Report: Google self-driving cars should have data recorders, says US official

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Technology

Driverless Cars from Google

Fears over domestic spying operations and privacy concerns have been splattered across the headlines with alarming frequency, and now it appears that even the auto industry isn’t immune. According to a report from The Huffington Post, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman, has argued that black boxes should be mandatory in self-driving cars, like those that Google and Nissan have been working on.

“Data capture is going to help you understand if there is a vehicle problem, or if it’s a human factors issue,” Hersman told the Post. The fear behind black boxing cars, though, has always been one of individual privacy being compromised. That isn’t likely to change regardless of whether a car is controlled by man or machine, as evidenced by an Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers survey, which claimed that nearly three-quarters of participants were worried about driverless cars recording personal information. Adding to that, 70 percent of respondents feared their info being accessed by the government, according to the HuffPo report.

Those arguments aren’t enough for Hersman, though. “When you have a driverless car, you have to demonstrate on the front end that you have the data that shows it’s safe. But we would also say, you need to make sure you have good data recording capabilities, so when there is an event, you can understand what happened.”

Google self-driving cars should have data recorders, says US official originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Google invests $250M in Uber ride-share service

Filed under: Technology

DENVER, CO. - FEBRUARY 10: Kevin Labonte, owner of Special Times Limousine, supplements his own fares with those he contracts out from Uber. State legislators may enact proposed changes supported by the taxi community that say Uber is an unregulated service. Though not regulated, Uber merely connects private drivers, who comply with all PUC regulations, to customers. (Photo By AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

The number of people who haven’t yet heard of the transportation/technology startup Uber is shrinking by the minute. Uber produces a mobile application that is used to connect passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire, typically luxury vehicles – kind of a high-tech, high-zoot taxi calling service.

Use of the app may be spreading gospel of Uber within urban centers, but the company is also generating tremendous buzz for sourcing massive investment, including a reported $250 million sourced from Google Ventures. Google’s quarter-billion makes up the better part of a $360-million investment round, with a resultant company valuation set at a staggering $3.5 billion.

So, what does Google, famous researcher into autonomous car technology, want with Uber’s popular ride-sharing software? Our wandering minds immediately leap to fantasies about driverless limousines and taxis as a logical next step. And, while that type of service might be possible down the road, a recent article from Forbes indicates that the road in question is a long one.

The reality may be a bit less theatrical than robot cabs, but is interesting nevertheless. Forbes believes that Google likes the concept of repurposing Uber tech to work with its own blooming Google Shopping Express play in the near term, along with all kinds of on-demand delivery in the not-distant future. The core idea of Shopping Express is to create a near-seamless way to go from a one-click purchase on your laptop to the knock of a delivery driver at your front door. Imagine combining the depth of Amazon’s shopping experience with the instant gratification of ordering Chinese food, and you get the idea. Google would seem to believe that Uber’s app, technology, and engineer brains are a fast step forward in that direction.

Google invests $250M in Uber ride-share service originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Google shacking up with Continental on self-driving cars

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Safety, Technology

Google co-founder Sergey listens to California Gov. Edmund G Brown Jr. during a bill signing for driverless cars at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012.  The legislation will open the way for driverless cars in the state. Google, which has been developing autonomous car technology and lobbying for the legislation has a fleet of driverless cars that has logged more than 300,000 miles (482,780 kilometers) of self-driving on California roads. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Google, well known tester of self-driving cars, may have just come one step closer to making its sci-fi tech a widely realistic proposition. Along with IBM, it’s inked a deal with tier one supplier Continental, according to Reuters. The official announcement is set to be made during September’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

This is really a huge development for the world of driverless cars. Continental has its hands in a number of pies, supplying tires, brakes, stability control systems and other essential components to manufacturers. Google, meanwhile, is one of the biggest names in tech and has been toying with driverless vehicles for years, making this a formidable pairing. This could be the kick in the pants driverless cars need to get further into the mainstream consciousness.

Continental is already teamed up with Cisco Systems, as well, in a bid to establish data transfer networks between cars. All told, there are some mighty big names throwing their hats into the autonomous ring. Expect more news on the terms of this alliance at Frankfurt.

Google shacking up with Continental on self-driving cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Penalties possible for drivers wearing Google Glass in US and UK [w/poll]

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Technology, UK

Google Glass may be banned by the UK and West Virginia before it's released.

The key feature of Google Glass is that it basically puts an Android smartphone on users’ heads, allowing them hands-free operation of many smartphone features, including web browsing, phone calls, texting and navigation. A small heads-up display rests directly above the right eye, making it seem like a match made in heaven for drivers, who could use Glass without taking their hands off the wheel. But lawmakers already are planning to ban the device from being used while driving before it has even been released to the general public, Engadget reports.

A UK Department for Transportation official told Stuff that it is “in discussion with the police to ensure that individuals do not use this technology while driving.” Similarly, as Gizmodo reports, West Virginia House of Delegates member Gary G. Howell has said he thinks the technology would be just as problematic as texting while driving and is introducing a bill to ban Google Glass from being used on the roads in that state.

Glass has been tested while riding a motorcycle with mixed results, and there’s even an application in development for Tesla Model S owners, but it could all be for naught if Big Brother says no. Do you think using Google Glass should be prohibited while driving? Sound off in the poll below.

View Poll

Penalties possible for drivers wearing Google Glass in US and UK [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mercedes pondering Google Glass navi

Filed under: Technology, Mercedes-Benz

Engadget is reporting that Mercedes-Benz might be tinkering with Google Glass for its future navigation systems. The first, big-name wearable tech item of the 21st century, Google Glass has a huge degree of potential in a number of fields, not the least of which is the auto industry.

Citing the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Engadget mentions that Mercedes is focusing on producing genuine, door-to-door directions that combine the pedestrian and automotive applications that Google Maps has become known for. President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Johann Jungwirth, mentioned this seamless integration of directions is the division’s ultimate goal.

The idea is intriguing, but we’re probably going to be waiting on it for some time. Google Glass is still quite expensive and is far from being available at the local Best Buy. Until that day comes, it looks like we’ll just have to make do with going from our car’s navigation to a smartphone.

Mercedes pondering Google Glass navi originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Jul 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read This: How Google unwittingly busted a Chinese car theft ring

Filed under: China, Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Technology

Google China sign

Technology giant Google is a regular in headlines across the world, mostly for innovative hardware and online products, but this is the first time we’ve caught wind of the company stopping crime. A fascinating writeup on The Verge tells the story of Google doing just that – in China no less.

Sophisticated and non-stop anti-fraud measures used by Google’s AdWords to protect consumers from online scammers are at the heart of the story here. It seems that over the course of revising its security software back in 2010, Google started to see advertisements for normal-looking used car ads in China that had been flagged for removal.

As it turns out, the company’s algorithm for detecting fraud had stumbled upon a fairly long-standing practice of car theft within China. Thieves would take a photo of a random car on the street, use the photo to place an ad online, then steal the car before selling it to an unwitting buyer. The Verge article dives in to the hows and whys behind this unlikely method of halting (or at least attempting to halt) auto-theft in the far flung country – click through and enjoy the read.

How Google unwittingly busted a Chinese car theft ring originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Jul 2013 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla loan payoff opens up takeover scenario, is Google interested? [w/video]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors

tesla model s logo

‘Tesla needs to prove success is sustainable and that it is based on a solid financial foundation. If they do, they should be an appealing takeover target.’

Buried in the loan agreement text between Tesla Motors and the US Department of Energy were restrictions on the automaker’s ability to offer itself for sale. Now that the loan has been paid back early, speculation is ramping up that the company will get snagged by a bigger fish through a sale or a takeover. Bloomberg, in fact, is wondering aloud if Google will take the bait.

Now, before anyone gets all excited that the giant touchscreen in the Model S will get a clever logo redesign every holiday, we’ve heard unlikely rumors about other companies buying Tesla before (for example, Google’s competition, Apple) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said repeatedly that he isn’t going to step down any time soon. In fact, he told Bloomberg last month, “I’ve said from the very beginning, from the creation of Tesla, that our goal is to create a compelling mass-market car. I would not consider stepping away from Tesla until we’re there. We’re several years away obviously.”

Right now might be a bad time to buy the company anyway, given TSLA stock’s high value (over $100 today). In fact, Bloomberg has calculated that Tesla is trading for 816 times(!) its estimated 2013 earnings. If things continue to go well, money-laden companies like Google or another automaker might be interested in the EV builder. The former deputy CEO of Chrysler and onetime Toyota dealer body guru, Jim Press, told Bloomberg that, “Tesla has developed an appealing and credible product with game-changing technology. They need to prove their success is sustainable for the long term and that it is based on a solid financial foundation. If they do, they should be an appealing takeover target.”

Currently, Musk controls about 24-percent of Tesla shares. There are more details in the Bloomberg article here and there’s a video bit of speculation below.

Continue reading Tesla loan payoff opens up takeover scenario, is Google interested? [w/video]

Tesla loan payoff opens up takeover scenario, is Google interested? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 24 Jun 2013 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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9-eyes.com features Google Street View’s most beautiful and disturbing images

Filed under: Etc.

Tumblr is a collection of personal fetishes, with homemade sites focused on everything from cats to cars to freckles. The site 9-eyes.com, on the other hand, doesn’t look through the two eyes of Jon Rafman, but rather through the numerous and far-flung eyes of Google Street View; the site is nothing but the “best” pics from Google’s roving army, like the one above.

We have no idea how the suited man (or is it a mannequin?) ended up on a lonely, rural lane. Nor do we have any idea why the boy is hiding behind the garbage can, why the reindeer is running down the road, or why Rafman – who blurs every person’s face – decided to blur the face of an elephant, as if we would have recognized it otherwise. But you’ll find that and much more in the museum-worthy collection.

Be warned: 9-eyes contains many flipped birds and shiny moons of a decidedly non-lunar variety. If you’re all right with that and you have time to kill, you know where to head.

9-eyes.com features Google Street View’s most beautiful and disturbing images originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 15 May 2011 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Ford is using Google’s Prediction API to increase efficiency

Filed under: Hybrid, Technology, Ford, Electric

Ford uses Google's Prediction API to increase efficiency

Ford uses Google’s Prediction API to increase efficiency – Click above to watch the video after the break

Yesterday we got word that Ford was tapping Google’s new Prediction API to provide location and routing services for its fleet of plug-in hybrids and full EVs. Today, Ford’s engineers are speaking at the Google I/O developers summit and they’ve released a video explaining how the system works and how they plan to implement it.

You can get the full details in our previous post, but the short-and-sweet version is this: Ford drivers can opt-in for the service, which tracks their daily driving routine, and, after building a database of destinations and waypoints, the system provides drivers with more efficient routing to optimize their powertrain, reduce range anxiety and decrease commute times. We’ve snagged a handful of slides from Ford’s presentation and you can check out the full video after the jump.

Continue reading How Ford is using Google’s Prediction API to increase efficiency

How Ford is using Google’s Prediction API to increase efficiency originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2011 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Google talks about its driverless car tech at TED

Filed under: Technology, Videos

Google Driverless Car

Google Driverless Car – Click above to view video after the jump

Sebastien Thurn has made it his life’s work to save one million lives from traffic accidents. Thurn has been instrumental in the development of Google’s DARPA Challenge-winning driverless car technology at Stanford University, and he’s confident that his technology can not only save lives, but eliminate traffic jams.

Thurn’s footage of a driverless Toyota Prius is nothing short of incredible, showing the cars successfully navigating deserts, highways and city streets clogged with traffic and pedestrians. So far, the driverless car’s most impressive journey has been from San Francisco to Los Angeles down Highway One.

Beyond just city and highway driving, Thurn has provided footage of the driverless Prius and a driverless Volkswagen Passat successfully navigating an autocross-style cones course, proving these cars can handle a wide range of driving styles. The cars function by employing a series of sensors to detect their environment, and use a computer program to respond to what’s going on around them.

Thurn was on hand at this year’s TED Conference to discuss the idea and show footage from 140,000 miles of driverless car tests conducted by Stanford. The TED Conference serves as a forum for innovative ideas, publishing video seminars and ideas year round, and hosting two in-person conferences per year. The foundation has been holding conferences and publishing content on a creative commons license since 1990. Check out the video after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Google talks about its driverless car tech at TED

Video: Google talks about its driverless car tech at TED originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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