Good day my good friend.

In typical Town Council fashion, I’ve been called away at the last minute to a meeting. So this will be a quick one.

If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.

James

Modelling for automated systems is more tricky than you think it is

We often predict the future based upon what we know right now. There is nothing wrong with that as a baseline, but it is not useful for understanding the different possibilities that the future could hold. So seeing some thought being given to the different characteristics that will affect driverless operation, and seeing them integrated into a framework for modelling, is most welcome. Especially when considering the possible gradual transition through varying degrees of semi-automation.

I will leave the authors, in their abstract, to put their case. It is well worth reading. If you want a rough translation – they consider different aspects of the transition to automated vehicles, develop algorithms based on that, and give a framework to work with it.

…by simultaneously considering operational design domain supervision, driver and environment monitoring, trajectory planning, and driver-intervention performance assessment. More specifically, we develop a modelling framework for each of the aforementioned functions by leveraging decision analysis and Bayesian forecasting. Utilizing this framework, a suite of algorithms is subsequently proposed for driving-mode management and early warning emission, according to a management by exception principle.

To what degree do environmental considerations factor into the decision to buy a new car?

The number of electric cars being purchased is on the rise, admittedly from a low base. But is this because we have all suddenly woken up to the climate crisis? There has been plenty of analysis of the role of environmental considerations in consumer purchasing, but some new research from the USA has sought to study this in the context of buying new vehicles.

Sorry to dash any hopes, here. But safety and performance are more important when it comes to buying a car. But this depends upon household income, attitudes towards the environment more generally, and the desire for higher fuel economy from vehicles. But it is still some interesting research regardless.

Random things

These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope they do just that.

• Robots for economic development (Vox EU)

• Legal Action Against Shell Board Previews Wave of Lawsuits Against Company Directors (Naked Capitalism)

• Why we trust experts – even when they admit they don’t know the answer (The Conversation)

• ‘These salt marshes saved my life’: how nature is helping mental health (The Guardian)

• U.S. Senate approves bill to make daylight saving time permanent (Reuters)

Something interesting

How politics can drive plans – a somewhat extreme edition.

If you do nothing else today, then do this

If open data in transport is your thing, read this report from the International Transport Forum on how to set up good processes and policies that allow them to be published.