Why Google Needs to Build a Better Bumper
Google unleased its self-driving fleet in real traffic and let the cars cruise a total of a million miles with back-up drivers ready to hit the brakes or take the wheel. The humans didn’t take control.
As it turned out, there were 11 minor accidents and no injuries, according to Google’s Chris Umson, who claimed that none of the fender benders was Google’s fault. He told the Associated Press that all the self-driving cars behaved well (not bad, considering the cars just got their learners’ permits). He also said most were hit from behind.
Not so fast, Google. Delphi, which automated the Audi SQ5, claims its car was broadsided by a Google car. Hmmm. Lexus vs. Audi, Google vs. Delphi—sounds like bumper cars!
Related: Driverless Self-driving Truck of the Future Will Crash Into Labor Laws of the Past
Other companies have permits to test their driverless cars including Daimler/Mercedes, Honda, and Nissan with Volkswagen and a host of others on tap.
This is not going away—and in the case of Daimler, they’ve extended the technology to trucks.
For older people and the disabled, who need a little help driving and parking, an autonomous car could be the difference between independence and a shut-in life.
If, on the other hand, these cars decide to “think,” we could all be in trouble.
Attention Autobots! Start Your Engines!
Chart of the Day: Long Way to Go on Coronavirus Testing
The White House on Friday unveiled plans for a new effort to ramp up testing for Covid-19, which experts say is an essential part of limiting the spread of the virus. This chart from Vox gives a sense of just how far the U.S. has to go to catch up to other countries that are dealing with the pandemic, including South Korea, the leading virus screener with 3,692 tests per million people. The U.S., by comparison, has done about 23 tests per million people as of March 12.
After Spending $2 Billion, Air Force Bails Out on Planned Upgrades of B-2 Bombers
The Air Force has scrapped a planned upgrade of its B-2 stealth bomber fleet — even after spending $2 billion on the effort — because defense contractor Northrup Grumman didn’t have the necessary software expertise to complete the project on time and on budget, Bloomberg’s Anthony Capaccio reports, citing the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer.
Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters that the nearly $2 billion that had already been spent on the program wasn’t wasted because “we are still going to get upgraded electronic displays.”
Big Hurdle for Sanders’ Plan to Cancel Student Debt
Bernie Sanders wants to eliminate $1.6 trillion in student debt, to be paid for by a tax on financial transactions, but doing so won’t be easy, says Josh Mitchell of The Wall Street Journal.
The main problem for Sanders is that most Americans don’t support the plan, with 57% of respondents in a poll last fall saying they oppose the idea of canceling all student debt. And the politics are particularly thorny for Sanders as he prepares for a likely general election run, Mitchell says: “Among the strongest opponents are groups Democrats hope to peel away from President Trump: Rust Belt voters, independents, whites, men and voters in rural areas.”
Number of the Day: $7 Million
That’s how much Michael Bloomberg is spending per day in his pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination, according to new monthly filings with the Federal Election Commission. “In January alone, Bloomberg dropped more than $220 million on his free-spending presidential campaign,” The Hill says. “That breaks down to about $7.1 million a day, $300,000 an hour or $5,000 per minute.”