Some behind the scenes tech at how a Waymo computer system can process the world around it in full 360 degrees. With so many eyes on the road, and each item's location and speed being tracked and predicted, how could there be any doubt that this is not just almost equivalent to what a human could do, but is actually two or three orders of magnitude more than a human could accomplish. This tech knows how fast all the cars and peds are moving, simultaneously, on a very busy street! It even knows if a car is about to run a red light and slows down to just miss it, and then continue. This will save lives. AV will save lives and should be embraced sooner, not later. PRISM Engineering is supportive of a full adoption of implementing AV tech in Smart Cities that can take advantage of Vision AV0, where autonomous vehicles and grade separations are the answer to reducing vehicle fatalities. We need this sooner than later.
0 Comments
Encourage, Don't Hamper, Green Solutions ![]() It's Green! It's Electric! Part of an Active Lifestyle. But San Francisco is basically banning E-Scooters after complaints by some pedestrians who think the riders are "very rude." With all the transportation challenges SF has, does this seem like the right focus?? It is more or less being shut down because SF is impounding most of these scooters. This has already been tried in China with varying success, but bad actor renters among the many who have rented are causing some grief, where those riders leave the scooter in the wrong places after using it. If that could be solved... but this is like trying to solve bad human behavior by going after a company who can't control the behavior of the users/renters. It would be akin to going after AVIS car rentals when their customers park in the wrong places, speed, or block a bike lane, etc. We have a law enforcement solution for that: called getting a ticket. Scooter riders could get a ticket. It could be part of the rental agreement too.
The SOLUTION seems easy enough:Many cities are impatiently shutting down bike sharing companies, confiscating their bikes and impounding them, because of bike or scooter clutter after some users leave them in undesirable areas. And some residents have an aversion to something new that is left around like clutter. The solution seems easy. The Bike Rental Companies can have these renters return the bikes to an appropriate area or face a steep surcharge (like 50 bucks on their credit card). Then the company can have their staff come pick up the rental bike immediately after the $50 charge, and get it relocated to an appropriate parking area. EASY! NEXT!!!
Solar Roads is an idea whose time has come
So I give this idea a hearty thumbs up. Instead of the petroleum-based asphalt as an overlay, use these. Then it may even be possible to run the electric vehicles we all dream of using someday, and put the gasoline engine to rest. If the sun can power all this, why not? Federal Government gives them $750,000: www.deseretnews.com/article/700164568/N-Idaho-company-gets-750K-for-solar-parking-lot.html?nm=1 Indiegogo raises over $2.2 M for their Idaho company: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways#/ |
AuthorGrant Johnson, registered Traffic Engineer, shares insights and experiences from around the world. Archives
January 2020
Categories
All
|