Self-operating shuttle bus crashes after Las Vegas launch (All Things Self Driving)

guest · Oct 24, 2018

Waymo explains what its self-driving cars should do when pulled over
A new guide describes how the autonomous vehicles are supposed to react with police vehicles and first responders
October 24, 2018
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/waymo-self-driving-cars-law-enforcement/

Every new driver learns to pull over and stop when a police car blaring red-and-blues approaches. But how would an autonomous vehicle handle being pulled over by the cops? As reported by The Washington Post today, Waymo has a new guide (PDF) that explains what its self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids is supposed to do in those situations.

The company says that onboard sensors can detect lights and sirens, as well as the appearance of emergency vehicles. The cars will then "yield as appropriate to these emergency vehicles no matter which direction they are headed."

Next, if the Waymo vehicle detects that it's being pulled over by a police vehicle, it'll pull over and stop, then roll down the vehicle's windows and unlock the doors.

[...] One of the more interesting notes is a simple way to ensure the vehicle won't keep self-driving: because they can't operate in autonomous mode with the doors open, Waymo recommends emergency personnel simply open a door [...] first responders should always keep at least one of its doors open.
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Guide (PDF): https://storage.googleapis.com/sdc-prod/v1/safety-report/waymo-emergency-response-guide-law%20-enforcement-interaction-plan.pdf

ronjor · Oct 25, 2018

Boxy shuttles, not cars, will be people’s first taste of autonomous vehicles

By John R. Quain — Posted on October 25, 2018
The first self-driving vehicle many people will experience firsthand may not be a car, but rather a public shuttle. While they may not be as sexy as sleek autonomous sports cars zipping down a highway, slower, boxy shuttles present more of a practical–and less risky–self-driving electrified solution to moving people around cities. But these shuttles will confront the same hurdle that all autonomous vehicles will face: a high price tag.
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guest · Oct 25, 2018

Autonomous taxi trials underway in Dubai
October 24, 2018
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252451171/Autonomous-taxi-trials-underway-in-Dubai

As Dubai continues its smart city transformation journey, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has revealed that plans to introduce autonomous taxis are in the final stages, with the initiative expected to launch in early 2019.

According to the RTA, the strategy to make autonomous passenger taxis available to the public is part of a broader vision to transform Dubai into a global driverless mobility leader by 2030.

According to Al Tayer, the autonomous taxi initiative contributes to the integration of mass transport systems by facilitating the onward movement of public transport users, specifically Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram, to reach their final destinations safely.
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ronjor · Oct 25, 2018

Driverless? The uncertain future of the American trucker

By Greg Nichols for Robotics October 25, 2018
A new study claims autonomous trucks could eliminate as many as 294,000 driving positions over the next 25 years.
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guest · Oct 26, 2018

Waymo may start charging for its autonomous-car rides in Phoenix
The trial program was initially free, but now Waymo wants passengers to pay
October 26, 2018
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/waymo-start-charging-self-driving-car-rides/

Thus far, the roughly 400 people signed up as "early riders" in Waymo's self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids have been riding in the vans for free. That could soon change, according to a new report from The Financial Times, which says Waymo plans to start charging Phoenix-area customers for those trips.

According to the report, Ruth Porat, chief financial officer at Waymo parent company Alphabet, said on an investors' call this week that the company was exploring "commercialization" of the self-driving trial program, with "some customers" now paying for their rides.
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guest · Oct 27, 2018

Tesla's 'Navigate on Autopilot' goes live in North America tonight
On the highway, drivers need only confirm lane changes suggested by the car
October 26, 2018
https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/26/navigate-on-autopilot-model-s-x-3-tesla/

Now, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that a beta test of the feature will become widely available across North America tonight. In a move that Musk has previously described as a time when "we will begin to enable full self-driving features," it gives more control over to the car from highway on-ramp to off-ramp.

Despite controversy as a result of crashes and occasional complaints, Musk said that until now Autopilot has focused on increasing safety.

Update: Tesla has published a blog post that explains the feature further, how to use it and includes a video showing how to engage it.
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ronjor · Oct 28, 2018

Urban Planning Guru Says Driverless Cars Won’t Fix Congestion

By John Markoff Oct. 27, 2018
Mr. Calthorpe is a Berkeley-based urban planner who is one of the creators of New Urbanism, which promotes mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods. His designs emphasize the proximity of housing, shopping and public space.
He is not opposed to autonomous vehicles. Mr. Calthorpe’s quarrel is with the idea that the widespread adoption of personally owned self-driving cars will solve transportation problems. In fact, he worries it will lead to more urban congestion and suburban sprawl.
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guest · Oct 29, 2018

We've Been Talking About Self-Driving Car Safety All Wrong
October 29, 2018
https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-safety-metrics-miles-disengagements/

If practice makes perfect, the more practice your robot has, the closer it must be to perfect, right? Nope.

“Miles traveled standing alone is not a particularly insightful measure if you don't understand what the context of those miles were,” says Noah Zych, the head of system safety at the Uber Advanced Technologies Group.

“It’s not just about racking up number of miles, but the quality and challenges presented within those miles that make them valuable,” says spokesperson Liz Markman. She says Waymo also keeps a firm eye on how many miles it’s driving in simulation.

Real safety is, ‘Does it really work?’ Safety is about the one kid the software might have missed, not about the 99 it didn’t.” For autonomous vehicles, simply being a robot that drives won’t be enough. They have to prove that they’re better than humans, almost all of the time. [...]
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guest · Oct 29, 2018

Farmstead partners with Udelv for autonomous grocery delivery
October 29, 2018
https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/29/farmstead-partners-with-udelv-for-autonomous-grocery-delivery/

Farmstead said that in the coming weeks, it’ll partner up with Carson, California-based Udelv to deliver foodstuff to Bay Area customers via the autonomous vehicle company’s modified GEM eL XD electric trucks. It’s been running a limited pilot since September.

While many services have talked about making deliveries via autonomous vehicles, Farmstead is actually doing it,” said Farmstead CEO and cofounder Pradeep Elankumaran.

Udelv’s trucks pack 8.7 horsepower motors and 20-kWh battery packs with an estimated range of 60 miles and a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour, and can make about 40 deliveries before needing to recharge.

“Customers who have already experienced our autonomous vehicle delivery have been blown away – with Udelv’s help, we can’t wait to bring it to all our service areas,” Elankumaran said.
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guest · Oct 29, 2018

Volkswagen, Intel, and Mobileye will launch a self-driving taxi service in Israel in 2019
October 29, 2018
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/29...obileye-self-driving-ride-hailing-israel-2019

Volkswagen and Mobileye, the computer vision firm owned by Intel, announced Monday a plan to launch a commercial self-driving ride-hailing service in Israel in 2019. It’s an aggressive move by the German automaker that could propel it to the front of the pack of companies working to commercialize autonomous driving, along with Alphabet’s Waymo and GM’s Cruise.

As part of the deal, Volkswagen will supply a fleet of electric cars, Mobileye will handle the self-driving technology, and Champion Motors, Israel’s second largest car importer and distributor, will run fleet management operations.

“This is not a pilot project,” an Intel spokesperson said in an email. “The joint venture is the first of its kind targeting Level 4/5 commercial MaaS.”

For the uninitiated, MaaS stands for “Mobility as a Service, [...] Level 4 / 5 describes the top two levels of vehicle automation as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers: Level 4 is no human driver within certain parameters; and Level 5 is no human driver without restrictions.
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ronjor · Oct 29, 2018

A Fork in the Road for Avis

By Phil Wahba October 29, 2018
Self-driving cars and ride-hailing services could make the car-rental industry obsolete—or create a huge opportunity. Here’s how Avis Budget is adapting.
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guest · Oct 30, 2018

Tesla Autopilot steered into a stationary object again—the driver is suing
Florida man says Tesla oversold Autopilot's capabilities
October 30, 2018
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/1...lot-steered-him-into-a-stalled-car-at-80-mph/

Earlier this month, Shawn Hudson's Tesla Model S crashed into a stalled car while moving at about 80 miles per hour on a Florida freeway. Tesla's Autopilot technology was engaged at the time, and Hudson has now filed a lawsuit against Tesla in state courts.

"Through a pervasive national marketing campaign and a purposefully manipulative sales pitch, Tesla has duped consumers" into believing that Autpilot can "transport passengers at highway speeds with minimal input and oversight," the lawsuit says.

"Tesla's sales representative reassured Hudson that all he needed to do as the driver of the vehicle is to occasionally place his hand on the steering wheel and that the vehicle would 'do everything else,'" the lawsuit claims.

But that description of Tesla's Autopilot system is not true. While the system can handle a range of driving conditions, it's not designed to stop for parked cars or other stationary objects when traveling at highway speeds.
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Lawsuit (PDF): https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Complaint-filed.pdf

guest · Oct 30, 2018

Waymo gets the green light to test fully driverless cars in California
October 30, 2018
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/30/18044670/waymo-fully-driverless-car-permit-california-dmv

Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, has been granted permission to operate fully driverless cars without human drivers behind the steering wheel on public roads in California. The company is the first to receive a driverless permit in the state.

Waymo will restrict its driverless test cars to the neighborhoods of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Palo Alto. “We know this area well,” the company said in a statement, noting it includes its own headquarters (housed within Google’s X lab) as well as Alphabet’s main campus.

Waymo’s permit includes day and night testing on city streets, rural roads, and highways with posted speed limits of up to 65 mph. [...]

Waymo won’t offer rides to the public right off the bat; [...] “Eventually, we’ll create opportunities for members of the public to experience this technology, as we’ve done in Arizona with our early rider program,” Waymo says.
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guest · Oct 31, 2018

Ford, Baidu set to test self-driving cars on Beijing’s roads
October 31, 2018
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-baidu-set-to-test-self-driving-cars-on-beijings-roads/

Beijing will soon see another non-Chinese self-driving car on its roads.

Ford is beginning a two-year initiative with Chinese internet giant Baidu to develop and test self-driving vehicles designed to meet Level 4 driving automation standards established by SAE International in China, the US automaker said in a statement today.

The tests will run on open roads designated for autonomous vehicle trials in Beijing and could possibly be extended to other Chinese cities in future in accordance with local regulations, Ford added in its statement.
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ronjor · Oct 31, 2018

Muji just made a driverless shuttle bus, and it’s a minimalist wonder on wheels

By Melissa Locker 10.31.18
Muji just made autonomous vehicles slightly more chic. The minimalist Japanese company has teamed up with Finnish autonomous driving company Sensible 4 to create the Gacha shuttle bus, an autonomous vehicle that it claims is the first in the world designed to function in all weather conditions.
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ronjor · Oct 31, 2018

Starship Technologies launches commercial package delivery service using autonomous robots

Paul Sawers@psawers October 31, 2018
Starship Technologies, a robotics startup created by two of Skype’s founders, is launching what it’s claiming to be a world’s first today: a commercial, autonomous, ground-based robotic package delivery service.
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ronjor · Oct 31, 2018

VW and Ford in talks on self-driving and electric vehicles: source

Edward Taylor, Ben Klayman October 31, 2018
FRANKFURT/DETROIT (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Ford Motor Co are in “exploratory talks” to jointly develop self-driving and electric vehicles in a far-reaching strategic alliance meant to save the companies billions of dollars, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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guest · Nov 1, 2018

Tesla's Summon upgrade turns vehicles into remote-controlled cars
November 01, 2018
https://www.engadget.com/2018/11/01/teslas-summon-upgrade-turns-vehicles-into-remote-controlled-car/

Tesla's self-parking Summon feature is getting an upgrade, and it'll be ready in less than six weeks. [...] "Car will drive to your phone location & follow you like a pet if you hold down summon button on Tesla app," [...]

The upgrade, which essentially lets Tesla owners operate their vehicles like a big remote-controlled car, will be compatible with all Tesla models made in the past two years, and will come via an over-the-air software update.
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ronjor · Nov 2, 2018

Uber seeks OK to resume self-driving tests in Pennsylvania

David Shepardson November 2, 2018
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc has asked Pennsylvania for permission to resume self-driving car testing on public roads and has improved the autonomous vehicle software, the company said on Friday, more than seven months after it suspended testing following a deadly crash in Arizona.
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ronjor · Nov 4, 2018

How autonomous vehicles will redefine land valuation

Olivier Grinda, Home61@oliviergrinda November 3, 2018
Despite any fears we may have about autonomous vehicles, we are quickly becoming a society where they will be a regular feature on our roadways. The potential impacts of autonomous vehicles to land use planning and real estate are enormous.
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guest · Nov 5, 2018

Optimus Ride taps Nvidia for its level 4 autonomous cars
November 5, 2018
https://venturebeat.com/2018/11/05/optimus-ride-taps-nvidia-for-its-level-4-autonomous-cars/

Optimus Ride, an autonomous technology startup based in Boston, today revealed Nvidia’s Drive AGX Xavier as its development platform of choice for driverless cars.

If all goes according to plan, it’ll join an exclusive club of firms which have deployed Level 4 autonomous passenger cars and taxis.

“Optimus Ride’s adoption of the scalable Nvidia Drive AGX platform gives them the computational horsepower and sophisticated AI … stack essential for safe self-driving systems,” Rishi Dhall, vice president, automotive business development at Nvidia, said.
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guest · Nov 5, 2018

Hyundai invests in Allegro.ai to bring deep learning to our cars
November 5, 2018
https://www.zdnet.com/article/hyundai-invests-in-allegro-ai-to-bring-deep-learning-to-our-cars/

Hyundai has announced a strategic investment in Allegro.ai, a start-up focused on developing deep learning technologies for our future cars.

Founded in 2016, Allegro.ai is the creator of a platform which supports the development of deep learning and artificial intelligence solutions, including -- but not limited to -- autonomous vehicles, drones, and security applications.

If self-driving technologies are ever going to become commonplace, computer vision, control, and obstacle awareness need to be improved -- and this is where Hyundai hopes the Allegro.ai platform could take center stage.
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ronjor · Nov 5, 2018

Want to Make an All-Star Electric Truck? Drop the Driver

Alex Davies 11.05.18
For Swedish trucking startup Einride, though, the connection between electric and autonomous technology is fundamental. Getting rid of the human, founder and CEO Robert Falck says, makes the formidable challenge of running a truck on batteries far easier.
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ronjor · Nov 6, 2018

Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot is like Waze on steroids

By Andrew J. Hawkins@andyjayhawk Nov 6, 2018
Tesla’s self-driving future is closer than ever — and probably not what we thought it would look like
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guest · Nov 6, 2018

Waymo self-driving vehicle involved in non-fatal crash, company blames safety driver
November 6, 2018
https://www.techspot.com/news/77278-waymo-self-driving-vehicle-involved-non-fatal-crash.html

Now, Waymo, long considered one of the most cautious self-driving companies around, has run into a similar problem. As disclosed by company CEO John Krafcik in a blog post published on Medium, a Waymo self-driving vehicle was recently involved in a "manual collision" that injured a motorcyclist.

[...] To avoid a collision, the driver took manual control to switch over to the right lane - however, he or she did not notice that a motorcycle had pulled into the lane just beforehand, resulting in a crash.

In short, Uber is placing the blame for the crash on its driver rather than its self-driving car technology. Indeed, Krafcik went so far as to say had its tech been left to its own devices, it would have avoided the collision by "taking a safer course of action."
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Self-operating shuttle bus crashes after Las Vegas launch (All Things Self Driving)

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