We are not even a week out from the Baidu announcement of its open source partnership with 50 companies in the autonomous vehicle (AV) world, when now we learn that Microsoft is joining that team. Microsoft continues its work on AVs by contributing to AI development and to connected vehicle (CV) research. Microsoft is playing to its traditional strengths to establish a beachhead in the AV market, rather than take the Google - now Waymo - all-in approach.
The technology under development is mode-agnostic, if you will. It can be employed in transit vehicles, in private ride hailing, micro-transit, or shuttles as well as for freight trucking and conventional individually-owned and operated cars and light trucks. There's a hedge-your-bets wisdom to concentrating on the technology side and ignoring business models and vehicle design.
Don't count out regular cars, just with AV
There are many who believe we will replace our current pattern of vehicle use with similar individually-owned AVs. Depending on price, this could be the future. News from Torc Robotics supports that prediction with an AV system for cars. The company is declaring that it has solved the weather problem and that it is partnering with auto companies to bring the system to market.
Not California or Singapore, but Dubai
Lots of US government investment is being made in CV research, but Dubai, which has been out in front in the adoption of AV transportation and pilots, will be testing CV - or rather V2I - traffic signals. (V2I meaning vehicle to infrastructure, in case any non-nerds are reading.) I hope that, unlike the DC area, there are no power outages there.
Another cute shuttle vehicle is born
EasyMile has much of the shuttle market the world over, but now a new player has emerged with its own adorable shuttle. "AirBridgeCargo has transported a prototype autonomous vehicle from the Netherlands to Singapore." The shuttle is supposed to be a new mode, or at least a new acronym - GRT, which stands for Group Rapid Transit. I wonder if GRT is a dig at EasyMile, which has concentrated on slow shuttles that are quickly easing regular people, in contrast to transportation nerds, into the idea of AV as normal.
Showing posts with label Baidu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baidu. Show all posts
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Crazy Weeds of Soon-to-Launch Autonomous Services
Speaking of Drive.ai
Drive.ai has developed a sweet vehicle-to-pedestrian signal system with text and emojis for communication with sighted pedestrians and auditory signals for those without an adequate sense of sight. The article was not entirely clear about what those auditory signals would be and whether they would be sufficient to put people with visual impairments in an equitable position to their sighted peers.
Drive.ai has developed a sweet vehicle-to-pedestrian signal system with text and emojis for communication with sighted pedestrians and auditory signals for those without an adequate sense of sight. The article was not entirely clear about what those auditory signals would be and whether they would be sufficient to put people with visual impairments in an equitable position to their sighted peers.
Drive.ai is developing a kit that will transform a regular car into a self-driving one and is using artificial intelligence technology. The company just named a former General Motors executive to its board of directors. Drive.ai is like Cruise Automation, but without GM as its patron, or like Comma.ai, but without a genius crazy guy as its founder and leader.
Chinese Company Moves Ahead in California
Baidu, which is reportedly partnering with Nvidia, also recently received a permit to begin driverless testing in California. The former is big news because this is China's Google, as Baidu is known, getting an instant surge from an artificial intelligence enterprise that is perhaps the leading concern in terms of driverless technology.
Autonomous, yes, but no stairs
Boston-based Bridj, a ride-hailing-meets-fancy-transit company that operates in Beantown, DC, and, with subsidized service, in Kansas City, is getting into the delivery drone business, presumably to fill vehicles or to make some money with them in off hours. The three-mile-an-hour drone is not such a great robot. It will deliver as long as there are no stairs or doors to open. I guess it needs a human to be present.
While I'm here
Tesla decides to insure its own partially driverless vehicles. Speculation is that Tesla will be well positioned for fully driverless insurance when those vehicles go on the road.
nuTonomy is partnering with a ride hailing company in Southeast Asia. No surprise, this is seen as a move for both companies to be better positioned to compete with a future driverless Uber.
Baidu, which is reportedly partnering with Nvidia, also recently received a permit to begin driverless testing in California. The former is big news because this is China's Google, as Baidu is known, getting an instant surge from an artificial intelligence enterprise that is perhaps the leading concern in terms of driverless technology.
Autonomous, yes, but no stairs
Boston-based Bridj, a ride-hailing-meets-fancy-transit company that operates in Beantown, DC, and, with subsidized service, in Kansas City, is getting into the delivery drone business, presumably to fill vehicles or to make some money with them in off hours. The three-mile-an-hour drone is not such a great robot. It will deliver as long as there are no stairs or doors to open. I guess it needs a human to be present.
While I'm here
Tesla decides to insure its own partially driverless vehicles. Speculation is that Tesla will be well positioned for fully driverless insurance when those vehicles go on the road.
nuTonomy is partnering with a ride hailing company in Southeast Asia. No surprise, this is seen as a move for both companies to be better positioned to compete with a future driverless Uber.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
The Russians, Chinese Are Coming in Driverless Buses, Pods
Russia plans to introduce a driverless bus. So far, it has been tested, presumably at low speeds, on private roads, such as campuses. The bus is low floor, and therefore accessible (I presume), and runs on electricity. No confirmation if the bus will be launched during the 2018 soccer World Cup games. Warning: Even insomniacs will fall asleep to this video.
Toronto wants driverless buses, or at least little shuttles
Though driverless vehicles - sans drivers - are not yet legal in Ontario, Toronto council members are hatching a plan for driverless transit. They will meet in mid-July to consider a report to plan driverless transit. Toronto was one of the first cities to designate a staff person to begin to look at the transformation that driverless transportation will bring.
Intel + MobilEye + BMW = ?
The three companies: a chipmaker, driverless player, and a traditional high-end car company, are teaming up. The question is whether the deal will push BMW ahead in the driverless car race. Bloomberg did a nice summary. More speculation and details are provided by Android Headlines (AH). I have not seen anything yet that would make me believe this is a game changer.
Baidu chooses Chinese town as third of 10
Baidu has chosen an ancient Chinese town, a tourist magnet, for a driverless project with a route system. The company, known as the Chinese Google, is planning to introduce driverless vehicles to 10 cities. The ancient town of Wuzhen is the third to be announced. There is no date set for the launch of the demonstration projects.
Tesla fatal crash
To all of us who did not know the victim, the Tesla crash heard round the world is a piece of information, something to be fixed. To me, personally, the fatal crash demonstrates the dangerous and disingenuous game that the partially driverless vehicle plays. Human drivers, such as the victim, himself a big fan of his beloved Tesla autopilot, get lulled into complacency with each day's safe trip. One day, when daydreaming, watching a movie - as the "driver" was reportedly doing - or just staring out the window, but hardly paying attention to the road, the human is not driving or thinking about driving, when an instant you-must-pay-attention-right-now situation presents itself. We humans are not generally good at the split second jolt to action. The crash occurs before the driver knows what is happening, in that split second when he or she is processing information, before action is taken.
While Mobileye and Tesla hash out who was responsible in the press, presumably continuing into the courts unless the victim's family is placated with lots of money first, I hope that NHTSA, which will investigate, will take the opportunity to impose a black box requirement for driverless vehicles and also consider the great risks of the combination of the partially driverless vehicle and the human who is supposedly ready to drive.
My condolences go out to the family of Joshua Brown. His death is a great sorrow to his family and friends. May they be comforted by memories of him.
Toronto wants driverless buses, or at least little shuttles
Though driverless vehicles - sans drivers - are not yet legal in Ontario, Toronto council members are hatching a plan for driverless transit. They will meet in mid-July to consider a report to plan driverless transit. Toronto was one of the first cities to designate a staff person to begin to look at the transformation that driverless transportation will bring.
Intel + MobilEye + BMW = ?
The three companies: a chipmaker, driverless player, and a traditional high-end car company, are teaming up. The question is whether the deal will push BMW ahead in the driverless car race. Bloomberg did a nice summary. More speculation and details are provided by Android Headlines (AH). I have not seen anything yet that would make me believe this is a game changer.
Baidu chooses Chinese town as third of 10
Baidu has chosen an ancient Chinese town, a tourist magnet, for a driverless project with a route system. The company, known as the Chinese Google, is planning to introduce driverless vehicles to 10 cities. The ancient town of Wuzhen is the third to be announced. There is no date set for the launch of the demonstration projects.
Tesla fatal crash
To all of us who did not know the victim, the Tesla crash heard round the world is a piece of information, something to be fixed. To me, personally, the fatal crash demonstrates the dangerous and disingenuous game that the partially driverless vehicle plays. Human drivers, such as the victim, himself a big fan of his beloved Tesla autopilot, get lulled into complacency with each day's safe trip. One day, when daydreaming, watching a movie - as the "driver" was reportedly doing - or just staring out the window, but hardly paying attention to the road, the human is not driving or thinking about driving, when an instant you-must-pay-attention-right-now situation presents itself. We humans are not generally good at the split second jolt to action. The crash occurs before the driver knows what is happening, in that split second when he or she is processing information, before action is taken.
While Mobileye and Tesla hash out who was responsible in the press, presumably continuing into the courts unless the victim's family is placated with lots of money first, I hope that NHTSA, which will investigate, will take the opportunity to impose a black box requirement for driverless vehicles and also consider the great risks of the combination of the partially driverless vehicle and the human who is supposedly ready to drive.
My condolences go out to the family of Joshua Brown. His death is a great sorrow to his family and friends. May they be comforted by memories of him.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
PR Message: We're Really Close
I'm reading the same tea leaves as anyone who is glued to the driverless news. What came across my laptop screen today was like a slap in the face or a bucket of cold water thrown over my head. The tea leaves are screaming now "WAKE UP!, Driverless is super close," if not ready. That does not mean that tomorrow we will see these vehicles everywhere, but it does mean that the following companies and agencies would not be spouting what is below unless the technology were already there.
Evidence from China
Chinese Google counterpart Baidu is publicly committing itself to driverless mass production in five years, after testing in 10 cities.
You can't predict with such confidence unless you already have the vehicles. Now it's a question of developing public confidence, a legal framework, and mass production facilities.
Evidence from the down under neighborhood
A New Zealand transit conference audience was told this week that sometime between now and 2035, though the speaker is betting on 2020, that driverless transit buses will be in operation and penetrating the market. Obviously this is a progressive transit conference - and likely not an audience with belligerent union labor. We're not talking Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, London (they are otherwise engaged with Brexit at the moment), Paris or some other major city. This is New Zealand, with cities like Wellington and Auckland. If driverless will be happening there within 10 years, you are talking Poughkeepsie, Providence, Sacramento, and Omaha. (I predict NYC will be last because those bus drivers will not be getting out of the drivers seat without a fight.)
Evidence of cute, bunny shuttles reproducing
Transdev, a manufacturer of cute - my word - driverless shuttles that operate on private campuses - meaning private, unregulated, roads - is looking for opportunities. Now that cute shuttles have popped up all over, this company is seeking paying customers who are early adopters, like the people who bought the original Apple computers in the early 80s. (I did my first resume on that thing; you had to manually code everything. It was my brother in law's and he bought it for drafting his PhD thesis.)
Transdev will compete with others in a field getting crowded with cute driverless transit - or transit-like - shuttles. There's Olli from Local Motors, the taxibots in Singapore, EasyMile, etc.
Maybe my dream for some driverless demonstrations in the next year will come true. Now there's competition. A dollar a ride? Ride free? I'm hoping.
Evidence from China
Chinese Google counterpart Baidu is publicly committing itself to driverless mass production in five years, after testing in 10 cities.
You can't predict with such confidence unless you already have the vehicles. Now it's a question of developing public confidence, a legal framework, and mass production facilities.
Evidence from the down under neighborhood
A New Zealand transit conference audience was told this week that sometime between now and 2035, though the speaker is betting on 2020, that driverless transit buses will be in operation and penetrating the market. Obviously this is a progressive transit conference - and likely not an audience with belligerent union labor. We're not talking Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, London (they are otherwise engaged with Brexit at the moment), Paris or some other major city. This is New Zealand, with cities like Wellington and Auckland. If driverless will be happening there within 10 years, you are talking Poughkeepsie, Providence, Sacramento, and Omaha. (I predict NYC will be last because those bus drivers will not be getting out of the drivers seat without a fight.)
Evidence of cute, bunny shuttles reproducing
Transdev, a manufacturer of cute - my word - driverless shuttles that operate on private campuses - meaning private, unregulated, roads - is looking for opportunities. Now that cute shuttles have popped up all over, this company is seeking paying customers who are early adopters, like the people who bought the original Apple computers in the early 80s. (I did my first resume on that thing; you had to manually code everything. It was my brother in law's and he bought it for drafting his PhD thesis.)
Transdev will compete with others in a field getting crowded with cute driverless transit - or transit-like - shuttles. There's Olli from Local Motors, the taxibots in Singapore, EasyMile, etc.
Maybe my dream for some driverless demonstrations in the next year will come true. Now there's competition. A dollar a ride? Ride free? I'm hoping.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Congress Should Act, DOT Effectively Saying
Coming back from vacation, I was hoping for no news, or redundant news, to ease me back. But no, here we are with a USDOT report and a Senate hearing, both notable as much for what they do not explicitly say as for what they do. Then there is GM's ramping up efforts on driverless vehicles, at the same time that Britain is going all in. And I feel compelled to mention that Chinese technology giant Baidu plans to begin testing driverless cars in the US and to launch its vehicles in 2018.
The race is on, boys
One thing is clear: Whatever advantage the US has had is sure to disappear if steering wheels and brake pads and human drivers are required. So why is the US Department of Transportation - USDOT - going all conservative (with a small "c") by finding that steering wheels and brake pads, as well as a conventional driver's seat area are all mandatory? Basically, DOT is taking the high road that its lawyers are giving approval for. Those lawyers are pointing to transportation law provisions that refer to - and therefore assume the presence of - a driver.
Actually, Congress and the DOT building are a nice, long walk from each other - not on the same road
In my opinion, and this is, thus far, only based on the DOT report's executive summary, is that DOT is kicking this can down the road to the doorstep of Congress. Now if Congress is willing to act and agree on something, I will be surprised. But that was what the whole Senate hearing was about: Google, GM, Lyft, and Delphi (plus one restrained academic from Duke) all begging Congress to see reason and allow for AV (automated vehicles) to happen and soon and the way the companies envision the technology.
Scroll down the page with the Senate hearing information to view a video of the whole event. Notice the empty chairs of the absent Senators. They are not ready to do anything yet, and certainly not this close to heavy campaign season.
Embedded US civics lesson
For those of you who never took civics: Every member of the House is up for re-election this year, as well as one third, about 33, of the Senate.The House members represent districts (practically neighborhoods in Brooklyn, but sometimes half of or whole states in those places where hardly anyone lives). They are up for reelection every two years. Senators serve six-year terms and represent entire states.
Civics lesson over
Two big concerns at the hearing were privacy of personal information and protection from hacking. Will we still be able to live in a world where one can cheat on a spouse's dietary regime with a secret visit to McDonalds?
I'll be enjoying the full report this weekend, maybe with a nap on the porch? Who knows.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will be hosting two public hearings this spring. The first to be held on Apr. 8 at USDOT headquarters - right near the ballpark - in Washington, DC, and the second, still a mystery on exact date and location, though somewhere in the state of California.
In brief - goings on outside of DC
As I have other work and life interests, I'll be extremely brief here. I'm also leaving out legislative activities in California because that is a whole other post.
Britain: Driverless trucks (or lorries, as trucks are called across the pond) are set for a connected vehicle trial on a quiet stretch of highway. Only the lead truck will have a driver. I'm guessing that the driver will not be singing the convoy song.
GM: The company is buying Cruise Automation, a San Francisco startup, for more than - wait for it - one billion with a B dollars.
Advice: For most people, people who do not like the intense summer heat, that is, this is the nicest time of year to be in DC. The weather is lovely, the flowers are blooming, and the cherry blossoms are soon to make an appearance. One reason to avoid being here are the legions of eighth graders on their spring break trips to the nation's capital. Like so many flocks of geese, one sidesteps them during their seasonal migration.
The race is on, boys
One thing is clear: Whatever advantage the US has had is sure to disappear if steering wheels and brake pads and human drivers are required. So why is the US Department of Transportation - USDOT - going all conservative (with a small "c") by finding that steering wheels and brake pads, as well as a conventional driver's seat area are all mandatory? Basically, DOT is taking the high road that its lawyers are giving approval for. Those lawyers are pointing to transportation law provisions that refer to - and therefore assume the presence of - a driver.
Actually, Congress and the DOT building are a nice, long walk from each other - not on the same road
In my opinion, and this is, thus far, only based on the DOT report's executive summary, is that DOT is kicking this can down the road to the doorstep of Congress. Now if Congress is willing to act and agree on something, I will be surprised. But that was what the whole Senate hearing was about: Google, GM, Lyft, and Delphi (plus one restrained academic from Duke) all begging Congress to see reason and allow for AV (automated vehicles) to happen and soon and the way the companies envision the technology.
Scroll down the page with the Senate hearing information to view a video of the whole event. Notice the empty chairs of the absent Senators. They are not ready to do anything yet, and certainly not this close to heavy campaign season.
Embedded US civics lesson
For those of you who never took civics: Every member of the House is up for re-election this year, as well as one third, about 33, of the Senate.The House members represent districts (practically neighborhoods in Brooklyn, but sometimes half of or whole states in those places where hardly anyone lives). They are up for reelection every two years. Senators serve six-year terms and represent entire states.
Civics lesson over
Two big concerns at the hearing were privacy of personal information and protection from hacking. Will we still be able to live in a world where one can cheat on a spouse's dietary regime with a secret visit to McDonalds?
I'll be enjoying the full report this weekend, maybe with a nap on the porch? Who knows.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will be hosting two public hearings this spring. The first to be held on Apr. 8 at USDOT headquarters - right near the ballpark - in Washington, DC, and the second, still a mystery on exact date and location, though somewhere in the state of California.
In brief - goings on outside of DC
As I have other work and life interests, I'll be extremely brief here. I'm also leaving out legislative activities in California because that is a whole other post.
Britain: Driverless trucks (or lorries, as trucks are called across the pond) are set for a connected vehicle trial on a quiet stretch of highway. Only the lead truck will have a driver. I'm guessing that the driver will not be singing the convoy song.
GM: The company is buying Cruise Automation, a San Francisco startup, for more than - wait for it - one billion with a B dollars.
Advice: For most people, people who do not like the intense summer heat, that is, this is the nicest time of year to be in DC. The weather is lovely, the flowers are blooming, and the cherry blossoms are soon to make an appearance. One reason to avoid being here are the legions of eighth graders on their spring break trips to the nation's capital. Like so many flocks of geese, one sidesteps them during their seasonal migration.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Dancing Together on the Road to Driverless
China - Baidu and a car company BYD to team up to further driverless mapping technology
Great Britain - British insurers team up to figure out changing paradigm for vehicle insurance when driverless becomes commonplace.
United States - US tech and other driverless developers are energized by US Department of Transportation enthusiasm and regulatory plans for driverless.
Great Britain - British insurers team up to figure out changing paradigm for vehicle insurance when driverless becomes commonplace.
United States - US tech and other driverless developers are energized by US Department of Transportation enthusiasm and regulatory plans for driverless.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
One Step Forward for Chinese Driverless Endeavor
China's Baidu company is making headway in its quest to put driverless vehicles out on the roads. Its prototype BMW-model driverless car successfully traveled an 18-mile-plus route under mixed road conditions (no details on that). Now this might seem modest by Google car standards, for example, but (1) there seems to be significant money behind the Baidu program, and (2) once the prototype and the mapping, etc., are in place, early success, in my opinion, belongs to the fastest company that actually sells lots of driverless vehicles (assuming safe road trips). China does not have as complicated or as messily democratic a system of laws and regulations, so the process for legal acceptance of this new mode might well be quicker than in the United States or in Europe.
Not incremental or go for broke
Baidu is taking an approach that differs from both the step-by-step efforts of conventional car companies (and Tesla) and the Google (and Uber and Apple?) strategy of creating a completely driverless, commercially viable vehicle. Baidu's third way is to create vehicles that can handle particular driving environments, such as a particular route - for example, a public bus route. Baidu is relying on extremely detailed mapping, including street signs, as well as "seeing" temporary obstacles, including pedestrians.
P.S. I hope there are no Chinese teenagers who sometimes deface or remove street signs that those rational driverless vehicles are created to read as they travel along. Unexpected consequences and all that.
P.P.S. I admit, post-teenage years, having removed one July 4th sign per child, for their college rooms.
Not incremental or go for broke
Baidu is taking an approach that differs from both the step-by-step efforts of conventional car companies (and Tesla) and the Google (and Uber and Apple?) strategy of creating a completely driverless, commercially viable vehicle. Baidu's third way is to create vehicles that can handle particular driving environments, such as a particular route - for example, a public bus route. Baidu is relying on extremely detailed mapping, including street signs, as well as "seeing" temporary obstacles, including pedestrians.
P.S. I hope there are no Chinese teenagers who sometimes deface or remove street signs that those rational driverless vehicles are created to read as they travel along. Unexpected consequences and all that.
P.P.S. I admit, post-teenage years, having removed one July 4th sign per child, for their college rooms.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Google, Baidu Diverge on Driverless Plans
None of this is new. These are developments over the past month.
Google now going into car insurance business and its driverless vehicles are on the roads of Mountain View, CA.
Google now going into car insurance business and its driverless vehicles are on the roads of Mountain View, CA.
Tesla abandons Silicon Valley dream of totally driverless vehicles, opting instead for the incremental approach adopted by traditional car manufacturers.
Unlike the traditional car manufacturers, Tesla plans on launching a totally driverless vehicle in three years. The interim incremental approach will allow hands-free driving on the highway - but require eyes on the road. That seems so dangerous and definitely sleeo inducing. http://www.industryweek.com/emerging-technologies/tesla-autopilot-car-could-hit-road-weeks
Unlike the traditional car manufacturers, Tesla plans on launching a totally driverless vehicle in three years. The interim incremental approach will allow hands-free driving on the highway - but require eyes on the road. That seems so dangerous and definitely sleeo inducing. http://www.industryweek.com/emerging-technologies/tesla-autopilot-car-could-hit-road-weeks
No surprise here that China's tech sector is working on driverless vehicles. Baidu, described as the Chinese Google, is planning to have an autonomous vehicle on the road by the end of the year. However, the vehicle will be driver-assisted. Baidu has not announced plans for a driverless vehicle.
http://www.hybridcars.com/self-driving-car-being-built-by-chinas-google/
http://www.hybridcars.com/self-driving-car-being-built-by-chinas-google/
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Chinese Car to Go Both Ways
China's Baidu company is creating a driverless car that will allow for optional driving. Baidu is a technology company with mapping services. It is working with BMW, according to the linked article. Right now, the plan is to have a prototype car ready for travel on actual roads in 2015. But the driver option is seen as a good one for city driving.
I think this is like so many products that try to do multiple things well - think of baby strollers that turn into backpacks or shorts that turn into skirts. Never good.
But let's not underestimate Baidu, a major player in artificial intelligence, and speech and facial recognition technologies. This is an impressive and ambitious company.
I think this is like so many products that try to do multiple things well - think of baby strollers that turn into backpacks or shorts that turn into skirts. Never good.
But let's not underestimate Baidu, a major player in artificial intelligence, and speech and facial recognition technologies. This is an impressive and ambitious company.
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