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News Roundup: Volkswagen Shows Off Sedric the Level-5 Autonomous Car in China, Major Players Weigh In on California’s Proposed Driverless Testing Policies, and More

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A look at some of the biggest news stories to come out of the driverless and connected-car world this past week:

Major players weigh in on California’s proposed self-driving testing policies

Representatives from major players in the autonomous drive game, such as Apple, Uber, Tesla Motors and Ford, have been sending comments to California officials on what changes they would like to see made in the Golden State’s proposed policies for testing self-driving vehicles. In particular, Apple wants to change the way companies report “disengagements,” which we assume refers to accidents or collisions. Tesla wrote that they disapprove of the idea of barring testing of vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 pounds. Uber said it should be allowed for people to pay to ride in an autonomous vehicle with a driver behind the wheel in order to provide the company with honest feedback. Tesla also warned that restrictive policies would encourage developers to leave the state. Read more from Business Insider.

 

What to do with the ‘ocean of data’ connected and driverless cars will create each day?

Barclays analyst Brian Johnson said recently that as more and more cars are outfitted with sensors, cameras and LiDAR, the more data they will begin to generate. In fact, a single autonomous car will be capable of generating as much as 100 gigabytes of data per second. “Assuming the entire U.S. fleet of vehicles - 260 million vehicles - has a similar data generation, it would create an ocean of data. To put it in context, one hour’s worth of raw data across the entire U.S. fleet would be around 5,800 exabytes in size,” Johnson said. One exabyte is equivalent to one million terrabytes. That presents a wealth of problems when it comes to the storage, management and analysis of that much data. Many big companies like Tesla, Delphi and Intel have ideas about how to tackle this problem. One idea is “edge analytics,” where information is analyzed close to the sensor itself rather than being sent elsewhere through the cloud. Read more from CNBC.

 

Volkswagen wows with ‘Sedric’ Level 5 autonomous concept car in Shanghai

We first saw “Sedric” the Level-5 autonomous car in March, when Volkswagen showed off renderings of the concept car. Now, Volkswagen is showing off the real thing. The company recently took Sedric to China to show it off at the Auto Shanghai 2017 show. The car is capable of full Level-5 self-driving, and in fact executives said all a passenger has to do it climb in, press a single button to start the car, and then control it throughout the rest of the trip via voice commands. The car has no brakes, controls or pedals. In fact, the car features no “cockpit” at all. See more from Automotive Tires and Parts.

Photo: Interior of Volkswagen’s ‘Sedric’ car / Credit: Volkswagen

 

News Roundup: Serious Crash Involving Self-Driving Uber Car Under Investigation, Why Driverless Crash Liability Should Be Modeled After Vaccine Laws, and More

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Jennifer van der Kleut

A roundup of recent headlines to come out of the driverless and connected-car industries over the past week:

Uber’s self-driving test cars return to the roads after 3-day halt following serious crash

Uber’s fleet of self-driving test cars returned to the roads in San Francisco Monday after the entire program was halted for three days following a serious crash in Arizona Saturday. Testing in Tempe, Arizona and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania remains halted as the investigation into the crash continues. Police in Tempe, Arizona said the accident occurred when a normal human-driven vehicle failed to yield to the driverless Uber car in an intersection. The two cars collided, causing the Uber car to roll over. Tempe police reported that the driver of the normal car was cited for the accident. An Uber employee was sitting behind the wheel of the Uber car, and fortunately was not injured. Uber representatives say a more detailed report will be released after the investigation concludes. Read more from TechCrunch. See photos and video from the accident on ABC15 Arizona.

 

What if driverless vehicle legislation were modeled after vaccine compensation cases?

In this article, Automotive News writer Katie Burke presents an interesting theory, in which legislation regarding liability in driverless vehicle collisions were modeled after the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. That law created the Office of Special Masters within the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, with the sole purpose of hearing cases in which a family claims their child was injured as a result of a vaccine. The law also created a special fund from which families who prove their child’s injury was caused by a vaccine are compensated. The act marked a turning point for U.S. pharmaceutical companies, allowing them to confidently continue researching and creating new vaccines without fear of losing billions in injury lawsuits. Burke thinks modeling legislation regarding liability in driverless car crashes in a similar way will encourage automakers working on developing the technology to continue their work without similar fears. What do you think of the idea? Read more from TheTruthAboutCars.com.

 

North Dakota Senate unanimously passes law requiring full study of autonomous vehicles

On Monday, the North Dakota Senate passed a new law 45-0 requiring the Department of Transportation (DOT) to work with the technology industry to conduct a study of the use of autonomous vehicles on the state’s highways. In addition, the study will focus on laws surrounding self-driving vehicles, including licensing, registration, insurance, ownership of data, and inspections. Results of the study must be presented at the next general assembly. In the same session, the Senate rejected a related bill that would have made the owner of a driverless vehicle the owner of any data gathered by or stored within the vehicle. Presumably, lawmakers want to encourage driverless vehicle manufacturers to share data collected by the vehicles with transportation agencies to allow for continued improvement of systems. Read more from InForum.

 

Photo Credit: Uber

News Roundup: California DMV’s New Proposed Driverless Car Regulations, How Alexa and Cortana May Soon Take Over Your Car, and More

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Jennifer van der Kleut

A roundup of some of the biggest headlines to come out of the driverless and connected-car industries over the past week:

Many applaud California DMV’s newly proposed regulations for testing driverless cars

This past Friday, March 10, the California Department of Motor Vehicles released new proposed regulations for the testing of driverless cars in public, which look remarkably like laws recently passed in Michigan. Many are applauding all the changes made since releasing a significantly stricter version back in September. DMV reps say they listened closely to a wealth of feedback from stakeholders after the September draft and implemented many of them. In particular, the new regulations reverse their previous requirements that driverless test cars must have a human driver in the car while testing in public, and that prototype vehicles must include a steering wheel and pedals (which reportedly made Google/Waymo executives very happy). However, if the vehicle does not include those conventional features, the manufacturer must show the DMV they have approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A mandatory 45-day comment period is currently in effect, ending April 24, after which a public hearing will take place. DMV representatives said they hope the regulations will officially go into effect by the end of the year. Read more from Bloomberg Technology.

 

Automakers turn to personal assistance tech like Cortana, Alexa to develop better connected-car voice commands

While systems like Ford’s Sync are already appearing in cars on the market today, many industry analysts say the technology still contains many flaws, with limited available commands and continuous voice recognition difficulties. As connected-car technology becomes more and more in demand, automakers like Ford, Volkswagen and Nissan are turning to personal assistant apps like Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana to improve in-car voice command systems. VW announced they are trying to combine Alexa with their Car-Net system and apps so that, while driving, you can ask Alexa to do things like add items to your ongoing shopping list that is synced between your car and your personal device. Reps say you’ll even be able to ask Alexa through your Amazon Echo at home to tell you how much gas your car has in it. Ford said it is integrating Alexa into its current Sync system, with some paired features debuting this summer. Nissan said they are partnering with Microsoft, but have not announced a launch date yet. Read more from CAR magazine.

 

Whoa! Intel buys Mobileye for more than $15 billion

In the biggest acquisition of an Israeli tech company to date, Intel announced this week that is acquiring Mobileye for an astounding $15.3 billion, after partnering with them since late last year. Mobileye is known for its computer vision systems for autonomous cars, including sensor fusion, mapping and front- and rear-facing camera technology. They are also working on crowdsourcing data for high-definition maps, as well as getting involved in policies and regulations surrounding autonomous driving. Intel has been getting involved with driverless technology as of late, most recently partnering with Mobileye and BMW and pledging $250 million to invest in the technology, particularly how much data autonomous cars can generate. The sale of Mobileye to Intel is expected to take about nine months to close. Read more from TechCrunch.

News Roundup: Trump Administration Reviews Federal Self-Driving Car Guidelines, Roborace Shows Off New Driverless Race Car, and More

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Jennifer van der Kleut

A roundup of headlines to come out of the driverless transportation industry the past week:

Roborace and NVIDIA show off electric driverless race car

Roborace is creating some buzz with previews of its new electric, driverless race car, powered by a “brain” created by NVIDIA. According to Engadget, the car features a 540kW battery and four 300kW motors, which the Roborace team says can push the car up to 320 km per hour, or 199 miles per hour. The car is outfitted by a wealth of sensors, including two radars, five LIDARs, 18 ultrasonic sensors, two optical speed sensors and six AI-driven cameras, all feeding into NVIDIA’s “brain.” The car’s ultra-futuristic styling comes from chief designer Daniel Simon, who has worked on such science-fiction blockbusters as Tron: Legacy and Captain America: The First Avenger. No word yet on when the car will first race on a real racetrack, but the team promises more demonstrations this year. Read more and see photos from Engadget.

 

New Transportation Secretary ‘reviewing’ federal driverless car guidelines released under Obama administration

Brand-new U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told the National Governor’s Association this past weekend that the Trump administration is “reviewing” federal guidelines regarding driverless vehicles, released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) late last year. Automakers, tech companies and transportation officials across the globe have been holding their breath since the new president took office, wondering if President Trump would scrap the progress made during the final months of President’s Obama’s second term, or would embrace it and press ahead. Positively, though, Chao said the new administration wanted to be “a catalyst for safe, efficient technologies, not an impediment.” Read more from The Hill.

 

Renault-Nissan, Transdev partner up to start on-demand driverless car service

Renault-Nissan and Transdev have signed a research contract to develop an on-demand service that connects people to driverless cars to get around. Transdev consults and helps manage public transportation operations in Asia, Europe and North America, and is involved in a number of pilot autonomous vehicle tests in France. The app the two companies plan to build will assist both sides of the business-the consumers that hail the driverless cars for rides, and the operators of the fleet companies. The Renault-Nissan Alliance says it plans to launch cars that can navigate city intersections and heavy urban traffic without driver intervention by 2020. Read more from Fortune.

 

News Roundup: More Crashes For Google Driverless Cars, Michigan Driverless Car and Hacking Laws Move Forward, and More

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Michigan laws that would allow driverless cars on public roads for any reason, address car hacking move forward in House

A law that recently passed unanimously in the Michigan state Senate has been allowed to move forward in the House. The law would allow driverless cars to be driven on public Michigan roads for any reason, not just while being tested. At the same time, another bill moved forward — one that would make hacking into the electronic systems of a vehicle a felony. The next step for the bills will be discussion on the House floor, before deciding if and when to vote. Read more about the two bills on Crain’s Detroit Business.

Google self-driving cars have three collisions in Arizona in August

Google has confirmed that its self-driving test cars were in three collisions in Chandler, Arizona, located in the Phoenix metro area, in August. In two of the accidents, the car was in manual mode, being controlled by a human driver at the time of the crash. One of those collisions involved a drunk driver who rear-ended the Google car, injuring one of its passengers and sending him or her to the hospital with a concussion, according to media reports. In the other, the Google driver was cited in the crash, though investigation suggests the driver of the other car actually ran a red light and hit the Google car while making a left turn. In the third accident, the car was in autonomous mode when it was rear-ended by a human-driven car that was stopped at an intersection. Read more about the collisions from the Associated Press on InsuranceJournal.com.

Utah State University team places in national Autonomous Vehicle Competition

A team of engineering students from Utah State University (USU) took second place in last week’s Autonomous Vehicle Competition (AVC) in Colorado. Their vehicle, called the “USU Cruiser,” was the only one that completed the test course and made it all the way to the end. The team said the secret to their success was a “slow but steady” approach, and how quickly their robotic car was able to course-correct if it lost its orientation or got confused. The team said they hope to improve upon the Cruiser and enter it again in next year’s AVC. Read more about the USU Cruiser on the College of Engineering’s website.

UPDATE: Tennessee Senate Votes on Driverless Proposal SB 1561

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Jennifer van der Kleut

Editor’s Note: The Tennessee Senate passed an amended version of this proposal 30-0 on April 13, and it heads to the House side.

The state Senate of Tennessee is expected to vote this week on whether to approve a proposed bill that would legalize testing of driverless cars on public roads-and industry analysts are optimistic it will pass.

According to the local Tennessee news website BrentwoodHomepage.com, the bill, SB 1561, “will be the first in the U.S. to codify the definition of autonomy, expanding the definition of a driver to include that a human isn’t required to control the vehicle.”

The bill, authored by state Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville), has been revised several times to painstakingly define the technology, news reports said.

To ensure the utmost safety, and also streamline the process for testing autonomous cars in the state, the bill establishes a new certification program that will be administered by the Department of Safety for AV manufacturers to go through before they can be sold, tested or operated in the state.

In addition to being a positive step in transportation progress for the state-one Green hopes will encourage automakers to start manufacturing autonomous cars in Tennessee-SB 1561 will also generate a little bit of revenue for the state. The bill requires the state’s Department of Safety to establish a fee for applications for autonomous vehicles, including a 1-cent-per-mile driven tax structure for autonomous vehicles with two axles, and a $0.026-per-mile driven tax structure for those with more than two axles, BrentwoodHomepage.com reports.

Director of Audi Government Affairs in D.C., Brad Stertz, told BrentwoodHomepage.com he thinks laws like Green’s bill are smart, and the right way to go about moving toward and preparing for autonomous vehicles at a reasonable pace.

“[We’ve seen] lawmakers want to regulate the cars that might be here in 25 years, not the ones that will be here in two years,” Stertz said. “If you try to regulate that far in the future, you don’t know where technology is going to go and how fast it will advance. A key thing is that we don’t think this technology will evolve any faster than the comfort level of the customers who will be using it.”

Tennessee’s state senate is currently scheduled to vote on SB 1561 Wednesday morning, April 6. If approved, autonomous vehicles could begin testing in the state by January.

Google to DOT: We should be able to sell driverless cars if they can pass federal road test

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Jennifer van der Kleut

News outlets are reporting that Google executive Chris Urmson sent the U.S. federal government a proposal Friday suggesting that self-driving cars should be legal on public roads, and legal to sell to consumers, if they are able to pass a road test satisfying federal safety standards.

Furthermore, Google’s proposal said the rule, if approved, should apply to any company manufacturing self-driving cars, not just Google.

“Google would rather not wade through government bureaucracy and red tape, so it has penned a proposal that will hopefully allow autonomous vehicles to be federally approved for road use sooner,” Hot Hardware reported Saturday.

“It’s hard to argue with Google’s reasoning,” Hot Hardware writers said, appearing to agree with Google.

This past week, representatives from several top companies such as Google, General Motors, Lyft, Duke University and Delphi Automotive, which are all heavily invested in autonomous car research and development, appeared on Capitol Hill to testify before members of Congress on the merits of the rising technology.

While it appears some progress was made in the meeting, in the same week, a new report from the Department of Transportation made headlines.

In its efforts to create a consistent national policy regarding self-driving cars, the DOT proposed that any self-driving cars on public roads must include a driver’s seat, steering wheel and brake pedal.

This was met with disappointment from Google, whose cars are famously steering wheel-less.

Engadget reports that the proposal was sent in an informal letter to top DOT officials on Friday, but that an official draft proposal has not been submitted to legislators yet.

Nevertheless, Google representative Johnny Luu told the Associated Press that the tech company’s proposal was “the beginning of a process” to create “the right framework that will allow deployment in a safe and timely manner.”

If approved, analysts see the proposed road tests as a “fast-track” approach to getting self-driving cars to market, as opposed to the current, more lengthy process automakers usually have to abide by.

“The typical process for making new rules takes years,” Associated Press reporter Justin Pritchard reports.

There is no word yet on what legislators think of Google’s idea.

“The department will take input from lots of stakeholders as we develop [a] plan,” Gordon Trowbridge, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is overseeing the regulation of self-driving technology within the broader Department of Transportation, told the Associated Press last week.

 

 

 

Feds: Driverless Cars Must Have Driver’s Seat, Steering Wheel, Brake Pedals

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Jennifer van der Kleut

As the U.S. federal government scrambles to try and create a consistent national policy for driverless vehicles, a new report says they think they should still match much of the features of traditional cars.

Much to the frustration of companies like Google that are working hard to try and bring driverless cars into the mainstream, the federal government is insisting that driverless cars on American roads have traditional features like driver’s seats, steering wheels and brake pedals.

It’s no surprise that Google isn’t happy about this, since their famous self-driving test cars only have one out of those three things; their cars have no steering wheels or brakes.

This isn’t the first time proposed government regulations have clashed with the objectives of tech companies or vehicle manufacturers out there, actively working to develop self-driving cars. In the final days of 2015 (which was one year later than initially planned), the California Department of Motor Vehicles proposed state law that would require a licensed driver capable of taking over the car in an emergency be present, in addition to a steering wheel.

In that case, though, the federal government stepped in. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) declared that Google’s artificial intelligence system satisfied the DMV’s requirement for a licensed driver.

In light of that save, news outlets are reporting that Google representatives are once again surprised and unhappy about the DOT’s latest proposal.

Some industry analysts are declaring the new proposed regulations a good thing, though; a “green light of sorts.”

As Bloomberg analysts said this week, “Existing U.S. laws pose few barriers to adoption of autonomous vehicle technology so long as cars and trucks stick with existing designs allowing humans to take control. It’s only when manufacturers push the envelope by developing vehicles without such things as traditional steering wheels and brake pedals that regulations may block new autonomous technology.”

The DOT has been scrambling to create a national policy for driverless cars since January, with the publicized goal of having them ready by late June to early July. As Scientific American reports, there are currently 23 states (plus the District of Columbia) that have proposed as many as 55 different laws regarding driverless cars.

Google Reportedly Expanding Self-Driving Car Testing to 4 More Cities

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Jennifer van der Kleut

News outlets like Fortune and IEEE Spectrum are reporting this week that a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) document suggests Google is planning to expand its famous self-driving car testing program to four more U.S. cities.

Fortune said the document was a renewal request from Google to the FCC for testing of radio transmitters in the 76GHz range, which is most likely for the radar systems on its driverless test cars.

The request reportedly asks to renew the current licenses for testing in Mountain View, California and Austin, Texas-the two cities in which Google currently tests its cars-as well as four additional cities. Unfortunately, the locations of the cities were redacted from the request, so there’s no way to know at this time where it plans to expand to.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles recently drafted a law that requires driverless test cars to feature both pedals and a steering wheel, and have a “driver” in the car that is capable of taking control of the car back in a dangerous situation. Google and others publicly lamented the law as hindering progress, particularly since Google’s test cars have no pedals or steering wheels.

Fortune speculates that the expansion to four more cities reflects the fact that Google needs to test its cars in varying environments and weather conditions, especially if its still plans to introduce a mass-market driverless car to consumers by 2020 as it initially declared.

 

How Traffic App Waze Could Be Key in Winning the Driverless Race for Google (Particularly Over Uber)

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Jennifer van der Kleut

Google’s purchase of Waze a few years ago could turn out to be a clinching factor in Google’s race to win driverless.

Waze, a traffic mapping app that allows drivers and commuters to report accidents and delays, has data-sharing agreements with 51 municipalities around the world. Those municipalities love that they can use Waze’s traffic data for planning and maintenance purposes, Recode recently reported.

This bodes well for Google’s relationship with local and state governments.

Uber, on the other hand, has had a rather volatile relationship with municipalities in the recent past.

As AutoBlog points out, the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ recently released regulations that require that all self-driving vehicles have both a steering wheel and pedals (which Google’s prototype cars do not), and that a licensed driver be ready and capable of taking over operation of the vehicle at all times, deal a death blow to any of Uber’s plans to try and build a driverless ride-hailing business, similar to their current model but without costly employee drivers that dig into the company’s profits.

The fact that Uber has operated in defiance of most governments, most times debuting its services in cities without asking for prior permission, does not bode well for Uber’s future plans.

Though California’s recent regulations for driverless cars do put somewhat of a damper on Google’s current operations, perhaps its pleasant relationship with the state government, and the offering of Waze’s invaluable data, can help pave the way for Google to win.

Only time will tell.

 

 

Events

Autonomous Vehicle Safety Regulation World Congress 2017

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* This event is held alongside Automotive Texting Expo Detroit

There are still no firm universal rules or regulations in which autonomous vehicles can operate, and the potential legal issues surrounding autonomous vehicles are undefined. This conference is to discuss and explore how to create a regulatory framework to enable further public testing of autonomous and driverless vehicles.

It will also debate which regulatory and legal challenges must be addressed before autonomous vehicles can be purchased and used by consumers. Over the course of the two days, the conference will address a number of key unresolved issues, such as:

  • Adapting current safety standards and regulations to allow further testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads
  • Assessing liability in accidents involving autonomous vehicles
  • Establishing an international agreement on rules and regulations for autonomous vehicles
  • Safely integrating autonomous vehicles with other road users
  • Code of ethics for autonomous vehicles in the event of an unavoidable accident
  • Authorizing police and law enforcement agencies to intercept and remotely stop self-driving vehicles
  • Allocating civil and criminal liability in the event of a cyber attack, vehicle hacking or deliberate interference with an automated vehicle.

The Autonomous Vehicle Safety Regulation World Congress will be the world’s first dedicated meeting place for:

  • Policy makers
  • Transportation authorities
  • Highway safety administrators
  • Vehicle manufacturers
  • Technology and software companies
  • Legal authorities
  • Automotive suppliers
  • Transportation policy makers
  • Transportation authorities
  • National and local government transportation departments
  • Highway safety advisors
  • DOTs
  • Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers
  • Law firms
  • OEM and supplier legal departments
  • Insurance companies
  • Vehicle fleet operators

SPEAKER PROPOSALS BEING ACCEPTED THRU APRIL 12, 2017:

We are inviting you to put forward a conference paper for consideration. The paper should provide a technical insight, share unique challenges and experiences, and discuss technical solutions. If you have worked on a successful project, have an opinion you’d like to share with the industry, or a theory you would like to discuss, you should submit your paper’s title and a 100-150-word abstract.

To submit a proposal for the 2017 conference: click here

If you wish to discuss your proposal, call or email Andrew Boakes, conference director, on +44 1306 743744 or email andrew.boakes@ukipme.com.