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Don’t watch TV while safety driving

The Tempe police released a detailed report on their investigation of Uber's fatality. I am on the road and have not had time to read it, but the big point, reported in many press was that the safety ...

What is artificial intelligence? (Or, can machines think?)

Here are the slides from my York Festival of Ideas keynote yesterday, which introduced the festival focus day Artificial Intelligence: Promises and Perils....
21 June 2018, by

WAZE for drones: expanding the national airspace

Sitting in New York City, looking up at the clear June skies, I wonder if I am staring at an endangered phenomena. According to many in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) industry, skylines across th...
14 June 2018, by

New battery technology is accelerating autonomy and saving the environment

If the robotics world had a celebrity it would be Spot Mini of Boston Dynamics. Last month at the Robotics Summit in Boston the mechanical dog strutted onto the floor of the Westin Hotel trailed by hu...
07 June 2018, by

Automating window washing

Three and half years ago, I stood on the corner of West Street and gasped as two window washers clung to life at the end of a rope a thousand feet above. By the time rescue crews reached the men on th...
01 June 2018, by

Tesla’s fatal crash

Tesla can do better than its current public response to the recent fatal crash involving one of its vehicles. I would like to see more introspection, credibility, and nuance....
26 April 2018, by



NHTSA/SAE’s “levels” of robocars may be contributing to highway deaths

The NHTSA/SAE "levels" of robocars are not just incorrect. I now believe they are contributing to an attitude towards their "level 2" autopilots that plays a small, but real role in the recent Tesla f...
11 April 2018, by

Comparing the Uber and Tesla fatalities with a table

The Uber car and Tesla's autopilot, both in the news for fatalities are really two very different things. This table outlines the difference. Also, see below for some new details on why the Tesla c...
04 April 2018, by

3 initial thoughts on Ready Player One

The long-anticipated, Steven Spielberg-helmed Ready Player One has just been released in UK cinemas this week, and as a film of obvious interest to DreamingRobots and Cyberselves everywhere, we went ...
04 April 2018, by

Arizona bans Uber self-driving cars

The governor of Arizona has told Uber to "get an Uber" and stop testing in the state. With no instructions on how to come back....
27 March 2018, by

Almost every thing that went wrong in the Uber fatality is both terrible and expected

Today I'm going to examine how you attain safety in a robocar, and outline a contradiction in the things that went wrong for Uber and their victim. Each thing that went wrong is both important and wor...
26 March 2018, by

The paradox on robocar accidents

I have written a few times about the unusual nature of robocar accidents. Recently I was discussing this with a former student who is doing some research on the area. As a first step, she began lookin...
14 March 2018, by

Uber and Waymo settle lawsuit in a giant victory for Uber

In a shocker, it was announced that Uber and Waymo (Google/Alphabet) have settled their famous lawsuit for around $245 million in Uber stock. No cash, and Uber agrees it won't use any Google hardware ...
10 February 2018, by

Why ethical robots might not be such a good idea after all

Last week my colleague Dieter Vanderelst presented our paper: The Dark Side of Ethical Robots at AIES 2018 in New Orleans....
08 February 2018, by

Gallery of photos from CES 2018, and other news

I have created a gallery in Google Photos with some of the more interesting items I saw at CES, with the bulk of them being related to robocars, robotic delivery and transportation....
29 January 2018, by

Sewing a mechanical future

The Financial Times reported earlier this year that one of the largest clothing manufacturers, Hong Kong-based Crystal Group, proclaimed robotics could not compete with the cost and quality of manual...
23 January 2018, by

Best practices in designing effective roadmaps for robotics innovation

In the past decade, countries and regions around the globe have developed strategic roadmaps to guide investment and development of robotic technology. Roadmaps from the US, South Korea, Japan and EU ...
22 January 2018, by and

The GM/Cruise robocar interior is refreshingly spartan

GM revealed photos of what they say is the production form of their self-driving car based on the Chevy Bolt and Cruise software. They say it will be released next year, making it almost surely the fi...
22 January 2018, by

Tons of LIDARs at CES 2018

When it comes to robocars, new LIDAR products were the story of CES 2018. Far more companies showed off LIDAR products than can succeed, with a surprising variety of approaches. CES is now the 5th lar...
17 January 2018, by

CES 2018 recap: Out of the dark ages

As close to a quarter million people descended on a city of six hundred thousand, CES 2018 became the perfect metaphor for the current state of modern society. Unfazed by floods, blackouts, and trans...
15 January 2018, by

A round up of robotics and AI ethics: part 1 principles

This blogpost is a round up of the various sets of ethical principles of robotics and AI that have been proposed to date, ordered by date of first publication. The principles are presented here (in fu...
09 January 2018, by

Top Robocar news of 2017

Here are the biggest Robocar stories of 2017....
04 January 2018, by

Drones, volcanoes and the ‘computerisation’ of the Earth

By Adam Fish The eruption of the Agung volcano in Bali, Indonesia has been devastating, particularly for the 55,000 local people who have had to leave their homes and move into shelters. It has als...
29 December 2017, by

An emotional year for machines

Two thousand seventeen certainly has been an emotional year for mankind. While homo sapiens continue to yell at Alexa and Siri, the actuality of people’s willingness to pursue virtual relationsh...
29 December 2017, by

Warner Brothers and Intel experiment with in-robocar entertainment. Is that a good idea?

Intel and Warner made a splash at the LA Auto Show announcing how Warner will develop entertainment for viewing while riding in robotaxis. It's not just movies to watch, their hope is to produce somet...
07 December 2017, by

DARPA challenge mystery solved and how to handle Robocar failures

A small mystery from Robocar history was resolved recently, and revealed at the DARPA grand challenge reunion at CMU....
01 December 2017, by

Uber buys 24,000 Volvos, trolley problems get scarier, and liability

Uber and Volvo announced an agreement where Uber will buy, in time, up to 24,000 specially built Volvo XC90s which will run Uber's self-driving software and, presumably, offer rides to Uber customers....
29 November 2017, by

Robocar/LIDAR news and video of the Apple car

Robocar news is fast and furious these days. I certainly don't cover it all, but will point to stories that have some significance. Plus, to tease you, here's a clip from my 4K video of the new Apple ...
13 November 2017, by

Waymo deploys with no human safety driver oversight

In a major milestone for robocars, Waymo has announced they will deploy in Phoenix with no human safety drivers behind the wheel. Until now, almost all robocars out there have only gone out on public ...
09 November 2017, by

Three concerns about granting citizenship to robot Sophia

I was surprised to hear that a robot named Sophia was granted citizenship by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia....
02 November 2017, by and







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