Anazon Robot Crashes in UK

METRO of the UK, 31/7/26

England is at war with Amazon: we shall never surrender. - Andy Burnham, Prime Minister 

Mrs Dorothy Clingles, a retired nurse, explained, on BBC Radio Darlington, Fun and Games in Darlington, a weekly programme about everyday life in Darlington: "When the drone crashed into our back garden, my instant reaction was to say that we were under attack. I thought it must be a Russian drone and Russian soldiers have landed at Dover. It is war. Like the Blitz, except, this time, it has nothing to do with the Germans, for a change. My husband, Derek Clingles, who knows more about such things than I do, said I was wrong and it was an Iranian drone, and they have decided to attack England. We were terrified. Derek was going to call the police. Then we realised it was a delivery. There was a burst package in the middle of the lawn. I think it was a Chinese-made toaster. I said to Derek: 'I don't think the Russians, let alone the Iranians, use toasters."

Tesla & Privacy

 From Grauniad of the UK

The spy in the cab is Elon Musk 

Cars are computers on wheels nowadays, and Tesla cars more than any others. Tesla workers have been sharing 'intimate' car camera images for a laugh, according to the article. 

It is hard not to imagine that video/audio systems such as the Ring doorbell (which integrates a camera and microphone) or devices in the home such as Alexa are inevitably being used to harvest user data for all sorts of reasons, legally or not. 

Advanced technology has made a mockery of privacy and users have accepted it, given the perceived benefits, without governments and regulators doing much about it. And yet, there is sharing and sharing... 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/07/tesla-intimate-car-camera-images-shared

Nuro Autonomous Vehicle

From BBC

"Get that pizza delivered before the end of the sunny interval!" 

If there is an accident (or, rather, when), you can imagine the lawyers arguing over the definition of what 'fair weather' is. 

It might be feasible to operate 'in fair weather' in California. It might be more difficult in a country like Britain, where the weather changes every 20 minutes (on average).

The next step is to have the pizzas made by a robot. And, finally, the ultimate achievement will be to have it eaten by a robot (including the olives on top, pitted or not).

I mean, do we really need human beings? 
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55438969

Nuro set to be California's first driverless delivery service
Nuro's autonomous vehicles will take to the streets as early as 2021.

Autonomous Vehicles

From City AM of the UK

As I understand, the vehicles are driverless and electric.

https://www.cityam.com/amazon-owned-zoox-reveals-first-autonomous-robotaxi/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Midday+newsletter+Nov+2020

Russian Driverless Truck

News from RT: 

Driverless Truck - https://www.rt.com/russia/487077-kamaz-driverless-trucks-arctic/

Solving Traffic Jam Problem

https://www.fastcompany.com/90455739/mathematicians-have-solved-traffic-jams-and-theyre-begging-cities-to-listen

The free eBook is available @ https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-34102-2

Steve Wozniak on Autonomous Vehicles

Steve Wozniak on Autonomous Vehicles

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/24/apple-wozniak-given-up-believing-in-self-driving-cars-in-his-lifetime.html

OnStar REFERRAL CODE: 137609

Use the OnStar REFERRAL CODE: 137609 to activate your subscription:

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Get up to 3 months of OnStar® Safety & Security coverage

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2011–2014 VEHICLES

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or stop your vehicle and lock or unlock your doors (if

properly equipped) — all from your vehicle’s mobile app.

Plus, you’ll get 2 years of standard connectivity, which

currently enables services like Vehicles Diagnostics with

Connected Access.

2015 AND NEWER VEHICLES

Get up to 3 months of Connected Services and OnStar

Safety & Security coverage for free. Remotely start or stop

your vehicle and lock or unlock your doors (if properly

equipped) — all from your vehicle’s mobile app. You’ll also

get a built-in Wi-Fi® Hotspot. Plus, you’ll get 5 years of

standard connectivity, which currently enables services

like Vehicle Diagnostics with Connected Access.

Autonomous Vehicles for Disabled

Kristy Rasbach Speaks on Autonomous Vehicles:
GM autonomous vehicle chief engineer wants to make disabled access a priority
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/general-motors-autonomous-vehicle-chief-engineer-wants-to-make-accessibility-a-priority/

Real World Meets Virtual World

Augmented Reality Makes Driver-less Vehicle Testing Faster, Safer, and Cheaper

https://mcity.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/mcity-whitepaper-augmented-reality.pdf

GIZMAG -- There's never quite enough

"I want one in me home," explained Trevor Flabb-Porker, of Portsmouth (England). "This way, I won't have to get up when I want a can of Coke, a beer, a Mars bar, or a packet of crisps, while I'm busy -- cheese and onion, my favourite, since you're asking. Busy like watching football on the telly at the weekend and tweeting at the same time, sending updates to me mates, and checking me Facebook page. We got such hectic lives nowadays: we don't have no time to get up and grab a can of lager from the fridge. And Sharon, the girlfriend, don't want to move from the sofa either! Can't ask her to get up every 5 mins... It's a 24-7 lifestyle, innit?" 

______________________

https://newatlas.com/pepsico-snackbot/57890/?

Snackbots to satiate students with delivery of snacks on demand - newatlas.com PepsiCo has gotten into the robotic delivery business as its Hello Goodness subsidiary and Robby Technologies team up to operate a team of self-driving vending wagons on the University of the ... newatlas.com

GM Layoffs

From the Brookings InstitutionWhat GM’s layoffs reveal about the digitalization of the auto industry:https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/12/13/what-gms-layoffs-reveal-about-the-digitalization-of-the-auto-industry/

Sex & the Self-Driving Car

GIZMAG

Making the most of one's commute: you ain't seen nothing yet!  

"Is that the ice-cream van, mate?"

"No, it's Tatyana, the Bielorussian girl, in her self-driving stretched limo, on her evening round."

"What services does she offer?"

"She calls it Uber Personalized Escort & Assist Services Ltd: a true businesswoman, she is, Tatyana."

"Business, what business?"

"£60.00 for a quick one in the back of the vehicle, mate. A real upmarket brothel on wheels, red curtains, thick carpet, king-size bed: 15 mins. Amazing. And you get a free glass of Prosecco. And nibbles."

"Nibbles?"

"Well, peanuts -- and she may nibble your nuts if you pay extra."

"Right. I'm off! See you shortly..."

"You flag her by the side of the road, waving your £50 note."

"Thanks!" 

____________________

https://www.fastcompany.com/90264809/self-driving-cars-will-be-for-sex-scientists-say?

Self-driving cars will be for sex, scientists say Nearly 60% of all Americans have had sex in cars. Just wait until the cars can drive themselves. www.fastcompany.com

German Ethics Code for Self-Driving Vehicles

German Ethics Code for Self-Driving Vehicles:
https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/EN/publications/report-ethics-commission.pdf?__blob=publicationFile

The Moral Machine Experiment -

Should a self-driving car kill the baby or the grandma? Depends on where you’re from

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07135-0

The original paper may be found here:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0637-6

On Uber’s Autonomous Vehicle Fatality

From the Brookings Institution:

What Uber’s autonomous vehicle fatality tells us about the future of place:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/20/what-ubers-autonomous-vehicle-fatality-tells-us-about-the-future-of-place/

Future Cars?

The only way to redeem electric vehicles is to make them far more efficient than they are today. These companies claim to have done so: http://www.aptera.com/ and http://www.miastrada.com/.

Alternative Transportation Fuels: Automotive Technologies

Listen to the discussion on alternative transportation fuels from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (http://www.csis.org/):


http://www.csis.org/media/csis/events/070220_alt_fuels.m3u

(Automotive and transportation industries are one of the highest consumers of IT, both in the enterprise and embedded markets.)