NHTSA report on fatal Tesla crash makes a strong case for Autopilot safety – update

On 07 May 2016, a Telsa Model S was involved in a fatal crash, while in Autopilot.^1,2 NHTSA began an investigation on 28 June 2016, & made its report available just 2 days ago.

Final report on Autopilot issued by @NHTSAgov is very positive https://t.co/KsOZSrr3l9

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2017

At the time of this post, the link to the NHTSA report in the tweet, above, is broken, but the report is imbedded in the Electrek article linked below.

Update 24 January – link to the NHTSA report in the tweet above, is fixed.

NHTSA summary of their findings concluded:

“A safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further examination of this issue does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances. For more information about the analysis, see the attached report.”

Despite the careful language in the quote above, Figure 11 from the NHTSA report (below) makes a strong case for Autopilot, & Autosteer in particular:


Credit: NHTSA/Electrek

Which Elon Musk subsequently described with a quote from the NHTSA report:

Report highlight: “The data show that the Tesla vehicles crash rate dropped by almost 40 percent after Autosteer installation.”

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2017

Electrek – “Tesla’s crash rate was reduced by 40% after introduction of Autopilot based on data reviewed by NHTSA”
https://electrek.co/2017/01/19/tesla-crash-rate-autopilot-nhtsa/

Wired – “After Probing Tesla’s Deadly Crash, Feds Say Yay to Self-Driving”
https://www.wired.com/2017/01/probing-teslas-deadly-crash-feds-say-yay-self-driving/?mbid=nl_12017_p4&CNDID=

Bloomberg – “Tesla’s Autopilot Vindicated With 40% Drop in Crashes”, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-19/tesla-s-autopilot-vindicated-with-40-percent-drop-in-crashes
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¹ Hitchhiker's Guide 2 Tech: “Tesla driver dies in Autopilot crash”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/07/tesla-driver-dies-in-autopilot-crash.html

² Hitchhiker's Guide 2 Tech: “Tesla Autopilot death – was the driver watching a movie?”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/07/tesla-autopilot-death-was-driver.html / reported NHTSA closing investigation fatal accident Tesla Autopilot without finding defect issuing recall access full report interesting key findings crash Tesla’s Autopilot agency reviewed data indicates Tesla’s crash rate reduced by 40% after Autopilot Autosteer feature introduced enabled Autosteer main feature Autopilot system enables vehicle steer itself certain conditions NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation ODI reviewed crash rate data Tesla’s vehicles before and after introduction Autosteer ODI analyzed mileage airbag deployment data supplied Tesla MY 2014 through 2016 Model S 2016 Model X vehicles equipped Autopilot Technology Package installed vehicle when sold through OTA update calculate crash rates miles traveled prior after Autopilot installation conclusion the data show Tesla vehicles crash rate dropped almost 40 percent after Autosteer installation 1.3 crashes per million miles before Autosteer 0.8 crashes after Autosteer data particularly interesting context debate between going directly fully autonomous cars gradually more autonomous vehicles leading full autonomy Tesla other automakers argument transition between autonomy manual control dangerous Tesla’s argument reduces number accidents used properly data appears to confirm NHTSA’s general probe Tesla’s Autopilot system agency specific accident prompted investigation interesting finding crash itself NHTSA did crash reconstruction claims indicates that tractor trailer should have been visible Tesla driver at least seven seconds prior to impact report’s main conclusion Autopilot ADAS system require continual full attention driver monitor traffic environment prepared take action avoid crashes agency reviewed Tesla’s customer-facing literature Autopilot concluded Tesla provided information about system limitations owner’s manuals user interface associated warnings alerts driver monitoring system intended aid driver remaining engaged driving task all times NHTSA urges drivers read all instructions and warnings before using driver assist systems /

2015 was the hottest year on record – until 2016

Credit: NASA

2014 was the hottest year on record – until 2015.¹ Then during 2016, a series of record hot months threatened another record year² – which NASA & NOAA have just reported, came to pass.

NASA – “NASA, NOAA Data Show 2016 Warmest Year on Record Globally”
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-data-show-2016-warmest-year-on-record-globally

Australian Broadcasting Corporation – “2016 crowned hottest year on record: Australia needs to get heat smart”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-19/2016-hottest-year-on-record-australia-needs-to-get-heat-smart/8194182

New York Times – “Earth Sets a Temperature Record for the Third Straight Year”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/science/earth-highest-temperature-record.html?_r=0

Washington Post – “U.S. scientists officially declare 2016 the hottest year on record. That makes three in a row.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/18/u-s-scientists-officially-declare-2016-the-hottest-year-on-record-that-makes-three-in-a-row/?utm_term=.0cbe69e7aa27

Green Car Reports – “2016 was planet's hottest year on record, third new high in a row”
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1108420_2016-was-planets-hottest-year-on-record-third-new-high-in-a-row
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¹ Hitchhiker's Guide 2 Tech: “2014 was the hottest year on record – until 2015”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/07/2014-was-hottest-year-on-record-until.html

² Hitchhiker's Guide 2 Tech: “July 2016 was the hottest month ever recorded”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/08/july-2016-was-hottest-month-ever.html / NASA NOAA data 2016 warmest year on record globally Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures warmest since modern record keeping began 1880 independent analyses NASA National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration NOAA globally averaged temperatures 2016 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit 0.99 degrees Celsius warmer mid-20th century mean 2016 third year in a row set a new record for global average surface temperatures 2016 temperatures continue long-term warming trend analisis analyses scientists NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies GISS New York NOAA scientists concur finding 2016 warmest year on record separate independent analyses data weather station locations measurement practices change over time uncertainties interpretation specific year-to-year global mean temperature differences taking this into account NASA estimates 2016 warmest year greater than 95 percent certainty 2016 remarkably third record year in a row in this series GISS Director Gavin Schmidt record years every year ongoing long-term warming trend is clear planet’s average surface temperature risen 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit 1.1 degrees Celsius since late 19th century change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide other human-made emissions into the atmosphere /

New Silk Road – by train from China to Britain

On Wednesday, a train arrived in London, after an 18-day, 12,000 km (7,500 mile) journey from Yiwu, in eastern China – the first train from China to Britain ever. The journey included Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, & the Chunnel.


New Silk Road – Yiwu (a wholesale market town in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang) to Barking (east London)
Credit: The Sun

At 18 days, the journey took less than half the time that would have been taken by a sea journey.

The Independent – “First direct train service from China to the UK arrives in London”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/first-direct-train-china-to-uk-arrives-east-london-yiwu-city-barking-channel-tunnel-a7533726.html

NPR – “China's First Freight Train To The U.K. Rolls Into London”
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/18/510460107/chinas-first-freight-train-to-the-u-k-rolls-into-london

Reuters – “First freight train from China to Britain arrives in London”, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-britain-train-idUSKBN1521YP / first freight train China to Britain arrives London first China to Britain freight train arrived London Wednesday 7,500-mile journey China's push build commercial links Europe and Asia train Barking east London after 18 day eighteen day journey Yiwu wholesale market town eastern Chinese province Zhejiang passed through Kazakhstan Russia Belarus Poland Germany Belgium France cross under English Channel tunnel Chunnel Britain consignment reach Britain sea train cargo small commodities including household items clothes fabrics bags suitcases Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment Yiwu-London Yiwu to London freight service London 15th European city direct rail link with China 2013 One Belt One Road initiative Chinese premier Xi Jinping Carsten Pottharst managing director Switzerland InterRail Group train operator runs between China and Britain run the train in less than 18 days to Britain cargo from the United Kingdom to China trains eastbound Oscar Lin general manager OTT Logistics local UK booking office train train service first train test reaction UK market enquiries marketing Prime Minister Theresa May relationship with China billions of dollars in Chinese investment Britain leave the European Union /

Better ways to disable your webcam

Mark Zuckerberg appears to have disabled his webcam – microphone too¹
Credit: wn.com

There are good reasons to disable the camera on your computing devices – laptop, desktop, phone & tablet. This view is shared by Mark Zuckerberg (above) & FBI Director James Comey.²

Although a piece of strategically placed adhesive tape works, it may be inconvenient if you frequently use your camera for legitimate purposes, & may not be practical on a phone – not very aesthetically pleasing either. Adhesive from the tape on the camera lens & surrounding parts of the device may also be a problem.

Something that answers all of these objections is this Kickstarter project


Credit: Intelligent Security/Kickstarter

More on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ispaul/intelligent-security-camera-cover-webcam-privacy-c

SPIshutter is a webcam cover for MacBooks
The Gadgeteer: “SPIshutter MacBook webcam privacy cover review”
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/03/03/spishutter-macbook-webcam-privacy-cover-review/

If neither of the above is to your liking, a Google search for, “webcam cover”, or, “laptop camera cover”, will yield many alternatives.
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¹ Hitchhikers Guide 2 Tech: “How to keep hackers from listening to your computer’s microphone”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/07/how-to-keep-hackers-from-listening-to.html

² Hitchhikers Guide 2 Tech: “Why you should disable your webcam”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/04/why-you-should-disable-your-webcam.html

/ FBI Director James Comey disable his webcam his privacy uses tape cover up his laptop webcam ensure Privacy adopt encryption techniques warrant-proof webcam thwart lawful surveillance investigated shame on him Edward Snowden leaks NSA Optic Nerve project capture webcam images random Yahoo users million users images captured stored government servers 2008 tape over the lens webcam stop hackers government spying agencies recording your voice prevent watching capturing your live visual feeds slave slaves concern paranoia paranoid reports revelations spy on you through webcam disable cover webcam review handy products Script-kiddie hackers easily accessible tools phishing techniques hijack webcams unsuspecting people watch them through their camera store images videos people in compromising situations bedroom uploaded shady websites kids children implementing stop webcams on all the time webcam spying threat government agents hackers law-breaking voyeurs actively spy computer’s webcam ramblings paranoid conspiracy theorist hypervigilant hyper vigilant hyper-vigilant privacy advocate news stories over paranoia uncomfortable reality student sued his school school-provided laptop secretly photographing ensuing legal investigation revealed school collected 56,000 photographs students without their knowledge consent researchers demonstrated activate webcam MacBooks without indicator light turning on previously considered impossible former FBI agent confirmed possible doing it for years documents leaked by Edward Snowden NSA backdoor access cameras on iPhones Blackberries NSA tools remotely monitor users Gumfish malware tool remote video monitoring via webcam BlackShades remote access webcam access victim’s computers Back Orifice marginally skilled malicious users gain access your computer Ars Technica Meet The Men Who Spy On Women Through Their Webcams spying government agents low-tier hackers simple phishing tricks malicious websites simple tools catalog monitor allegations government spying intellectual majority of actual webcam spying creepy Peeping Toms Remote Access Tools RATs Trojans malware well documented examples only active snapping selfies Skyping trust indicator light camera can be active without the light webcam spying real threat spooks at the NSA kid next door access tools webcam against owner then threat legitimate disable or obscure computer webcam documented cases webcam spying insecure recording device permanently disable remove webcam obscure lens disable webcam antivirus anti-virus link running wrong executable whitelist trojan antivirus malware secure help unplug camera desktop users external webcams desktop machines external USB web cam webcam hacking hacker hacked plug an unplugged device workstation monitors USB cable hardware operating system OS BIOS option laptops integrated webcams disable webcam via BIOS reboot microphone camera microphone module same expansion board privacy mic microphone disable OS operating system solution secure foolproof disabling webcam cripple webcam disabling removing driver support Windows Device Manager Imaging Devices roster of devices remote administrative access install missing drivers enable device disable webcam Eyebloc Cover C-Slide tiny plastic slider Creative Cam Covers DIY electrical tape cover /

Lithium ion battery fires – Stanford team adopts a direct approach

Fire in a Jeep Grand Cherokee was attributed to a Note 7 charging on the dashboard
Credit: Fox News/news.com.au

Samsung's recent problem with the Note 7, highlighted the lithium ion fire safety risk.¹

Solutions exist,² but a research team at Stanford University has decided to adopt the direct approach: fit a fire extinguisher.

Credit: Kai Liu, Wei Liu, Yongcai Qiu, Biao Kong, Yongming Sun, Zheng Chen, Denys Zhuo, Dingchang Lin & Yi Cui/Science Advances

A. Fire retardant (green) is contained in a polymer shell, inside the lithium ion cell.

B. If the battery temperature rises too high (as in thermal runaway), the polymer shell melts, releasing the fire retardant.

New Atlas: “Lithium-ion battery packs its own fire extinguisher”,
https://newatlas.com/lithium-ion-battery-fire-extinguisher/47401/

9to5Google: “Stanford team creates battery w/ built-in fire extinguisher to avoid future Note 7-like disasters”, https://9to5google.com/2017/01/16/stanford-team-creates-battery-w-built-in-fire-extinguisher-to-avoid-future-note-7-like-disasters/
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¹ “More lithium ion battery fires – not just phones”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/11/more-lithium-ion-battery-fires.html

² “Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires – cause – simple solution”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/09/samsung-galaxy-note-7-fires-cause-what.html / Samsung Galaxy Note 7 production permanently discontinued Samsung permanently discontinuing production Galaxy Note 7 smartphones halted global sales devices reports replacement devices catching fire South Korean regulatory filing stop manufacturing Note 7s consumer safety Samsung struggling regain consumer trust recall recalls prompted criticism faulty devices company's handling of the problem global halt sales Note 7 multiple reports exploding batteries major retailers stopped selling phones Samsung recalled devices initial recall identified manufacturing defect batteries battery top-of-the-line smartphone shipping new Note 7 phones safe safer reports replacements catching fire Samsung announcement announce stopping sales devices Monday Tuesday Wednesday South Korean firm comment identified cause of the fires replacement devices officials in Seoul several possibilities including batteries more difficult analyse cause accidents various patterns of the accidents official Korean Agency for Technology and Standards met with Samsung experts company offering exchange Note 7s other products refund them Note 7 could cost Samsung $17 billion analysts Samsung's decision pull Note 7s off the shelves raises fresh doubts about firm's quality control huge financial and reputational costs analysts permanent end Note 7 sales cost Samsung $17 billion tarnish other phone products minds consumers carriers investors wiped nearly $20 billion off Samsung Electronics market value Tuesday local time shares gadget fire extinguisher Stanford fire extinguisher lithium ion battery fires /

Fiat Chrysler diesels have software to thwart emissions controls too

Credit: Charles Krupa/AP/The Guardian

You may have read about the Volkswagen diesel emissions cheats. Looks like Fiat Chrysler may have been doing something similar.

Vehicles implicated are 2014, 2015, & 2016 diesel Jeep Grand Cherokees, Dodge Ram 1500 trucks with 3.0-liter diesel engines – 104,000 vehicles in total.

The Guardian – “Fiat Chrysler used software to cheat diesel emissions testing, EPA alleges”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/12/fiat-chrysler-diesel-emission-cheating-software-epa

Ars Technica – “Fiat Chrysler diesels have software to thwart emissions controls”
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/01/epa-says-fiat-chrysler-violated-clean-air-act-with-secret-software/ / car company installed software multiple models increases air pollution violation of the Clean Air Act EPA US Environmental Protection Agency accused second major car company Fiat Chrysler cheating diesel emissions testing using secret software applications multiple models Jeep Cherokee Dodge Ram vehicles management software increases air pollution nitrogen oxides EPA alleged notice of violation Fiat Chrysler citation emission control systems automakers play by the same rules hold companies accountable gain unfair illegal competitive advantage Cynthia Giles assistant administrator EPA’s office of enforcement and compliance assurance Volkswagen accused software diesel vehicles mask emissions greenhouse gas regulators slapped automaker $15bn fines consumers filed class-action lawsuits shares Fiat Chrysler dropped Sergio Marchionne CEO Fiat Chrysler comparisons Volkswagen Fiat Chrysler different unlawful emission auto industry bailout software Fiat Chrysler emissions nitrogen oxides testing EPA failing to disclose software FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles violated important provisions Clean Air Act /

Noah Kraft wants to let you remix the sound of the real world

Here One buds from Doppler Labs will be available in black & white
Credit: Doppler Labs/Wired

Doppler Labs will soon be releasing Here One – wireless earbuds that do so much more, including:

● noise cancellation – raised to a whole new level – attenuate all the sound – or just specific frequencies

● remix the music at a concert – drums overpowering the rest of the band? – turn them down to hear all of the music

● noisy environment? Here One has three directional microphones per ear, so using the companion app, control the direction & frequency of sound, to separate out the voice of the person you are talking to

● turn down the noise of the city, to hear your music, without being run down at the next crossing

Noah Kraft is the leading light of Doppler Labs, & at CIS, he provided a bit more detail on what he hopes to do for the way we interact with sound.



More about Here One
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/07/dopplers-wireless-earbuds-let-you-remix.html / Doppler Labs company straight-outta-science-fiction earbuds let you control volume world new product Here One wireless earbuds tweaking sound mix concert tuning out subway noise One everything expect standard set of wireless headphones even more stuff on top of that Here One buds will cost $299 ship in November Doppler Here Ones set of wireless headphones stream music take calls interact with Siri Google Now pair of headphones Doppler’s Here buds Here One buds do even better filter change the noise of the real world companion app change frequency response tune out baby screams train screeches turn up the volume people in front of you multiple directional mics three directional mics Here One buds sound editing even more powerful Doppler not a medical device Doppler CEO Noah Kraft false binary people either can hear or can’t hear first set up your Here Ones customization customisation process software learn particulars of your ears hearing attenuate sound specifically for you mix real-world sound whatever you’re listening to Doppler calls layered listening jamming headphones into your ears drown out the world sound as though music’s playing speaker a few feet away whoever you’re talking to on your bike still hear the cars flying by Doppler’s a number of companies working on truly wireless headphones Here One among the most comfortable and usable Doppler interesting engineering wireless headphones executive chairman Fritz Lanman soon enough everyone from Apple Samsung Microsoft try sell you wireless earbuds Doppler’s put a computer in their ears soundtrack sound track sounds of the city Noah Kraft leading light Doppler Labs CIS we interact with sound Doppler Labs releasing Here One wireless earbuds /