Autonomous Car Progress

[Hbrink]

The new all-electric luxury BMW i7, with 300 miles range, will use Mobileye's eyeQ5M chip and Mobileye's camera vision for its ADAS. BMW is also promising L3 highway. And it will also have front lidar in 2023. The car also features a large screen that comes down for the back seat passengers to watch movies in "theater mode".

https://twitter.com/x/status/1516867405498179586

Looks beautiful, but with options it's easy over 200.000 euro!

And... lot's of promises but not much you can test *now* (L3 Highway).

I stay with Tesla ;-)

Zo duur is de nieuwe BMW i7 (en zo duur kun je hem maken, als je wilt)

De 7-serie met verbrandingsmotoren volgt nog

topgear.nl

 

[cwerdna]

Baidu, Pony.AI win first driverless robotaxi permits in China | TechCrunch

Chinese internet giant Baidu and autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai have received permits to provide driverless ride-hailing services to the public on

techcrunch.com

 

[diplomat33]

Michigan State University has launching an autonomous electric bus, geofenced to the campus:

Following six months of extensive on-campus testing and more than 650 test runs, Michigan State University’s full-size autonomous electric bus initiative has started accepting passengers on a 2.5-mile campus route.

The 22-seat Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK bus, believed to be one of the largest of its kind to be deployed on public US roads to date, was recently approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The project is a collaboration with the State of Michigan, bus manufacturer Karsan and Michigan-based ADASTEC, which develops SAE Level-4 automated driving software platforms for commercial vehicles.

ADASTEC’s flowride.ai software platform incorporates a range of sensor, safety and mapping equipment on the bus that also supports data sharing, mission control and fleet management operations. The bus is also fitted with a wheelchair ramp along with audio messaging for accessibility.

Traffic lights along the 2.5-mile route are equipped with intelligent roadside units which communicate with the bus to enable vehicle to infrastructure interoperability. A licensed safety driver and operator from ADASTEC’s Ann Arbor office will be on-board at all times.

Michigan State University will study and analyze various aspects of the project, from vehicle to infrastructure communication technologies to the user experience for people with disabilities.

Michigan State University autonomous bus starts carrying passengers - EVs - MOVEMNT

Following six months of extensive on-campus testing and more than 650 test runs, Michigan State University’s full-size autonomous electric bus initiative has started accepting passengers on a 2.5-mile campus route. The 22-seat Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK bus, believed to be one of the largest of...

movemnt.net

 

[diplomat33]

Cruise is expanding their driverless AV area to cover nearly 70% of SF. Expanded service area going live for all riders tonight!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1521554237037023232

 

[diplomat33]

Kyle Voigt replied to a question about whether you can pick any pick up or drop off point in the expanded service area:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1521557344328376320

 

[Knightshade]

Kind of a weird answer there...

"Sure You can pick any address, it just might not actually go to that actual address...."


Which sounds a lot like the Waymo behavior previously reported where it'd just refuse to let you be picked up at "hard" locations and instead you'd have to walk a little bit to get to an "easier" pickup.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Kind of a weird answer there...

"Sure You can pick any address, it just might not actually go to that actual address...."


Which sounds a lot like the Waymo behavior previously reported where it'd just refuse to let you be picked up at "hard" locations and instead you'd have to walk a little bit to get to an "easier" pickup.

They're probably less aggressive than an Uber driver would be in blocking traffic.

 

[ThomasD]

So it's not door to door? Is Cruise just operating inside the city limits

 

[stopcrazypp]

They're probably less aggressive than an Uber driver would be in blocking traffic.

As mentioned upthread Cruise had a dispute with SFMTA about this specifically. Waymo actually attempts to find a legal parking area to pick up and drop off passengers. Cruise operates more like Uber where frequently they just stop in a traffic lane to pick up and drop off passengers. Not sure if they resolved this yet, but AFAIK neither have been approved for driverless paid rides in CA yet (only allowed with safety driver or unpaid, not both).

 

[diplomat33]

So it's not door to door? Is Cruise just operating inside the city limits

Cruise's service area is inside SF. You can see the area in white on the right. It is nearly 70% of SF. Inside that area, it is basically "door to door" with a few places where you have a walk to get to the pick up location.

 

[diplomat33]

Kind of a weird answer there...

"Sure You can pick any address, it just might not actually go to that actual address...."


Which sounds a lot like the Waymo behavior previously reported where it'd just refuse to let you be picked up at "hard" locations and instead you'd have to walk a little bit to get to an "easier" pickup.

I think the issue is that not every location is a legal drop off or pick up location. What if the customer picks a location that is not legal? Also, some locations can be challenging for AVs about where it can pull over safely and legally. Current AVs may be not be smart enough to handle all locations. To solve this issue, AVs like Waymo and Cruise have designated pick up and drop off locations built into the map. Obviously, they try to add as many locations as possible to make it as convenient as possible for the customer.

 

[ThomasD]

Wonder what the difficulties with the grey areas are

 

[Daniel in SD]

Wonder what the difficulties with the grey areas are

More traffic, more pedestrians.

 

[Jeff N]

Wonder what the difficulties with the grey areas are

Most of the grey areas in the northern part of the city are actually golf courses or National Park Service land. Some of the coastal areas in the eastern part are ports or industrial areas.

However, that still leaves a large chunk of urban residential and commercial areas off-limits for now. Those areas are especially high-density and are likely more difficult to drive through and also more difficult to find places to pick up and drop off at.

 

[EVNow]

They're probably less aggressive than an Uber driver would be in blocking traffic.

So, doesn't really work for disabled or elderly ?

ps : I'm actually being serious here. This is something to consider ....

 

[EVNow]

Wonder what the difficulties with the grey areas are

Thats the actual SF downtown with a lot of traffic and pedestrians a.k.a. areas people actually want to go to

 

[Daniel in SD]

So, doesn't really work for disabled or elderly ?

ps : I'm actually being serious here. This is something to consider ....

Yeah, that's why disabled and elderly people don't use buses.
I guess you can technically request an Uber driver to pick you up anywhere but that doesn't mean they'll actually do it.
This thread might help you understand the issues: Lyft and Uber drivers now being ticketed for...

 

[stopcrazypp]

Yeah, that's why disabled and elderly people don't use buses.

Not sure what you mean here, but as a frequent bus rider, I see plenty of elderly and disabled people ride the bus (there are ramps for wheel chairs). In some ways it can be more convenient than even riding a car (unless you have a car with a wheelchair ramp), given the bus can fit the whole wheelchair or mobility scooter without needing the person to get off.

There are bus stops where cars can't park, so the bus can pull over and not have to be blocking traffic when loading and unloading passengers. Of course, cars are not allowed to stop at those bus stops (if the bus takes a picture of your car, there is a heavy fine).

I guess you can technically request an Uber driver to pick you up anywhere but that doesn't mean they'll actually do it.
This thread might help you understand the issues: Lyft and Uber drivers now being ticketed for...

Even though enforcement may be up, I still see plenty of Lyft/Uber that still just double park. There simply isn't enough personnel around to enforce this.

SFMTA also allows taxis to park in bike lanes (they gave out stickers that say this, particularly for loading/unloading disabled or elderly passengers), which implicitly seems to allow them to double park also (most of these bike lanes are not wide enough to fit the whole car):

SFMTA Allows Taxis to Block Bike Lanes - Streetsblog San Francisco

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is officially allowing taxi drivers to block bicycle lanes. A memo [PDF] from Deputy Director of Taxi Services Christiane Hayashi and Accessible Services Manager Annette Williams says the agency is issuing bumper stickers to taxi drivers...

sf.streetsblog.org

Of course Uber/Lyft are not considered taxies so are not given the same exemptions. The current driverless cars in SF also are pretty much treated like Uber/Lyft given they don't have taxi medallions.

 

[Daniel in SD]

I see plenty of elderly and disabled people ride the bus

I was being sarcastic. I guess the eye rolling emoji is too subtle. haha.

Even though enforcement may be up, I still see plenty of Lyft/Uber that still just double park. There simply isn't enough personnel around to enforce this.

Double parking is selectively enforced, as it should be. If you double park on a street with light traffic I doubt SFPD would give you a ticket. If you do it on a thoroughfare and hold up traffic you might. When I take an Uber I walk somewhere appropriate for pickup. Until the Tesla Bot can put you in a wheelchair and push you to the vehicle I don't think picking up passengers anywhere is a realistic expectation.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Cruise is expanding their driverless AV area to cover nearly 70% of SF. Expanded service area going live for all riders tonight!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1521554237037023232

I still haven't gotten my invite.

:-(