Enabling Transformational Mobility
Through Strategic Consulting
Focused on Connected &
Automated Vehicles
Barry Einsig
Principal
Safety and Mobility of Automated Transportation Systems (ATS) Requires Public and Private Sector Collaboration on Open-Source Technologies
Public and private sector companies are sometimes challenged by the perception of their ability to work together, due to each having goals and objectives which do not always align. However, in transportation and automotive safety, there are many examples of how the two stakeholder communities can and have worked together. From the current efforts of the public sector infrastructure owners and operators (IOOs), traffic signal control companies, and auto OEMs working together to define the newest set of requirements for the Connected Intersection, to the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partners (CAMP LLC), and most significantly the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, resulting in the development of our National Highway System.
However, the landscape of the automotive industry is changing quickly, and Connected, Automated, Electrified, and Shared Systems are the motivation or opportunity depending on how you look at it. With technology now entering the industry, automakers are realizing that they will need to collaborate more closely with the broader Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Industry globally and transform its business to succeed. Like the previous collaborations mentioned above, there are many opportunities for Infrastructure owners and operators, automobile OEMs and the ICT industry to work together, and the timing could not be more imperative.
There is some progress being made on connectivity and cybersecurity, but it is slow and there is more we can do. There is much more we can and must do in collaboration on data exchanges, brokering, digital rights, standardizing data architectures, open-source technologies, and the associated policies, governance, and business models. This is where collaboration and modeling from the ICT industry can pay big dividends for the IOOs and OEMs by learning from and leveraging the open-source community that has built much of the ICT systems at a broad global scale that we use today such as Cloud, Fintech, Cybersecurity, Automation Systems, and Digital Transformation.
What to collaborate on?
The FHWA has started us in the right direction with the CARMA Platform that is available on GitHub. The CARMA platform is a multimodal approach, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) developed the CARMA Platform alongside the CARMA Cloud to support the research and development of cooperative driving automation and enable the safe operation of new transportation system management and operations (TSMO) strategies. The CARMA Platform is an open-source software (OSS) platform designed to enable the testing and evaluation of cooperative automation concepts to improve safety and increase infrastructure efficiency.
With admittedly slow progress being made on V2X connectivity, security will require a focused and continued collaborative effort. There is a requirement to raise the level of security throughout the automated transportation ecosystem, but also to avoid building these capabilities in isolation from the knowledge and best practices already established by the ICT industry. We are seeing some of this change in mindset as forums like the Automotive Information Sharing & Analysis Center (ISAC), which facilitates sharing and collaboration on automotive cybersecurity as part of its ongoing efforts to promote partnerships between automakers and cybersecurity organizations. Established in 2015, ISAC’s members include some of the world’s leading automakers, including Volvo, Fiat Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Kia GM, and Mercedes. It has also enlisted many of the world’s top cybersecurity developers and companies.
Wishing you a Happy Holidays and a safe and healthy New Year!
1. Cruise Will Soon Hit San Francisco With No Hands on the Wheel
The Story: GM subsidiary, Cruise, wins approval from California to offer driverless passenger service. The approval provides another step for the all-electric self-driving car company toward running its own self-driving-taxi service—on the hilly, winding, pedestrian-swarmed streets of San Francisco. Last week, Cruise said the California Department of Motor Vehicles had granted it a permit to test up to five of its modified Chevy Bolts without anyone behind the wheel.
The Takeaway: While four other companies have received permits to test driverless vehicles in California, Cruise is the only company testing driverless cars in areas as congested and challenging as San Francisco. The permit is a sign that companies like Cruise "are transitioning out of the development phase of the technology," said Kyle Vogt, Cruise CTO. Since its founding in 2013, and through its partnerships with General Motors and Honda, Cruise is the only self-driving company with fully integrated manufacturing at scale, building all-electric, zero-emission cars.
Cruise says its driverless-car rollout will be gradual and will begin in just one neighborhood. DMV’s permit limits the five vehicles to speeds under 30 mph and prohibits operations in heavy fog or heavy rain. The slow rollout will “start to introduce people to the concept that maybe driverless cars are coming,” says Vogt. “Maybe not in the timeline people thought a couple of years ago, but they’re coming and expect that and start to acclimate to it.”
2. Hyundai-Backed Motional to Deploy Driverless Cars in Nevada
The Story: Motional, the self-driving technology company formed by Hyundai and automotive supplier Aptiv in a $4 billion deal last August, announced it will deploy driverless prototypes on public roads in Nevada in the coming months. Motional has tested its self-driving prototypes for years under the auspices of Aptiv, with much of the testing taking place in Nevada. The company launched a limited automated taxi service in Las Vegas in 2018 on a trial basis and was recently granted permission from Nevada officials to start testing prototypes without anyone onboard.
The Takeaway: The goal of Motional is to develop a reliable and robust self-driving system with Level 4 capability on the SAE scale, and then license this system to third parties including other automakers. A Level 4 self-driving system can operate a car on its own within set conditions, the main one typically being a geofenced area with sufficient map data. Level 5, the ultimate goal, is a self-driving system with the same capability as a human driver. Motional has previously said it will have a self-driving system ready to license as early as 2022.
3. World-First ₤100M Driverless Car Test Center Ready to Open
The Story: A 1.2 million sq ft facility – called ASSURED CAV (Connected and Autonomous Vehicle) – has gone up on an 83-acre site at the huge Horiba MIRA test center bordering the site of the Battle of Bosworth on the A5 between Hinckley and Nuneaton, UK. The autonomous vehicle test site is said to be the only one of its kind of earth, allowing cars, trucks, buses, and bicycles of the future to drive around at speed, navigate junctions and car parks and talk to each other.
The Takeaway: The MIRA site has been leading the way in helping car manufactures develop computer-controlled vehicles for years, working with the likes of Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Motors on self-driving cars. The new test track and linked facilities, including a multi-story car park where cars will park themselves, should be open in March 2021. The MIRA self-driving vehicle test facility features:
- A high-speed track for testing autonomous vehicles at the limit of controllability – from high speeds to merging into traffic and even staying in the lane on motorways
- Urban environments with mocked-up pedestrians and cyclists, complex junctions, and on-street parking
- An ultrafast 5G mobile private network supported by Vodafone, which will allow vehicles to talk to each other and street signs, and test infotainment and cybersecurity
- Digital replicas to reinforce physical testing which can be accessed virtually from anywhere in the world
- A network of roads across the wholes MIRA campus complemented by 180 miles of CAV-enabled public roads around the site, equipped with intelligent transport technology to enable real-world trials
4. Getaround Car-Sharing Connected Tech Disrupts Car Ownership
The Story: Sweeping lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic and increased consumer embrace of technology are proving to be a catalyst for the mental mindset change required to disrupt the traditional car ownership regime. With one billion cars that sit unused the majority of the time, the concept of sharing a vehicle only when you need it – versus owning one 100 percent of the time – is catching on.
The Takeaway: Getaround offers a combination of software and hardware to users. The hardware component consists of an adapter that fits into any car and converts it into a connected vehicle, while the company’s app interfaces with this hardware and allows users to book, track, unlock and pay for the vehicle they want.
When the pandemic lockdowns hit the world in March, Getaround’s revenue plunged 75 percent, Zaid said of his 11-year-old business, which now serves 6 million users in 300 cities and seven countries. However, over the past few months, business has steadily bounced back, in part because Getaround offered a true contactless experience versus its traditional rental competitors.
“We attribute a big part of the success to the fact that our system is, has been, and continues to be fully contactless,” said Getaround CEO Sam Zaid. “You don't have to meet anybody. You don't have to wait in a line, you don’t have to fill out paperwork. It's a fully digital, native, contactless booking and pickup experience.”
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5. Cadillac Super Cruise Trumps Tesla Autopilot As Best Self-Driving Technology You Can Buy Today
The Story: Business Insider Senior Correspondent Matthew DeBord test drives the newly updated autonomous driving system from GM. He reviews the Cadillac Super Cruise self-driving system in a CT6.
The Takeaway: Matthew DeBor explains, "I went in with an open mind and returned to NYC on Amtrak's Acela with my mind blown. My Super Cruise-equipped Cadillac CT6 sedan couldn't drive itself everywhere, but on I-95, it was essentially flawless.
- I tested Cadillac Super Cruise, the company's fully-hands-free, semi-self-driving technology.
- Super Cruise can be used only on mapped highways, but Cadillac says it has covered 200,000 miles of roads in the US and Canada.
- I last sampled Super Cruise in 2017; the system has updates on the way and will be a key feature of the new Escalade SUV.
- The technology was the same as what I experienced three years ago, but I was able to subject Super Cruise to a pair of new challenges: the congested Garden State Parkway in New Jersey and rainy weather.
- Super Cruise performed almost flawlessly, offering only a single minor incident that the technology handled well."
About CAVita
CAVita is a strategic consultancy focused on connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) that was formed in 2015 by seasoned and highly respected ITS industry executives Abbas Mohaddes and Peter Sweatman to provide public and private companies, municipalities, and organizations with the deep expertise required to successfully navigate and take advantage of transportation’s evolution.
Now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Econolite, CAVita maintains extensive contacts with decision-makers in vehicle and infrastructure technology, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), mobility systems for people and freight, technology companies, CAV deployment and testing consortia, leading research universities, and broader parts of the ecosystem including telecommunications, data analytics, logistics, Internet-of-Things (IoT), and insurance. Furthermore, CAVita’s Econolite affiliation affords unparalleled access to a broad array of engineering resources, ITS expertise, and deployment capabilities.
CAVita’s clients include some of the transportation industry’s leading organizations, such as the two largest transportation research institutes, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Other clients include the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), and numerous private companies.
Contact CAVita today to discuss how we can help you accomplish your connected and automated vehicle goals!
CAV News Digest is a production of CAVita, LLC, an Econolite company.
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