Autonomous Vehicles, LEAF and others...

[RegGuheert]

Such as?

Child abandonment and child endangerment are two obvious ones. Simply put, certain malfunctions or mishaps which could occur with an autonomous vehicle would quickly turn into child abandonment or child endangerment if the vehicle contained only children below a certain age.

[jhm614]

I just saw a white Cadillac CT6 in Ritzville, WA with LIDAR and four cameras on top, MI license 061 246. I have a picture, but don't know how to post. Another example of autonomous vehicle testing, and not just in CA.

GM says they wll be updating the CT6's hi-res LIDAR maps, so this may have been a mapping vehicle. Either way, it would be great to see that pic!

[GRA]

Such as?

Child abandonment and child endangerment are two obvious ones. Simply put, certain malfunctions or mishaps which could occur with an autonomous vehicle would quickly turn into child abandonment or child endangerment if the vehicle contained only children below a certain age.

H'mm, I guess we really have become a nanny state, if riding alone in an autonomous car (once the bugs are worked out) constitutes child endangerment or abandonment (considering that both the kids and the car itself will undoubtedly have communications, and the car will automatically report problems). I thought the occasional news article I've read about parents being prosecuted for not only letting their kids walk or ride their bikes to school, but to do so alone, was an aberration, but apparently not. My generation apparently grew up in a near constant state of endangerment and abandonment from 1st grade on, yet somehow we survived our parents attempts to have us killed or be abducted and used as sex slaves. Oddly enough, telling us what to look out for and what to do in various circumstances, and then giving us as much responsibility as we could handle seems to have worked pretty well, even though we lacked cell phones so they could be in contact with us at every waking moment.

[RegGuheert]

H'mm, I guess we really have become a nanny state, if riding alone in an autonomous car (once the bugs are worked out) constitutes child endangerment or abandonment (considering that both the kids and the car itself will undoubtedly have communications, and the car will automatically report problems).

If kids can get into trouble when left on their own at home, imagine what they could get into if left at home with a "transporter" which could take them anywhere.

I thought the occasional news article I've read about parents being prosecuted for not only letting their kids walk or ride their bikes to school, but to do so alone, was an aberration, but apparently not. My generation apparently grew up in a near constant state of endangerment and abandonment from 1st grade on, yet somehow we survived our parents attempts to have us killed or be abducted and used as sex slaves. Oddly enough, telling us what to look out for and what to do in various circumstances, and then giving us as much responsibility as we could handle seems to have worked pretty well, even though we lacked cell phones so they could be in contact with us at every waking moment.

The change is that our government now assumes our children belong to them.

A year or so ago I witnessed an unfortunate event at an interstate rest area (in a rural area in VA). Soon after I arrived, I observed a state policeman removing (peacefully) a man from a car and handcuffing him. What I learned was that this man had been driving on the interstate with his young son, who looked to be about five years old. The man had been driving for a long while and was unable to stay awake, so he pulled into the rest area in the very early morning to sleep, perhaps at 5:00 AM. Apparently, after a couple of hours, the boy left the vehicle and went into the rest area facility. When other parents noticed the boy without a parent, they called 911.

If that's what happens when the father is right there, imagine what would happen at a rest area with no parent around.

[GRA]

H'mm, I guess we really have become a nanny state, if riding alone in an autonomous car (once the bugs are worked out) constitutes child endangerment or abandonment (considering that both the kids and the car itself will undoubtedly have communications, and the car will automatically report problems).

If kids can get into trouble when left on their own at home, imagine what they could get into if left at home with a "transporter" which could take them anywhere.

Easy enough to put limits on just where that 'anywhere' is, keyed to the smart card and/or their phone, not to mention that the amount on account could limit how far they could go (easy enough to provide law enforcement with access to the car's travel records, and there would be a camera recording the pax at all times (for liability/vandalism) in any case. As it was, paying cash could hop a bus that would take me anywhere within 30 miles or so, or (from 1972 on) a BART train that would take me 50 miles with absolutely no record, and then there was my bike.

I thought the occasional news article I've read about parents being prosecuted for not only letting their kids walk or ride their bikes to school, but to do so alone, was an aberration, but apparently not. My generation apparently grew up in a near constant state of endangerment and abandonment from 1st grade on, yet somehow we survived our parents' attempts to have us killed or be abducted and used as sex slaves. Oddly enough, telling us what to look out for and what to do in various circumstances, and then giving us as much responsibility as we could handle seems to have worked pretty well, even though we lacked cell phones so they could be in contact with us at every waking moment.

The change is that our government now assumes our children belong to them.

A year or so ago I witnessed an unfortunate event at an interstate rest area (in a rural area in VA). Soon after I arrived, I observed a state policeman removing (peacefully) a man from a car and handcuffing him. What I learned was that this man had been driving on the interstate with his young son, who looked to be about five years old. The man had been driving for a long while and was unable to stay awake, so he pulled into the rest area in the very early morning to sleep, perhaps at 5:00 AM. Apparently, after a couple of hours, the boy left the vehicle and went into the rest area facility. When other parents noticed the boy without a parent, they called 911.

If that's what happens when the father is right there, imagine what would happen at a rest area with no parent around.

Very sad.

[DanCar]

H'mm, I guess we really have become a nanny state, if riding alone in an autonomous car (once the bugs are worked out) constitutes child endangerment or abandonment (considering that both the kids and the car itself will undoubtedly have communications, and the car will automatically report problems).

If kids can get into trouble when left on their own at home, imagine what they could get into if left at home with a "transporter" which could take them anywhere.

Easy enough to put limits on just where that 'anywhere' is, keyed to the smart card and/or their phone, not to mention that the amount on account could limit how far they could go (easy enough to provide law enforcement with access to the car's travel records, and there would be a camera recording the pax at all times (for liability/vandalism) in any case. As it was, paying cash could hop a bus that would take me anywhere within 30 miles or so, or (from 1972 on) a BART train that would take me 50 miles with absolutely no record, and then there was my bike.

I thought the occasional news article I've read about parents being prosecuted for not only letting their kids walk or ride their bikes to school, but to do so alone, was an aberration, but apparently not. My generation apparently grew up in a near constant state of endangerment and abandonment from 1st grade on, yet somehow we survived our parents attempts to have us killed or be abducted and used as sex slaves. Oddly enough, telling us what to look out for and what to do in various circumstances, and then giving us as much responsibility as we could handle seems to have worked pretty well, even though we lacked cell phones so they could be in contact with us at every waking moment.

The change is that our government now assumes our children belong to them.

A year or so ago I witnessed an unfortunate event at an interstate rest area (in a rural area in VA). Soon after I arrived, I observed a state policeman removing (peacefully) a man from a car and handcuffing him. What I learned was that this man had been driving on the interstate with his young son, who looked to be about five years old. The man had been driving for a long while and was unable to stay awake, so he pulled into the rest area in the very early morning to sleep, perhaps at 5:00 AM. Apparently, after a couple of hours, the boy left the vehicle and went into the rest area facility. When other parents noticed the boy without a parent, they called 911.

If that's what happens when the father is right there, imagine what would happen at a rest area with no parent around. Very sad

I'm with you, very sad indeed. I've witness similar situations where the people and the government instead of helping go overboard with a ticket or arrest.

[edatoakrun]

Tesla out, Nissan in...

Mobileye Expands Mapping Prowess For Self-Driving Cars In Deal With Nissan

...Nissan joins Volkswagen (VLKAY) and BMW (BMWYY) in agreeing to integrate Mobileye's Road Experience Management software in its vehicles. The agreement will "help develop and maintain a Mobileye map of drivable paths and lane boundaries that is updated with real-time data to reflect any changes to the environment," Mobileye said in announcing the Nissan deal. Mobileye said it expects other automakers to join over time.

Mobileye's REM mapping technology was utilized in Nissan's recent autonomous vehicle demonstration in London. The agreement extends an alliance between the two, the most recent example being Nissan's ProPilot system that uses Mobileye technology for assisted driving features...

Intel (INTC) last month announced that it would buy Mobileye for $63.54 a share, valued at $15.3 billion. Intel also recently acquired a stake in mapping-service Here Technologies, co-owned by BMW and other German automakers, including Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes Benz. Mobileye already had a data-sharing alliance with Here.

Mobileye was a longtime partner with Tesla, but the two companies had a public falling out last year following some fatal crashes involving Tesla's Autopilot systems....

http://www.investors.com/news/technolog ... rc=AURLABO

[cwerdna]

Thanks to https://www.macrumors.com/2017/04/27/ap ... v-spotted/, I found a link from there to https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detai ... eport_2016.

From the above

In California, where Apple is testing its vehicles, companies that participate in the DMV's Autonomous Vehicle Testing Program must file Disengagement Reports that outline how many miles were covered with self-driving vehicles and whether any accidents occurred, so Apple won't be able to keep much of the testing on public roads a secret.

I didn't realize the reports were publicly and easily accessible. At least you can see some stats for such tests conducted on public roads in CA.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detai ... us/testing has some more info and reports.

[GRA]

Looking at Tesla's test results, they're definitely not ready for prime time. On another front, via ABG:

California, Michigan address autonomous testing progress
Michigan site raises more cash, California raises more objections.

http://www.autoblog.com/2017/04/28/cali ... -progress/

California regulators are receiving complaints from automakers that the Golden State's testing requirements for autonomous vehicles are too stringent. Meanwhile, the state of Michigan has pledged another $15 million towards the autonomous testing facility being developed at the Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti Township. That facility needs another $30 million to be fully built out.

In California, the Association of Global Automakers argued at a Sacramento hearing this week that the state's requirements should be no stricter than those of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Reuters says. Meanwhile, Ford is arguing against the state's prohibiting of testing vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 pounds so that shuttle-type vehicles can be tested for self-driving features. Global Automakers posted its comments on proposed California testing mandates here. . . .

https://www.globalautomakers.org/system ... _april.pdf

[GRA]

Via GCC:

Yara and Kongsberg partner to build world’s first autonomous electric container feeder ship; moving goods from roads to ships

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/05 ... -yara.html

Global fertilizer company Yara and technology group Kongsberg are parterning to build the first autonomous, electric container feeder ship. Container feeder ships collect shipping containers from different ports and transport them to central container terminals, at which they are loaded onto larger container ships or onto rail.

Named YARA Birkeland after Yara’s founder Kristian Birkeland, the vessel will will reduce diesel-powered truck haulage by some 40,000 journeys a year, the partners estimate. Operation is planned to start in the latter half of 2018, shipping products from YARA’s Porsgrunn production plant to Brevik and Larvik in Norway. YARA Birkeland will initially operate as a manned vessel, moving to remote operation in 2019 and expected to be capable of performing fully autonomous operations from 2020. . . .

Every day, more than 100 diesel truck journeys are needed to transport products from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant to ports in Brevik and Larvik where we ship products to customers around the world. With this new autonomous battery-driven container vessel we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust emissions, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions. . . .