Walking-Flying Spidar

 Complex but very interesting thing out of Tokyo,   Can get you some ware fast and then walk the rest of the way.  The arrival may be scary,  but you then have the last 100 meters.    Instructive pix at the link show complexity involved,  

Oh, Good: A Flying Robotic SPIDAR Instead of actuators, this quadruped uses ducted thrusters to walk and fly    By Evan Ackerman

Robots with multimodal locomotion capability are almost always a compromise, because usually they’re a hodgepodge of mobility systems that don’t really work together. It’d be possible to make a legged robot fly by stapling a bunch of propellers to it, but at any given time, either the legs or the propellers are going to be mostly just awkward extra mass. Some robots make this compromise more elegantly than others, but it’s still a compromise.

A new quadrupedal robot under development at The University of Tokyo called SPIDAR aims to minimize this compromise by combining legs and propellers and relying on that combination for both walking and flying locomotion—instead of leg actuators, it’s got vectorable leg thrusters that can both move leg joints individually and get the entire robot completely airborne.

SPIDAR, in what is perhaps one of the worst backronyms of all time, stands for “SPherIcally vectorable and Distributed rotors assisted Air-ground amphibious quadruped Robot.” It is absolutely not a spider, since it has four legs rather than eight, but it does look sufficiently leggy to set off a similar squick response.  ... ' 

Mobility of Tomorrow Examined.

 Excerpts from Fraunhofer piece.

The mobility of tomorrow  

“Mobility is about more than the proverbial concept of getting from A to B. When it comes to cars, there are factors that go beyond the purely objective.” Sebastian Stegmüller, Fraunhofer

Cars of the future

Web special Fraunhofer magazine 4.2021

In the right direction

The cars of the future will need design of the future. Find out how Fraunhofer is helping to restructure transport.

New times, new challenges – and new challengers. E-mobility pioneer Tesla, which launched on the German market in 2013 with its Model S, had reason to celebrate in October. The growth rates for Tesla vehicles registered in Germany were in the triple digits, marking an increase of 482.9 percent. German manufacturers saw a double-digit drop, with the exception of Porsche, which stayed almost stab-le at just minus 0.8 percent. Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Audi have also taken on the challenge of e-mobility. With its research fab for battery production, in which ten Fraunhofer Institutes are involved, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is helping to expand and strengthen Germany’s position as a leader in battery manufacturing technology. And yet it will take more than that to ensure Germany maintains this position and doesn’t slip down the ranks in terms of environmental rating and reputation.

Diversity – on our roads too

The cars of the future need mobility that’s fit for the future. Dr. André Häusler has warned against closed-mindedness when it comes to mobility. The expert from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen believes that diversity in transportation will become a necessity. He envisions different drive methods coexist­ing harmoniously – depending on where cars are used and what they are used for Need to fill up in five minutes and then drive 650 kilometers? Hydrogen is best for the job. Living in a rural area where charging points are hard to come by? A hybrid model with a combustion engine and an electric motor might be the best option. “In the coming years, car manu­facturers won’t just have one drive type in their portfolio anymore,” says Dr. Häusler. “They’ll need to offer a separate solution for every need – hydrogen, electric, gas, diesel and hybrid models.”

New times, new challenges – and new challengers. E-mobility pioneer Tesla, which launched on the German market in 2013 with its Model S, had reason to celebrate in October. The growth rates for Tesla vehicles registered in Germany were in the triple digits, marking an increase of 482.9 percent. German manufacturers saw a double-digit drop, with the exception of Porsche, which stayed almost stab-le at just minus 0.8 percent. Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Audi have also taken on the challenge of e-mobility. With its research fab for battery production, in which ten Fraunhofer Institutes are involved, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is helping to expand and strengthen Germany’s position as a leader in battery manufacturing technology. And yet it will take more than that to ensure Germany maintains this position and doesn’t slip down the ranks in terms of environmental rating and reputation.

Diversity – on our roads too

The cars of the future need mobility that’s fit for the future. Dr. André Häusler has warned against closed-mindedness when it comes to mobility. The expert from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen believes that diversity in transportation will become a necessity. He envisions different drive methods coexist­ing harmoniously – depending on where cars are used and what they are used for Need to fill up in five minutes and then drive 650 kilometers? Hydrogen is best for the job. Living in a rural area where charging points are hard to come by? A hybrid model with a combustion engine and an electric motor might be the best option. “In the coming years, car manu­facturers won’t just have one drive type in their portfolio anymore,” says Dr. Häusler. “They’ll need to offer a separate solution for every need – hydrogen, electric, gas, diesel and hybrid models.”  ... ' 

Google Doing Mobility Reports

More on what Google can track.

Google Is Tracking Whether You're Staying Home

The company released "mobility reports" that show how people are social distancing in your area. By Jason Aten in Inc.

If there has ever been a question about the amount of information Google has about you, let this sink in--the company just released county-level reports about exactly how our travel patterns have changed over the past few weeks. Most of us have some sense of the reality that we're always being tracked, especially when it comes to what we do online, but this data may give some of us pause. ... "

Carmakers Move From Cars to Building Cities at CES

Hardly a complete move, but handling transportation efficiently will be a major part of any smart city.

Carmakers Move From Cars to Building Cities at CES
Financial Times
Patrick McGee; Song Jung-a; Peter Campbell

Automakers announced future technologies at CES 2020, with Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda stating his company would construct a 175-acre hydrogen-powered smart city near Japan’s Mount Fuji as a “living laboratory” to see how up to 2,000 residents will live with next-generation technology. Toyoda said the project aims to keep Toyota abreast of society-transforming megatrends like urbanization, 5G wireless connectivity, and the role of artificial intelligence in evolving consumer devices. Meanwhile, Hyundai announced a partnership with ride-hailing company Uber under which it will build electrically-powered driverless air taxis. The companies said test flights are planned for this year, and commercial operations to begin within three years. The goal is to help Hyundai compete with rivals in emerging technologies.... ' 

Automotive Industry Warned Against Hacking

Expect hacking everywhere, especially where it can be effectively leveraged by finance or influence.

FBI warns automakers they’re being targeted by hackers  By Duncan Riley in SiliconAngle

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has sent a notice to automotive manufacturers warning them that they’re being targeted by hackers.

First reported Wednesday by CNN, the notice warned that hackers were known to be attempting to compromise auto industry computer systems using sophisticated techniques.

Previous attacks “have resulted in ransomware infections, data breaches leading to the exfiltration of personally identifiable information, and unauthorized access to enterprise networks,” the FBI claims. “The automotive industry likely will face a wide range of cyber threats and malicious activity in the near future as the vast amount of data collected by internet-connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles become a highly valued target for nation-state and financially motivated actors.”  .... '

Gaming in Autonomous Vehicles

Further distraction, but if you 'solve' the safety of autonomy, and people are no long in control,  then why not.   The term 'driver' starts to lose its definition, all passengers could become participants.  And if we choose proximity, or other definitions of possible invitation of participation?  Is that different than any other kind of game participation?   AR/VR can also come into play.  Intrigued by the idea, but still awaiting the safety solution.

Researchers bring gaming to autonomous vehicles    by University of Waterloo in TechExplore.

Researchers have designed multiplayer games occupants of autonomous vehicles can play with other players in nearby self-driving cars.

A new study, led by researchers from the University of Waterloo details three games created for level three and higher semi-autonomous vehicles. The researchers also made suggestions for many exciting types of in-car games for future exploration.

Level three and higher semi-autonomous vehicles are those that have, at minimum, environmental detection capabilities and can make informed decisions for themselves.

"As autonomous vehicles start to replace conventional vehicles, occupants will have much more free time than they used to," said Matthew Lakier, a Ph.D. student in Waterloo's School of Computer Science. "You could use time spent in commute to read a book, watch a movie, get ahead on work, or browse the internet. Still, not everything you do has to be all isolated.  .... "

Driving School for Computers

Image recognition and adjustment to goals.  Interesting process included.

Driving School for Computers
Ruhr-University Bochum
By Meike Drießen

Researchers at Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB)'s Neural Computation Institute in Germany have devised a technique to automatically generate traffic signs that computers can employ to practice vision. The method involves two algorithms: one is fed simple pictograms of road signs, then is tasked with rendering them into photo-like images. The second algorithm must decide if the rendered image is an actual or created photo. RUB's Sebastian Houben said, "Moreover, the second algorithm indicates to the first one in what way the selection process could be made even more difficult." After several days of this algorithmic sparring, the researchers check the resulting signs' realism, and refine the software if necessary. Both algorithms were able to outperform humans in recognizing images.  ... "

New Mobility Lab

Brought again to my attention.   Innovation about mobility decisions and technology advances.

New Mobility Lab

NEW MOBILITY LAB INNOVATION
New Mobility World® is a registered Trademark of New Mobility World Inc.

In order for companies to not only survive, but to thrive in this new world, they need to become part of the community that creates the future, rather than watch from a distance. Most traditional players struggle with new technologies that are at the core of emerging business models. They fail to make new connections to become part of the emerging mobility ecosystem.

To address the complex challenges ahead, cross-industry collaboration is required. New partnerships need to be formed to transform physical products into the digital and connected solutions of tomorrow. However, most companies are still stuck in traditional industry silos and remain predominantly inward focused.

Corporate R&D tends to work well for sustained innovation where incremental changes continue to optimize existing products. However, internal R&D tends to fail when it comes to disruptive innovation. Which Automotive R&D team would have envisioned Waze, UBER or Hyperloop? How will your organization create new, forward thinking business models? How will you master the technologies required to create the future?

Envision. Inspire. Co-Create.  .... "

(Update) Comments on: Echo Auto Gets an Unexpected Ad Stream (Update): Free with a Buick

( Update:  I was mistaken below. the music and station formats you get depends upon the name of the subscriber.    So you can ensure your get a full subscription by installing the device in the same name.   Also Ads are then also gone.   The installation and maintenance of Alexa Smart Home is still too obscure,   for something that claims to border on intelligence.     A very astute and friendly Amazon call center person led me through the process )  ....

Been now using the Auto Echo for several months, this lets you connect with the Echo infrastructure cheaply from most cars.  The capability was advertised as providing the same Alexa environment you got at home, including smart home connections.    It works fairly well via a smartphone Echo App.

In just the last few days Amazon has started to insert amazon Advertising into the requested music stream, even for unlimited music subscribers.    Most requests for genre or even more specific music are converted into a 'station' request.   So the channel then includes advertising, fairly often in my estimation.   This is quite annoying, especially if you are paying for and expecting advertising-free streaming music, as I am.

In some cases I can buy directly by voice, adding more interaction delay.   Even Playlist requests convert into Stations, sometimes stretching the 'radio'  definition.    At home requests for music than come from Prime or Unlimited music come advertising-free as they always have been.   Station requested from Tunein or IHeartRadio seem to be working as before, with no additional ads.

I assume this addition of ads pays for the new auto infrastructure.  But the overall impression is negative.   I  pay extra for advertising-free, but now I get ads.    Its obvious that playlists and genres are being reinterpreted to get more ads to me.   The experience with Echo Auto is good, but not completely seamless.   This additional intrusion into the channel will not help sell it. 

I'd like to see Amazon's view of this.

Update:  I see that Echo Auto devices are being given out free with Buick automobiles in a promotion now.    Assuming these are being used to promote the use of Alexa infrastructure.  Again the way they work, interspersing Amazon ads,  would cheapen the gift,  if the promotion devices work the same way.

Legal Implications of Car Hacking

How much regulation is currently out there?  Don't recall signing off on responsibility when buying a car.  Implied?  See the section on legal precedents.  Was unaware of this group within RAND.   We had early connections with them.  Following. 
 
Who's Responsible When Your Car Gets Hacked?  in Rand.org by Doug Irving

In the future, when cars can drive themselves, grand theft auto might involve a few keystrokes and a well-placed patch of bad computer code. At that point, who will be liable for the damages caused by a hacker with remote control of a 3,000-pound vehicle?

Cars are becoming “fast, heavy artificial intelligences on wheels,” a recent RAND report cautioned—and that means they're becoming vulnerable. Potentially billions of dollars ride on that question of who has the legal responsibility to keep hackers from grabbing the wheel or cutting the brakes.

“These are not likely events, and there are lots of engineers working to make them even less likely,” said James Anderson, the director of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice and a coauthor of the study. “But they're not impossible. They will occur. It's at least worth some serious thought about what the legal consequences will be.”  ... '    

Echo Auto: Customizing Mobile Voice Experiences

My test for client discussions have been ongoing.  In my last post on this I mentioned that Amazon currently has very different behavior between home and Echo Auto behavior in the car, making the experience bumpy.  They should consider making the experience less annoyingly inconsistent. 

Customizing Voice Experiences for Echo Auto and Other In-Vehicle Devices  By Mark Tucker in Voicebot.ai

After a year-long, invite-only release of Amazon’s Echo Auto, the device is available for all to purchase. Amazon received over one million pre-orders for Echo Auto and Nationwide Insurance has announced it will distribute the device to another million drivers that are its customers. In addition, Voicebot data show there are as many as 50% more monthly active users of voice assistants while driving as through smart speakers. Now is the time for Alexa developers to start creating in-vehicle voice experiences. However, there are some new values you should be aware of that can be used to customize Alexa Skills for the car.

Alexa Devices for the Automobile Differ in Capabilities

While the Echo Auto is Amazon’s flagship product specifically made for automobiles, some users are bringing Alexa to the car using the Echo Input or Dot, their mobile phone with the Alexa App, or one of the third-party products from makers such as Garmin and Anker.

For this discussion, we are not considering the hardware aspects of these devices that make them special-built for automobiles. These aspects would include such things as the number of mics or whether the device connects to your car’s audio system via AUX, Bluetooth, USB, or FM Transmitter.

The following table shows what values are available on various devices for developers of custom Alexa Skills as they create in-vehicle experiences. Echo Auto today, offers two values that can be particularly useful for automotive use cases but are not available through third-party devices.  .... " 

5G Coverage for IOT

Was recently asked to give an opinion of 5G use in the Cincinnati area for potential IOT applications,  with mobility implications,  and was pointed to this map.  Which can be used US country wide.  This particular map gives you only AT&T 3G to 5G.   It implies it is frequently updated.  You can click on the map for many locations in the US, zoom in, etc.   Useful for early analyses of applications.  etc.   Please pass along pointers to any other resources of this type.

More on Throttle vs Touchscreen Control

This came to my attention recently,  whats the best kind of basic mobility control?

The US Navy says no to touchscreens—maybe automakers should too
Overly complex touchscreen systems were blamed in recent NTSB report.

 By Jonathan M. Gitlin in Arstechnica .... '