[AutonomousVehicles] hello from a very interested andexcitednfbmember

Ali aliherky at gmail.com
Wed Jun 6 16:00:02 UTC 2018


If the systems were ever to require the driver to take control, 
this would be impossible for a blind person to safely do.

Ali

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Donald Winiecki via AutonomousVehicles 
<autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
To: autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 6 Jun 2018 08:25:44 -0600
Subject: Re: [AutonomousVehicles] hello from a very interested 
andexcitednfbmember

As a faculty member in a College of Engineering, my primary
responsibilities are in the areas of ethics and morality in 
engineering.
Autonomous vehicles are a principal interest of mine.

All of the crashes of autonomous vehicles that have been 
publicized, have
been as a result of failures not of single systems, but in the 
intersection
of systems in the vehicles. In the case of the Uber crash in 
Arizona that
killed a cyclist/pedestrian, the LIDAR (laser radar) 'saw' the 
person early
enough to brake and to steer around her.  However, the system 
that 'makes
sense of' what the LIDAR detects, was switched to a mode that 
delayed such
a reaction -- it was in a very conservative mode where the car's 
systems
would have had to be closer to 100% certain of what was being 
detected by
the LIDAR before automatically responding.

In the TESLA crashes, early analysis of the cars' black-boxes 
indicates
that systems were attempting to alert the drivers to take control 
because
the cars' systems were detecting situations that they were not 
designed to
handle. In these cases, the handoff of control from car to human 
driver was
missed.

Looking outside the cars and their technology, Arizona has 
established the
most lax regulation on testing of autonomous vehicles, of any 
state that
allows such testing. It was as a side-effect of this lax 
regulation that
Uber was able to get away with only one safety-driver in the 
vehicle.
Other states that allow testing of autonomous vehicles on public 
roadways
require two safety-drivers (one behind the wheel ready to take 
control, and
one who monitors the car's systems in real time). Uber's history 
of
business practices that take large risks may have been a 
contributing
factor somehow.

In the cases of Tesla crashes, we know that marketing information 
has
heavily hyped what Tesla calls its 'auto pilot' autonomous 
driving mode.
There have even been television commercials with Elon Musk 
driving/riding a
car with his hands out the window, yelling and boasting of its 
autonomous
capabilities. Compare this with the safety information that comes 
with the
cars that cautions drivers to not treat 'auto pilot' as a safe 
autonomous
mode.

A lot of what we are seeing with autonomous vehicles has to do 
with the
fact that the companies and consumers are not necessarily 
prepared to deal
with the intersection of so many technical and social systems 
that we are
suddenly faced with.  In fact, no engineering innovation is ever 
'only
technical'. Every engineering innovation pushes small or large 
impacts on
us in terms of how we know and behave in the world.  Those who 
adapt to the
new limits of technologies are able to benefit, but those who do 
not
understand those limits will run the risk of the failure of these 
multiple
systems.

There is absolutely no question in my mind that successful 
development in
the technologies of autonomous vehicles will occur.  However, 
successful
social adaptation may not be so clearly possible for everyone. 
This is why
every stakeholder group -- including and perhaps especially those 
with
visual impairments that prevent them from getting a driver's 
license
currently -- has to be active in the latter.  This listserv is a 
touchpoint
for all of us who are stakeholders in this particular way.  Your
involvement locally, in your State policy-making branches, and 
even more
broadly, is very needed!

_don

​
​
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don Winiecki, Ed.D., Ph.D.
*Professor of Ethics & Morality in Professional Practice*
Boise State University, College of Engineering
Dept of Organizational Performance & Workplace Learning (OPWL)
1910 University Drive, Mail Stop 2070
Boise, Idaho 83725-2070 USA
E-mail: dwiniecki at boisestate.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~d​



On Wed, Jun 6, 2018 at 7:50 AM Ali via AutonomousVehicles <
autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org> wrote:

 Probably just because I'm extremely afraid of accidents LOL.

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Daniel Perry via AutonomousVehicles
 <autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
 To: "autonomous Vehicles Discussion"
 <autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Wed, 6 Jun 2018 08:18:18 -0400
 Subject: Re: [AutonomousVehicles] hello from a very interested
 and excitednfbmember

 me too, but I've been told not to wurry since everyone seems to
 be behind
 them. I think the crashes are all just a part of the process
 morbid as that
 sounds.

 --------------------------------------------------
 From: "Ali via AutonomousVehicles" 
<autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
 Sent: Tuesday, June 5, 2018 11:13 PM
 To: "autonomous Vehicles Discussion"
 <autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
 Cc: "Ali" <aliherky at gmail.com
 Subject: Re: [AutonomousVehicles] hello from a very interested
 and excited
 nfbmember

  I have high hopes for the future, but right now am too worried
 about the
  multiple crashes that have been had.

  Ali

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Daniel Perry via AutonomousVehicles
 <autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
  To: <autonomousvehicles at nfbnet.org
  Date sent: Tue, 5 Jun 2018 14:59:30 -0400
  Subject: [AutonomousVehicles] hello from a very interested and
 excited
  nfbmember

  Hello everyone, my name is Daniel Perry and I found this list
 and
  immediately signed up because I'm extremely excited about the
 prospect of
  autonomous vehicles being a reality as well as we the totally
 blind being
  able to use them. I can't wait to own one as soon as they're
 afordable
  enough for your average blind person to purchase and own. I'll
 be very
  excited to see how Waymo progresses after its launch later on
 this year.
  What's the latest in our efforts to make these vehicles
 accessible to the
  blind? have a wonderful day and I look forward to hearing from
 you soon.

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