The Top Seven Things Autonomous Cars Can’t Handle
My last post had some rather grim news to do with autonomous cars (aka driverless cars) not quite doing what they are supposed to do. That was an example of things going badly wrong with the sensor systems that are supposed to make driverless cars so much safer and better than real live humans. However, on a slightly lighter note, there are quite a few things that most of us drivers handle sometimes daily without much fuss that send autonomous cars into a full-on wobbly.
Driverless Car Causes Fatal Accident In Arizona
Photo courtesy of Reuters
On 18th March – that’s just over a week ago – driverless car technology received a major blow. The horrible truth is that the blow struck to the technology by this particular vehicle being road-tested by the Uber taxi service wasn’t as nasty as the blow it delivered to a 49-year-old Arizona woman named Elaine Herzberg who was crossing the road one evening, like you do. The car hit her and killed her. Dashcam on the autonomous car captured the moment before the car ran her down. I’ve decided not to embed it in this post in case you’ve got autoplay or something on, because it’s decidedly disturbing. Find it online yourself if you must, but personally, I’d rather not watch the tragic and completely avoidable death of a woman about my age who probably has a partner and children and friends who thought she was great fun – someone just like me and you.
Narva's L.E.D.s Light The Way Offroad.
Aftermarket lighting supplier Narva introduced the Ultima 215 LED driving lights in 2017. An important feature of the Ultima 215 is that it meets the stringent requirements of CISPR 25 which is part of the ECE Regulation 10 for EMC, a feature that is sadly not evident in many other lamps on the market. By the way, CISPR is Comité International Spécial des Perturbations Radioélectriques or International Special Committee on Radio Interference.
Narva Marketing Manager, Jake Smith, said the company knew the lights would be popular but had not fully anticipated the spectacular market uptake. “Throughout the lamps development we were extremely excited about the lights’ performance and the potential impact they would have on the market. The 215 L.E.D lamps provide the latest technology, outstanding light output and the reliability and toughness Narva lights are known for and these qualities, coupled with a reasonable price point has struck accord with customers. The strength of our research, development and testing meant that the lamp was compliant with CISPR 25 on release, further broadening the appeal of the lamps, especially for emergency services applications where the avoidance of radio interference is critical.”
The units have proved popular with the 4WD and travel industries. Former motorbike racer, Daryl Beattie, has turned his hand to running a travel company. One of his vehicles is a tough and sturdy IVECO 4×4 support truck which now sports two pairs of the 215s. Covering the rugged Canning stock route, the Simpson Desert, and routes that go to Cape York, Beattie says of the Narva 215 units: “They produce a staggering white light that’s easy on the eye and fills in the shadows way down the road ahead – they are the best spotties I’ve ever owned.” Daryl added:“After using the Ultima 215s, I can safely say they are the only L.E.D driving lights that I’ll be using on my adventures.”
Lamborghini Huracán Performante Goes Topless.
$532,635 Australian dollars, including taxes, excluding on the road costs. That how much the new Huracan Performante will cost. The what?
Here’s what it is.
The Performante Syder will see a 0-100 km/h time of just 3.1 seconds thanks to its 5.2 l V10 naturally-aspirated engine. A permanent all wheel drive system helps it go further, with 0-200 km/h (0-124 mph) in 9.3 seconds A top speed of 325 km/h matches its coupé stablemate. Braking from 100-0 km/h is mastered in 31.5 m.
Like the Performante coupé, the Spyder outputs 640 hp (470 kW) at 8,000 rpm, producing 600 Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm, and with more than 70% of torque already available at 1,000 rpm. Stefano Domenicali, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automobili Lamborghini says: ““The Huracán Performante Spyder takes the zenith of Huracán developments, combined with the enhanced emotion of driving a convertible.”
With a total dry weight of just 1,507 kg, the Spyder returns a weight-to-power ratio of 2.35 kg/hp, with weight distribution front/rear of 43/57%. Domenicali also said: “The Huracán Performante already provides the most heightened feedback and emotion from road and track, and the Huracán Performante Spyder puts the driver even closer to asphalt and air, as well as the unique resonance of a naturally-aspirated Lamborghini engine.”
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