The technologies …

A third way - not autonomous nor driver-in-vehicle - for road transport

With all the attention on avoiding texting while driving, it strikes me as highly unlikely that a remote driver can effectively drive more than one vehicle at a time, especially in areas with lots of hazards such as kids darting into streets, deer running onto roadways, multi-vehicle collisions/pile-ups, etc. Radar lag plus reaction time plus distracted attention from multiple screens plus dead cell signal zones is a no-go AFAIAC.

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-silicon-valley-car-tech-firm.html

This Silicon Valley car tech firm is bringing secret weapon to the streets of Sacramento

August 17, 2018 by Tony Bizjak, The Sacramento Bee

… It's called teleoperations, and some people in the autonomous vehicle industry say it's the little-known irony behind all the bold talk that computers are about to drive our cars for us and do it more safely.

Phantom Auto executives and many in the industry say that autonomous vehicles are decades away from being able to truly drive safely on city streets and highways all by themselves under any conditions. …

An autonomous system could, for instance, shut a car down in a freeway travel lane if it runs into a scenario it doesn't understand, Katz said. Someone needs to be there to steer the car off of the road until the technology gets experienced enough to deal with more atypical scenarios. …

Phantom Auto hopes its remote driving system and driver training—based on Israeli drone training—will be the ones that autonomous car testing companies will turn to when the first driverless test cars hit the road.

And Sacramento is the city Phantom Auto has chosen to show off its product, enticed here by the mayor and others who are eager to create a new tech economy in the capital city. Starting this month, company reps will be in town to "geomap" the streets between downtown and Sacramento State, readying them for autonomous car tests, and prepping them to show off Phantom Auto's remote-driving system. …

Phantom Auto's work here will include checking for a continuous wireless communication connection between the car and the remote driver. The company uses a technique it calls "bonding," where it overlaps all the providers—such as Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T—to make sure it has the best chance at continual coverage.

But there likely will be communication dead zones. Phantom Auto will note them and tell autonomous car testing companies to avoid those spots, Katz said. …

For now, remote operators may be watching over only one or a few autonomous vehicles at a time. But autonomous industry experts say that as technology improves, a monitor may be overseeing dozens of vehicles at once, and possibly more.

When trouble hits, the car will alert that monitor, Pannetta said. But, she asks, "what is the reaction time? Those are the big things."

Over time, the computer algorithms will learn to deal with more complex situations, she said, taking more responsibility away from monitors. Even then, humans may be needed to watch over some autonomous cars, such as rideshare vehicles, to make sure the person inside hasn't had some sudden health issue or there isn't some other problem inside the passenger compartment.

Katz said his system is ready to prove its worth in the coming months on the streets of Sacramento, right down to driving minutiae: The remote operator can hear honking and sirens. He can honk the horn and has a speaker system to talk to police if pulled over. …