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Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts

Google self-driving car shakes fist at Palo Alto drivers



Google has published its monthly report on the self-driving project, detailing any updates, advances, and accidents that have happened.
In the month of April, two accidents occurred involving the self-driving Lexuses. Both were minor incidents, which apparently stemmed from the other party hitting the self-driving car.
The first accident dinged one car’s side mirror, and happened while the Lexus SUV was stationary. The second involved the offending driver bumping into the side of the car, which – like any good teen-aged new driver – Google claims was not their fault.
Passengers in the self-driving cars were not harmed in the accidents.
See Also: Apple joins autonomous vehicle land rush in Silicon Valley
Google has been transparent about accidents for a few months, since news of several crashes emerged. They’ve even fessed  up about a recent accident by posting video, showing the self-driving car at fault during a crash with a bus.


It’s all Palo Alto’s fault

Despite the crashes, which number in the dozens now, Google insists that self-driving will lower the amount of crashes by over 50 percent. It claims that 94 percent of crashes are due to human error, which a fully autonomous world would fix.
Google is adding 100 more cars — Chrysler Pacifica minivans to be exact — to its fleet in the next year. Bringing variety to its self-driving project may give the company more understanding of how different sized cars should interact on the roads, which may lead to less scuffles.
The cars are tested in four locations: Kirkland, Washington; Mountain View, California; Phoenix, Arizona; and Austin, Texas. Both of the accidents were in Palo Alto, a 12-minute drive from Mountain View, where Google is headquartered.
The accidents might put some lawmakers off removing restrictions, but attitude towards self-driving cars has become less hostile in the last few months, as more investment comes in from traditional automakers.

First autonomous car track day set for this May



By the end of the year, we’ll have the first racing tournament dedicated to autonomous cars, and we will also have the first track day.
Joshua Schachter, the creator of Delicious and ex-Googler, has organized the track day for startups and big brands to test their cars. It will take place on May 28-29 at Thunderhill Raceway in California.
See Also: Will elderly and disabled gain the most from autonomous cars? 
All sorts of autonomous vehicles can run on the track, in the words of Schachter, “if you squint at it, and it’s automotive, come try it on the track.” That sounds more like an engineering field day than a chance to see fast cars hitting peak speeds, and indeed Schachter said he would be surprised if any autonomous car completed a lap during the two days.
For startups or enthusiasts, this is a great place to test moving sensors or automated vehicles in a controlled environment. It gives cars a precise route to follow and hundreds of miles to.


Track slots are filling up

Already, Schachter has confirmed AutonomouStuff, Hyperdrive, and Varden Labs will be attending the event. 11 other companies have signed up for the event, including Renovo, which introduced a half-a-million dollar autonomous car at CES 2015 and has developed an autonomous Delorean that can self-drift.
Schachter said that unlike Roborace, the autonomous race that will support Formula E in the 2016-2017 season, he doesn’t want an event where you build from the bottom up. Instead, he wants developers to bring their projects and test them in a convenient environment and potentially make connections with others in the industry.
While General Motors, Audi, and Google might not make the trip, we suspect a few more startups will venture out to Willow, California to test whatever device or vehicle they’ve been testing.

Credit Card Robbery in Starbucks: Who Is Guilty and What to Do

Credit Card Robbery in Starbucks: Who Is Guilty and What to Do

Credit Card Robbery in Starbucks: Who Is Guilty and What to Do

Starbucks is probably the most affordable place to enjoy a cup of coffee and friendly service in the whole world. These “fast-drink” cafes are located in many big cities and even tiny towns of the world. Starbucks cafes have a nice peculiarity: every guest gets a paper cup of coffee with his name on it. This simple trick makes every customer feel welcome and surrounded by attention. But in Victorville, California, a Starbucks worker invented another horrible knavish trick to get something more than tips. In one of the Californianstarbucks with a drive thru a customer was robbed—without stealing anything.
Elizabeth Becerra visited a local drive thru Starbucks with her brother. They were served and asked to wait for a few seconds for the worker to check thecredit card data and print a receipt. After everything had been done, Elizabeth drove home. A few days later, it turned out that somebody used the woman’s credit card without her knowledge. This mysterious somebody made an expensive purchase at the grocery shop (212 dollars disappeared from the card) right on New Year’s day! The plastic card was not stolen or borrowed by somebody, and the last payment was made in Starbucks. That is whenElizabeth decided to settle the issue and talk to the Starbucks employee whohad served them. The process of “getting even” was recorded on camera and then posted on YouTube.
Becerra decided to attack the alleged thief suddenly to see her very first reaction. The woman accused the Starbucks employee of making an illegal copy of her plastic card. Elizabeths strategy was very wise and efficientthe worker owned up to the crime without any denial or lying. The 19-year old Starbucks worker apologized sincerely and told her “victim” that she was just a high-school student who was keen on soccer.
But that attempt to mollify Becerra’s anger was unsuccessful. Elizabeth promised to file charges against that young scammer. Moreover, she uploaded the video of disclosure to the Internet to attract public’s attention to the credit card security issue. In the comments below the video, YouTube users separated into two groups: defenders of the 19-year-old Starbucks thief and her haters. Many people claimed that the worker was very confused by Elizabeth’s aggressive behavior, and she could not have performed such a trick herself. The girl took the blame upon herself, just to calm Becerra down. And the haters are sure that the former Starbucks worker (she was fired) was a part of the crime syndicate!
Official representatives of the local Starbucks claimed that it was the first and the last incident of credit card fraud in their cafe.