Hey UDOT is commiting to changing their philosophy to focus on including "all users." But the panel they've convened to highlight innovation focuses on C/AV, aerial mobility, and electric vehicles.
UDOT's $40m investment in electric vehicle charging will use Federal funding, but through public/private partnerships, all of the sites built with these public funds will be privately owned.
Their Transportation Technology Engineer starts with "we don't build autonomous vehicles, we don't manufacturer them," ... "but they will drive on our roads." He's saying ADAS will evolve slowly to AVs. (It won't. Human-in-the-loop automation and full automation are very different.) After so many years and so many millions how does he still not understand it? He's leading an agency's "preparation." 🤦🏼♀️
Oh good, "this technology will save millions of lives." In all of the history of cars in the United States they've probably directly killed 1,000,000 people. "We're having a blast" <--- this is what is really behind AV boosters, they are sci-fi nerds.
We're now talking about autonomous air taxis ("eVTOL vehicles" = electric Vertical Takeoff & Landing = helicopters/rotary wings). FAA says they have to be manned because again, nobody understands the limits of human-in-the-loop automation. So more public money being wasted on sci-fi fan fiction.
Onto drone delivery and how much the public hates it but they're just misunderstanding how the cameras. "Pretty soon your pizza will be delivered by drone." Because everyone likes cold pizza with the toppings all over the lid as long as it's flown to your door.
"The public doesn't understand that we're doing connected vehicle technology at all, it's kind of like invisible technology. We're not collecting any information. We're collecting a huge wealth of data." WUT?
"People ask, aren't EVs just moving the tailpipe? Well, yes, but would you rather the tailpipe was in your back yard or someplace else? So moving the tailpipe isn't that bad."
He thinks fiber is the answer to "how do we move data." Not edge computing or good days dictionaries to reduce data and move it between systems. Just "any time you do a highway project, also put in fiber." Somehow this is about saving lives. There's no direct connection, but it's what gets him out of bed in the morning. It will save thousands and thousands of lives.
Dude 2 says in 10 years he'll be out of a job. Because they will have built out all the electrification to meet the needs. He said the quiet part out loud, "get federal money to private investors." Charging stations will have robots remove your battery and put in a charged one at charging stations. In 10 years? My man, are you working on battery standards? Because battery tech is the key differentiator for EV auto manufacturers.
@HayiWena IDK, we've really jumped the shark on car infrastructure at this point. If drivers wanted sidewalks, they would pay for completing the whole network and the associated stormwater treatment (they can't afford it.) We need to recover about 90% of the carway lanes to make bike/bus/ped infra networks whole, and then see about pouring more concrete.
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