-Cast Episode 238](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFegxpeq0Gk) w/Chunk Mui,
Futurist
###
###
F. Fishkin,Oct 18, “With his new book “A Brief History of a Perfect Future..Inventing the World We Can Proudly Leave Our Kids by 2050”, author and futurist Chunka Mui informs us how rapidly advancing technology can solve many problems including mobility and transportation. The questions? And a surprise offer from Chunka (keep watching) …in Episode 238 of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Or you can listen to episode 238 of Smart Driving Cars
The
SmartDrivingCars
eLetter,
Pod-Casts,
Zoom-Casts and
Zoom-inars are
made possible
in part by
support from
the Smart
Transportation
and Technology
ETF, symbol
MOTO. For
more
information: [www.motoetf.com](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
###
Tesla fans cry foul as Biden administration moves toward Autopilot regulations
M. McFarland,Oct. 22. “But President Joe Biden’s administration appears to want to change that, with the appointment of Missy Cummings, a Duke University engineering professor who studies autonomous systems and has been critical of Tesla and the federal government’s handling of driver-assist systems like Autopilot. Cummings will be a senior advisor for safety at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Government's
laissez faire
approach to
these
increasingly
common
technologies
has long led
to calls for
better
safeguards and
action in the
wake of
headline-grabbing
deaths.
Cummings's
appointment is
the latest
indication of
the Biden
administration's
desire to step
in.... " [Read more](https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/22/cars/tesla-missy-cummings/index.html)Hmmmm... This is an excellent
appointment.
She has been
appropriately
critical and
certainly has
the resume for
the
appointment. Congratulations, Professor Cummings. Hopefully you'll help make AEB
mandatory and
NOT
turn-offable!
(See below)
Here is what Dirty Tesla posts…“It seems some people are getting AEB on the highway 😬 if using V10.3, turn off AEB in the settings. You must do this before the start of every drive. Rollback should happen soon”
No wonder Teslas are crashing into stationary objects… the AEB is turn-offable and Tesla Bros are recommending that it be turned off. Seems as if turning off AEB is a premeditated action by Tesla drivers. Premeditation of something bad happening is not an accusation one wished to face. Turning off AEB may be OK for the best drivers when they are driving. It is NOT in any way, shape or form acceptable should some FSD, AutoPilot or any other automated driving system be driving. Plus, If Dirty Tesla recommends actions that lead to bad outcomes, can Dirty Tesla be dragged into the subsequent litigation?
Missy/NHTSA you MUST force Tesla to at least disengage both FSD and AutoPilot if AEB is disengaged. How can FSD or AutoPilot work well enough to be put in the hands of consumers if the AEB is so flawed that consumers want to turn it off. Who put that cart ahead of that horse? Not a pretty sight.
In all of these Tesla crashes with stationary object… truck trailer stalled across lanes ahead, parked fire truck, emergency vehicle, police car, tree, … was it the AEB that failed to work properly? Or was it that Tesla and/or SAE members approved AutoPilot/FSD designs that enable the AEB to be turned off without without also disengaging AutoPilot and FSD. Hopefully this is NOT the case with GM’s SuperCruise, Daimler’s Dystronic Plus, Subaru’s EyeSight, …”
Allowing the AEB to be disengaged is totally irresponsible of Tesla. It is one thing to not have a supervisory system making sure that the driver remains engaged in the driving task and is prepared to intervene should AuotPilot/FSD fail to drive properly. It is totally irresponsible to have the AEB not engaged when these systems are driving.
Missy/NHTSA, please fix this! Teslas are really good cars; however, this is fundamentally irresponsible of Tesla. Alain
Lyft’s first-ever safety report reveals over 4,000 assaults between 2017-2019
A. Hawkins,
Oct 22, "Ten
people were
killed in
physical
altercations
and over 4,000
people were
assaulted
during Lyft
rides from
2017-2019, the
company
revealed in
its [first-ever safety report](https://assets.ctfassets.net/q8mvene1wzq4/4jxkFTH5YCQK8T96STULMd/4269e14dbcb8578ff64da45df08b8147/Community_Safety_Report.pdf).
Also during
that period,
105 people
died in fatal
vehicle
crashes
involving a
Lyft car.
The report was
long overdue,
coming at
least two
years after
Lyft
originally
said that it
would be
published. It
represents the
first set of
publicly
available data
regarding the
safety of
Lyft's
ride-hailing
platform and
how it
compares to
national US
averages. The
company is
currently
facing
multiple
lawsuits from
victims of
sexual assault
and rape....
While the numbers appear to paint a dark picture of the ride-hailing industry, Lyft insists that serious incidents are “statistically rare” in its vehicles. “The type of safety incidents detailed in this report occurred on 0.0002 percent of rides,”…” Read more Hmmmm… This put a lot of things in perspective. It says.. in that 3 year period, Lyft delivered About 20 Billion person trips. On a typical day in the US (pre Covid) there are about 1.1B person trips or about 400B in a year. So over those 3 years, Lyft served about 0.2% of person trips. That is a non-trivial accomplishment, but ride-hailing is a very niche business. These are human drivers paying attention and not misbehaving. This is actually pretty good compared to the general population of drivers, as is reported. That certainly must have made releasing the report much easier. Alain
###
‘Driverless’ Tesla crash in Texas wasn’t actually driverless, NTSB says
A. Hawkins,
Oct 22, "Now,
the agency has
released a[new preliminary report](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/HWY21FH007.aspx)
further
refuting the
claim that the
driver seat
was unoccupied
at the time of
the crash.
According to
the document:
With the assistance of the [event data recorder] module manufacturer, the NTSB Recorders Laboratory repaired and downloaded the fire-damaged EDR. Data from the module indicate that both the driver and the passenger seats were occupied, and that the seat belts were buckled when the EDR recorded the crash. The data also indicate that the driver was applying the accelerator in the time leading up to the crash; application of the accelerator pedal was found to be as high as 98.8 percent. The highest speed recorded by the EDR in the 5 seconds leading up to the crash was 67 mph.,”…” Read more Hmmmm… Read theNTSN Preliminary Report. The question still remains. Why didn’t the AEB prevent the crash into the tree? Was it disengaged? Does Tesla automatically disengage the the AEB once a certain speed is reached? Why doesn’t Tesla first develop a good AEB before allowing the accelerator to be put to the floor and achieve speeds of 67mph in residential streets? Bad things happen if one misbehaves while driving these things. Alain
Zoox Isn’t Afraid Of Getting Wet
E. Shilling, Oct. 19, “Autonomous car testing is usually done in dry climates — Arizona and Nevada, mostly — for the simple reason that, when it rains, snows, sleets, or otherwise isn’t sunny and dry, that could pose problems for cars with no human drivers, possibly delicate sensors, and software that may not know how to react. But Zoox, one of the startups chasing the robotaxi dream, said it would start testing its autonomous tech in Seattle, precisely because it rains a lot there. If these cars are ever going to be a thing, they’ll have to deal with it eventually in any case.
The cars Zoox
will be
testing in
Seattle are
not actually
Zoox's own car
but Toyota
Highlanders
equipped with
Zoox tech, [according to Bloomberg](https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/why-zooxs-av-unit-expanding-testing-seattle?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter).
The testing
will
complement
testing Zoox
is already
doing in Las
Vegas and
California.
This, to me,
suggests that
Zoox is at
least willing
to confront
the fact that
autonomous
cars will have
to know how to
handle
weather, which
isn't
everyone....
Despite Amazon’s money and the new testing, Zoox, like every other autonomous startup, still seems very, very far from deploying a fleet of robotaxis, like years and years away. Or at least a robotaxi fleet that can be deployed anywhere you ask it. Just wait till Zoox starts testing in snow and ice.” Read more Hmmmm… A slightly more positive presentation. But, just like the NY Times, you have to find something that isn’t perfect. What is this about… “… Despite Amazon’s money and the new testing, Zoox, like every other autonomous startup, still seems very, very far from deploying a fleet of robotaxis, like years and years away. Or at least a robotaxi fleet that can be deployed anywhere you ask it. Just wait till Zoox starts testing in snow and ice… “
Since when is the issue about … “deploying anywhere you ask it…“ Sounds like SAE talk about “Level 5”. Not only will if be “years & years away”… it will likely be never. I can’t take my conventional car anywhere anytime. Everything has limitations.
Zoox, nor anyone else, has ever stated anything about “anywhere”. There is always an Operational Design Domain. If there’s snow on the found, shovel it. If there is ice, melt it. None of us can go anywhere today unless those things are done. Look at what happens in Atlanta… Incredible Images Of Atlanta Essentially Shutting Down After 2 Inches Of Snow Cut it out. Alain
Plug-in cars are the future. The grid isn’t ready.
W. Englund, Oct 13, “ On a good day, a fair wind blows off Lake Ontario, the long-distance transmission lines of New York state are not clogged up and yet another heat wave hasn’t pushed the urban utilities to their limits. On such a day, power from the two big wind turbines in Vaughn Moser’s hayfield in this little village join the great flow of electricity from upstate as it courses through the bottleneck west of Albany and then heads south, where some portion of it feeds what is currently the country’s largest electric vehicle charging station, on the edge of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
There, at an
installation
opened earlier
this year by a
car-sharing
company called
Revel, on the
site of the
old Pfizer
pharmaceutical
headquarters,
this
carbon-free
power can help
juice up a
whole fleet of
sleek vehicles
that aim to
leave the
internal
combustion
engine behind.
But that's on
a good day.
Even now —
before this
state and the
country's
grand
ambitions for
an electric
future are
fully in
motion — there
are too many
bad ones.
Seventy-four times last year, the wind across Upstate New York dropped so low that for stretches of eight hours or more barely any electricity was produced. Nearly half the year, the main transmission line feeding the metropolitan area was at full capacity, so that no more power could be fed into it. Congestion struck other, smaller lines, too, and when that happened some of the wind turbine blades upstate fell still….” Read more Hmmmm… This a a non-trivial challenge. Energy is the fundamental enabler. As Chunka Mui points out during the SDC ZoomCast, getting marginal energy costs towards creates enormous opportunities to improve the environment and quality-of-life.
Again, just look at today’s Lawrence Livermore Energy Chart. The transport sector consumes a substantial amount of energy . Nice to have renewables supply that energy; however, relative to the amount that renewables currently contribute it will be non-trivial for renewables to scale to serve growth is the industried they currently enable. Enabling them to begin to pitch in enabling part of the transport sector is an enormously heavy lift. Alain
Essential
Infrastructure
for CAVs
O. Tengilimoglu, Oct. 20, “I am a PhD student at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, under the supervision of Professor Oliver Carsten and Dr Zia Wadud. As part of my research, I am reaching out to experts with knowledge in the field to get their views on the essential infrastructural (physical, digital, operational etc.) requirements with regard to Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) operation during their initial period of implementation.
The study aims to develop a conceptual framework for assessing the suitability of road infrastructure based on its capacity to accept automation and connectivity of vehicles as well as physical properties.
I would be
grateful if
you could
spare about 15
minutes to
take part in
the anonymous
survey and
share your
views. The
survey is
available
online at: [https://leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/cavs-road-readiness-index](I am a PhD student at the Institute for
Transport
Studies,
University of
Leeds, under
the
supervision of
Professor
Oliver Carsten
and Dr Zia
Wadud. As part
of my
research, I am
reaching out
to experts
with knowledge
in the field
to get their
views on the
essential
infrastructural
(physical,
digital,
operational
etc.)
requirements
with regard to
Connected and
Automated
Vehicles
(CAVs)
operation
during their
initial period
of
implementation.
,The study
aims to
develop a
conceptual
framework for
assessing the
suitability of
road
infrastructure
based on its
capacity to
accept
automation and
connectivity
of vehicles as
well as
physical
properties. ,I
would be
grateful if
you could
spare about 15
minutes to
take part in
the anonymous
survey and
share your
views. The
survey is
available
online
at:,https://leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/cavs-road-readiness-index) ....."
Read
more Hmmmm... I encourage you to help out
here. Alain
GM’s Postcard from Fantasyland
R. Lanctot, Oct. 22, “In the midst of what may well be the greatest electric vehicle debacle of the nascent EV era, General Motors put on a happy face telling investors two weeks ago that all things EV and autonomous were going swimmingly to plan with gumdrops and sugar plums coming on the road ahead. GM claimed before-end-of-year availability for the absurd 1,000-horse-power, 4.5-ton Hummer EV and late 2022 availability for the Silverado EV.
Meanwhile, the
General is
facing a $1.9B
financial hit*
from buying
back (or
repairing)
141,000 Bolt
EVs – a
reality that
GM CEO Mary
Barra skirted
in a Fox
Business
interview by
referring to
"cell
replacements"
for Bolt EV
owners. Those
comments
clearly
sidestepped
the reality of
a growing
number of Bolt
owners seeking
outright
buybacks of
their cars
after being
told not to
park them in
their garages
and
discovering
their vehicles
were also
prohibited
from some
public covered
parking
facilities
including
those at
Detroit
Metropolitan
Airport.
(*Worth noting
battery
supplier has
accepted
responsibility
for the
battery
failure and is
compensating
GM to the tune
of $1.9B - all
the more
reason for GM
to accelerate
customer
compensation.)...
" [Read more](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gms-postcard-from-fantasyland-roger-c-lanctot/?trackingId=OWU80QlSfSyY5usDmG75yQ%3D%3D) Hmmmm... Nothing is easy. Alain
SoftBank-Backed Flock Freight Raises $215 Million
L. O’Neal, Oct. 20, “SoftBank-backed Flock Freight raised $215 million in a new funding round supporting its load-matching technology to help shippers pool their goods on trucks to bypass freight hubs.
The new
funding, to be
announced
Wednesday,
will help the
six-year-old
company hire
300 more
employees next
year and
invest in its shipment-pooling algorithm and machine-learning technology, upping the
number of
shipments it
can process
per minute....
" [Read more](https://www.wsj.com/articles/softbank-backed-flock-freight-raises-215-million-11634724001?mod=hp_minor_pos13) Hmmmm... I sold ALK way too early, but at
least, I sleep
well at
night.😎 I
was never good
at using OPM.
Alain
Critics and supporters come out in force to discuss SpaceX’s plans to launch from South Texas
L. Grush,
Oct. 21, "This
week, a
vibrant
mixture of
supporters and
critics voiced
their opinions
about SpaceX's
launch
operations in
Boca Chica,
Texas during
virtual town
halls — input
that will be
considered as
the government
decides the
company's
future in the
state. More
than one
hundred people
took the time
to give their
thoughts
during the
meetings on
Monday and
Wednesday,
with opinions
ranging from
effusive
praise of the
company to
concerns over
SpaceX's
impact on the
region's
communities
and
environment....
However,
plenty of
nearby
residents were
adamantly
opposed to
SpaceX's
plans. Common
complaints
revolved
around access
to the nearby
beach. Roads
are frequently
closed in Boca
Chica to
accommodate
major testing
and test
launches.
"They're not
considering
us," a
resident said.
"My personal
experience
having to want
to go to the
beach and the
road is always
closed, where
they have
promised that
we will not be
affected."
Others
denounced the
debris that
has fallen on
the ground
during major
test failures.
One test
launch in
March ended in
an explosion
that sprayed
chunks of
metal and
rocket parts
across the
terrain
surrounding
the Boca Chica
launch site.
Apart from
that, noise
and rumblings
from
successful
launch tests
were also a
big point of
contention...."
[Read more](https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/21/22738106/spacex-boca-chica-starship-launch-site-faa-town-hall-environmental-assessment) As
ZooX and Missy
are finding,
even Elon's
biggest vision
is under
attack. Alain
Tesla Notches Record $1.6 Billion Quarterly Net As It Readies Global Production Push
A. Ohnsman, Oct. 20, “Tesla’s robust deliveries of electric Model Ys and 3s helped the Elon Musk-led carmaker post record net income of $1.6 billion in the third quarter, despite component sourcing headaches that have slowed the entire global auto industry, as it prepares to open massive new plants in Germany and Texas.
The company said earnings per share for the three months that ended on September 30 rose more than fourfold from a year ago to $1.44 on a GAAP basis or to $2.09, excluding certain items. Consensus analyst expectations were for $1.67. Quarterly revenue was $13.8 billion, up 57% from a year ago and in line with analysts’ expectations of as much as $13.9 billion. Sales regulatory credits to other automakers, a long-time source of free money, dropped 30% to $279 million…“ Read more Hmmmm… Not bad! Alain
Opinion: I lead America’s top-ranked university. Here’s why these rankings are a problem.
C. Eisgruber, Oct. 21, “My university has now topped the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 11 years running. Given Princeton’s success, you might think I would be a fan of the list….” Read more Hmmmm… 😎 Alain
5th Annual SmartDrivingCars Summit: Deployment of Equitable Affordable, High Quality Mobility throughout New Jersey
Date Change: Thursday evening, May 5, through Saturday May 7, 2022. Live in Trenton, New Jersey.
“Everything” was going well wrt the 5th Summit Nov 18->20; however…
Time is very short, we must focus on the election and the realities of where we remain with Covid really put cold water on some aspects of our vision for November.
Consequently. I’ve become convinced that it is very much better, that we take our time and reschedule for the first week on May 2022 rather than rush for what isn’t as good as could be.
By May we will have received responses to our upcoming RfP for “Equitable … Mobility in Trenton”. We will thus have a better idea on “Who”, from the “What & How” communities, “Want & Can” Deploy “Equitable … Mobility” starting in Trenton with real expectations of scaling throughout New Jersey.
In May the [5th Summit](https://www.cartsmobility.com/summit)
can better
achieve its
fundamental
purpose by
allowing all
of us in New
Jersey to
better learn
from others
around the
world the
"Whats &
Hows" and have
the possible
"Whos" get a
better
appreciation
of the "Equitable
... Mobility"
desires
of Trentonians
and other New
Jersians.
Rescheduling the Summit to be between the RfP and the RfP steps of our Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Deployment Process, will better enable our Community Engagement initiative to shape our ultimate deployment. We’ll thus deliver even better mobility equitably and best improve quality-of-life in Trenton and throughout New Jersey.
Please pencil into your calendar the new dates of May 5 (Thursday evening) though May 7 (Trenton Mobility Festival Saturday). 😎 Please let me know if these dates work for you.
Sorry about the delay, but many will be relieved by this change. Plus, early May is really nice in NJ.😁
Alain
This 5th Summit is inspired by the many levels of public-sector, community and neighborhood welcoming and support that now exists in New Jersey for the deployment of equitable, affordable, high-quality mobility. This is now made possible by automated driving technology that is especially targeted to serve those who, for whatever reason, don’t have access to their own personal car.
The Princeton SDC Summits were initiated in 2017 to provide a venue for the open discussion of how technology, in particular automation, can be shaped to improve mobility of people and goods between and within cities. Early on, we realized that this form of mobility could easily provide yet another alternative to those who are fortunate enough to enjoy one or many high quality mobility options.
But, more importantly, it became obvious that substantial improvement in quality-of-life and equitable mobility can readily be made available to the un-served and under-served. Those who cannot drive themselves, cannot afford the transport alternatives that exist for them, or who live in areas where, for either economic or other reasons, neither public nor private desirable forms of transport are offered. Furthermore, such initial Operational Design Domains (OODs) can be readily expanded and replicated to allow the vast investments continuing to be made in this technology to actually yield their envisioned societal and financial benefits.
The recently completed 4th Summit set the groundwork for these initial deployments to benefit under-served communities. Communities with many households having access to one or fewer cars and with challenged transit alternatives. We concluded the 4th Summit by envisioning a deployment throughout Trenton, NJ, a community where 70% of the households have access to one or fewer cars.
We believe that Trenton is a perfect ODD to begin to deliver Equitable, Affordable, High-quality Mobility, in addition to being environmentally responsible, safe and comfortable.
The opportunity to expand throughout Mercer County and replicate this deployment scenario throughout the State exists. This deployment will serves as a blueprint for the future for many other “Trentons” of this world.
The groundwork set by the 4th Summit and the NJ Autonomous Vehicle Task Force has enabled us to create a “most welcoming environment” in New Jersey for creating a Public-Private Partnership to deliver this enhanced mobility to the residents of Trenton and all New Jersians. The 5th Summit will focus directly on deploymentin Trenton and will take place in Trenton. We also envision its expansion throughout Mercer County and its replication in and around New Jersey’s other major cities.
The Technical portion of the summit will be in the morning, through lunch, of Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7.
Sessions will be free of charge but will require advance registration, as seating will be limited.
The Societal portion focused on engaging the customers of this form of mobility, featuring descriptions, discussions, interactions, exhibits and technology demonstrations, will be free and open to the public, with preference given to Trenton residents on Friday and residents of Mercer County and the rest of New Jersey on Saturday. Link to Sponsorship Opportunities Link to Draft Program Link to Registration
C’mon Man!(These folks didn’t get/read the memo)
Sunday Supplement
Half-Baked
Click-Bait
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
4thAnnual PrincetonSmartDrivingCar Summit It is over!!! 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, Glenn Mercer Slides
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”
###
Calendar of Upcoming
Events
5th Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit
Thursday (evening), May 5, Welcome Reception (Registration required)
Friday, May 6, Equitable Mobility Innovation Forum (Registration required)
Saturday, May 7, Equitable Mobility Festival (Open to All)
Deployment
Process, will
better enable
our Community
Engagement
initiative to
shape our
ultimate
deployment.
We'll thus
deliver even
better
mobility
equitably and
best improve
quality-of-life
in Trenton and
throughout New
Jersey. ,,
Please pencil
into your
calendar the
new dates of
May 5
(Thursday
evening)
though May 7
(Trenton
Mobility
Festival
Saturday). 😎
Please let me
know if these
dates work for
you.,, Sorry
about the
delay, but
many will be
relieved by
this change.
Plus, early
May is really
nice in NJ.😁,
Alain ,,This
5th Summit is
inspired by
the many
levels of
public-sector,
community and
neighborhood
welcoming and
support that
now exists in
New Jersey for
the deployment
of equitable,
affordable,
high-quality
mobility. This
is now made
possible by
automated
driving
technology
that is
especially
targeted to
serve those
who, for
whatever
reason, don't
have access to
their own
personal car.
,,The
Princeton SDC
Summits were
initiated in
2017 to
provide a
venue for the
open
discussion of
how
technology, in
particular
automation,
can be shaped
to improve
mobility of
people and
goods between
and within
cities. Early
on, we
realized that
this form of
mobility could
easily provide
yet another
alternative to
those who are
fortunate
enough to
enjoy one or
many high
quality
mobility
options.,,But,
more
importantly,
it became
obvious that
substantial
improvement in quality-of-life and equitable mobility can readily be made available to
the un-served
and
under-served.
Those who
cannot drive
themselves,
cannot afford
the transport
alternatives
that exist for
them, or who
live in areas
where, for
either
economic or
other reasons,
neither public
nor private
desirable
forms of
transport are
offered.
Furthermore,
such initial
Operational
Design Domains
(OODs) can be
readily
expanded and
replicated to
allow the vast
investments
continuing to
be made in
this
technology to
actually yield
their
envisioned
societal and
financial
benefits.
,,The recently
completed 4th
Summit set the
groundwork for
these initial
deployments to
benefit
under-served
communities.
Communities
with many
households
having access
to one or
fewer cars and
with
challenged
transit
alternatives.
We concluded
the 4th Summit
by envisioning
a deployment
throughout
Trenton, NJ, a
community
where 70% of
the households
have access to
one or fewer
cars.,,We
believe that
Trenton is a
perfect ODD to
begin to
deliver
Equitable,
Affordable,
High-quality
Mobility, in
addition to
being
environmentally
responsible,
safe and
comfortable.,,The
opportunity to
expand
throughout
Mercer County
and replicate
this
deployment
scenario
throughout the
State exists.
This
deployment
will serves as
a blueprint
for the future
for many other "Trentons" of this world. ,,The groundwork set by the 4th
Summit and the
NJ Autonomous
Vehicle Task
Force has
enabled us to
create a
"most
welcoming
environment"
in New Jersey
for creating a
Public-Private
Partnership to
deliver this
enhanced
mobility to
the residents
of Trenton and
all New
Jersians. The
5th Summit
will focus
directly on
deployment in
Trenton and
will take
place in
Trenton. We
also envision
its expansion
throughout
Mercer County
and its
replication in
and around New
Jersey's other
major cities.
,The Technical
portion of the
summit will be
in the
morning,
through lunch,
of Friday, May
6 and
Saturday, May
7. ,Sessions
will be free
of charge but
will require
advance
registration,
as seating
will be
limited. ,,The
Societal
portion
focused on
engaging the
customers of
this form of
mobility,
featuring
descriptions,
discussions,
interactions,
exhibits and
technology
demonstrations,
will be free
and open to
the public,
with
preference
given to
Trenton
residents on
Friday and
residents of
Mercer County
and the rest
of New Jersey
on Saturday.
Link to
Sponsorship
Opportunities
Link to Draft
Program Link
to
Registration)
Deployment
Process, will
better enable
our Community
Engagement
initiative to
shape our
ultimate
deployment.
We'll thus
deliver even
better
mobility
equitably and
best improve
quality-of-life
in Trenton and
throughout New
Jersey. ,,
Please pencil
into your
calendar the
new dates of
May 5
(Thursday
evening)
though May 7
(Trenton
Mobility
Festival
Saturday). 😎
Please let me
know if these
dates work for
you.,, Sorry
about the
delay, but
many will be
relieved by
this change.
Plus, early
May is really
nice in NJ.😁,
Alain ,,This
5th Summit is
inspired by
the many
levels of
public-sector,
community and
neighborhood
welcoming and
support that
now exists in
New Jersey for
the deployment
of equitable,
affordable,
high-quality
mobility. This
is now made
possible by
automated
driving
technology
that is
especially
targeted to
serve those
who, for
whatever
reason, don't
have access to
their own
personal car.
,,The
Princeton SDC
Summits were
initiated in
2017 to
provide a
venue for the
open
discussion of
how
technology, in
particular
automation,
can be shaped
to improve
mobility of
people and
goods between
and within
cities. Early
on, we
realized that
this form of
mobility could
easily provide
yet another
alternative to
those who are
fortunate
enough to
enjoy one or
many high
quality
mobility
options.,,But,
more
importantly,
it became
obvious that
substantial
improvement in quality-of-life and equitable mobility can readily be made available to
the un-served
and
under-served.
Those who
cannot drive
themselves,
cannot afford
the transport
alternatives
that exist for
them, or who
live in areas
where, for
either
economic or
other reasons,
neither public
nor private
desirable
forms of
transport are
offered.
Furthermore,
such initial
Operational
Design Domains
(OODs) can be
readily
expanded and
replicated to
allow the vast
investments
continuing to
be made in
this
technology to
actually yield
their
envisioned
societal and
financial
benefits.
,,The recently
completed 4th
Summit set the
groundwork for
these initial
deployments to
benefit
under-served
communities.
Communities
with many
households
having access
to one or
fewer cars and
with
challenged
transit
alternatives.
We concluded
the 4th Summit
by envisioning
a deployment
throughout
Trenton, NJ, a
community
where 70% of
the households
have access to
one or fewer
cars.,,We
believe that
Trenton is a
perfect ODD to
begin to
deliver
Equitable,
Affordable,
High-quality
Mobility, in
addition to
being
environmentally
responsible,
safe and
comfortable.,,The
opportunity to
expand
throughout
Mercer County
and replicate
this
deployment
scenario
throughout the
State exists.
This
deployment
will serves as
a blueprint
for the future
for many other "Trentons" of this world. ,,The groundwork set by the 4th
Summit and the
NJ Autonomous
Vehicle Task
Force has
enabled us to
create a
"most
welcoming
environment"
in New Jersey
for creating a
Public-Private
Partnership to
deliver this
enhanced
mobility to
the residents
of Trenton and
all New
Jersians. The
5th Summit
will focus
directly on
deployment in
Trenton and
will take
place in
Trenton. We
also envision
its expansion
throughout
Mercer County
and its
replication in
and around New
Jersey's other
major cities.
,The Technical
portion of the
summit will be
in the
morning,
through lunch,
of Friday, May
6 and
Saturday, May
7. ,Sessions
will be free
of charge but
will require
advance
registration,
as seating
will be
limited. ,,The
Societal
portion
focused on
engaging the
customers of
this form of
mobility,
featuring
descriptions,
discussions,
interactions,
exhibits and
technology
demonstrations,
will be free
and open to
the public,
with
preference
given to
Trenton
residents on
Friday and
residents of
Mercer County
and the rest
of New Jersey
on Saturday.
Link to
Sponsorship
Opportunities
Link to Draft
Program Link
to
Registration)Trenton, NJ
Live in Person
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
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](https://www.itu.int/en/fnc/2021/Pages/default.aspx) 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 237, Zoom-Cast Episode 237 Aurora aTaxi & aTrucking
###
F. Fishkin,Oct 18, “Aurora is planning subscription services for autonomous trucking & ride hailing. Passenger buttons to stop and start are part of Motional’s planned self driving taxi experience. And Tesla’s Texas insurance rates to be based on real time driving behavior. Plus more in Episode 237 of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin.”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 236, Zoom-Cast Episode 236 w/Russ Mitchell, LA Times Staff Writer
###
F. Fishkin, Sept. 30, “The Tesla automatic braking mystery. Los Angeles Times reporter Russ Mitchell joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to to explore the questions surrounding automatic emergency braking in Teslas and other cars. The systems have to work before there can be autonomous mobility. Plus GM unveils Ultra Cruise, the 5th annual Princeton Smart Driving Car Summit moves to May and actor William Shatner prepares for liftoff.”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 235, Zoom-Cast Episode 235 w/Michael Sena, Editor, The Dispatcher
###
F. Fishkin, Sept. 30, “So what is a car company? Appearances can be deceiving. Join The Dispatcher publisher & consultant Michael Sena on Episode 235 of Smart Driving Cars with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Plus much more on the upcoming summit and mobility for all… “
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 234, Zoom-Cast Episode 234 1st Preview of 5th Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit
###
F. Fishkin, Sept. 26, “Tesla reportedly has built 300 thousand cars in Shanghai so far this year despite the chip shortage. FedEx & Aurora partner for autonomous trucking in Texas. And dramatic developments in advance of the upcoming 5th annual Princeton Smart Driving Car Summit. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Tune in to Smart Driving Cars… and subscribe..”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 233, Zoom-Cast Episode 233 w Prof. Adriano Alessandriniat the U. of Florence
###
F. Fishkin,
Sept. 18 "What
will it take
to deliver
autonomous
mobility for
all? For one
thing,
improved road
systems, says
Professor
Adriano
Alessandrini
at the
University of
Florence.
The author of
The Role of
Infrastructure
for a Safe
Transition to
Automated
Driving joins
Princeton's
Alain
Kornhauser
& co-host
Fred Fishkin
for a spirited
discussion on
that, plus
Waymo and new
details on
bringing new
mobility to
New Jersey and
the upcoming
Princeton
Smart Driving
Car SmartDrivingCars
[Pod-Cast Episode 232](https://anchor.fm/smartdrivingcars/episodes/Smart-Driving-Cars-Episode-232-Can-cameras-alone-get-to-driverless-mobility-e16tilm)[,](https://soundcloud.com/smartdrivingcar/smart-driving-cars-230-with-tim-higgins-author-of-power-play) [Zoom-Cast Episode 232](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeGxqFemSWw)
w [Steven Shladover](https://path.berkeley.edu/steven-e-shladover)
###
F. Fishkin, Sept. 4 “Cameras alone aren’t enough to get Tesla or anyone else to driverless mobility. So says UC Berkeley’s Steven Shladover, a leading autonomous vehicle research engineer. He joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus the need for more regulation from Washington, Waymo, Cruise, Toyota, Motional and more. Watch or listen to Smart Driving Cars Episode 232 and subscribe!”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 231, Zoom-Cast Episode 231 w Michael Sena, Creator of The Dispatcher
###
F. Fishkin, Aug 27, “What’s wrong with the concept of building electric vehicles on a skateboard type platform? Consultant and The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for that…plus Tesla, Waymo and more. And the next Princeton Smart Driving Cars Summit is on the way. Watch or listen…and subscribe! Or listen.”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 230, Zoom-Cast Episode 230 w/Tim Higgins, author: POWER PLAY: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century
###
F. Fishkin, Aug 21, “Teslas, Humanoids and Elevators! What Elon Musk and Tesla delivered at AI Day 2021 was insight into the company’s remarkable technology and that may boost recruiting efforts. So says Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser who is joined by co-host Fred Fishkin and guest Tim Higgins of the Wall Street Journal, author of POWER PLAY… Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century. AI Day, the NHTSA investigation and Elon Musk hops on the elevator on Episode 230 of Smart Driving Cars!
Or you can
listen to
Episode 230 of
Smart Driving
Cars on
Tesla's AI Day
and more with
guest Tim
Higgins of the
Wall Street
Journal
..author of [POWER PLAY... Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century](https://anchor.fm/smartdrivingcars/episodes/Smart-Driving-Cars-Episode-230-Teslas--Humanoids-and-Elevators-e168g34).
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 229, Zoom-Cast Episode 229 w/Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times
F. Fishkin, Aug 18, “With the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration having opened an investigation into Tesla autopilot crashes involving emergency vehicles…Los Angeles Times reporter Russ Mitchell joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at the issues facing Tesla and other vehicle makers.”
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 228, Zoom-Cast Episode 228 Planes, Trains & Automobiles
F. Fishkin, Aug 13, “Planes, trains and automobiles. From battery powered electric light rail to the confusion over the difference between driver assistance and self driving to Amazon’s new 1.5 billion dollar U.S. air cargo hub…the focus is on the latest in mobility. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 228 of Smart Driving Cars. “
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 226, Zoom-Cast Episode 226 w/Tim Higgins, author: POWER PLAY: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century
###
F. Fishkin, July 22, “The Wall Street Journal’s Tim Higgins has a new book arriving August 3rd titled POWER PLAY: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century. You can bet it’s a lively discussion with Tim on the latest Smart Driving Cars with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin. Or listen.. https://soundcloud.com/smartdrivingcar/smart-driving-cars-226-with-tim-higgins-author-of-power-play.
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 225, Zoom-Cast Episode 225 w/Kevin Biesty, Deputy Director for Policy @ Arizona DoT
F. Fishkin, July 22, “Chandler, Arizona is the one place where paying customers can take advantage of driverless robo-taxis (from Waymo) to get where they are going. How did that happen? What does the future hold? Kevin Biesty, Arizona’s Deputy Director for Policy at the Department of Transportation, joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin for an in depth discussion. Plus.. Ford, Argo, Lyft, Tesla, Mercedes & more. “
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 224, Zoom-Cast Episode 224 w/Selika Josiah Talbot, Principal, Autonomous Vehicle Consulting
F. Fishkin, July 19, “Does there need to be a White House appointed autonomous and electric vehicle czar to open up new mobility possibilities for all? That’s the view of Selika Josiah Talbott..a government veteran who now heads Autonomous Vehicle Consulting and lectures at American University. She joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser & co-host Fred Fishkin for a deeper look at how the technology can be deployed to improve lives.
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 223, Zoom-Cast Episode 223 w/Richard Mudge, Compass Transp. & Baruch Feigenbaum, Reason Foundation
F. Fishkin, July 15, “Can Tesla (and others) make automatic emergency braking work? Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser continues his push and is joined by the Reason Foundation’s Baruch Feigenbaum and Compass Transportation & Technology President Dick Mudge along with co-host Fred Fishkin to explore this week’ss Transportation Research Board sessions. “
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 222, Zoom-Cast Episode 222
F. Fishkin, July 11, “Is it time for autopilot to not break the law? Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser says yes. And if technology can save lives, prevent injuries and crashes shouldn’t it? Plus Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Waymo, VW and more on Episode 222 of Smart Driving Cars with co-host Fred Fishkin. “
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 221, Zoom-Cast Episode 221 w/Mark Rosekind, Chief Safety Innovation Officer, Zoox
F. Fishkin, July 1, “With Zoox the Amazon owned autonomous mobility company out with a comprehensive safety report.. Chief Safety Innovation Officer Dr. Mark Rosekind joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. What is so different about the Zoox approach to building a vehicle and safety? What is the company’s vision for future mobility and transportation. Dr. Rosekind fills us in on those issues and more.
SmartDrivingCars Pod-Cast Episode 220, Zoom-Cast Episode 220 w/John Thornhill, Innovation Editor, Financial Times
F. Fishkin, July 1, “Sociology not technology will decide the electric car race. That’s a Financial Times headline from a piece written by Innovation Editor John Thornhill…who joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a lively discussion on that…plus Tesla…autonomous mobility and more. John is also the founder of Sifted.eu.
Link to previous SDC PodCasts & ZoomCasts
Recent Highlights of:
###
[A Tesla mystery: Why didn't auto-braking stop these crashes?](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-10-07/why-arent-automatic-braking-systems-stopping-deadly-tesla-crashes)
[In Spanish](https://www.latimes.com/espanol/eeuu/articulo/2021-10-09/por-que-los-sistemas-de-freno-automatico-no-paran-los-accidentes-mortales-de-tesla)
R. Mitchel, Oct 7, “Compared with so-called advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot, a forward collision avoidance system is relatively crude. It is designed to answer one question — is a frontal impact imminent? — and respond to danger by sounding a warning and, if necessary, triggering a subsystem called automatic emergency braking. Unlike Autopilot, which must be selected manually and is available only under some driving conditions, automatic emergency braking runs by default unless manually turned off….
Tesla calls its vehicles “the safest cars in the world,” citing their combination of structural engineering and advanced technology. But when it comes to the forward collision avoidance system, Tesla owners have been reporting problems at a substantially elevated rate compared with similarly equipped cars….
“Teslas are running into stationary objects,” said Alain Kornhauser, who heads the driverless car engineering program at Princeton University. “They shouldn’t be.” If the company’s cars can’t avoid crash scenes marked by flares or traffic cones, he said, “how can you trust anything else they do with Autopilot?”…
One possibility, according to Missy Cummings, a former Navy fighter pilot who studies human-machine interaction at Duke University, is that Autopilot is designed to preempt or suppress emergency braking to minimize what’s known as phantom braking.
"I haven't
seen the code
to say how
Tesla works,
but I suspect
the AEB is
turned off in
some
situations,"
she said. "If
it were left
on it may
detect what
are called
phantom
objects and
would be
slamming on
the
brakes."... "
[Read more](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-10-07/why-arent-automatic-braking-systems-stopping-deadly-tesla-crashes) Hmmmm... This story is great and
is not what
anyone else
has written.
Thank you,
Russ, for
doing all of
the research
and hard work
that you put
into this
article.
I agree with Missy, (I haven’t seen the code either), but, rest assured, a perception algorithm is part of each of Tesla’s automated systems that “drive” their cars some of the time, be it its forward collision avoidance system (FCAS), autoPilot or FSD. They may each have its own or the best one is used in all three, but each has an FCAS; else, Teslas would never know to invoke any of the driving sub-tasks, like slow down or speed up or stay in the lane, or don’t hit me, or … If a Tesla perception system detects an objects that doesn’t exist and locates it as being in the lane ahead, i.e. a “stationary phantom object in the lane ahead”, then that perception system will signal to the automated driving system… to slow down and don’t hit it. If Tesla’s human driver is paying attention to what is going on and, of course, doesn’t see the phantom object (it is phantom = not real), then the alert driver is justified in losing trust that FCAS, autoPilot or FSD is reliable and won’t kill. The erosion of that trust leads to complaints, demands for refunds and substantial problems for Tesla.
Tesla has simply gotten ahead of itself in trying to get to Driverless too quickly, rather than making sure that Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) works better than “good enough”. My guess is, Tesla perception algorithm simply ignores stationary objects detected in the lane ahead and those detected to be to the side of the lane ahead.
Ignoring detected stationary objects is perfectly appropriate when following a car ahead. The car ahead didn’t crash into that detected stationary object ahead, so the coast is clear! I’ll be able to pass under/to the side/over it too! If the car ahead crashes into that object, Its sudden deceleration is readily perceived by the trailing Tesla’s AEB. As long as the Tesla has not been tailgating (which a good AEB should disallow), the Tesla should be able to stop in time to avoid crashing into the new pileup ahead. All easy, and likely not the scenario in any of the NHTSA crash investigations.
Not so easy if the Tesla is the lead vehicle, especially if the vehicle that the Tesla was following suddenly changes lanes and is no longer explicitly confirming that the Tesla’s road ahead is traversable, It is now the Tesla’s job to determine if it can pass under a stationary object in the lane ahead. That is simply not easy to do reliably. Not easy to determine the clearance under an overpass/sign/traffic light/tree canopy while approaching said overpass/… at any significant speed. If the object is classified as an overpass/sign/traffic light/tree canopy, the chance are really good that “passing under” is a breeze. However, if classification of the object is uncertain, then all bets are off.
I strongly suspect that Tesla’s perception algorithm disregards all stationary objects ahead when leading as well as when following. NHTSA has to tell Tesla to not do that any more!!! Tesla must go back, essentially to the beginning, and figure out how to reliably determine if it can pass under, beside or over stationary objects detected in the road ahead. Alain
1, 2021
blue;
text-decoration:
none;"> [Cruise gets the green light to give driverless rides to passengers in San Francisco](https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/30/22702962/cruise-waymo-california-dmv-autonomous-vehicle-permit) A.
Hawkins, Sep
30, "Waymo and
Cruise, two of
the leading
autonomous
vehicle
companies in
the US,
received
permits from
the California
Department of
Motor Vehicles
to offer rides
to passengers
in their
robotaxis.
But while
Cruise was
approved to
give rides in
its [fully driverless vehicles](https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/5/22520227/cruise-permit-california-driverless-autonomous-vehicles) without safety
drivers, Waymo
only is
allowed to
deploy its
autonomous
vehicles with
a human
monitor behind
the wheel. In
order to give
rides to
paying
passengers in
its fully
driverless
vehicles, as
it does in
Arizona, the
Google spinoff
would need to
apply for an [additional permit from the California Public Utilities Commission](https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/23/21591045/california-robotaxi-paid-rides-cpuc-permits).
... " [Read more](https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/30/22702962/cruise-waymo-california-dmv-autonomous-vehicle-permit) Hmmmm... Congratulations Kyle, Robert and everyone else!!!! This is a non-trivial accomplishment!
Given all of the additional knocks on your door that will naturally come your way, we hope that you’ll keep us in mind. We here in NJ have assembled an enormously welcoming and realistic environment for Deployment to a customer base that will fundamentally benefit and cherish the Equitable, Affordable, High-Quality, Safe Mobility that is delivered by your Driverless Technology.
Hopefully
you'll divert
a little
bandwidth to
our upcoming "[5th Annual SDC Summit](https://www.cartsmobility.com/summit)",
New Jersey's
next step in
our process to
help you and
possibly
others get to
where you've
gotten in
California.
We are new
kids on the
block, but
we've really
gotten our act
together to
work with you
and others to
catch up
quickly and
really improve
the
quality-of-life
for many here
in New
Jersey, and
the rest of
the NorthEast.
Again… Congratulations! So pleased and so well deserved! Alain
Alain L. Kornhauser, PhD
Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering
Director of
Undergraduate
Studies, ORFE
Director,
Transportation
Program
Faculty Chair,
Princeton
Autonomous
Vehicle
Engineering
229 Sherrerd Hall
Princeton
University
Princeton, NJ
609-980-1427
(c)
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