Topic: Autonomous driving
Uber, Daimler Strike Partnership for Self-Driving Vehicles – Bloomberg (Jan 31, 2017)
This is Uber’s second partnership with a carmaker around autonomous driving – it already has one with Volvo, under which Volvo supplies the base vehicle along with redundant power supply and other features which is then plugged into Uber’s autonomous driving “brain”. It looks like the Daimler/Mercedes relationship will be similar. Both Alphabet’s Waymo and Uber have now made clear statements to the effect that they don’t see value in trying to build cars, a topic on which Apple still seems to be somewhat uncertain. What’s less clear is whether Uber, like Waymo, sees a role for itself in designing the hardware to go into cars, such as LIDAR. These tie-ups between carmakers and ride sharing services make plenty of sense: if autonomous driving is going to have a role in the near term, it will likely be as part of ride sharing or ride hailing services, which have narrowly defined geographic areas in which they operate – that’s the same reason Ford’s aggressive 2021 goal is designed for a fleet scenario rather than retail sales. It’s also interesting to see a premium brand like Mercedes associated with Uber here – though limos were an important part of the early value proposition for Uber, the focus has since shifted well down market towards UberX and Uber Pool.
via Bloomberg
The Google Car was supposed to disrupt the car industry. Now Waymo is taking on suppliers – Recode (Jan 28, 2017)
This is a subtle shift, but an important one – one that began to become apparent a few weeks back. Alphabet is fundamentally a software, rather than hardware, company (Google’s recent push into first party hardware notwithstanding) – that’s where its skills have always lain, and where it has been able to add the most value both in its own products and in partnering with others. However, in the car space, it’s increasingly clear that Waymo will pair those software skills with developing hardware skills around things like LIDAR, and potentially attempt to sell packages of hardware and software or even complete systems, rather than just providing the software brains that will leverage hardware from other suppliers in cars. There are pros and cons here – on the one hand, Waymo doesn’t yet have great credibility in hardware in cars, and so trying to bundle the two together may threaten its ability to sell its software. On the other hand, it didn’t have much credibility in self-driving software either a few years back, but has earned it over time and now has partnerships with FCA, among others, so perhaps it can win trust in the same way with hardware as it makes progress here.
via Recode
Tesla sues ex-Autopilot director for taking proprietary info, poaching employees – TechCrunch (Jan 26, 2017)
Things are getting nasty between Tesla and one of its prominent former employees, Sterling Anderson, who used to run its Autopilot program. The lawsuit alleges that Anderson both took proprietary data from Tesla when he left and that he tried to poach additional Tesla employees to work on his new venture with Chris Urmson, formerly of Google’s autonomous driving unit. This lawsuit just highlights how competitive the space has become, and how eagerly many different companies including established carmakers, smaller carmakers like Tesla, big tech companies like Apple and Google (and Uber), and startups like Anderson and Urmson’s new venture Aurora are pursuing it. We’re going to see a lot of ugliness, and certainly plenty more hiring and poaching between these various companies, over the coming years.
via TechCrunch
Proposed state law would require emissions-free autonomous vehicles, and tax them by the mile – The Boston Globe (Jan 20, 2017)
As regulators and governments seek to provide a legal framework for autonomous driving, we’ll see something of a dichotomy between those who try to be as welcoming as possible to experiments and development of the technology, and those who see this as yet another opportunity to drive tax revenue or other separate goals. These lawmakers in Massachusetts seem to be taking the second approach, proposing that autonomous cars pay a per-mile road tax and produce zero emissions. Contrast this with Arizona’s governor, who has been very open to testing of autonomous vehicles and famously invited Uber’s self-driving cars to his state when they were banned from San Francisco. San Francisco, of course, is somewhere in the middle, largely open to testing of the technology, but with reasonable limits. Just as there will be fierce competition between tech companies around autonomous driving, there will be competition between states and cities around the technology too. Policies such as those being advocated in Massachusetts are likely to do little to endear the state to would-be autonomous driving companies.
NHTSA Finds No Fault in Tesla Autopilot With Regard to May 2016 Fatal Crash – NHTSA (Jan 19, 2017)
This is NHTSA’s report on the Tesla Autopilot crash in May 2016, which was investigating whether the Autopilot system was at fault. The headline from Tesla’s perspective is that the Autopilot system wasn’t at fault, because it (a) operated as expected, and (b) wasn’t intended to be able to avoid such cross-traffic collisions. That’s good for Tesla, because it exonerates its system, and also because NHTSA determined that its Autosteer system increases safety by 40%. Incidentally, the report also classifies Autopilot as a Level 2 system, whereas I’ve seen some people incorrectly refer to its as Level 3. The key here is that Level 3 systems allow the driver to stop paying attention, whereas Level 2 systems require full driver attention at all times. The problem in this crash was that the driver treated the system as a Level 3 system (which the term Autopilot somewhat implies), and paid insufficient attention to notice the truck crossing the car’s path. Tesla’s system may not have been at fault, but there’s a reasonable argument to be made that it’s not doing enough to train drivers not to treat its Level 2 system as something more – though NHTSA didn’t address that point in its report.
via NHTSA Finds No Fault in Tesla Autopilot With Regard to May 2016 Fatal Crash – NHTSA (PDF) – see also news coverage of the report on Techmeme
Chris Lattner Says Opportunity to Work on Tesla’s Ambitious Self-Driving Efforts Was ‘Irresistible’ – Mac Rumors (Jan 17, 2017)
Chris Lattner is the Apple engineer and creator of the Swift programming language who recently left the company to go work at Tesla. His departure was seen as a sign of unhappiness at Apple and therefore played into the overall narrative about Apple’s troubles. However, Chris Lattner has now spoken about his actual reasons for wanting to move to a new role, and as I suspected it was more about wanting a new challenge than any negative feelings towards Apple per se. Given how excited Lattner appears to be about autonomous driving in particular, we might speculate that Apple’s more exploratory investment in that area was less attractive than Tesla’s current rollout of the technology. And it’s also possible that Apple was keener to hire someone with more specific expertise and history in that area than Lattner offered – Apple tends to hire what it considers the best possible person for a new role rather than moving someone internally.
U.S. Department of Transportation announces a new committee focused on automation – TechCrunch (Jan 11, 2017)
If there’s one thing that’s become very clear to me this week as I’ve attended the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it’s that autonomous driving is a vastly more complex proposition than many of the claims from its various proponents would suggest. All autonomous driving technology is not created equal, and governments and regulators have lots of thorny issues to resolve before widespread autonomous driving can become a reality. The good news is that the US Department of Transportation seems to understand that and is taking steps to understand all the implications, working with many of the players likely to make it a reality in the coming years. I hope this work continues under the incoming administration, because it’s critical.
via U.S. Department of Transportation announces a new committee focused on automation | TechCrunch
Alphabet Inc.’s Self-Driving Car Unit Creates Its Own Sensor Package – WSJ (Jan 8, 2017)
Just when we’d got used to the idea that Alphabet was only going to do software when it comes to autonomous driving, it seems it will do some of its own hardware work, specifically on sensors rather than making cars. Not every carmaker that partners with Waymo will want to use its sensors, but it allows Alphabet to own more of the technology and ensure it all works well together.
via Alphabet Inc.’s Self-Driving Car Unit Creates Its Own Sensor Package – WSJ
Autonomous tech supplier Mobileye wants automakers to crowdsource maps for self-driving cars – Recode (Jan 5, 2017)
Given that HERE is already owned by several of the automakers, you could make the argument that there’s a more natural player to aggregate mapping data from them, but Mobileye is making its pitch regardless. On the one hand, it’s easy to see the logic here – all the companies ultimately need basically the same data. On the other, however, these companies are fierce competitors and though they’ve occasionally cooperated too, they’re far less likely to cede control and exclusive ownership of something they consider strategically important. Ultimately, it may well be the premium and niche automakers who need such an approach more than the big guys.
Audi Pushes Toward Fully Autonomous Cars – WSJ (Jan 5, 2017)
Nvidia has been making big strides in the car technology space, and made more news this week at CES with a partnership with Audi. This is one of the most interesting battles among the major chipmakers at the moment, and Nvidia does seem to be doing well, while Intel and Qualcomm also make advances (both also made news at CES this week).
via Audi Pushes Toward Fully Autonomous Cars – WSJ
BMW Group, Intel and Mobileye Will Have Autonomous Test Vehicles on the Roads by the Second Half of 2017 | Intel Newsroom (Jan 4, 2017)
This is a big deal for Intel, which has seemed to be behind some of its big chip competitors in the autonomous driving space, and the fact that real cars will be on real roads later this year means this is delivering actual results today, and not just a loose partnership. This will be a big year for autonomous driving in general, likely the year almost all big automakers run some of their first trials on real roads, and Intel needs to be in the mix like this. I’ll be talking to BMW next week at the Detroit auto show about all this too.
BlackBerry QNX Launches its Most Advanced and Secure Embedded Software Platform for Autonomous Drive and Connected Cars – BlackBerry (Jan 4, 2017)
BlackBerry’s QNX is one of the leading in-car operating systems, acquired by BlackBerry from Harman some years ago. In the context of the demise of BlackBerry’s hardware business, this is one of several software businesses that forms the core of what the company will be going forward. It seems to be moving fast in providing support for some of the new things carmakers are doing, including autonomous driving, and QNX is definitely one of several big tech names to watch in the car tech space.
Fiat’s Secret Self-Driving Car Shows How Industry May Evolve — The Information (Dec 29, 2016)
Great inside information here about FCA’s other self-driving initiatives beyond its Waymo partnership. The strategy highlights the big concern many carmakers have about partnering with Alphabet (or for that matter Apple) – that they will cede differentiation to the platform vendor and lose their own competitiveness in the process. Clearly, FCA remains committed to its Waymo deal, but it’s sensible to hedge its bets here.
via Fiat’s Secret Self-Driving Car Shows How Industry May Evolve — The Information
Uber asked a lot of Pittsburgh for its self-driving cars, and offered back very little — Quartz (Dec 29, 2016)
As I’ve said previously, Uber has a pretty complex relationship with the municipalities where it operates, often flouting taxi regulations and more recently also self-driving ones. In the case of Pittsburgh, Uber has at least worked with the city, but it now appears that it has been something of a one-way relationship. Ironically, the dynamic here is reminiscent of that between Google Fiber and cities, in which the latter have bent over backwards to help Google, whereas in autonomous driving Google (now Waymo) has been more cooperative, while Uber borrows its Fiber playbook.
via Uber asked a lot of Pittsburgh for its self-driving cars, and offered back very little — Quartz
Here and Mobileye team up on self-driving mapping tech | TechCrunch (Dec 29, 2016)
There is so much change happening at once in the transportation industry that it’s impossible for any one company to stay on top of it all, which generally leads to a decent amount of focus. However, there are benefits to companies integrating their efforts to benefit from each other’s skills and advances, and HERE and Mobileye are doing just that around autonomous driving. It’s a smart move and one that should benefit both companies and their partners.
via Here and Mobileye team up on self-driving mapping tech | TechCrunch
Building Ford’s Next-Generation Autonomous Development Vehicle – Medium (Dec 27, 2016)
Many of the major auto manufacturers are underway with their own testing of increasingly autonomous vehicles, though they’re still a long way from production – Ford has said it intends to provide such vehicles in 2021 for ride-sharing/hailing services. But this is an increasingly crowded space and one of the biggest questions is which manufacturers will make their own versus licensing technology from Alphabet’s Waymo or others.
via Building Ford’s Next-Generation Autonomous Development Vehicle – Medium
Commentary: A new vision for self-driving cars – John Krafcik & Steve Adler (Dec 27, 2016)
A transparent attempt to shape the narrative around Waymo and Alphabet’s self-driving car technology, in an editorial jointly written by the head of Waymo and the mayor of Austin. It’s interesting to contrast Uber and Waymo’s relationships with municipalities – Waymo has largely gone out of its way to work with them, while Uber has a more mixed record (notably in San Francisco recently).
via Commentary: A new vision for self-driving cars
Two top Faraday Future executives just resigned – The Verge (Dec 23, 2016)
It’s hard to avoid the sense at this point that this company is in enormous trouble, along with its investor LeEco, both of which seem to have overspent in an aggressive pursuit of new product and geographic markets.
via Two top Faraday Future executives just resigned – The Verge
Uber moves self-driving cars to Arizona after SF setback – Financial Times (Dec 22, 2016)
Once San Francisco shut the Uber self-driving experiment down for flouting regulations, it was inevitable that it would move elsewhere. Arizona’s governor has courted autonomous driving trials, and is using the incident as a way to score points against neighbor California. But it’s worth remembering these are just 16 cars, and California was merely seeking oversight, not to block Uber here.
via Uber moves self-driving cars to Arizona after SF setback
Uber stops San Francisco self-driving pilot as DMV revoked registrations | TechCrunch (Dec 22, 2016)
This seemed inevitable, and you have to wonder what Uber was trying to prove here. Uber’s cavalier attitude towards regulation has generally served it well, but I’ve felt ever since this imbroglio started that this was a step too far – fighting the taxi lobby is one thing, but rejecting oversight of potentially dangerous technology is quite another.
via Uber stops San Francisco self-driving pilot as DMV revoked registrations | TechCrunch