Tesla Autopilot under US Dept of Transportation scrutiny

Several times now, Tesla vehicles struck stationary first responder vehicles dealing with stuff on the road. The concern is whether Tesla’s autopilot system exacerbates human factors to undermine the effectiveness of the driver’s ability to supervise the vehicle. Remember that Tesla’s autopilot system is not a full-fledged driving automation system…

Continue reading

Uber self-driving car fatality: Everyone is to blame

March’s pedestrian fatality from an Uber self-driving car can be blamed on Uber’s faulty software, an inattentive operator, and an inattentive pedestrian, according to an initial NTSB report into the fatality.  There’s blame to go around, and perhaps it is Uber’s software that is most to blame?  I don’t understand…

Continue reading

Uber self-driving car fatality blamed on faulty software

Uber seems to have determined their own software was, unsurprisingly, the primary cause of last months fatal self-driving car accident.  In that accident a pedestrian crossing a street was struck by an experimental Uber self-driving car, and died of injuries shortly thereafter.  According to sources within Uber cited by “The…

Continue reading

Obama Administration pushes to accelerate autonomous vehicle technology

Today the Obama Administration announced a plan to accelerate autonomous vehicle development, citing the need to reduce traffic congestion and to embrace the future of transportation.  The press release referred to a report published last fall by the Department of Transportation highlighting transportation challenges we face due to increasing population,…

Continue reading