SelfDriving

What’s a self-driving car? Here’s an explanation

By Betty C. Morrow 23 hours ago

There are no self-driving cars on sale today. Point blank. That’s the cold-hard truth. Nothing fits the bill based on the SAE Scale of Autonomy’s standard. It’s true technology and engineering has come a very long way, but based on the SAE’s standards, we’re still very far from a proper autonomous car. We’ll dive into that below.

I largely agree with former Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt’s view that “it’s a bug that cars were invented before computers.” In terms of sheer technical elegance, we never should have been at the controls in the first place. 

Imagine we hadn’t yet invented automobiles. Suppose I Iaid out a vision for using 3,300 pound machines to typically transport just our 175-pound selves in a process requiring we pay rapt attention to the use of a steering wheel and pedals to navigate roads composed of asphalt, brightly colored suggestions and poorly guided machines

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Tesla Faces Regulatory Tension Over Self-Driving Builds. Market Doesn’t Care.

By Betty C. Morrow 2 weeks ago

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U.S. automotive-safety regulators want some answers from Tesla over its software and recall practices.


Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. automotive-safety regulators want some answers from




Tesla

over its recall practices. It’s another example of the tension building between Tesla and the traditional auto industry as cars become smarter and start to drive themselves. It feels like a big issue, but for now, the stock market just doesn’t care.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, has reminded Tesla (ticker: TSLA) that even software updates that correct a defect must result in recall paperwork, even if cars don’t have to come into a shop for physical repair. The administration also wants Tesla to disclose performance regarding new versions of its autonomous-driving software, even if it has non-disclosure agreements with drivers using the software.

“Through these actions, NHTSA continues to demonstrate its commitment to safety and its

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As Tesla pilots self-driving cars, auto insurance may become obsolete

By Betty C. Morrow 4 weeks ago
As Tesla pilots self-driving cars, auto insurance may become obsolete

As Tesla pilots self-driving cars, auto insurance may become obsolete

The phrase “asleep at the wheel” could soon lose all meaning as Tesla and other automakers push self-driving cars closer to reality.

CEO Elon Musk says select Tesla drivers could get their hands on “full self-driving” software as early as Oct. 9.

The upgrade won’t make the cars truly autonomous, but Musk dreams that one day people will safely fall asleep on their way home in a Tesla.

That raises an obvious question: If a self-driving car does crash while you’re snoozing, what happens? Who is at fault? You? The car’s manufacturer? No one?

The answer could radically disrupt the insurance industry, potentially making some forms of auto insurance obsolete and saving drivers hundreds of dollars a year.

Self-driving cars are on the horizon

A Tesla Model S interior

Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

We’re still years away from driverless cars speeding down the freeway,

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Audi’s Bonkers New Skysphere EV Concept Is a Self-Driving Shapeshifter

By Betty C. Morrow 2 months ago

Audi‘s first in a trio of electric autonomous concept cars, signifying the marque’s future direction, will greet the public as part of Monterey Car Week. The Skysphere is a sporty roadster that, with the push of a button, physically stretches into a grand touring car that drives itself while passengers relax—at least in theory.

“The experience we wanted to recreate with Skysphere is grand touring” says designer Gael Buzyn, head of Audi’s new design studio in Malibu, Calif. “In the 1930s, there was a leap in technology that made cars more comfortable and easier to use. Today we are also coming into a new era of driving, also driven by technology, so we tried to project that into the future and look at how we could elevate that experience to a new level. We did this by creating two driving modes with two distinct personalities.”

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