Pilots, Pods, and AV Shuttle Sales

Texas: Houston's public transit agency, METRO, announced that its board has approved an AV pilot with one of those cute AV shuttle companies for the Texas Southern University campus. A METRO employee will be on board the AV shuttle, but the shuttle will NOT operate on a public road and will not be on a road with any vehicles, only with pedestrians and bikers. "METRO hopes a successful test of the technology could lead to customers using the autonomous vans as a connection to major transit locations."

Texas Southern University is a historically black college with approximately 10,000 students. It is a major Texas provider of higher education for African Americans and latinos. Considering how underrepresented minorities are in the tech world generally and in AV development in particular, this is a good step. It also is nice to see a transit system actively participating in the first steps and planning for AVs as part of a city's mobility network. This is the exception rather than the rule.

UK: As part of the Leeds Digital Festival, a demo is going on in Leeds of four-seater AV pods; these cute little vehicles will be part of a trial in Leeds to begin sometime in the next few months. The Lake District (isn't that one of those places that Jane Austen's characters visit?) is the site of an ongoing pilot at a national park. I do not believe, however, that Colin Firth will be appearing near or taking a ride on the AV shuttle.

[For Jane Austen fans: Yes, indeed, Elizabeth Bennet, in Pride and Prejudice, visits the Lake District, where she tours Darcy's enormous home. She is in the company of her aunt and uncle.]

New Zealand and Korea: A New Zealand AV shuttle company has a buyer in South Korea for a bunch of its cute shuttles. The Korean buyer is a company developing a smart city. It is selling 150 of its 20-person shuttles, with capacity to extend to 40 riders. The company, Ohmio Automation, a subsidiary of HMI Technologies, has already begun testing and regular service is planned at Christchurch Airport; that's in New Zealand.

Private Roadways = No Motor Vehicle Laws

On your driveway, inside a college campus, or within a private retirement community's gates, regular motor vehicle and speed laws do not apply.These private roads are regulated and policed by their owners or whoever has legal control of those grounds. Two international examples show how autonomous vehicle (AV) companies are taking advantage of these self-regulating roadways because the technology, thus far, is ahead of legislators and regulators.

Kiwi AVs soon to spread

A report out of the New Zealand states that a homegrown company has gone big into AV shuttles and is about to launch regular service at the Christchurch airport. HMI Technologies was a partner in an AV pilot at the airport, but then it went out and manufactured its own vehicles, which it plans to deploy in the near term on private roads, but, as this September 2017 video shows, its ambitious involve public roadways as well.

College campus in China

With an EasyMile logo on the front of this AV shuttle, Southeast University in Nanjing is beginning campus AV service. At least for now, rides are fare free for students and staff; no word on tourist access. Nanjing is west of Shanghai and the city has a population of over eight million people.

Long Post: Georgia, Florida, Singapore, Etc Legislation

Singapore, which is already hosting a driverless pilot, is moving ahead in the legal realm as well. A new law in Singapore will allow for testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads. This paves the way, no pun intended, for the Land Transport Authority (quite roughly translated as a department of transportation) to regulate the where, when, design, and required data, among other aspects, of testing initiatives. Companies doing the testing - and the humans inside the testing vehicles - would be exempt from the road safety law that applies to conventional vehicles and their human drivers.

The new law will remain in effect for five years to reflect the reality that the fast pace of this emerging industry will require legal changes. Though the law contemplates the possibility of no human being present in the vehicle, if and only if certain ducks are lined up in a row, until then violation-free, licensed humans must be on board to monitor and take over control if necessary.

Elsewhere in Asia

Okay, presume my knowledge of geography is limited to the five boroughs of New York City and then sketchy for the US, Canada, and Western Europe. It's not quite there for Asia at all. So, elsewhere in Asia, this time in South Korea (the Korea without the crazy person at the helm) there is a new law applicable to driverless vehicles testing. The Korea Automobile Management Act permits testing on public roads and does away with the two-human requirement for vehicles being tested. "Safety zones" are exempt. I'm wondering if that's analogous to the US drug-free and reduced speed limits near schools, but I have not one iota of South Korean legal knowledge except for this bit of information. (The linked article from Forbes goes into much more detail about driverless developments in this country.)

No need for person with a license ...

and US regulatory options to ponder

I read what turned out to be somewhat old article - a few months in the past - about California's revised draft regulation that self-driving vehicles deemed sufficiently capable and safe (licensed?) by the federal government - through NHTSA? - will not require the presence of a human licensed driver when these vehicles are operating on public roads. Despite the timing of the article, it offers a thoughtful exploration of the need for uniformity among US states and the possibility of federal preemption. 

For all of you who are not constitutional scholars and who have not attended law school, preemption refers to those matters on which the US Constitution allows for national law to govern and even to, shall I say it, trump (overrule) state laws. Interstate commerce is the most prominent subject of preemption in action, but often, instead of preemption, we see state cooperation in the adoption of uniform laws, the most famous of which is the Uniform Commercial Code. Translation: There is more than one regulatory option for achieving a seamless national driverless transportation network.

Commercial interruption: Driverless Chevy Bolt called Albatross on streets of San Fransisco. No Michael Douglas or Karl Malden and that's a weird name for a car. Yes, here is the opening for the 70s TV show.

Georgia on my mind

A Georgia legislator has introduced a bill that would govern autonomous vehicles and would not require the presence of a human driver. HR 248 (click further for full text) considers the "manufacturer" to be the driver when the vehicle is in automated mode. It also contemplates vehicles being in self-driving mode or being operated at times by a human person - as opposed to US Supreme Court decisions that define "person" to include corporations. 

The Georgia bill assumes a leading role, as other state laws do, for NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) for submission of equipment and software documentation. Automated vehicle testing in Georgia would be allowed, but manufacturers would be required to submit an annual report about crashes and vehicle failures. When crashes or failures occur, systems are required that would automatically generate a report to a local police department. There would be no obligation for the automated vehicle itself to communicate with the owner of another vehicle or damaged property. Local police will use forms generated at the state Department of Transportation for crash and failure reporting.

Automated car = automated crash reporting

What does this mean? Georgia would require that automated vehicles be equipped with crash reporting technology and a data recording system. Oh, and if you are driving a vehicle made before 1965, you do not have to wear a seatbelt in Georgia. I'll tell my parents to get back their red '57 Chevy. (Yes, they actually had one and drove it for 11 years. We were the only family with such an old car.) Occupants of automated vehicles will be required to wear seat belts.

For a passenger, and, presumably, for an employee of the company testing the vehicle, there would be a waiver of the right to privacy in data generated. Towns, cities, counties, or other jurisdictions below the Georgia state level would not be empowered to impose fees or restrictions on testing or testing companies relating to testing in their jurisdictions. The Georgia bill also contains a bunch of provisions meant to decrease distracted driving - by humans - and to penalize driving away without paying for gas.

This article explains the considerations at play in the Peach State and why legislators are acting quickly.

Florida tries to say ahead on law

A state legislator in Florida introduced HB 725, a driverless bill, this week. The bill would deem the "autonomous technology" to be the vehicle operator and a human would not be required to be physically present in a vehicle or to be licensed in connection with the operation of an autonomous vehicle. In contrast to Georgia, in terms of reporting any crashes or other incidents, Florida puts the responsibility in human hands for reporting. Georgia is assuming that technology can and will take care of that task.

Florida's legislation would require the vehicle technology to alert humans, licensed or not, that failure is imminent and the bill would mandate that the vehicle safely be be equipped to travel to a safe spot where it will shut off. However, the bill also contemplates that a licensed human could take over operation in the situation of such a failure. The bill's text has details.

Tennessee bill introduced

Another piece of proposed legislation in a US state that contemplates vehicles without any licensed humans, or any humans, aboard. The legislation, HB 1131, was introduced this week in Tennessee. Like bills in other states, compliance with vehicle safety laws and some kind of getting-out-of-trouble mode would be required so that the driverless vehicle would quietly transport itself to a safe space before wreaking havoc in the middle of a road. Similar to Florida, when in automated mode, the autonomous technology will be deemed the driver. As you can see, when it comes to legislation, plagarism is allowed and desirable so that one can cross state lines without problems.

To protect the automotive industry, the bill would exempt car companies from liability if vehicles were retrofitted with equipment and software that transforms it into a self-driving vehicle. Therefore, even if the company knows or should know that people are right and left dramatically altering their conventional vehicles, the auto manufacturers would win a lawsuit automatically.

Likewise for software manufacturers whose code is edited by anyone other than the company without its consent. 

New Zealand ambition for driverless transit

From the land where the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed comes an ambitious local representative on a regional council who sees the transformative power of driverless public transit for Tauranga, a city down in New Zealand. Transit there is not currently attracting much ridership, but Andrew von Dadelszen is pushing his region to plan now for the inevitable transportation revolution. There is a cost-conscious angle at work here: von Dadelszen sees driverless buses as being a cheap and effective alternative to light rail, which takes years of planning and lots of money to put into place. 

Driverless candy

Uber and others are investing in flying driverless commuter transportation. Just hired for the ride hailing behemoth - still waiting to make a profit - is a former NASA aircraft engineer. The trips envisioned are distances of 50 to 100 miles. So, in New York terms, think longer than Greenwich, CT, and more in the neighborhood of Southampton, Long Island to the City. This luxury will, presumably, not help the commutes of babysitters, nurse's aides, or fast food workers.

Not only cars and aircraft will be driverless, there will be massive autonomous container ships with no one at the helm. That's a Rolls Royce venture.

Bay State Legislation, International, and Chutzpah from Musk

A Massachusetts legislator seeks to tie driverless operation on its roads to zero-emission requirements and higher per-mile fees for empty roving vehicles. Oh and the legislation would replace the gas tax for these vehicles with a VMT (vehicle miles traveled) fee of 2.5 cents for every mile traveled, empty or full. 

In October 2016, an executive order in the Bay State was issued that encourages partnerships involving automated vehicles, giving usual utterance about safety, and pointing out that Boston - I assume meaning Cambridge as well - is the expected center of driverless activity.

A Pittsburgh-area company is trying to grow in a market niche of finding bugs in self-driving software code. It's a nice niche and a good place to be, right near Uber and Carnegie Melon.

International: Far and wide 

At the Christ Church airport in New Zealand, there is a driverless shuttle being tested and it's basically ready to transport airport travelers. The shuttle vehicle is a 15-person, French-made Navya. 

Here's a link to a boring, but brief, video of Paris Easy Mile bus in operation, with at least one passenger, in a very separated lane. Don't be shy, scroll down until you get to the rectangular box.

From the drink and ride desk

An Irish legislator believes that driverless vehicles will mean economic revitalization for rural areas, particularly for rural pubs. No one will worry about or avoid drinking at a pub due to concerns about driving.

Can't ignore Musk - nice on the chutzpah

While lots of testing and pilots are happening or being planned; while governors and legislators salivate and invite business and partner with universities; while federal money and interest drips into the driverless coffee pot - Elon Musk at Tesla and his partnership with Nvidia seems close to bearing big, maybe gigantic, fruit in three to six months with the rollout of "fully self-driving mode." It will go where your calendar says you should be, or default to taking you home if it does not receive a destination.

The Musk model seems to perpetuate the current system of the single-occupancy-vehicle, business as usual, just with no hands on the wheel. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

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.