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Report From the 2014 Automated Vehicle Summit
The 2014 Automated Vehicle Symposium was held earlier this month in San Francisco near the bay. This was the third event hosted by both TRB and AUVSI and seemed to be a great success.
As we noted in our write-up prior to the event, one of the goals of the symposium’s organizers was to have a diverse audience with a wide range of backgrounds. This goal was clearly achieved as there were a very interesting mix of people from government, academia, the auto industry, and technology. The symposium also did a nice job in having presentations and perspectives from each of these groups. Listening to the various groups, it was pretty clear that they are working on somewhat different timescales.
The presentations from many of those from government related organizations discussed what they have been doing for the past ten years and their new project where they hope to have a demo in about five years. The academics talked about multi-year research and what needs to be better understood in the coming years. The OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers discussed incremental changes that will occur over the next decade or two.
On the other hand, the technology companies seem to have a completely different time scale. Google noted that they started their driverless car project 5 years ago and now have two different models operating and over 700,000 miles on their vehicles. Harbrick which was spun out of Autonomous Stuff just two years ago demonstrated working systems in vehicles.
As these technology and transportation industries come together in bringing us automated vehicles it will be interesting to see if the technology companies will be able to move the timescales of the historic transportation organizations up or if the industry will bring the technology companies back to their time frame.
The breakout sessions seemed to generate lively conversations and debates. It will be interesting to see the results of these when they are published around the end of September.
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AVS 2014 Breakout Session: Automated Transit and Shared Mobility
The 2014 Automated Vehicle Symposium is coming up in San Francisco next week (July 15-17th). Some of the organizers and panelists of the show have provided insights into several of the breakout sessions that will be held. The title of the breakout session discussed below is Evolutionary and Revolutionary Pathways to Automated Transit and Shared Mobility. For more information about the event and the individual sessions, click here.
The Transit and Shared Mobility Breakout Session will examine and debate the Evolutionary versus Revolutionary path to automated transit and shared mobility. Guest speakers will report on current initiatives, vision, and policy, and there will be discussion to identify key issues for both. According to Stanley Young, from the University of Maryland and one of the organizers of this session, the goal of this session is to identify key issues and bifurcation points that will determine the path for public transport as driverless technology emerges.This session will be looked at from three perspectives:
• The first will be the evolutionary path to full automation, how do we get from where we are today to where we will be in 20 years in a somewhat smooth transition.
• The second will be the revolutionary path, possible paradigm shift, and disruptive technology that may completely reshape our view of public transport
• The third will be the impact of the ride-sharing movement and its synergism with driverless vehicles.
Stanley has had a long-term interest in automated transit, almost two decades. He’s been interested in finding how a better mobility system could be provided. He feels that what we have is good but it can be better. Stanley contacted Jane Lappin, one of the key organizers of AVS 2014, found a few people who were interested in the topic and formed a core group.
The organizers are hoping to bring credible viewpoints from critical thinkers in an open discussion. Ideas will be raised from new perspectives that will generate more thoughts and ideas from panelists, attendees, and organizers. One of the goals of the session will be to look at what can we leverage in the near term and what should we be looking for in the long term.
There are ten speakers who will participate in this session who come from different backgrounds so the discussion will be well rounded. One of the speakers, Adriano Allessandrini, a researcher for the Centre for Transport and Logistics at the University of Rome La Sapienza, will discuss integrating automated road transport systems in urban environments. Dr. Neil Hoose, Head of European Engagement for the UK’s Transport Catapult, will speak on initiatives on the automated transit system in Milton Kenyes. Joseph Calabrese, CEO & General Manager of Greater Cleveland Transit Authority (RTA), is plugged into knowing the challenges with the existing public transit. He understands the daily issues and some of the things that we are really keying in on. Joseph Kopser will be bringing forward shared mobility platform from a commercial startup view.
The organizers would like everyone at attend but they are really looking to attract people who are more interested in driverless and automated vehicles from the view point of changing mobility for the community.
AVS 2014 Breakout Session: Legal “Accelerators and Brakes”
The 2014 Automated Vehicle Symposium is coming up in San Francisco this month (July 15-17th). Some of the organizers and panelists of the show have provided insights into several of the breakout sessions that will be held. The title of the breakout session discussed below is Legal “Accelerators and Brakes”. For more information about the event and the individual sessions, click here.
A brief overview of the session:
This breakout session will explore the key issues that could accelerate or inhibit the deployment of autonomous and connected vehicles. The first two panels will focus on different aspects of transportation including tollways, highways, and transit, and the third panel will discuss state, federal and international regulation that impacts those modes of transportation.
The purpose of this breakout session is to understand deployment challenges from different transportation perspectives, disentangle their complexities, and discuss options for arriving at their potential solutions. This will be done through panel presentations and then audience discussion of issues such as:
- Which mode of transportation is the most likely to be the first to deploy AVs?
- What are key considerations for data use and misuse?
- Will “infotainment” (the on-board mix of information, such as navigation systems, and entertainment, such as video and music) accelerate the deployment of automated/connected passenger vehicles?
- Will the lack of uniform state laws inhibit the deployment of AVs?
- What will make you hate or love lawyers as the industry moves towards AV deployment?”
According to two of the organizers of the session, Frank Douma with the University of Minnesota and Karlyn Stanley with RAND Corporation, the focus of this breakout session will be to look at the challenges of deploying automated vehicles in different modes of transportation, including commercial trucking and passenger vehicles. The session will look at the regulatory and legal frameworks that have to be adapted for deployment and identify the accelerators and brakes from the legal perspective.
Frank has been involved with the TRB Automated Vehicle Workshop for the past three years. He is excited to see the energy that is exchanged and is looking forward to engaging industry leaders in symposium discussions. Karlyn is participating in the symposium for the second year. She is delighted that the focus of the entire symposium is the actual deployment of autonomous vehicles.
The organizers of this session envision lawyers as the primary audience but they are hoping to engage non-attorneys so a good discussion can be generated about what really needs to be addressed on the legal side. They have invited panelists who have practical, on-the-ground experience working with the deployment of autonomous vehicles. These panelists will share the challenges to deployment that they have observed from their experience. Some of the examples include issues about distracted driving laws and following distances that vary between states.
Some of the key speakers include CoCo Briseno with Caltrans and Bernard Soriano, Deputy Directory for the California DMV, who will give their perspective as California finishes its regulations for autonomous vehicles. Maxime Flament with Ertico will speak on the liability issues panel, which will address the perspectives and possible conflicts of state, federal and EU laws and regulations concerning AVs, connected vehicles, and the perceived need for uniform laws. Two of the authors of “Autonomous Vehicles Technology: A Guide for Policymakers”, James Anderson and Karlyn Stanley with RAND, will be moderators of panels at this session. They have written one of the most recent and comprehensive reports about autonomous vehicles.
This session will be highly interactive with structured small group discussion where people can articulate particular issues and possible suggestions for solutions. Participants in the break out session will work together in a final session that Frank will moderate to prioritize the key issues and opportunities for actual deployment. Organizers hope that a diverse group of attendees will make this a fascinating process.
AVS 2014 Ancillary Workshop: Envisioning Automated Vehicles for MPOs
Shannon McDonald, Assistant Professor of Architecture at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is one of the key organizers of the Ancillary workshop that will be held on Friday of the Automated Vehicles Symposium. The title of the workshop is Envisioning Automated Vehicles within the Built Environment: 2020, 2035, 2050.
Shannon came up with the idea for the workshop last summer and thought people would be interested in attending. The focus of the workshop is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). MPOs are federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organizations in the United States that are made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities.
MPO staff members have realized that deployment of automated vehicles is going to happen much sooner than anyone had originally thought. At the Transportation Research Board event in January, several people from MPOs all over the country wanted to discuss how autonomous vehicles deployment will effect our planning of roads, environments, and communities. This workshop is a great opportunity to delve deeper into the affects of the deployment of automated vehicles.
The workshop committee includes many people from California and East Coast MPOs. Each MPO has it’s own territory. They are responsible for trying to understand how new mobility and new ideas will impact the environment in their area including streets, neighborhoods, and regional areas.
Some of the people involved in the workshop include Dan Fagnant with the University of Texas, Austin who will be speaking on “A Convergence in Shared Mobility: Demand-responsive fully automated vehicles, for car sharing and ridesharing across Austin, Texas” and Bryant Walker Smith with Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) who will be speaking about “Government Regulation, Anticipation, and Participation”.
The workshop will cover a broad spectrum of ideas about automated vehicles, shared vehicles, automated transits, and even private automated vehicles. They will raise questions like how will automated vehicles impact parking and what’ going to happen with the way children are transported to school.
Organizers of the workshop have created specific scenarios that attendees will look at and discuss. Some of the scenarios include what will happen with freeway systems, how will transit systems change, what will happen with freight systems, and what are the absolute best and worst case scenarios that can happen with the introduction of automated vehicles. Attendees will be able to choose the scenario they want to work with and break out into small groups. Different sites will be provided along with tools including technologies, planners, and developers to create real world situations.
Shannon feels that the workshop will generate a lot of new thinking trying to figure out what can change and how it will change with the deployment of automated vehicles. It will be an interactive activity that will allow attendees to think more deeply about the impact of automated vehicles and help provide insights to the MPOs.
Shannon hopes to have a wide range of people attend but they have specifically structured the agenda to the MPOs. So far they have approximately 100 people attending the workshop.
AVS 2014 Breakout Session: Near-term Deployment
The 2014 Automated Vehicle Symposium is coming up in San Francisco this month (July 15-17th). Some of the organizers and panelists of the show have provided insights into several of the breakout sessions that will be held. Driverless Transportation will be sharing some of those insights throughout the next two weeks. For more information about the event and the individual sessions, click here.
Title: Near-term Connected/Automated Technology Deployment Opportunities.
A brief overview of the session:
Automated vehicles by themselves can deliver many but not all of the benefits possible through automation. Automation assisted by connection to other vehicles and the infrastructure and by roadway features such as managed lanes may be needed to unlock the full potential inherent in automation. Connected automation systems that include a role for an engaged driver can provide many benefits in the nearer-term, as part of the decades-long transition to a fully automated highway system. This breakout session will focus on ways to advance the development of an automated and connected highway system that will support increasingly capable vehicles and deliver safety and highway system operational benefits both in advance of and in addition to the benefits associated with fully automated vehicles.
According to Ginger Goodin, Senior Research Engineer for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and one of the organizers of the breakout session, one of the goals of this session is to focus on defining what the near term deployment opportunities are, how can the safety and the benefits of fully automated vehicles be advanced, what does the near term look like and how do we get to the long term.
The session will focus on three forces and groups that play a role in accelerating early deployment and realizing safety and congestion benefits in the near-term.
- The first force is technology, and the OEMs and suppliers that will be developing it. What are the connected technologies that are on the horizon that can deliver benefits over the next several decades?
- The second are the innovators from the infrastructure side. Basically finding out who the owners and operators are and what are the barriers that will need to be overcome.
- The third force is determining what the value proposition is for both private and public sectors.
Ginger got involved in the first TRB Road Vehicle Automation workshop in 2012 where she presented on managed lanes. Her background as a researcher is in the area of road pricing, and she was previously the Chair of the TRB Managed Lanes Committee. Her involvement in TRB connected her with the first workshop organizers. Since then, she and other workshop organizers have conducted research on policy implications of automated vehicles, supporting policy makers involved in infrastructure at the state and local government levels.
There are seventeen speakers in this breakout session that include individuals from federal, state and local governments, the private sector, the military, and economic development. A list of all of the speakers can be found here.
Attendees of this session can expect lively discussion with thought provoking questions. This is an opportunity to be part of the visioning process of where do we go from here. Ginger hopes for a diverse group of people to attend as she feels the best discussions arise when you have people from different backgrounds.
Automated Vehicles Symposium 2014
The 2014 Automated Vehicles Symposium is coming to San Francisco next month (July 15-17, July 14-18 with ancillary meetings). The meeting is being designed and organized by AUVSI and TRB. This looks to be one of the, if not the, premier event on Automated Vehicles in 2014.
This is the third year for this type of meeting for both AUVSI and TRB; however, in previous years each organization has had its own meeting. This is the first year that the two groups are working together. Since the two will not be competing, an even stronger program should be provided this year.
The original TRB automated vehicle workshop in 2012, was very education focused. That meeting focused on providing information to the community about the state of the industry and in particular what was happening outside of the U.S. Last year’s TRB workshop focused on developing research needs statements. Some of the research topics identified there have since been used by research groups, commercial entities and government agencies to focus their research in this space, and many are being posted to TRB’s Research Needs website.
The goal for this year’s program is even broader. Although some additional research needs will be defined, many of the breakout sessions will focus on broader goals. These will include synthesizing the existing research, identifying barriers to deployment and incentives to encourage further development in the industry.
One of the goals of this year’s meeting is to make it highly interactive and encourage questions and participation from the audience. Consequently, the plenary program is centered around presenters giving short “TED” like talks followed by interactive panel sessions. The organizing committee is working very hard to avoid “death by PowerPoint”.
Jane Lappin of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and Chair, TRB Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee and one of the key planners of this symposium as well as the two previous TRB workshop stated: “We are very excited about this year’s meeting. We’ve lined up a tremendous set of speakers and breakout sessions. I really think this will be out best meeting ever”.
The meeting will open on Tuesday morning with speakers who are leaders from the automotive industry. Tuesday’s keynote speaker is Dr. Ralf Herrtwich, Director Driver Assistance and Chassis Systems, Group Research and Advanced Engineering, Daimler AG. Dr Herrtwich will be followed by Dr. Jan Becker, Senior Manager, Autonomous Technologies Group, Robert Bosch, LLC., Cris Pavloff, Advanced Technology Engineer, BMW Group Technology Office and Dr. Maarten Sierhuis, Director, Nissan Research Center Silicon Valley. After the presentations, there will be a panel where the audience can ask questions of the group.
Following this is a panel on Digital Infrastructure with Ogi Redzic from Nokia HERE and Andrew Chatham, Principal Engineer, Self-Driving Cars, with Google, moderated by Bob Denaro.
Following Digital Infrastructure is a panel discussing Technology Challenges. Many people feel that the technology challenges have been met and the big hurdles are legal and consumer acceptance. However, Dr. Steven Shladover, Program Manager, Mobility at PATH at the University of California at Berkeley feels that this is far from true and thus this is a very important panel. Joining Dr. Shladover is Dr. Alberto Broggi, VisLab; Dr. Markos Papageorgiou, Director, Dynamic Systems & Simulation Laboratory, Technical University of Crete; Dr. John Leonard, Professor of Mechanical and Ocean Engineering Associate Department, MIT; and Michael Wagner, Carnegie Mellon University.
Following this panel, Steve Underwood will present the results of an online survey of the AVS2014 registrants in which they have expressed their opinions about the importance of the various challenges to deployment of automated systems and their predictions about when various levels of road vehicle automation will become commercially available. This will help set the stage for the afternoon breakout discussions by giving the participants an indication of what their peers think about the future of automated driving systems.
After lunch, the symposium will split into 10 breakout sessions. Each of these is a virtual symposium in and of itself. These sessions include:
- Evolutionary and Revolutionary Pathways to Automated Transit and Shared Mobility
- Regional Planning and Modeling Implications of Driverless Cars
- Roadway Management and Operations with Automated Vehicles
- Truck Automation Opportunities
- Legal Accelerators and Brakes
- The State and Future Direction of Automated-Vehicle Human Factors
- Near-Term Connected/Automated Technology Deployment Opportunities
- Personal Vehicle Automation Commercialization
- Technology Roadmap, Maturity and Performance: Operational Requirements for Vehicle-Road Automation Systems and Components
- Road Infrastructure Needs of Connected-Automated Vehicles
The second day will begin with the Clifford Nass Memorial Lecture, given in memory of Prof. Clifford Nass of Stanford University, one of the leaders in the industry until he passed away last fall. Don Norman, Director, Design Lab, University of California, San Diego and Author of “The Design of Future Things” will be giving the lecture, titled The Human Side of Automation. Don is one of the pioneers in human-computer interaction and worked with Prof. Nass, so this should be a fitting tribute.
Following the pattern of the first day, there will next be a series of speakers and panels from OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in the automotive industry. These include:
- John Capp, Director, Electrical & Controls Systems Research & Active Safety Technology Strategy, General Motors Research & Development
- Steffen Linkenbach, Director Systems & Technology, NAFTA, Continental
- Patrice Reilhac, Innovation & Collaborative Research Director, Comfort & Driving Assistance Business Group, Valeo
- Dr. Chris Urmson, Director, Self-Driving Cars, Google
Next will be a series of presentations on some of the largest and most important automation projects in Europe. Dr. Adriano Alessandrini, Università degli Studi di Roma will discuss CityMobil2: Automated Road Transport Systems in Urban Environments (including a live video feed from a current demonstration in Sardinia); Dr. Angelos Amditis, Research Director, I-Sense Group, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) will discuss The AdaptIVe Project: Working on Research, Legal and Deployment Issues in Europe for Automated Vehicles and Anders Tylman-Mikiewicz, General Manager, Volvo Monitoring & Concept Center, Volvo Car Corporation will present The Drive Me Project: Autonomous Driving by Volvo (the major field test planned for 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden).
Following the reports from Europe, the symposium will then look at Societal Issues and Non-technical Challenges, with a panel moderated by Jane Lappin, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and Chair, TRB Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee; and including presentations by Ginger Goodin, Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University System; Michael Gucwa, Management Science and Engineering department, Stanford University; and Dr. Ken Laberteaux, Toyota Research Institute-North America.
The final morning will begin with reports on current activities by national and state governments. Speakers will include:
- Kevin Dopart, Program Manager for Connected Vehicle Safety and Automation, Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office, U.S. Department of Transportation
- Nat Beuse, Associate Administrator, Vehicle Safety Research, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- A representative of the European Commission
- Takumi Yamamoto, Director, ITS Policy & Program Office, Road Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
- Dr. Bernard C. Soriano, Deputy Director, Risk Management, California Department of Motor Vehicles
These presentations will be followed by brief summary presentations from the ten breakout discussion groups that spent the previous two afternoons in in-depth consideration of important topics associated with automation. This will be the opportunity for all of the meeting participants to learn about the key outcomes from the discussions in the breakout sessions they were not able to attend.
All in all, it looks to be an enlightening three days of presentations and panels, with the real leaders in the industry. When asked about the attendees, Dr. Shladover indicated that this was one of the really great aspects of AVS2014, because the people who have attended the previous meetings and who are expected to be coming again this year are people with a wide range of backgrounds from technology to government and research to manufacturing and everything in between. Furthermore, these were not just any people from these backgrounds but the thought leaders and decision makers.
In the coming days, we’ll provide insights into some of the breakout sessions that are part of this symposium. If you are interested in attending, space is limited, click here.
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