Autonomous Vehicles, LEAF and others...

Exclusive look at Cruise’s first driverless car without a steering wheel or pedals

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NHTSA seeking public comment on automated driving system safety principles

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The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking public comment on the potential development of a framework of principles to govern the safe behavior of automated driving systems (ADS) in the future. The advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) was submitted to the Federal Register on 19 November.

NHTSA defines an ADS as the hardware and software that are, collectively, capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain (ODD). . . .

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cwerdna said:

AutoX sends its RoboTaxis to work in Shanghai
https://www.zdnet.com/video/autox-sends-its-robotaxis-to-work-in-shanghai/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/autox-corners-shanghai-self-driving-taxi-market/

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The company also stressed the experience it learned from “millions of miles” driven in China’s densest city centers through its 100 robotaxis in the past few years. Its rivals are also aggressively accumulating mileage to train their self-driving algorithms while banking sizable investments to fund R&D and pilot tests. AutoX itself, for instance, has raised more than $160 million to date.

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cwerdna said:

cwerdna said:

AutoX sends its RoboTaxis to work in Shanghai
https://www.zdnet.com/video/autox-sends-its-robotaxis-to-work-in-shanghai/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/autox-corners-shanghai-self-driving-taxi-market/

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AutoX becomes China’s first to remove safety drivers from robotaxis
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/02/autox-removes-safety-drivers/

The company also stressed the experience it learned from “millions of miles” driven in China’s densest city centers through its 100 robotaxis in the past few years. Its rivals are also aggressively accumulating mileage to train their self-driving algorithms while banking sizable investments to fund R&D and pilot tests. AutoX itself, for instance, has raised more than $160 million to date.

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Cruise has raised $2 billion in a new equity round that has pushed its valuation up to $30 billion and delivered Microsoft as an investor and partner.

GM, Honda and other institutional investors have also put more capital into Cruise as the autonomous vehicle company inches closer to commercializing its technology.

While Microsoft’s capital is important, the partnership might provide equal and longer-term value for Cruise, at least in the two companies’ views. Under the long-term strategic partnership, Cruise will use Azure, Microsoft’s cloud and edge computing platform, for its yet-to-be launched autonomous vehicle ride-hailing service.

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GRA said:

CNN:

Former Uber self-driving car exec sentenced to 18 months in prison

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https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject....levandowski-google-uber-sentencing/index.html

Anthony Levandowski, a former Uber executive who oversaw its self-driving vehicle efforts, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Tuesday for stealing an internal tracking document from Google related to its self-driving car program.

"This is the biggest trade secret crime I have ever seen. This was not small. This was massive in scale," said US District Judge William Alsup in sentencing Levandowski on one count of trade secret theft, according to a Department of Justice press release.

As part of the sentencing, Levandowski is fined $95,000 and ordered to pay $756,499.22 in restitution to Google's self-driving car unit, Waymo. Due to the risks of the coronavirus pandemic, it is unclear when Levandowski will serve his time, according to the release. Federal prosecutors dismissed the remaining 32 counts against Levandowski as part of the plea deal. . . .

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The White House listed tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey as supporters of Levandowski’s pardon. Thiel was a major supporter and advisor for the 2016 campaign, but did not back Trump’s reelection effort. Luckey hosted a fundraiser for Trump just weeks before the 2020 election.

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cwerdna said:

2020 Disengagement Reports from California
https://thelastdriverlicenseholder.com/2021/02/09/2020-disengagement-reports-from-california/

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NTSB cites Tesla to make the case for stricter autonomous driving regulation

The agency says the automaker has been testing unfinished driver-assist tech on public roads

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling on its sister agency to implement stricter regulation related to automated vehicle technology. In a letter it sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the start of February (via CNBC), the NTSB says the regulator “must act” to “develop a strong safety foundation.” What’s notable about the document is that NTSB chair Robert Sumwalt frequently cites Tesla in a negative light to support his department’s suggestions. The automaker is referenced 16 times across the letter’s 15 pages.

For instance, in one section, Sumwalt writes of NHTSA’s “continued failure” to implement regulations that would prevent driver-assist systems like Autopilot from operating beyond their intended use. “Because NHTSA has put in place no requirements, manufacturers can operate and test vehicles virtually anywhere, even if the location exceeds the AV control system’s limitations,” Sumwalt writes. “For example, Tesla recently released a beta version of its Level 2 Autopilot system, described as having full self-driving capability. By releasing the system, Tesla is testing on public roads a highly automated AV technology but with limited oversight or reporting requirements.”

[This is not the first time the NTSB has criticized both Tesla and its sister agency. When it held a hearing last year on the deadly 2018 crash that killed Apple developer Walter Haung, Sumwalt expressed frustration with both the NHTSA and Tesla. “Government regulators have provided scant oversight,” he said of the former while blasting the automaker for not responding to its recommendations. But there’s little the agency can do beyond issuing recommendations. As part of its role in investigating traffic accidents, it does not have the authority to regulate or even enforce any of the safety measures it suggests. That responsibility falls to the NHTSA. Under the Trump administration, the agency has mostly let state regulators decide how to approach the question of automated vehicle technologies.quote]


Direct link to where the NTSB letter can be downloaded: https://www.regulations.gov/comment/NHTSA-2020-0106-0617

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