New MOOC on Self-Driving Cars

If you are interested in the self-driving car ( / Autonomous Vehicles - AV ) space, and are looking for a more in-depth look at the various technical and non-technical challenges that need to be resolved before the self-driving cars can be common place in our society, then Coursera has launched a new course, which is available here. 

It is structured as a Teachout, which is a format that encourages posing open ended question(s), soliciting potential approach(es) to solutions from student(s) and a learning format that encourages learning as much via peer interaction, along with the standard instructor-student interaction. 

Self Driving Cars : Level(s) of Autonomy

Many times in the self-driving car space, you will come across the term 'level(s) of autonomy'. These are defined by SAE ( Society of Automotive Engineers ). The snippet below is sourced from here : 

• Level 0 – No Driving Automation = The performance by the driver of the entire DDT. Basically, systems under this level are found in conventional automobiles. 
• Level 1 – Driver Assistance = A driving automation system characterized by the sustained and ODD-specific execution of either the lateral or the longitudinal vehicle motion control subtask of the DDT. Level 1 does not include the execution of these subtasks simultaneously. It is also expected that the driver performs the remainder of the DDT. 
• Level 2 – Partial Driving Automation = Similar to Level 1, but characterized by both the lateral and longitudinal vehicle motion control subtasks of the DDT with the expectation that the driver completes the object and event detection and response (OEDR) subtask and supervises the driving automation system. 
• Level 3 – Conditional Driving Automation = The sustained and ODD-specific performance by an ADS of the entire DDT, with the expectation that the human driver will be ready to respond to a request to intervene when issued by the ADS. 
• Level 4 – High Driving Automation = Sustained and ODD-specific ADS performance of the entire DDT is carried out without any expectation that a user will respond to a request to intervene. 
• Level 5 – Full Driving Automation = Sustained and unconditional performance by an ADS of the entire DDT without any expectation that a user will respond to a request to intervene. Please note that this performance, since it has no conditions to function, is not ODD-specific.

Image from the link here

The challenge and promise of Self Driving Cars

There is a lot of excitement in the space of autonomous vehicles. As per some studies, 90%+ of the accidents caused today, happen because of human errors. In view of this, obviously, it makes a lot of sense to automate that task. However, we should also realize that humans are able to handle several edge case / tricky scenario(s) in a fairly competent manner, and that unless the Autonomous Vehicle(s) ( AVs ) are subjected to a lot of testing, using them might increase accident(s) in the short term.

Here is a snippet from an article by Rand corp, establishing the scope of the effort required to prove the safety of AVs from a statistical stand point.

"
With a fleet of 100 autonomous vehicles being test-driven 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at an average speed of 25 miles per hour, this ( This is approximately 8.8 billion miles ) would take about 400 years. 

"

Hopefully, we are able to chip away successfully at the 400 year, with an gradual and calculated increase in the number of AVs and also with the use of high quality simulations.

Keras Documentation for different API level(s)

Recently, I ran into an issue in which I was using an older ( 1.2.1 ) version of Keras, and the documentation online references documentation for just the latest version of Keras ( 2.x ). This is a useful website, which provide API documentation, for various level(s).

Self-Driving Car Algorithm Consideration(s)

Just listing out some considerations / parameters for a self-driving car algorithm : 

• Are lane markings clear ?
• What is the traffic in the lane immediately ahead ?
• What is the traffic in the adjacent lane(s) ?
• What is the approaching / predicted curvature of the roads nearby ?
• Are any pedestrians approaching ?
• What do the traffic signs suggest about the speed limit ?
• How to sense the driving condition(s) and what would be the safe speed limit for the current driving condition(s) ?
• How to sense if an emergency vehicle is approaching ? This could be done by audio / visual techniques.
• For a situation in which an incident cannot be prevented, how to minimize loss of human life ( and secondarily property ) ?
• View the trend in brake light(s) of cars up front, so that if the cars ahead start to activate their brake light(s), then a speed slow down could be implemented.

Overview of new devices from Google's event today - 9/29/2015

1. New Phones - Nexus 6P ( in colors Frost White, Graphite, Aluminum ), Nexus 5X ( Also in three colors ) . 
2. Fingerprint Sensor - Both comes with Fingerprint sensor ( called as Nexus Imprint ).
3. Camera Improvements - Nexus 6P has 240 FPS Camera mode, and Nexus 5X has 120 FPS Camera mode. Both cameras have a fast burst mode to capture pics at 30 FPS. Both Cameras have a big sensor size ( larger than iPhone 6+ ) which improves low-light performance, and reduces the need for OIS ( Optical Image Stabilization ).
4. Power Management : Fast Charging - Both come with Fast Charging, and with the software-driven Doze mode which improves battery performance by 30%.
5. Ordering and Availability - Pre-order available later today - 9/29/15 -> Nexus 5X starts at $379 - Nexus 6P starts at $499, will be available mid-October. Google store will be the store of choice for this hardware.
6. Google Play Music – Purchasing either of these devices has an included offer of 90 days free access to Google play music. $15 per month for 6 accounts for Google Play Music as a new service.
7. Google Play Credits - $50 Google Play credit when either of these devices are updated.
8. Warranty Plan - Nexus Protect ( $89 ) – gives you a total of 2 years of coverage for mechanical breakdown ( rather than the 1 year standard ). Get a new device as early as the next business day in-case of a breakdown. 
9. Project Fi compatibility - Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P are available on Google’s Project Fi network. [ meh ]
10. Google Photos Improvements – 1. Shared Albums, with minimal setup ( for example, auto sharing of children’s pics etc ), notifications will be communicated when new photos are added. 2. Improved search capability – enabled via give labels to folks leading to queries like Search for Person 'X' hiking, Search for Dad at the baseball game 3. Chromecast support to be added Photos ( finally ! ). 
11. ChromeCast –> 

• More apps ( including Sling TV etc ) to support Chromecast. 
• The new Chromecast for $35 – modern new look ( Black, Lemonade, Red colors ), improved performance, new adaptive antenna system, 
• Chromecast Audio - also $35, will support mirroring in addition to streaming, and will also support multi-room synchronization. 
• Re-designed Chromecast app to improve discoverability of content ( excellent ! ). 
• Fast Play, allows Pre–fetching of content to improve streaming experience. 
• Gaming on Chromecast – use Phone as a game controller. 
• New Feeds coming for Backdrop – Facebook, 500PX, Flickr etc.

• And lastly, Pixel Team update – Pixel C ( Convertible ) – running Android Marshmallow. Built with precision engineering. Keyboard connects to tablet via Bluetooth, and is sturdy. Quadcore processor with GPU. Stereo Speakers. 3 GB memory. Far-field voice activation with four microphones. Starts at $499 for tablet, and $149 for the Keyboard. Availability, this Christmas. 

On Focused Reading...

Reading without focus can often be like mindlessly watching whatever is being shown on TV. In other words, it is highly important to focus your reading to topic(s) that genuinely interest you, and not just which are 'out there'. Another analogy for unfocussed incessant reading, is snacking incessantly on potato chips. Reading without focus, can thus also be termed as 'info-snacking', i.e. continuous intake of info-snacks, without thinking whether they are causing an improvement in intellectual health or not. Since, this realization I have tried to be more focused in what I read, and where I read it from.