2014 in Review

Driverless Transportation closes out 2014 with this synopsis of highlights.

January 2014:

• The 93rd Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting saw Driverless Transportation host a TweetUp and be included in a Thinking Highways Podcast.
• Audi was highlighted in the “Tech Titans” keynote address from the 2014 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show).
• CES 2014 wasn’t just an opportunity for John Estrada to drive in a driverless car but the show also highlighted technologies related to parking and emergency braking systems, along with a live connected vehicle demonstration by Ford.

February 2014:

• NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) begins to take steps to enable Connected Vehicle (CV) technology for light vehicles.
• Rand Report on Autonomous Vehicle Technology is posted.

March 2014:

• Took a look at the impact of driverless cars on the auto insurance
• Posted the Top 5 Reasons We Will See & Will Not See Driverless Cars in less than 10 years
• Articles highlighted CAVCOE and Cohda Wireless.
• Lastly, but definitely a highlight of the month, on the final day of March NHTSA announced the rule requiring rear visibility technology.

April 2014:

• Driverless Transportation went Social and also shared an interview conducted with Tim Kentley-Klay, CEO of zoox.
• Added a link to an exclusive podcast from Telematics Update that shares General Motors Senior Researcher, Donald Grimm’s perspective of integrating cell phones to the safety network.

May 2014:

• Google announced their Pod car and also shifted focus to mastering city street driving.
• The California DMV announced it has created rules governing how driverless cars are tested by manufacturers on California roads.
• eTrans System’s Rick Sterrett authored an article about Platooning in Thinking Highways North America.

June 2014:

• Driverless Transportation offered a detailed preview of the upcoming Automated Vehicles Symposium (AVS).
• eTrans Systems Chief Security Officer Manuel Villar shared thoughts on his visit to the escar Embedded Security in Cars Conference.
• * press release announced USDOT Keynote.
• Driverless Transportation shared its Top Ten Quotes about the Google Driverless Prototype.

July 2014:

• Driverless Transportation reported on specific AVS breakout sessions: 1) Near-term Connected/Automated Technology Deployment Opportunities; 2) Ancillary Workshop: Envisioning Automated Vehicles for MPOs; 3) Legal “Accelerators and Brakes”; 4) Automated Transit and Shared Mobility.
• Also reported on the 2014 Telematics Update Advanced Automated Vehicle Safety Conference held this month.

August 2014:

• Mobileye went public.
• Telematics Updated shared a survey regarding fleet management.

September 2014:

• Driverless Transportation launched its redesigned website.
• Arada Systems and eTrans announced partnership.
• One of the highlights at the ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) World Congress held in Detroit was that General Motor’s CEO Mary Barra announced starting in model year 2017 some Cadillacs will be equipped with Super Cruise, an automated driving function.

October 2014:

• Driverless Transportation introduced the D20 Stock Index and posted ITSWC data analysis from eTrans Systems.
• Cohda Wireless is chosen by Delphi as supplier.
• Audi driverless car hits 140mph.
• Mercedes-Benz announced using largest test bed site in US.

November 2014:

• Carnegie Mellon Celebrated 30 Years of driverless cars.
• This month also saw a flurry of shows the week before Thanksgiving; North American International Cyber Summit, Automotive Tech.AD, Connected Car Expo, escar International and Connected Fleets.
• Volvo’s announced its Drive Me project, releasing 100 self driving cars to customers in Sweden in 2017.

December 2014:

• Google promised first driverless pod car sales by 2020.
• DHL released a report called “Self-Driving Vehicles in Logistics”.
• Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers hosted the 2nd annual Florida Automated Vehicles (FAV) Summit.