Paul Gluckman

The FTC extended the comment period on privacy and security issues for automated connected cars to May 1, said the commission in a Wednesday news release. The comments will be examined at a webcast June 28 workshop at 400 7th St. SW that's being co-hosted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. No agenda has been listed for the workshop but the agencies are seeking answers to several questions, including what data vehicles with wireless interfaces collect, store and transmit, how data is used and shared, how consumers will benefit and what are the roles of automakers, parts suppliers, tech companies and others in collecting data and ensuring security.

The car industry “over promised” a personal-use autonomous driving system “that under delivers,” said AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson at the National Automobile Dealers Association/J.D. Power 2017 Automotive Forum in New York Tuesday. “The idea that I’m supposed to sit back and enjoy that this autonomous system is driving the car, and on the other hand I’ve got to be paying attention every single second, ready to intervene before the thing crashes … are you kidding me?” said Jackson. “I’d rather do it myself,” he said, anticipating the response of the average driver. Jackson sees a place for “guardian angel” use cases, where autonomous driving technology helps drivers avoid accidents and “in certain cases” can take over driving in low-speed situations, under 25 mph, he said. Jackson sees autonomous vehicles fitting into the market where their cost is justified by replacing a professional driver for ride-hailing, taxi and trucking applications. The cost of a truly autonomous, Level 5 vehicle today is “probably $200,000” and that might come down to $100,000 in a few years, Jackson said, but “unless you’re replacing a professional driver, you can’t make an economic justification for it.” That's about five years in the future, he said.

General Motors officials said they met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and staff on the automaker’s plans for self-driving vehicles and to test the deployment of vehicular short range radar (SRR) within the 76-81 GHz band. They gave "an overview of GM's Privacy policies, continue[d] our discussion on GM's request for the FCC to adopt the service rules that will allow for the deployment of vehicular short range radar within the 76-81 GHz band, and inform[ed] the Chairman of the Special Temporary Authority request from GM's vendor, Alps Electric North America,” a filing in docket 15-26 said. Alps Electric sought the STA in March to test the use of the radars in the band, the automaker said. “SRRs are important safety technologies for GM.”

IBM scientists received a patent for a machine learning system that can contribute to accident protection in autonomous vehicles, the company said in an announcement. The system can dynamically shift control of an autonomous vehicle between a human driver and a vehicle control processor in a potential emergency, said IBM. The cognitive model uses sensors and artificial intelligence to determine potential safety concerns and control whether self-driving vehicles operate autonomously or relinquish control to a human driver. As an example, it said if a self-driving vehicle experiences an operational anomaly -- a faulty braking system, burned out headlight, or poor visibility or road conditions -- the system compares whether the on-board self-driving vehicle control processor or a human driver is in a better position to handle the situation. If the comparison decides the vehicle control processor is better able to handle the anomaly, the vehicle is placed in autonomous mode, it said.

As full driverless technology takes over, it "will spark a transformation of personal mobility," increasing the use of shared vehicles, said ABI Research in a Thursday news release. The market researcher predicts more than 11 million shared driverless vehicles will operate by 2030, serving an average of 64 users each. ABI said automakers will design vehicle interiors that will be reconfigurable to individual needs and preferences. “Car OEMs and other automotive newcomers have been imagining the interior of the driverless vehicle for some time, usually focusing on the fact that fully autonomous operation will do away with all of the usual driver distraction concerns and enable the occupant to fully engage in other tasks,” said ABI analyst James Hodgson.

Self-driving cars and different levels of vehicle automation will be the subject of a House Commerce Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing March 28, the panel said in a Tuesday notice. No witnesses were named. In September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released guidelines for automakers developing autonomous vehicles defined by different levels of automation (see 1609200039). The 10 a.m. hearing will be in 2322 Rayburn.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles proposed regulations that won't require the presence of a human inside a self-driving car being tested, a move Consumer Watchdog said would endanger people's safety. In a Friday notice, the DMV said "the proposed regulations promote the development of autonomous technology that has the potential to increase safety and enhance mobility, while focusing on issues related to roadway safety." It said an automaker would certify the vehicles being tested have a communications link, provide information about the "intended operational design domain," maintain a training program, provide disclosures to passengers and submit a safety assessment letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (see 1609200039). John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog privacy project director, said in a news release that the proposal is "too industry friendly and don't adequately protect consumers." The DMV is also shifting safety enforcement to the federal government, he added. “The NHTSA safety check list is meaningless because it doesn’t set any standards," he said. "It only asks that [manufacturers] voluntarily say, ‘Yeah, we thought about this stuff.’” The proposal would require automakers to notify a municipality of testing plans, not get permission, and would weaken requirements to report testing failures, he said. The DMV plans an April 25 hearing in Sacramento.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and European Automotive Telecom Alliance (EATA) signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on “connected and autonomous driving solutions” and “related use cases” in standards and spectrum allocations, the groups said in a Thursday announcement. Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm are the founding members of the 33-company 5GAA. BMW, Daimler, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia also are among the three dozen companies that belong to EATA, as are six automotive and telecom associations, including GSMA, which produces the Mobile World Congress. The groups will partner to prioritize connected car and autonomous driving “use cases” so they can “identify the technical requirements that need to be addressed, both in the short and in the long term,” they said.

The Trump administration is reviewing federal self-driving vehicle guidelines issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in September, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said at a National Governors Association meeting Sunday. “This administration is evaluating this guidance and will consult with you and other stakeholders as we update it and amend it ... and ensure that it strikes the right balance.” NHTSA issued the guidelines in September, asking automakers and tech companies developing self-driving systems to voluntarily provide details on a 15-item “safety assessment” checklist that covers broad areas such as cybersecurity, data-sharing and privacy (see 1609200039 and 1609160038). Some automakers at a recent House hearing (see 1702140042 and 1702130013) wanted more flexibility in the rules to allow more testing, and to prevent a patchwork of state and local regulations that are hindering development of the technology. Chao also cited advancements in integrating drones into the national airspace and the benefits from that technology. She said the federal government should be a catalyst for "safe and effective" technologies, not an impediment. She said Detroit, Silicon Valley and others need "to step up and help educate a skeptical public about the benefit of automated technologies." The secretary said many people are anxious about safety and privacy from these advancements.

There’s a “growing interest” among automotive OEMs in the deployment of “Level 2-Plus” autonomous-driving systems as a "phased" prelude to more advanced Level 3 and Level 4 self-driving vehicles, said Amnon Shashua, chairman and chief technology officer at components supplier Mobileye, on a Wednesday earnings call. Society of Automotive Engineers standard J3016 defines Level 2 as vehicles with automated acceleration, braking or steering features that still must rely on a human to perform most driving functions. Level 2-Plus systems will still need the driver “to be alert,” but they also will be “rich with sensory input” to assist with semi-automated driving, Shashua said. Level 2-Plus systems have the "potential" to be deployed in “significant” volumes in “premium” vehicles, the executive said. “We believe this is going to become the next push -- still Level 2, but very advanced content of driving-assist." Mobileye "separately" will continue work on "Level 3 and Level 4 activities,” he said. SAE defines Level 3 as “conditional” automation and Level 4 as “high” automation, one notch down on the scale from Level 5 “full” autonomy, meaning a self-driving car that requires no human control in any driving scenario. Mobileye is “already engaged” with 10 automotive OEMs on Level 3 and Level 4 deployments, Shashua said. He sees Level 2-Plus adoption beginning in late 2018 or early 2019, he said. Level 2-Plus as an autonomous-driving system “is not perfect in the sense that it can cover all crash situations,” he said. But “critical safety and redundancy” features in higher levels of autonomous driving “add a lot of cost,” he said. Level 2-Plus allows OEMs “to introduce high-content systems and still require the driver to be alert and take responsibility and take control,” he said.