As testing continues, Austin remains a catalyst for driverless car technology advancement
At SXSW, industry leaders discussed trust, safety and the current regulatory environment in Austin and beyond for autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicle industry leaders, including those from companies operating in Austin, Texas, believe that slow and steady progress in driverless vehicle technology will win the race. These leaders were part of discussions during South by Southwest discussions about driverless vehicles, safety, road maps, and education. This comes as autonomous vehicle activity from various companies across the country has sparked pushback and skepticism from consumers. Austin has long been a major hub for driverless car technology, with several companies including Volkswagen, Waymo, ArgoAI, and Cruise testing in the city. The city of Austin has been a key player in this field, with Mayor Kirk Watson expressing mixed feelings on driverless Vehicle technology, but highlighting the city's working group for autonomous vehicles as a key tool.
Publicados : um mês atrás por , Austin American-Statesman no Business Auto
Slow and steady will win the (driverless vehicle) race, or at least that's what autonomous industry leaders, including those from the companies currently operating autonomous vehicles in Austin, believe.
“It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon,” Katrin Lohmann, president of Volkswagen’s Autonomous Driving Mobility and Transport group, said during a South by Southwest discussion in March, when she explained that it takes a long time to introduce new advancement such as autonomous vehicle technology.
Autonomous vehicle industry leaders were part of a number of discussions during South by Southwest looking at driverless vehicles, safety, road maps and education, including activity in Austin. The conference came as autonomous vehicle activity from various companies in a number of cities nationwide has recently sparked pushback and skepticism from consumers.
During a session outlining her company's road map, Waymo co-CEO Tekendra Mawakana acknowledged that developing autonomous technology is “not for the faint of heart"
Austin has long been a test bed for autonomous technology, with a number of companies testing in the city in recent years, including Volkswagen, Waymo, now-defunct ArgoAI and Cruise, which have taken their own approaches and paces to testing the technology.
“Here in Austin it feels like everything is imposed upon us; we are the ones who get things first,” said Jay Blazek Crossley, executive director of Austin-based Farm&City, a nonprofit focused on public policy and the intersections of transportation, urban planning, sustainability and equity.
Crossley said the initial stories around autonomous vehicles have not helped their reputation.
“The story (has been) corporations are doing something to you, as opposed to the story of we have a transportation system that is not working ideally and we need to make things work better for you,” Crossley said, adding that driverless vehicles could be a tool to improve road safety.
“The current drivers are not doing great. The current street design and the current system are not working well,” Crossley said.
What autonomous vehicles are currently on Austin roads?
Waymo and Volkswagen are both testing fleets in Austin. VW has about 10 electric "ID. Buzz" vehicles being tested in the city, its first in the United States. Each vehicle has a human safety driver behind the wheel. The goal is to expand the fleet over time and eventually offer ride-hailing services.
Waymo has been testing its vehicles in about a 50-square-mile area that includes downtown, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin and Hyde Park, with plans to expand over time. The company is testing its vehicles without a driver behind the wheel and offering rides to employees.
During SXSW, Waymo announced it would begin offering ride-hailing in Austin by the end of the year. After the session, Mawakana said the company did not have an exact timeline but would expand the offering once it is safe.
“We’re not being imprecise to be cute,” Mawakana said, explaining that the timing will follow employee feedback from those testing the technology, as well as the community.
What is the city of Austin's relationship with autonomous vehicles?
During a session with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Mayor Kirk Watson said he has mixed feelings on driverless vehicle technology, explaining that within his first six months of this term as mayor, a number of companies came in with big promises, but the vehicles have also brought issues, including parking in the wrong spots and getting in the way of emergency vehicles.
“We need to have collaboration. When the companies want to start experimenting with this and figuring out how to best operate, they need to not start with ‘we’re here to show you how to do this,’ ” Watson said. “Ultimately the public good has to play a role in this, and it shouldn’t be an afterthought, and it shouldn’t be secondary to the profit.”
Without naming the company, Watson alluded to Cruise’s recent pullout from Austin and the company's pausing of operations nationwide after a high-profile incident in California where a vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian.
He also lamented that the city has few tools to regulate the technology but invited the companies to work with the city proactively. He pointed to the city’s working group for autonomous vehicles as a key tool.
“Let’s not worry about the preemption. Come talk to us and figure it out,” Watson said to the companies. “We know it’s coming. We know the good it can do. … I see enormous promise.”
The leaders from Waymo and Volkswagen said the companies are prioritizing building out relationships with city leaders and community groups as they test technology in Austin, and both said the companies work closely with first responders.
Mawakana said Waymo has a policy team that engages with this city.
“We want to do it in a way that works for Austin. And we want to leverage all of what we've learned to help educate people in Austin,” she said.
Lohmann said while autonomous vehicles are regulated on the state level in Texas, engaging with the cities has remained important to the company as it tests globally.
“We started the dialogue on the very first day here in Austin to really make sure we are integrating all the different parities and communities here in Austin not only on the city but also the state level,” Lohmann said.
“You have to introduce the technology; you have to go and dialogue with the cities; you have to go in and dialogue with the communities,” Lohmann said. “And being a good partner to cities, to first responders and to the states as well.”
What are the state and federal regulations?
In Texas, autonomous vehicles are regulated by a 2017 law that says the vehicles can operate without a driver inside and can be used on highways as long as they can follow traffic laws, have insurance and are equipped with video recording equipment. Manufacturers are considered responsible for any collisions or broken traffic laws.
Darrin Anderson, director of strategy and innovation at the Texas Department of Transportation, said during a panel about autonomous vehicle trust that for TxDOT the “learning curve was huge” when companies started engaging with the state around 2016, and it quickly became apparent there needed to be a point of contact regarding what autonomous vehicle companies wanted to do then and in five to 10 years.
Currently, autonomous vehicle regulations go state by state, which Anderson acknowledged makes it difficult for the industry to adapt and grow. He said when Texas passed its law in 2017, it was expected that there would be a federal policy in the near future. He added that such a policy would solve a lot of problems, including at the city level.
Lohmann said Volkswagen would appreciate federal guideline for the minimum standard companies can prepare for on elements such as reporting and other regulations. She said ideally regulations would not block technology development but would bring transparency on a city, state and federal level.
Beyond regulations, the industry experts acknowledged there’s a steep learning curve for consumers using the technology and sharing the roads with such vehicles.
Mawakana said it is challenging for consumers to understand the differences between the levels of autonomy.
“People trust the autonomy beyond its level of capability,” Mawakana said, explaining that’s why Waymo is focused on developing a level of autonomy that doesn’t require human intervention, rather than more “autopilot” style systems that require drivers to keep their hands on the wheel.
In an interview with the American-Statesman, Mawakana said people need to have their own experience with autonomous vehicles. She said she often finds that people will forget they are in a car with no human driver and end up finding it boring.
“That's hands down the best way to get people through whatever all of their questions are. But I think it's really natural as a human to be uncomfortable with a thing you're not familiar with," Mawakana said.
How do the vehicles learn?
The vehicles are also learning from Austin. In an interview, Lohmann said testing on Austin roads allows the vehicles to gain insights into the systems and vehicle behavior of American drivers that can be used to improve its system.
Mawakana said it takes a lot of time and investment to understand the learning journey the company is on, and it can’t move faster as technology evolves.
“There are the road rules, and then there are the driving patterns, and learning both of those is really important for our (vehicles) to actually fit in and move with the flow of traffic,” Mawakana said.