The current transportation bill expires at the end of May. The question still unresolved is whether Shuster will get his way for a five-to-six year bill or whether there will only be consensus for a stopgap measure of a short-term extension of the current law. The only aspect of the bill that is definite: There will be no increase in the gas tax. Driverless must be right for the country General Motors is giving a nice size donation of $4 million to Michigan's Kettering University. The money will fund an automotive proving ground that will test, you got it, driverless vehicles. Other safety and crash tests will be done. Kettering alumni, apparently, end up in the auto industry.
This summer there will be driverless shuttles at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The driverless vehicles will be used as part of the Wounded Warrior project to transport patients about one-third of a mile from barracks to the Womack Army Medical Center. The short distance is a big obstacle for the patients with mobility-related injuries. The shuttle vehicles will be electric, solar powered, and look like golf carts. The shuttles will be part of an ongoing public-private partnership.
Apart from doing away with the need for drivers of taxis, Uber and other car services, no longer needed will be truck drivers, postal carriers who drive (at this point we don't need mail service anyway) and all others who drive for a living. But plans underway for the autonomous age to come include robots do the jobs associated with driving jobs, such as package deliveries by drones, and now having robots pick up the trash. I forgot to add drivers of tow trucks, who also extract vehicles from messy situations, something that a multinational team of researchers has figured out how to automate to the point that humans are not needed. And yes, we will be getting rid of friendly garbage men. A Canadian company is working on the segment of the vehicle market for tow trucks and dump trucks. As the article declares, the company is willing to automate anything on wheels. It seems that once we have the technology to go driverless, which I fully support, we will also be on a fast trajectory to the complete loss of entry-level and low-wage jobs, which I have some discomfort with. Getting totally self-centered here, but how long will it be until our human brains are completely surpassed? We already lose at chess and legal research databases long ago did away with the need for an army of temps and law students to read through thousands of pages of materials. (I was once one of those.) In other driverless news
On the international front, Switzerland is entering the driverless sweepstakes, conservative country that it is, after waiting to see autonomous driving technology would actually happen. What can you say about a country with streets cleaner than my living room and absolutely no litter? Really makes one want to throw a gun wrapper right on the ground. The country has paved the way for testing driverless vehicles. (This news via @DriverlessTrans on Twitter.)
Some New Jersey politicians are toying with the idea of using a former Army base as a testing ground for driverless vehicles. Sensing that the state is falling behind economically, state legislators are pushing an unrelated bunch of measures that should boost economic activity without costing the state anything. They are looking for a free lunch. Where would the driverless testing ground be? Fort Monmouth, which is located both near the Jersey Shore and close to the city (that's New York City), in Monmouth County. According to a New York Times article from six months ago, this is not the only idea for redeveloping parts or the entirety of the former military base. Excuse me for asking, but ... 3-D scanner camera technology is being touted as a less expensive alternative to lasers for driverless vehicles. Personally, I have doubts. In the first article I am reading about 3-D scanning, one of the challenges, to put this mildly, is that it does not work well outside in sunlight. So, beyond winters in Portland and Seattle, perhaps this technology needs some refinement before humans sit in a vehicle outfitted with it. There is money behind the development of 3-D scanning from the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Department of Energy. Will driverless vehicles travel alongside bikecars? That is not a spelling error. I have seen a few bikes in the shape of cars coming out of companies and, last week, from a team at the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Engineering. These contraptions, for want of a better word, combine the exercise potential of biking with a roof, sides, and a battery for when power is needed (uphill slopes, extra passengers, groceries, etc.). The idea is not zero-emission, but certainly, low emission. Cargo bikes and now these bikes-in-the-shape-of-cars are coming to maturity, in the market sense, at the same time as driverless vehicles will be. Prototypes are out; there are some early adopters, but they are not a common sight on the roads by a long stretch. So, my guess, is that we will need the driverless vehicles being created to "see" not only the pedestrian, the traffic signal, the deer, and the ball - with child following - but also to be able to see and navigate alongside these cargo/bike/cars.
I found this article about paleontologists assisting autonomous undersea machines with navigation technology. The technology harkens to fossilized fish that used radar and other non-seeing navigation strategies. Evidently, the paleontologists, like many in the non-profit world, are looking for funding ideas, one of which is to "stay relevant." This makes me wonder when sonar or other non-visual technology strategies - i.e. for blinding snow - could improve technology for driverless vehicles. Just a thought.
My apologies to the Buckeyes out there (a/k/a Ohio State students, alumni, and fans), but in terms of driverless vehicle technology, the University of Michigan is way ahead. U of M has its M City, currently under construction, with 41 companies signed up as partners. The idea, according to the linked article from Construction Equipment Guide (not a periodical I usually read), is to create realistic conditions - including pedestrians that run in front of cars, hills, and snowy days - in a safe testing environment. Plan is for vehicles to be "commercially viable" in 2021. The article cites an estimate of 80 percent reduction in traffic accidents. I am guessing that is a conservative estimate because, currently, well over 90 percent of roadway injuries and fatalities are caused by human errors. My mother the car might not be far off If you think your mother can learn from experience, then the driverless vehicles of the future - and not too far in the future, either - are what you should be envisioning. Honda's president, Frank Paluch, said yesterday that these vehicles will have sensors, true, but they will also be able to remember and learn from their experiences. They might be better, actually, will definitely be better, than you are at recalling that pothole between your home and the supermarket. They might also remember and be able to detect where there is traffic and go a different route, something we humans are hit or miss on. I do not believe they will scream out anything like "I should remember downtown Silver Spring is a mess at this hour. Ugh!!!" I only saw My Mother the Car in reruns, but here's the opening credits. This intelligent car, by the way, despite also being a protective mother, still needed a driver. And the show was arguably the high point of Jerry Van Dyke's acting career (the brother of Dick Van Dyke), not that I know much about that either.
Instead of something akin to Jetsons-like contraptions that "see" for themselves, autonomous vehicle technology, I've learned, relies on mapping technology as well as sensors. A bidding war seems currently underway for mapping-developer Nokia. Technology and car companies are among the competitors. By the way, the Jetsons helicopter-type family vehicle, had a steering device, with George (the dad) as the driver, but the video also shows him turning away from the steering device and the front of the plane to drop off the kids at school. He then folds up the flying machine in his suitcase and gets on a moving walkway to go to the office. Seems like driverless vehicle have already advanced beyond George Jetson. For a moment of nostalgia, here's a clip of the Jetsons opening.
Lobbying disclosure reports show Google multiplying its lobbying spending by more than a factor of three this quarter over the same quarter last year. So what is it lobbying for and against? No doubt the giant company has its fingers in many pots, but I would venture a guess that driverless vehicles - and the laws and regulations that will allow for their presence on US roads - is big focus of the Google effort. At this point, the laws on driverless vehicles are all state laws, they are all different, and most do not conceive of a car without a steering wheel or a driver who can take over from driverless mode. Of the state laws, some only contemplate studying and testing of vehicles. Perhaps one of the driverless vehicle manufacturers will go the Uber route and introduce its products before they are legal to operate in most places. The lobbying bucks being spent, however, suggest otherwise.
Following in the footsteps of the University of Michigan, Singapore is launching a new testing facility for autonomous vehicles at a large university. The facility will be at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). There are already three vehicles roaming the campus, reports IEEE. The project is connected to a solar plant on the campus and a campus EcoCampus Initiative announced in April 2014.
If you are a driver like me, who hates driving on a highway and hates having to pay attention to the road for hours, the Audi car is a big improvement, though not a driverless solution. Unlike the Google car, which lacks even a steering wheel, the Audi car requires someone to drive on local streets and thoroughfares, but allows for driverless travel on highways. The Audi car uses existing technology, packaging it, perhaps, for a sooner commercial debut than purely autonomous vehicles. The video is well worth a few minutes to watch. I am pretty sure that the Audi car requires the driver to drive and accelerate onto the highway and to exit the highway, allowing for a distracted trip once one is settled on the high-speed road, but not doing anything for those unable or unwilling to drive entirely. I do not know whether the car includes some kind of alert to tell the driver when one's highway exit is approaching.
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.
Chevrolet debuted its Chevrolet-FNR, an electric, autonomous "concept car" at the Shangai GM Gala Night event earlier today. Iowa wants to start certifying roads for driverless cars. The University of Iowa will be hosting a semi-automated Volvo prototype and it wishes to copy the Swedes, who have the only road in the world certified for driverless vehicles. Sweden will need that road soon as Volvo plans to have 100 driverless cars on its roads in 2017. Robotic lawnmowers are on the way to the U.S. Astronomers are unhappy, however, with their demand for more space on the FCC-regulated wireless spectrum. These machines are already happily mowing lawns in Europe, sort of like the vacuum and pool bots we have here.
Driverless tractors and produce pickers are happening. One tech-obsessed farmer discusses his investment in human-less farm equipment. Even the abysmally low wages paid to migrant farmworkers amount to a big expense for agribusinesses large and small. This article is mostly about technology applied to strawberry picking that can track the fruit's development, mimic how a human harvests the fruit, and package it on the spot. That might make a vacation at an organic farm much less charming. Trucking without truckers The trucking industry has the same issue as the farms in terms of the high cost of drivers. Mercedes-Benz already has a driverless truck prototype. This will take driverless commercial vehicles from the warehouse to the roads. The article also discusses small machines that will autonomously traverse sidewalks to deliver packages to our doors without a human involved at all. So many snarky comments possible with that news. I hope those little machines are not equipped with cameras and that they are designed for easy navigation with pedestrians. Michigan wants to lead The University of Michigan is taking the advent of driverless vehicles, and robotics generally, very seriously, with a center for autonomous technology to be located right by the autonomous vehicle testing grounds.
Not sure I agree with some of the opinions expressed, but this video of a small transit vehicle - entirely driverless and without even a steering wheel - is pretty cool. Taking place in France, but similar trials are happening in other European locations. I don't agree that we'll be driving to car parks to pick up the driverless vehicle. With the on-demand transit choices in development and operating already, and with complete streets, I think, in metropolitan areas at least, we are close to giving up the individually-owned vehicle.
Recent legislative news is bubbling up from the states as many consider the notion of testing, studying, and permitting driverless vehicles to roam their streets and highways. Tennessee
Tennessee has unusual legislation. Instead of allowing driverless vehicles to be tested or driven in the state, with whatever limitations the legislature chooses, this law will prohibit political subdivisions - a/k/a cities, towns and counties - from prohibiting the use of autonomous vehicles if they otherwise comply with all safety regulations of that political subdivision. North Dakota Not exactly a law and this news is a few weeks old, but North Dakota's political leaders are looking at driverless vehicles. In a time honored tradition of not knowing quite what to do, North Dakota's law calls for a legislative management study of automated vehicles. Utah Utah has a new law allowing for testing of connected vehicles outside of urban areas. The law does not mention autonomous vehicles. Maryland Maryland's legislative session just ended without passing the proposed legislation for a task force to study issues relating to driverless vehicles.
NASA, yes the space agency, has released a video of its own autonomous vehicle. Like luggage, its wheels can move independently so that the car can go sideways. Cool feature, though the vehicle bears an uncanny resemblance to a golf cart. Not sure if this is how NASA plans to generate its own funding. The U.S. Army is being much less ambitious in its driverless vehicle plans. The development of a tactical, fully autonomous vehicle, was announced yesterday as a 30-year project. The army will have a rudimentary vehicle ready in 10 years. Government agencies do not generally communicate with each other much, but perhaps a general at the army should just pick up a phone, call NASA, and figure out how to save decades of tax money to develop what NASA already has with its autonomous golf cart. That golf cart, by the way, can go 43 miles an hour. That is certainly enough for rush hour and side streets. I don't know if a set of clubs comes with the vehicle. Update: In other driverless news from the US government, the Department of Defense is funding research to prevent hacking into autonomous vehicles. That turns out to be somewhat easy and such anti-hacking technology would be applicable in drones and driverless vehicles. According to the article, This is a priority because autonomous technology, such as automatic breaking, is on the roads already.
It's a herd of car manufacturers rushing to produce driverless vehicles. Hyundai now declares its car will be built as a concept car by 2020, according to a post on CarScoops.com. Due to the manufacturer's fear of litigation, or being in the lead, the car is not expected to actually go on sale until 2030. Right now, like most other traditional automakers, Hyundai is concentrating on making conventional cars a little better, rather than truly committing to the driverless revolution. Its goal isn't to "make a car like Google's. The goal is to implement autonomous driving technologies into our cars to keep customers safe. Safety is the biggest issue."
This article is a good in-depth examination of possible no fault and other liability models as well as what the insurance industry and state legislatures will be looking at in considering insurance (and its regulation) for driverless vehicles. When I bring up the topic of driverless vehicles with non-transportation - a/k/a normal - people, they always raise liability as the red flag, the ultimate obstacle, to the driverless revolution. I disagree, but there are valid issues and thisarticle does a good job at summarizing them.
