h$p://smartdrivingcar.com/GreenLight-092316
Friday,September23,2016
FederalAutomatedVehiclesPolicy:Accelera?ngtheNext
Revolu?onInRoadwaySafety
September2016,"ExecuFveSummary...ForDOT,theexcitementaroundhighlyautomated
vehicles(HAVs)startswithsafety.(p5)
...Thedevelopmentofadvancedautomatedvehiclesafetytechnologies,includingfullyselfdrivingcars,mayprovetobethegreatestpersonaltransportaFonrevoluFonsincethe
popularizaFonofthepersonalautomobilenearlyacenturyago.(p5)
...Thebenefitsdon’tstopwithsafety.InnovaFonshavethepotenFaltotransformpersonal
mobilityandopendoorstopeopleandcommuniFes.(p5)
...TheremarkablespeedwithwhichincreasinglycomplexHAVsareevolvingchallengesDOTto
takenewapproachesthatensurethesetechnologiesaresafelyintroduced(i.e.,donot
introducesignificantnewsafetyrisks),providesafetybenefitstoday,andachievetheirfull
safetypotenFalinthefuture.(p6)Hmmm...Fantas)cstatementsandIappreciatethatthe
fundamentalbasisandmo)vatorisSAFETY.Weallhaverecognizedsafetyasanecessary
condi)onthatmustbesa)sfiedifthistechnologyistobesuccessful.(unfortunatelyitisnota
sufficientcondi)on,(inapuremathcontext)).Thispolicystatementappropriatelyreaffirmsthis
necessarycondi)on.Alain
"...wedividethetaskoffacilitaFngthesafeintroducFonanddeployment(...defines
“deployment”astheoperaFonofanHAVbymembersofthepublicwhoarenottheemployees
oragentsofthedesigner,developer,ormanufacturerofthatHAV.)ofHAVsintofoursecFons:
(p6)Hmmm...Perfect!Alain
"...1.VehiclePerformanceGuidanceforAutomatedVehicles(p6)..."Hmmm...15Points,more
later.Alain
"...2.ModelStatePolicy(p7)TheModelStatePolicyconfirmsthatStatesretaintheir
tradiFonalresponsibiliFes...but...ThesharedobjecFveistoensuretheestablishmentofa
consistentnaFonalframeworkratherthanapatchworkofincompaFblelaws..."Hmmm...Well
done.Alain
"...3.NHTSACurrentRegulatoryTools(p7)...ThisdocumentprovidesinstrucFons,pracFcal
guidance,andassistancetoenFFesseekingtoemploythosetools.Furthermore,NHTSAhas
streamlineditsreviewprocessandiscommicngto..."Hmmm...Excellent.Alain
"...4.NewToolsandAuthoriFes(p7)...ThespeedwithwhichHAVsareadvancing,combinedwith
thecomplexityandnoveltyoftheseinnovaFons,threatenstooutpacetheAgency’s
convenFonalregulatoryprocessesandcapabiliFes.ThischallengerequiresDOTtoexamine
whetherthewayDOThasaddressedsafetyforthelast50yearsshouldbeexpandedtorealize
thesafetypotenFalofautomatedvehiclesoverthenext50years.Therefore,thissecFon
idenFfiespotenFalnewtools,authoriFesandregulatorystructuresthatcouldaidthesafeand
appropriatelyexpediFousdeploymentofnewtechnologiesbyenablingtheAgencytobemore
nimbleandflexible(p8)..."Hmmm...Yes.Alain
"...Noteon“LevelsofAutoma?on”TherearemulFpledefiniFonsforvariouslevelsof
automaFonandforsomeFmetherehasbeenneedforstandardizaFontoaidclarityand
consistency.Therefore,thisPolicyadoptstheSAEInternaFonal(SAE)definiFonsforlevelsof
automaFon.)Hmmm...I'mnotsurethisaddsclaritybecauseitdoesnotdealdirectlywiththe
differencebetweenself-drivinganddriverless.Whileitmightbeimpliedinlevel4andlevel5
thatthesevehiclescanproceedwithnooneinthevehicle,itisnotstatedexplicitly.Thatis
unfortunate,becausedriverlessfreightdeliverycan'tbedonewithout"driverless";neithercan
mobility-on-demandbeofferedtotheyoung,old,blind,inebriated,...without"driverless".
Vehiclescan'tbe"reposi)oned-empty"(which(Idon'tmeantooffendanyone)istherealvalue
ofataxidrivertoday).SoautonomousTaxisareimpossible.
Also,theselevelsdonotaddressAutomatedEmergencyBraking(AEB)SystemsandAutomated
LaneKeepingSystemswhicharetheveryfirstsystemswhoseon-all-the-)meperformancemust
beperfected.ThesearetheSafetyFounda)onofHAV(HighlyAutomatedvehicles).I
understandthattheguidelinesmayassumethatthesesystemsarealreadyperfectandthat"20
manufacturerhavecommiZed"tohaveAEBonallnewcars,buttodatethesesystemsreally
don'twork.In12mphIIHStest,fewstopbeforehi[ngthetarget,and,aswemayhaveseen
withtheFloridaTeslacrash,theLevel2/3AutoPilotmaynothavefailed,but,instead,itwasthe
"PhantomLevel1"AEBthatissupposedtobeonallthe)me.Thisisnotacceptable.TheseAEB
systemsMUSTgetinfinitelybeZernow.ItisashamethatAEBswerewerenotexplicitly
addressedinthisdocument.
"...I.VehiclePerformanceGuidanceforAutomatedVehicles(p11)A.Guidance:ifavehicleis
compliantwithintheexisFngFMVSSregulatoryframeworkandmaintainsaconvenFonal
vehicledesign,thereiscurrentlynospecificfederallegalbarriertoanHAVbeingofferedfor
sale.(footnote7)However,manufacturersandotherenFFesdesigningnewautomatedvehicle
systems
aresubjecttoNHTSA’sdefects,recallandenforcementauthority.(footnote8).andthe"15
Cross-cu[ngAreasofGuidance"p17)
InsumthisisaverygooddocumentanddisplaysjusthowfarDoTpolicyhascomefrom
promo)ngv2v,DSRCandcentralizedcontrol,"connected",focustocrea)nganenvironment
focusedonindividualvehiclesthatresponsiblytakecareofthemselves.KudostoSecretaryFoxx
forthis180degreepolicyturnfocusedonsafety.Oncedonecorrectly,theHAVwillyieldthe
earlysafetybenefitsthatwills)mulatecon)nuedimprovementsthat,inturn,willyieldthe
greatmobility,environmentalandquality-of-lifebenefitsaffordedbydriverlessmobility.
Whatarenotaddressedarecommercialtruckingandbuses/masstransit.NHTSAisauto
focused,somaybeFMCSAispreparingsimilarguidelines.FTA(FederalTransitAdministra)on)
seemsnowhereinsight.Alain
The15-PointFederalChecklistforSelf-DrivingCars
C.King,Sept20."Federalregulatorsannouncedtheirfirstsafetychecklisteverfor
semiautonomousanddriverlesscarsthisweek.Intheguidelines,theUnitedStatesDepartment
ofTransportaFonurgedautomakersandtechcompaniestoprovethattheirsemiautonomous
andautonomousvehiclescouldmeeta15-pointlistofsafetyexpectaFonsbeforetheautoshit
theroad.
Webrokedownthe15points:
DATASHARINGThesegiantcomputersonwheelscollectpilesofdrivingdata.Carmakersshould
storethatdataandshareitwithregulatorswhocanusetheinformaFontoreconstructwhat
wentwronginacrashorsystembreakdown.Hmmm...Asani)zedversionofdatathatdescribe
theso-called"cornercases"(rareeventsthatleadtocrashesornearcrashes)shouldbeplaced
inthepublicdomainsoastonotrequireeachdeveloperandinves)gatortodiscovertheseon
his/herown.Alain
PRIVACYCarownersshouldhaveaclearunderstandingofwhatkindofdataisbeingcollected
bythevehicles.TheyshouldalsobeabletorejectanycollecFonofpersonalinformaFonsuchas
onbiometricsordriverbehavior.Hmmm...Also,thereshouldbe"hold-harmless"legisla)on
thatallowsindividualstofreelysharetheirdrivingdatawithoutfearofbeingchargewith
"runningaredlight2monthsago".Alain
HUMAN-MACHINEINTERFACECarmakersmustshowhowtheirvehiclescansafelyswitch
betweenautopilotandhumancontrol.Hmmm...Necessarybutnoteasy;however,because
essen)allynothinghappensinstantaneously,thesesystemsneedtoan)cipatefarenoughahead
soastoachieveandsimplehandoffortheyshouldpulloverandstoporjuststop..Alain
CRASHWORTHINESSDriverlesscarsmustmeettheNaFonalHighwayTrafficSafety
AdministraFon’sregularstandardsfor“crashworthiness,...”Hmmm...Ofcourse.Alain
CONSUMEREDUCATIONAutomakersmusttraintheirsalesrepresentaFves...”Hmmm...Of
course.Alain
CERTIFICATIONAnysonwareupdatesornewdriverlessfeaturesmustbesubmi$edto
NHTSA...."Hmmm...OKAlain
POST-CRASHBEHAVIORAutomakersshouldprovetheircarsaresafetouseagainaneracrash.
Hmmm...Ofcourse.Alain
LAWSANDPRACTICESThevehiclesshouldfollowvariousstateandlocallawsandpracFcesthat
applytodrivers.Hmmm...Thisisatoughone.Currentlawsapplytohumandriversinorderto
obtain,asbestaspossible,ahumanbehaviorthatconformstotherulesoftheroadand
achievesasafeoutcome.Someoftheselaws,whenfollowedbyanalgorithm,mayhavenonsafeoutcomes.Newlaws,ournewinterpreta)onsofthoselaws,willundoubtedlybe
necessary.Alain
ETHICALCONSIDERATIONSManyhumandrivingdecisionscarryethicalconsideraFons,sothe
wayacarisprogrammedalsocarriesethicalconsequences.Hmmm...Anotherverytoughone.
FortunatelytheseareveryrareandthewholepurposeoftheHAVtechnologyistoavoid
situa)onswherenotevenone,letalonetwo,ofthesebadoutcomesarebeingconfrontedatany
)me.Alain
OPERATIONALDESIGNThisissimilartoamanualthatdescribeswhere,whenandunderwhat
condiFonsadriverlesssystemworks.Hmmm...Ofcourseandshouldbereadilyavailableonthe
vehicle.Alain
DETECTIONANDRESPONSEHowwillacarrespondtoothercars,pedestrians,animalsand
fallingtrees?Hmmm...Fallingtrees???Really?Notpossible!OrdotheymeanFallentrees?
(Let'spleasejustfocusonavoidingthecrashesthatinvolvehumanerror.)Alain
FALLBACKThecarshouldbeabletochangemodessafelywhenthereisatechnological
malfuncFon.Hmmm...Ofcourse.Alain
VALIDATIONAutomakersneedtodeveloptesFngandvalidaFonmethodsthataccountforthe
widerangeoftechnologiesusedindriverlesscars.Hmmm...Ofcourse.Alain
Tesla'smajorAutopilotupdatestartsrollingouttoday
J.Rigg,Sept21,"TeslaCEOElonMuskhastakentoTwi$ertoannouncethelatestupdatetohis
company'sEVswillbeginrollingouttonight....Autopilotwillrelymoreheavilyonradar,rather
thanthesesensorsplayingsecondfiddletocamerafeeds.Theideaisradarismuchmore
reliablethancameraswhenvisibilityispoor,suchaswhenyou'redrivingthroughsnowor
fog...."ReadmoreHmmm...ButtheFloridacrashwasat4:xxinthealernoonwithpartlycloudy
skies???)Alain
UpgradingAutopilot:SeeingtheWorldinRadar
TeamTesla,Sept11,"...After careful consideration, we now believe it can be used as a
primary control sensor without requiring the camera to confirm visual image
recognition....Hmmm...Whatdoesthismean???Doesitbrakeifthecameraseessomething?If
so,thenthecamerais"aprimarycontrolsensor"andtheyareco-primary...,No???Alain
"...Therefore,thebigprobleminusingradartostopthecarisavoidingfalsealarms..."
Hmmm...yes!AND"falsenega)ves"(which,withrespecttovision,mo)vatedthisupgrade.)
Alain
"...Asthesystemconfidencelevelrises,thebrakingforcewillgraduallyincreasetofullstrength
whenitisapproximately99.99%certainofacollision.Thismaynotalwayspreventacollision
enFrely,buttheimpactspeedwillbedramaFcallyreducedtothepointwherethereareunlikely
tobeseriousinjuriestothevehicleoccupants...."Hmmm...Thisissodepressing.Dowereally
havetowaitun)l99.99??Can'twedothisaliZleearliersothatwehavecollisionavoidance
ratherthancollisionmi)ga)on?Thisissodepressing!Alain
"...Theneteffectofthis,combinedwiththefactthatradarseesthroughmostvisual
obscuraFon,isthatthecarshouldalmostalwayshitthebrakescorrectlyevenifaUFOwereto
landonthefreewayinzerovisibilitycondiFons...."Hmmm...Zerovisibilityisreadilydetected
aheadandAutoPilotshouldpulloverandstoporjuststopbeforetheTeslaentersthezero
visibilitycondi)on(andinformthedriverthatitisill-advised(crazy)toproceedinzerovisibility
condi)onsundermanualcontrol.Please!Alain
"...Takingthisonestepfurther,aTeslawillalsobeabletobouncetheradarsignalundera
vehicleinfront-usingtheradarpulsesignatureandphotonFmeofflighttodisFnguishthe
signal-andsFllbrakeevenwhentrailingacarthatisopaquetobothvisionandradar.Thecarin
frontmighthittheUFOindensefog,buttheTeslawillnot..."Hmmm...Nowyou'vegonetoofar
again.CallingthesystemAutoPilotwasreckless,sugges)ngthatAutoPilotoranyonecandrive
indensefogistotallyirresponsible.Can'tyouseeitnow:"MancrashesTeslaindensefog;man
blamesTesla".Thesesystemsaren'tmeanttosolvetheFogProblem,atleastnotyet.Alain
SomeotherthoughtsthatdeserveyouraXen?on
SiemenspresentsRiyadhmetrotrain
K.Barrow,Sept21,"SIEMENSpresentedthefirstdriverlessInspirometrotrainforRiyadhmetro
Line1(BlueLine)torepresentaFvesofArriyadhDevelopmentAuthority(ARA)atInnoTranson
September20.
AsE&MpartnerintheBechtel-ledBacsconsorFum,Siemensissupplying45four-cartrainsfor
Line1and29two-cartrainsforLine2(RedLine)underaturnkeycontractwhichalsoincludes
automaFctraincontrolsystemsandelectrificaFonforthetwolines...."Readmore
Hmmm...Driverlesstrainsarenowthenorm:-)Alain
OntheMoreTechnicalSide
h$p://orfe.princeton.edu/~alaink/SmartDrivingCars/Papers/
Publicpriori?esandconsumerpreferencesforselected
aXributesofAutomatedVehicles
PaulinaLustgarten&Sco$LeVine.UnderreviewforpresentaFonatthe96thAnnualMeeFngof
theTransportaFonResearchBoardandpublicaFoninTransporta)onResearchRecord(2017).
Readmore
CalendarofUpcomingEvents:
F1/10AutonomousRacingCompe??on
Oct1-2
WeanHall,CarnegieMellonU.