AUTONEWS

Scientists unveil strategies to make self-driven vehicles more passenger-friendly

The integration of automated vehicles promises several benefits for urban mobility, including increased safety, reduced traffic congestion, and enhanced accessibility. Automated vehicles also enable drivers to engage in non-driving related tasks (NDRTs) like relaxing, working, or watching multimedia en route.

However, widespread adoption is hindered by passengers' limited trust. To address this, explanations for automated vehicle decisions can foster trust by providing control and reducing negative experiences. These explanations must be informative, understandable, and concise to be effective.

Existing explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) approaches majorly cater to developers, focusing on high-risk scenarios or comprehensive explanations, potentially unsuitable for passengers. To fill this gap, passenger-centric XAI models need to understand the type and timing of information needed in real-world driving scenarios.

Addressing this gap, a research team, led by Professor SeungJun Kim from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea, investigated the explanations for demands of automated vehicle passengers in real-road conditions. They then introduced a multimodal dataset, called TimelyTale, which includes passenger-specific sensor data for timely and context-relevant explanations.

"Our research shifts the focus of XAI in autonomous driving from developers to passengers. We have developed an approach for gathering passengers' actual demands for in-vehicle explanations and methods to generate timely, situation-relevant explanations for passengers," explains Prof. Kim.

Their findings are available in two studies published in the Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies on September 27, 2023, and September 9, 2024. The authors were awarded the "Distinguished Paper Award" at UbiComp 2024 for their pioneering study titled "What and When to Explain?: On-road Evaluation of Explanations in Highly Automated Vehicles."

The novel TimelyTale dataset approach incorporates environmental, driving-related, and passenger-specific sensor data that can be used for providing timely and context-specific explanations. Credit: SeungJun Kim from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

The researchers first studied the impact of various visual explanation types, including perception, attention, and a combination of both, and their timing on passenger experience under real driving conditions by utilizing augmented reality. They found that the vehicle's perception state alone improved trust, perceived safety, and situational awareness without overwhelming the passengers. They also discovered that traffic risk probability was most effective for deciding when to deliver explanations, especially when passengers felt overloaded with information.

Building upon these findings, the researchers developed the TimelyTale dataset. This approach includes exteroceptive (descriptive of the external environment, such as sights, sounds etc.), proprioceptive (descriptive of the body's positions and movements), and interoceptive (descriptive of the body's sensations, such as pain etc.) data, gathered from passengers using a variety of sensors in naturalistic driving scenarios, as key features for predicting their explanation demands.

Notably, this work also incorporates the concept of interruptibility, which refers to the shift in focus of passengers from NDRTs to driving-related information. The method effectively identified both the timing and frequency of the passenger's demands for explanations as well as specific explanations that passengers want during driving situations.

Using this approach, the researchers developed a machine-learning model that predicts the best time for providing an explanation. Additionally, as proof of concept, the researchers conducted city-wide modeling for generating textual explanations based on different driving locations.

"Our research lays the groundwork for increased acceptance and adoption of autonomous vehicles, potentially reshaping urban transportation and personal mobility in the coming years," says Prof. Kim.

Provided by Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

 

AUTONEWS

Human merge unveiled: How new models help self-driving cars drive like us

Scientists at TU Delft have developed a new model that better describes human behavior when merging into motorway traffic. Current models often assume that drivers are constantly trying to optimize their behavior to reach their destination as quickly and safely as possible, but this is not always the case, says postdoctoral researcher Olger Siebinga. The new model gives more insight into human interactions on the motorway and can be used to improve autonomous cars.

The findings are published in the journal PNAS Nexus.

For many drivers, merging onto a motorway is a routine act, with little thought given to the many factors involved. But it is only when you try to simulate this behavior in a computer model that you realize how complex merging actually is.

"Current models are based on game theory, which assumes that people always try to behave optimally in order to emerge as 'winners'. But in reality, people act differently in most situations," explains Siebinga, who earned a Ph.D. with distinction on this topic in May. He discovered that drivers do not necessarily want to be first, but rather prioritize a common goal: avoiding a collision.

Models of highway interactions and the aspects of interaction they describe in a merging scenario. Credit: PNAS Nexus (2024)

Simplified merging scenario...Siebinga, together with professor David Abbink and assistant professor Arkady Zgonnikov, presents a new interaction model based on risk perception and communication. It is the first model to explain human interactions at multiple levels: from control inputs, such as how people accelerate, to the safety margins drivers maintain in terms of distance from other cars, to the final decisions about who goes first. This makes the model much more useful for applications such as autonomous vehicles.

The framework for this model came from an earlier experiment in which Siebinga had two subjects participate simultaneously in a simplified merging scenario. They could only accelerate or brake and were separated by a wall, so they could only base their behavior on what they saw on a computer screen.

"We saw that people adjust their plans based on communication and risk perception. They build up a picture of the situation by interpreting another car's speed as communication, and they estimate a risk based on that. If this perceived risk becomes too high, drivers change their behavior, for example by accelerating or braking, to achieve a safe outcome."

Understanding human behavior...Modeling gives us a better understanding of human behavior. "If we learn to better understand what underlies our decisions, we can design better systems and enable autonomous vehicles to operate in a way that we perceive to be socially acceptable," says Siebinga.

Indeed, this is one of the biggest challenges in automated driving: How do we ensure that normal drivers understand and trust self-driving cars? Siebinga's new model helps to lay the groundwork for safe and accepted autonomous vehicles. He is currently working on extending this model to include steering.

Provided by Delft University of Technology

 

AUTONEWS

Norway speeds ahead of EU in race for fossil-free roads

On the quiet streets of an Oslo suburb, electric vehicles are parked in nearly every other driveway as Norway speeds towards its goal of becoming the first country free of fossil fuel-powered cars.

Electric cars make up 43 percent of all cars in Baerum, with resident Baard Gundersen making the switch in 2016.

Now on his second fully electric car, the CEO of a coffee company described his decision as a "no-brainer".

"It was much cheaper to buy a car like this than a traditional car, almost half price," he said at the wheel of his BMW iX SUV.

Despite being a major oil and gas producer, Norway has adopted the most ambitious electric vehicle (EV) objective in the world: only zero-emission private new cars will be sold from next year.

While not a European Union member, Norway would beat the bloc's deadline to phase out the sale of fossil fuel-burning cars by 2035 by a decade.

Driven by the popularity of Teslas, electric cars accounted for a staggering 96.4 percent of new car registrations in Norway in September, vastly outpacing the European average of 17.3 percent.

Norway has come a long way since 2012, when EVs only made up 2.8 percent of the market.

The boom has much to do with proactive policy.

At the turn of the century, authorities exempted electric cars from certain taxes.

Norway had never had its own carmaker, and the hope was that the policies would create fertile ground for a homegrown EV champion.

It turned out to be in vain, as Norway's Pivco electric car maker—later renamed Think and for a while owned by Ford—went bankrupt in 2011.

But the tax exemptions remained—even if some have been rolled back in recent years—making all-electric cars competitively priced compared to those with combustion engines, which are heavily taxed.

"We have used the stick for fossil vehicles and the carrot for electric cars," Cecilie Knibe Kroglund, state secretary at Norway's transport ministry, told AFP.

"It's possible that other countries will have to use other types of incentives depending on usage, their geography and the way public transport works. But as far as we are concerned, our incentives have worked very well," she said.

A rebellion led by A-ha frontman Morten Harket led to Norway's push for electric cars.(image above)

A-ha takes on EVs...Electric cars have also long benefited from other special privileges, like exemptions from city tolls and free parking in public car parks.

This was prompted by a civil disobedience campaign in the 1990s by environmental activist Frederic Hauge, co-founder of the NGO Bellona, and Morten Harket, the singer of iconic Norwegian pop group A-ha—famous for the hit "Take On Me".

Traveling around in a small Fiat Panda—converted to be electric—the two men stubbornly racked up a mountain of fines which they refused to pay in an effort to promote zero-emission vehicles.

Their trusty car was finally seized, but a few years later authorities ended up granting electric vehicles, which were still rare at the time, the special privileges.

"I didn't feel like I was entering into the role of a rebel really," Harket told the BBC in 2022.

"It was just necessary."

In 2005, the government also allowed electric cars to use lanes reserved for public transport—thus enabling them to avoid traffic jams.

These benefits have eroded somewhat since, but in the meantime electric cars have become the norm in the Scandinavian country.

Over the past decade, technology and car ranges have also evolved along with the development of a vast network of charging stations.

In September, the number of electric cars on Norwegian roads exceeded that of petrol cars for the first time and they are hot on the heels of diesel cars—which are still the country's most popular vehicles.

Since November 1, all taxis in Oslo have had to be emissions-free.

Transferable model?...German carmaker Volkswagen, the top brand in Norway, delivered its last internal combustion car, a Golf, to Norway in July.

"Since January 1, we have removed all fossil-fueled cars from our catalogue," Kim Clemetsen, head of marketing at a dealership that imports the brand, said.

"We now only sell electric cars."

Other brands, such as Toyota, are resisting the push and are planning to continue to offer hybrid cars and even combustion engines in 2025.

Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, a staunch defender of rural interests, has also thrown a spanner in the works by saying that it is "not a problem at all" if "a few" combustion-powered vehicles are still sold next year.

But if current trends hold, the country should come very close to achieving its ambition of 100 percent zero-emissions vehicles.

Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, thinks this should be encouraging to other countries aiming to phase out combustion engines.

"Norway was in many ways not a very likely country to succeed with this: it's a big country, long distances, very cold temperatures in winter, which affects the range of the car," Bu told AFP.

"So there's not really any reason why Norway should succeed rather than another country."

© 2024 AFP

 

AUTONEWS

GM Boss Doubles Down On Ejecting Apple CarPlay And Android Auto

General Motors is hard set on developing its own custom user interface for some of its future products, replacing the likes of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The reason? Improved safety, usability, and driver attention. The company believes that removing smartphone projections and integrating apps into GM's own interface would greatly improve the customer/driver experience.

No, General Motors isn't pulling a Huawei trick by developing its own operating system, but the company is doubling down to take phone projections (in the form of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) out of the infotainment system in future models. The logical behind it all is that the General believes that ditching CarPlay and Android Auto would make drivers pick up their phones less while driving. So far, we've seen the Chevy Blazer EV, well, trailblaze that vision with the company's Ultifi system. We all know how that story went. 

In an exclusive interview with The Verge, Baris Cetinok, senior vice president of software and services at GM said that the automaker will not back down from removing Apple's and Google's automotive interfaces despite the severe backlash from its customers and the press. In fact, "we have a strong conviction that effort pays off in a better customer experience," insisted Cetinok. He further adds that, "you get the most out of your vehicle because now we’re the company that builds the vehicle and is also creating the infotainment experience, the cluster experience, the app, and everything."

There is some credence to GM's argument that unifying the user interface allows for more seamless and integrated experience. As it is, as good as CarPlay and Android Auto have been and continue to become, the in-car experience feels like two disjointed ecosystems doing their best to work together.

To clarify, in GM's automotive UI future, users can still access and download their favorite apps (such as Google Maps or Spotify), except that these will be installed directly into the vehicle's hardware itself. However, GM isn't a software company, which means getting the integration and, rather importantly, software stability are proving to be a challenge, as we've seen with Ultifi.

Ironically, integration and stability (and by extension, familiarity) are the reasons why CarPlay and Android Auto were created in the first place: drivers are more familiar with interfaces on their phone than their cars, which potentially leads to reduced distraction.

Alternatively, some automakers, such as Polestar, have decided to let the software folks do what they do best and instead allowed for a more holistic Android experience into much of its vehicles' user interface, from the instrument cluster to the central entertainment unit, via the essentially phone-free but familiar Android Automotive OS.

Mundoquatrorodas

 

AUTONEWS

Sodium-ion battery startup scores large automotive supply contract for a 10 GWh production line

Sodium-ion batteries are gathering customers not only from the energy storage business, but are also becoming a viable alternative for automotive manufacturers now.

The drop in the price of lithium hasn't deterred sodium-ion battery makers, it seems. The world's largest EV battery makers CATL and BYD have both announced Na-ion battery projects, but there are already dedicated startups that are ahead of the curve when it comes to commercialization.

A case in point is Zoolnasm Energy, whose sodium-ion battery technology has now been picked by a large automotive supplier. The company will start delivering Na-ion cells for the four-year contract next year, with volume supply beginning by July 2025.

The sodium-ion battery contract amounts to the equivalent of $28.1 million, too, so it is not an insignificant contract, as the battery maker plans up to 10 GWh annual battery pack output. So far, Zoolnasm has unveiled several Na-ion battery types for both automotive applications and grid storage, with energy density of up to 190 Wh/kg.

Back in the spring, the company announced the NFS-50, an iron sulfate sodium ion battery cell that has been designed for hybrid powertrains or start-stop vehicle systems. While it didn't specify the applications that its sodium-ion batteries will be used for in the contract with the unnamed automotive parts manufacturer, there are hints that its cells will go towards low-voltage vehicle systems.

The big advantage of Zoolnasm's Na-ion battery technology, besides the typical for the chemistry high safety and charging rates, as well as a lifespan of several thousand cycles, is their price. Compared to lithium batteries, the company's sodium-ion cells can cost 50% less, making them an attractive choice for low-cost vehicles.

There are already electric cars with sodium-ion batteries in production, and as supplier contracts like these increase, the technology is bound to become more popular among battery companies and automakers alike.

Mundoquatrorodas

 

AUTONEWS

Tesla makes it easy to tell HW4 and HW3 vehicles as it preps license plate number visuals

As more and more Full Self-Driving (Supervised) features arrive first on newer Teslas with a Hardware 4.0 set, Tesla is making it much easier for owners to check if they have a HW4 or HW3 car.

Tesla has finally made it easier to tell if its cars have a HW3 or HW4 set of FSD cameras and computing power.

With the latest 2024.38 software update, it is now listing the FSD hardware version directly in the additional vehicle info submenu.

How to tell if a Tesla is on HW3 or HW4...After tapping on the Additional Vehicle Information link under the FSD computer option in the Controls > Software menu section, the Tesla vehicle display will show whether it has a HW4, HW3, or the older HW2.5 kit.

Tesla now calls Hardware 4.0 an AI4 computer, and that is how it is displayed in the new FSD hardware version visualization option.

So far, the only way to tell if a Tesla vehicle has a HW3 or HW4 kit has been rather convoluted, counting on physical peculiarities like the red tint inherent to AI4 cameras, or the delivery date.

Vehicles on Tesla HW4 are still few and far between, but they got the FSD 12.5 update first and, according to Tesla's AI chief, they will also be first in line to get the upcoming FSD 13 update with the following features:

36 Hz, full-resolution AI4 video inputs

Native AI4 inputs and neural network architectures

3x model size and context length, 4.2x data, 5x training compute scaling

Much improved reward predictions for collision avoidance, following traffic controls, and navigation

Efficient representation of maps and navigation inputs

Audio inputs for better handling of emergency vehicles

Redesigned controller for smoother, more accurate tracking

Integrated unpark, reverse, and park capabilities

Support for destination options including pulling over, parking in a spot, driveway, or garage

Improved camera cleaning and handling of camera occlusions

Elon Musk is on record saying that, in the rare chance that HW3 vehicles wouldn't be able to run the unsupervised FSD coming with the v13 update, they will be upgraded to the AI4 computer for free.

Previously, it was thought that easy HW3 to HW4 retrofits aren't possible due to the difference in system board size and connectors. A visit to a Tesla service center will have to get around those limitations, though, as the automaker needs miles driven on FSD to demonstrate its safety record to regulators in charge of allowing the Robotaxi and Cybercab service on public roads.

Tesla license plate number display...After showing the FSD hardware version on the vehicle display, Tesla is now preparing to visualize the car's license plate number, too. Hacker Green has parsed Tesla's 2024.38 update code strings, and found references to a license plate number display on the car visual shown from the central console screen. The Tesla license plate visualization feature seems to be arriving to Chinese versions first, as the company often does, and will probably then roll out globally.

Apart from showing the license plate number where there is now a blank plate, owners will also be able to key in anything they desire. Those with kids who like to paint their virtual Tesla in odd colors for the central display will appreciate yet another entertainment option, as they will be able to personalize one more aspect of the car's visualizations, either with purpose, or just for fun.

Mundoquatrorodas

 

AUTONEWS

Ethiopia bans imports of gas-powered private vehicles, but the switch to electric is a bumpy ride

As the price of fuel soared in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric car. That aligned with the government's new efforts to phase out gas-powered vehicles. But months later, he's questioning whether it was the right decision.

He faces a range of issues, from the erratic supply of electricity in Addis Ababa, the capital, to the scarcity of spare parts.

"Charging my car has been a challenge," the civil servant said. "Spare parts that are imported from China are expensive, few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor."

Seleshi's troubles point to wider challenges for Ethiopia. In January, the East African country became the first in the world to ban the importation of non-electric private vehicles.

The decision eased pressure on authorities who spend scarce foreign currency to subsidize the cost of fuel, but it also reflected growing enthusiasm for electric vehicles as the world demands more green technologies to reduce climate-changing emissions.

Earlier this month, Ethiopia's government raised the price of fuel by up to 8% as part of a plan to gradually end all fuel subsidies in Africa's second-most populous country.

Authorities have claimed some success in enforcing the ban on non-electric vehicles entering Ethiopia, and more than 100,000 electric cars are now being imported into the country each month.

The official target is to increase the monthly import figure to 500,000 by 2030. By that time, a big new dam Ethiopia has built on the Nile River is expected to be producing power at full capacity.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a televised address earlier this year, said the Grand Renaissance Dam will start generating more than 5,000 megawatts of electric power within a year. Authorities say such capacity would support the transition to electric vehicles.

For now, many in Addis Ababa, a city of more than 5 million people, are doubtful the country can achieve its ambitious goals for electric vehicles without further needed infrastructure and services.

The few garage owners who can fix broken electric cars say they are overwhelmed, while customers say they are being overcharged amid an apparent lack of competition.

"There are two or three garages that can fix new energy vehicles in Ethiopia and many consumers lack awareness on how to take care of such vehicles," said Yonas Tadelle, a mechanic in Addis Ababa. "As mechanics, we also lack the tools, the spare parts and the know-how to fix such cars."

Many EVs are now parked in garages and parking lots awaiting parts expected to come from China.

Ethiopia's minister in charge of transport, Bareo Hassen Bareo, has said he believes the country can be a model nation with a green economy legacy, with the prioritization of electric vehicles a key component.

The government will invest in public charging stations, he told The Associated Press, and there are plans to create a plant manufacturing EV batteries locally to reduce reliance on imports.

Private efforts have included a collaboration, which has since fizzled, between Olympian Haile Gebreselassie and South Korean carmaker Hyundai to make electric vehicles in Ethiopia. That effort is believed to have collapsed over the sourcing of materials.

Samson Berhane, an economist based in Addis Ababa, said the sudden flood of electric vehicles into the local market despite poor infrastructure is making it difficult for customers to adapt comfortably. Some EVs sell for about $20,000.

A mechanic stands at Nas auto solution electric vehicle workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Oct. 3, 2024. Credit: AP Photo

"Very few people are willing to take the risk of buying electric cars due to the lack of infrastructure, shortage of mechanics specialized in EV maintenance and the flooding of the market with Chinese brands that have questionable details and long-term visibility," Berhane said.

But he said he believes that Ethiopia is more than able to provide electricity to the expected 500,000 EV's there within the next decade while fulfilling its industrial ambitions.

Some Ethiopians are already giving up on electric vehicles, and the secondhand trade in gasoline-powered vehicles continues. There are at least 1.2 million vehicles across Ethiopia, and only a small fraction are electric ones.

Businessman Yared Alemayehu bought a Chinese-made electric vehicle that he had hoped to use for a taxi service. He knew the car had a mechanical defect, but he believed it could be fixed. A mechanic disagreed.

In the end, he sold the car at a loss and bought a Toyota Corolla—a car made in 2007 that he felt was more reliable—for the equivalent of $20,000, a sum that included the hefty taxes imposed on gasoline vehicles. Taxes can be higher than the cost of importing the vehicle.

"In addition to having to charge my old electric car, it frequently broke, and the garage was overcharging, and the lineup at the garage was overwhelming us," he said.

Taxi driver Dereje Hailu, who had high hopes for his Chinese-made E-Star electric vehicle when he purchased it earlier this year, said his expectations had been dashed.

"With such a car, I fear I might be stuck if I go far from Addis Ababa where there are no charging stations," he said.

© 2024 The Associated Press