What We’re Reading
Rivian’s latest update lets you record and save drive cam footage, including any ‘incidents’ (Electrek, May 2, 2023)
Rivian’s latest over-the-air software update brings a number of new features to drivers, including 360-degree “Drive Cam” and “Incidents” functions to “enable Rivian drivers to record and save footage of their journeys.” As the name suggests, this footage could include incidents experienced during a journey, such as collisions and hard braking.
To engage the Drive Cam function, the driver simply taps the “Save Clip” button on the center display, and the car will “create a video clip of the previous two minutes.” Any captured footage can be stored on a USB-C device, and can be viewed in the vehicle or downloaded to another external source.
When the Incidents function is engaged, no footage is saved unless an incident is experienced; then the car will automatically save the fifteen minutes of footage preceding the incident and the following 1 minute and 45 seconds. As Rivian explains, “Incidents constantly monitors vehicle dynamics to identify incidents, and if one occurs, saves video of the event. For example, if you are cut off in traffic and have to slam on the brakes, this near-impact scenario would trigger the anti-lock braking system and, in turn, activate Incidents.” Incident footage is saved directly to the Rivian internal hard drive without need for a USB-C device.
Elon, or deepfake? Musk must face questions on Autopilot statements (Reuters, April 26, 2023)
Elon Musk has faced more than a few lawsuits involving his public statements, but he has not denied making the statements—until now. In a California lawsuit brought by the family of Walter Huang, who was killed when his Tesla crashed while operating in Autopilot, Tesla’s lawyers are claiming that certain recorded statements about the capabilities of Autopilot attributed to Musk may actually be “convincing ‘deepfake’ videos.” But the Court found that argument less than convincing, ordering Musk to sit for a deposition and calling Tesla’s arguments “troubling.” Among the statements reportedly at issue is a 2016 statement in which Musk allegedly claimed that a “Model S and Model X, at this point, can drive autonomously with greater safety than a person.” The Huang case is set for trial in July. The docket can be accessed here (Sz Huang v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. 19CV346663).
May Mobility launches Arizona’s first on-demand autonomous public transit service for 55+ community (PR Newswire, April 25, 2023)
May Mobility, a Michigan-based autonomous vehicle developer, is launching its first service in the Western U.S. in partnership with Via, a global “TransitTech” company. The new service will provide on-demand autonomous public transit to the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, operating from 7 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday to shuttle residents throughout the community and to local recreation and retail centers.
May Mobility and Via hope that the service will both “expand access to safe, reliable, and equitable on-demand transportation” to the community, and help the companies to better “understand how [AV] technology is adopted and addresses mobility challenges faced by aging adults.” Edwin Olson, CEO of May Mobility, touted the public benefit of the service, saying: “We're fundamentally changing public transit, making it easier and more desirable than having a personal car. ... People are living longer, and we believe that aging populations stand to gain greater access to mobility with autonomous vehicle technology. We're committed to providing safe, reliable transportation for people who don't want to or can't drive themselves.”