By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director
Every time I drive my car now, I think about how many little decisions I make. Turning slightly to round the curve, stopping at a light, honking at the large vehicle about to hit me because it is drifting into my lane, backing down when someone tailgates too close. All these microdecisions that have to be made culminate in my 18 minute-10 mile commute one way and then back home.
I have become fascinated by how many of these little decisions I make. There are so many subtle and sometimes even big decisions, I can’t even count them.
Here in Wisconsin, we are already faced with our fifth snow of the season and that compounds the complexity of all those microdecisions.
Now, think about a driverless car—how in the world will an AI be able to compute all those microdecisions that we, humans take for granted?
Just something to think about the next time you are driving on your daily rounds.
Here are some headlines from this week’s NMA Driving News Feed that might fascinate you with regards to auto tech and the car of the future.
Auto Industry
- Detroit “Motor City” now stakes claim to be capital of autos’ future–-Detroit News
- Apple reveals driverless car system to detect pedestrians and cyclists in rare research paper –CNBC
- Fiat Chrysler Didn’t Meet MPG Requirements For 2017 Models—Car Complaints
- Honda joins GM, Mercedes, Toyota in self-driving group—Digital Trends
- Will Tesla and Google Kill the German Car? –Der Spiegel
- Toyota not giving up on overcoming “brutal” handicap –Motorsport
- Alphabet’s Waymo Corners Uber in Intellectual Property Dispute –Market Realist
Auto Tech
- Middle Schooler invents simple, yet innovative way to remove blind spots in cars –Mashable
- ‘Whoever is driving should be in control’: These drivers are fed up with automated safety features –Boston Globe
- New Sensor Uses Radar and AI to Stop Hot Car Deaths –Governing
- The demise of the car key: Tesla, Lincoln lead auto industry in ditching keys for mobile entry —CNBC
- GM Patents a Smart Stop/Start System to Reduce Drivers’ Annoyance –Car and Driver
Connected Cars
Driverless Cars
- The Boeing 737 MAX Fiasco and the Future of Autonomous Vehicles—Sightline
- Mapillary publishes findings on 3D object recognition in 2D images—spar3D.com
- Six Ways Autonomous Driving is Relying on Precise Positioning—Wards Auto
- For a self-driving future, it’s not just the tech we need to get right –CNN
- People want self-driving cars to share their personality –Futurity
- The Math of Sisyphus and Driverless Cars –TechCrunch
Electric Cars
- Electric Cars—and Irrationality—Just Might Save the Stick Shift –Wired
- Electric cars are changing the cost of driving –Quartz
- Once, Big Copper Built Some Amazing Electric Cars –Jalopnik
- Daimler’s New CEO Ola Kallenius Warns Shift to Electric Cars Will Be Painful –Transport Topics
- Volkswagen expanding electric vehicle production in US –Associated Press
- California pulls back clean-vehicle rebates to point them at lower-income buyers –Los Angeles Times
- San Diego Utility to Install EV Chargers at Schools and Parks –Governing
Flying Cars and Drones
- Drone company Iris Automation makes first-of-its-kind FAA-approved ‘blind’ drone flight –CNBC
- The chaotic city of Houston paves the future of driverless delivery –Bend Bulletin
That‘s this week’s Auto Tech Watch Blog. If you would like to add your two cents, please write your comments below.
If you find an auto tech type story, send the URL link to nma@motorists.org for inclusion in our Driving News Feed and as one of the stories for our 5x/week email, Driving News Daily. If you would like to subscribe to DND, please click HERE.
Thank you for reading the Auto Tech Watch Blog and please be safe out there!
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