State Of Autonomy: January Recap

Parking is such sweet sorrow.

Every month, I recap the news articles I’ve consumed around autonomous vehicles, calling out the highlights and keeping track of market projections. This is also your chance, dear readers, to nominate a topic for discussion in the following month.

It’s officially been one year since I started this blog, which began as a mere 10,000-word rant I wasn’t planning to follow up on. Yet here we are on the heels of the Fed having announced $4 billion in R&D for autonomous vehicles, and I’m now preparing to write an article in February proposing how my own neighborhood could implement AVs to offset the impending shock of losing the subway line that made this place a destination.

In more timely news, CES is quickly becoming the only relevant car show in America… but I have to say very little impressed me. Admittedly, it’s tough: you’ve got companies trying to show you a vision of the future with their products snugly tucked into said vision. The result is usually some half-baked Jetsons environment with its citizens doing the same inefficient and short-sighted things they’ve always done. Imagine a world where your car knows that you’re late for work and shows up with Starbucks coffee. How about imagining a world where you don’t have a job to drive to.

It’s good to be independent, I’ll say that much.

This Month’s Highlights:

• U.S. Government Earmarks $4 Billion For Autonomous Vehicle R&D
• London To Test Consumer-Ready Self-Driving Pods This Summer
• KPMG Report Says Car Insurance Business In 2040 May Be 60% Smaller
• GM Invests $500MM In Ride-Sharing Platform Lyft
• First “Vintage Autonomous Car” Sold: University Of Texas’ 2005 DARPA Challenge Isuzu Goes For $15,000 On eBay
• GM One Of Several Carmakers Using Customer’s Vehicles To Gather Realtime Mapping Data
• Virginia Tech Study Commissioned By Google Says Self-Driving Cars Are Already Less-Accident Prone Than Conventional Drivers
• Interactive Demo Shows Why Uber’s Surge Pricing (MicroFees) Are Vital
• Driver For Autonomous Car Startup Crashes Vehicle After It Makes A Confusing Maneuver
• University Of Michigan Opens Autonomous Tech Incubator
• Facebook Files Platform Patent For Ride-Sharing UX

Market Predictions:

Predictions are based on official statements from manufacturers, technology companies, and industry consultants. Exact year claimed may be +/- 1 due to statement variations or because I was lazy in making the chart.

Coming In February:

• Brooklyn Could Be The Birthplace Of The Self-Driving Car Market (mid February)
• Privacy Is The Enemy Of Progress (late February)
• Your suggestion? Send a tweet to @mitchturck

Reactions From The Public:

Re: California Introducing AVs To The Market

Re: GM Using Customers’ Vehicles To Gather Map Data

Re: Federal Funding For Autonomous Vehicle Research