[Nfbc-sj] AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN THE BAY AREA
Kevin Andrews
kevin.andrews94 at gmail.com
Thu Dec 6 12:34:22 PST 2018
I hear you there. If it was earlier in the week it might be tougher for me
to scoot out of work before 5 as that is one of our busiest times with
exams next week, but Thursday should be okay. I do plan on taking the light
rail or Caltrain--whatever makes sense with time. I actually think it might
be better to do that over Uber/Lyft because traffic is probably garbage at
that time. Others including Kyle, let me know if you end up deciding to go.
Thanks.
On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 12:32 PM Kyle Garcia <kgarcia2432 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks Kevin. Unless I can move my final (which really I probably can,
> it's more so do I want to) then I won't be able to attend. I will
> definitely think about it as the topic of autonomous vehicles definitely
> interests me.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018, 12:09 PM Kevin Andrews <kevin.andrews94 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I echo the concerns that both Santiago and Kyle have raised. Pasted below
>> for your convenience, directly from the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce
>> website:
>>
>> Name: Forum on Self-Driving Cars
>> Date: December 13, 2018
>> Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM PST
>> Event Description:
>> Waymo, formerly the Google self-driving car project, has been developing
>> this technology since 2009. These vehicles should be familiar to residents
>> of
>> Mountain View and surrounding communities with Waymo testing in the area
>> for many years. Now, hear from the Waymo local policy and technical teams
>> about
>> their test program and others insights on what’s next for Waymo at a
>> community forum at the Historic Adobe Building. The presentation will
>> include question
>> and answer, plus a chance to view a Waymo vehicle up close.
>> Location:
>> Historic Adobe Building
>> 157 N Moffett Blvd, Mountain View
>>
>> Street parking available at 157 Moffett Blvd and 100 Santa Rosa Ave.
>> Public Transit: Across from Mountain View Caltrain/VTA Transit Center
>> Date/Time Information:
>> Thursday, December 13, 2018
>> 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
>> Fees/Admission:
>> Free
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 12:04 PM Santiago H <
>> santiago.blue.hernandez at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Definitely. Another possible issue I think we’ll experience if not
>>> addressed soon is knowing where the driverless car is parked when
>>> requesting a ride, especially for those of us with no usable sight. Not to
>>> mention, knowing which driverless car is picking up which passenger will
>>> also pose its challenges. A visual image of the vehicle would not help us
>>> much. It’s important to have some sort of communication with someone who
>>> can provide the feedback to the appropriate department within Waymo.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Dec 6, 2018, at 11:58 AM, Kyle Garcia <kgarcia2432 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I would love to attend, but I'm guessing it will be in the evening and I
>>> have a final from 4 to 7pm. If it happens to he mod day then I will try to
>>> attend. This seems to be the newest article that mentions the meeting, so
>>> I'm not sure where to find out exact location or time of it. .
>>>
>>> Hopefully Kevin can attend, it would be great to have somebody
>>> representing the blind there. With driverless cars quickly approaching a
>>> regular reality our ability to interact with them will be key to avoidance
>>> of accidents or at minimum awkward situations where neither party knows
>>> what the other one is doing. At least we can assume that a sighted driver
>>> will see us and stop or get out of our way.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018, 9:17 AM Kevin Andrews <kevin.andrews94 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have all intentions of going up there. Anyone know what time this
>>>> thing is at? It is important we have our voices heard. We might also get
>>>> somebody from the city there and we can talk to them about getting involved.
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 12:22 PM Brian Buhrow <buhrow at nfbcal.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> hello. Below is a story from the San Jose Mercury News about
>>>>> Waymo's
>>>>> plans to begin testing fully driverless cars in Bay Area cities in the
>>>>> next
>>>>> few months. Mountain View is supposed to be holding a public hearing
>>>>> regarding Waymo's plans on December 13 of this year. that's a week
>>>>> from
>>>>> tomorrow, thursday the 13th. I can't be at that meeting, but I think
>>>>> we
>>>>> should have a representative there. I'm excited by the possibility of
>>>>> being able to use an autonomous vehicle, but I'm a bit frightened at
>>>>> the
>>>>> prospect of being a pedestrian interacting with a car that has no
>>>>> driver. I
>>>>> really want to know how they behave, how to know when the thing is
>>>>> about to
>>>>> take off, stop, turn, etc. While I can't see, I often use hand
>>>>> gestures to
>>>>> signal to drivers what my intentions are. that helps them know what
>>>>> I'm
>>>>> doing. And, in many cases, if there's confusion, the driver will roll
>>>>> down
>>>>> their window and we'll chat to get things straightened out. I realize
>>>>> these are issues that sighted drivers and pedestrians will have to deal
>>>>> with as well, but I think Waymo and other companies should know we're
>>>>> here.
>>>>> For example, I read a story about the driverless testing going on in
>>>>> Texas,
>>>>> referenced in the article below, where the solution to pedestrian
>>>>> confusion
>>>>> about what the cars were doing was to put an LED display on the front
>>>>> of
>>>>> the vehicle with messages about what the car wanted. For example, if
>>>>> the
>>>>> car was waiting for a pedestrian to cross in front of it, it would put
>>>>> up a
>>>>> sign saying it was waiting for pedestrian crossing. Such a solution
>>>>> wouldn't work in my case, nor other blind pedestrians who might be
>>>>> traveling near these vehicles.
>>>>> In any case, if anyone can get to this meeting in Mountain
>>>>> view next
>>>>> week, I'd be very interested in knowing what they have to say. Even
>>>>> better, if it gets us some contacts in Waymo, that would be awesome!
>>>>>
>>>>> -thanks
>>>>> -Brian
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/27/is-silicon-valley-ready-for-fully-autonomous-waymo-vehicles/
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Is Silicon Valley ready for fully autonomous Waymo vehicles?
>>>>>
>>>>> By Levi Sumagaysay | lsumagaysay at bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area
>>>>> News
>>>>> Group
>>>>> PUBLISHED: November 27, 2018 at 5:30 am | UPDATED: November 27,
>>>>> 2018 at
>>>>> 10:34 am
>>>>>
>>>>> Waymo, the first company to get approval from the Department of
>>>>> Motor
>>>>> Vehicles to test fully self-driving vehicles on California roads,
>>>>> faces
>>>>> questions and concerns galore as it prepares to roll out the cars in
>>>>> Silicon Valley.
>>>>>
>>>>> For example, what happens if one of its vehicles -- which won't
>>>>> have a
>>>>> driver behind the wheel -- gets into an accident?
>>>>>
>>>>> The self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, equipped with a two-way
>>>>> cellular communication link, will notify Waymo's fleet-response
>>>>> specialists. Those specialists will call 911 if needed. Then Waymo
>>>>> will
>>>>> send a response team to help passengers and first responders on the
>>>>> scene.
>>>>>
>>>>> That's what Waymo has shared on its website and with police,
>>>>> including
>>>>> officers in Los Altos, one of the cities where the company will be
>>>>> doing the testing.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Waymo has been very proactive and very cognizant of community
>>>>> concerns," said Captain Scott McCrossin of the Los Altos Police
>>>>> Department.
>>>>> Waymo will test fully driverless vehicles in the Silicon Valley
>>>>> cities
>>>>> within the blue area marked in this map. The company got DMV
>>>>> approval
>>>>> in October, but it has not indicated publicly when testing will
>>>>> begin.
>>>>> (Courtesy Waymo)
>>>>>
>>>>> Waymo first talked to Los Altos city officials in April, when the
>>>>> company submitted an application to test its fully driverless
>>>>> vehicles
>>>>> to the DMV. In late October, the DMV approved Waymo's application
>>>>> for
>>>>> testing in five cities. Besides Los Altos, the cars will be tested
>>>>> in
>>>>> Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto.
>>>>>
>>>>> The Alphabet-owned company has not publicly announced when testing
>>>>> will
>>>>> begin, and the cities say they have not been informed of a timeline.
>>>>>
>>>>> But Waymo has been engaged in various levels of outreach, according
>>>>> to
>>>>> those cities' representatives and correspondence included in the
>>>>> company's application with the DMV.
>>>>> * Waymo held a safety training for first responders in September
>>>>> where the company explained its safety and law-enforcement
>>>>> interaction protocols, McCrossin said. In September and October,
>>>>> Waymo held public forums in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.
>>>>> * Over the summer, Waymo displayed a self-driving vehicle at the
>>>>> Sunnyvale library. In September, the company was at a tech expo
>>>>> downtown. And Waymo has held a training session with the city's
>>>>> public-safety officials.
>>>>> * In Palo Alto, there's a public forum scheduled Nov. 27 at 6
>>>>> p.m. at
>>>>> the Cubberley Community Center, where residents will hear from
>>>>> Waymo and get a chance to ask questions. The police department
>>>>> is
>>>>> in talks with the company about scheduling a meeting.
>>>>> * Mountain View has asked the other cities to meet on Dec. 6 and
>>>>> is
>>>>> planning a public forum Dec. 13. Mountain View police recently
>>>>> met
>>>>> with Waymo, and they are talking about a future training
>>>>> session.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is that outreach enough? In Silicon Valley, Google/Waymo's
>>>>> self-driving
>>>>> cars with drivers behind the wheel have been a common sight for a
>>>>> long
>>>>> time. Each accident involving the vehicles -- 17 so far this year --
>>>>> has been documented, as required by the DMV. But despite Waymo's
>>>>> years
>>>>> of testing, its move to fully driverless vehicles on public roads
>>>>> concerns some Silicon Valley residents.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I followed a Waymo on Castro, the principal street in Mountain
>>>>> View,
>>>>> and it proceeded at 12 mph (in a 25 mph zone) with a queue of cars
>>>>> behind and caught us all at a red light," John Joss said last week.
>>>>> "It
>>>>> then turned right after stopping but only gave a turn signal after
>>>>> it
>>>>> had stopped. Severely dumb."
>>>>>
>>>>> The 84-year-old Mountain View resident added that when a Waymo
>>>>> vehicle
>>>>> reaches the intersection of Cuesta and Bonita Avenue, "it goes into
>>>>> a
>>>>> state of fibrillation, saying, `oh, we can't go, we can't turn!'
>>>>>
>>>>> "It's too soon" for fully autonomous vehicles, Joss said.
>>>>>
>>>>> Other residents agree. Karen Brenchley said she recently saw a Waymo
>>>>> vehicle make a right turn from a left-turn lane.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I'm like, `Did that really happen'?" said the 55-year-old Sunnyvale
>>>>> resident, who has a master's degree in computer science and works in
>>>>> artificial intelligence. "Thirty years ago I took an AI class in
>>>>> grad
>>>>> school. One of the things we wrote was how to change lights based on
>>>>> traffic patterns. We're still trying to figure that out. How long
>>>>> have
>>>>> we had self-driving cars? I'm delighted that they're doing what
>>>>> they're
>>>>> doing, but I think they're not ready."
>>>>>
>>>>> The company is hearing people's concerns. In September, Barbara
>>>>> McCarthy of Los Altos saw a Waymo vehicle fail to stop at an
>>>>> intersection with a flashing light, which means pedestrians were
>>>>> getting ready to cross. She was concerned enough that she contacted
>>>>> Waymo.
>>>>>
>>>>> "They were very helpful," McCarthy, 67, said. She spoke with a
>>>>> community manager by phone and email. That made her feel like Waymo
>>>>> will take residents' concerns into account, she said.
>>>>>
>>>>> In Phoenix, Waymo has been testing a fully autonomous program since
>>>>> April 2017. There, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans shuttle
>>>>> early-rider volunteers to work, school, the mall and elsewhere. The
>>>>> company has signed up more than 400 riders since it began the
>>>>> program,
>>>>> and a recent report indicates that it will start a new driverless
>>>>> car
>>>>> service in the area next month -- although there will be safety
>>>>> drivers
>>>>> behind the wheel of those vehicles, a spokeswoman confirms.
>>>>>
>>>>> In Silicon Valley, Waymo's first testers will be its own employees.
>>>>> Then it will open up the program to members of the public, as it has
>>>>> done in Arizona. The company will test vehicles day and night on
>>>>> city
>>>>> streets, rural roads and highways with speed limits of up to 65
>>>>> miles
>>>>> per hour. The DMV approved testing of 39 vehicles, all Chrysler
>>>>> Pacifica Hybrids.
>>>>>
>>>>> Waymo started as Google's self-driving car division in 2009 before
>>>>> it
>>>>> was spun off as a standalone subsidiary in 2016. Last month, Waymo
>>>>> CEO
>>>>> John Crafcik boasted that its vehicles had reached 10 million miles
>>>>> driven on public roads in 25 cities.
>>>>>
>>>>> Merely having all those miles under its belt is not enough, some
>>>>> critics say.
>>>>>
>>>>> "The DMV is letting Waymo turn all of us into human guinea pigs for
>>>>> testing their robot cars, without an adequate explanation of what's
>>>>> going on," said John Simpson, Privacy and Technology Project
>>>>> director
>>>>> for Consumer Watchdog, a longtime Google critic, in a statement at
>>>>> the
>>>>> time the California DMV announced its approval of Waymo's permit.
>>>>>
>>>>> In an interview, Simpson expressed concern about Waymo's plan for
>>>>> remote "drivers" who will be monitoring the vehicles. A Waymo
>>>>> spokeswoman would not say how many vehicles at a time each remote
>>>>> driver will be watching.
>>>>>
>>>>> "It's like they're playing a video game," he said, "but if something
>>>>> goes wrong, somebody might get killed."
>>>>>
>>>>> Consumer Watchdog also is urging the DMV to release more information
>>>>> about Waymo's insurance coverage, pointing to redactions in its
>>>>> insurance documents.
>>>>>
>>>>> But DMV spokesman Marty Greenstein said Waymo has met the agency's
>>>>> requirements: "The insurance information was redacted from Waymo's
>>>>> public application because it was deemed to relate to confidential
>>>>> business strategies that have competitive significance."
>>>>>
>>>>> This story has been updated with additional information about
>>>>> Waymo's
>>>>> upcoming driverless car service.
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Nfbc-sj mailing list
>>>>> Nfbc-sj at nfbcal.org
>>>>> https://nfbcal.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/nfbc-sj
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Best,
>>>> Kevin Andrews
>>>> Email: kevin.andrews94 at gmail.com
>>>> Mobile Telephone: (248) 508-8569
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Best,
>> Kevin Andrews
>> Email: kevin.andrews94 at gmail.com
>> Mobile Telephone: (248) 508-8569
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--
Best,
Kevin Andrews
Email: kevin.andrews94 at gmail.com
Mobile Telephone: (248) 508-8569
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