In this column, William F Moroney reports on human factors/ergonomics issues that have appeared in the press. Your contributions are invited. Please send electronic copy with references to wmoroney1@udayton.edu.
California sidelines GM Cruise's driverless cars, cites safety risk. By Hyunjoo Jin and David Shepardson, Reuters, October 24, 2023. https://bit.ly/3QJBOCt and https://bit.ly/46fHxot. California suspended GM’s Cruise's autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permit, which allowed their cars to operate without safety drivers. “Cruise said a Nissan Sentra in a lane next to one of its vehicles struck a pedestrian who entered a crosswalk against a red light. The pedestrian was launched into the path of the Cruise vehicle while it was operating in driverless autonomous mode. The DMV said the Cruise vehicle came to a complete stop but ran over the pedestrian during its hard-braking maneuver. It then attempted to pull over, dragging forward the pedestrian underneath the vehicle approximately 20 feet. Cruise said the driver of the Nissan fled the scene and is still at large. The DMV says Cruise representatives initially did not disclose or show footage of the vehicle's pullover maneuver after its initial stop, which "increased the risk of and may have caused, further injury to the pedestrian. “(https://bit.ly/3R5GJOk)”. This came after a contentious hearing in August, which allowed Waymo (Alphabet owned) and Cruise (GM Owned) to operate their AVs day and night with paid ridership in San Francisco. “In January, San Francisco firefighters battling a two-alarm apartment fire had to smash in the front window of one of Cruise’s driverless cars after it entered the firefighting scene and nearly ran over their hoses (https://bit.ly/3R5GJOk).” “In March, two of Cruise's driverless cars drove through caution tape put up after windstorms knocked down trees and trolley wires (https://bit.ly/3R5GJOk). “Apparently, this has not been an isolated incident, the Fire Department reports 92 such incidents in the last 6 months. https://bit.ly/3sjmrr8 and https://bit.ly/3MtA2TG, https://n.pr/46UXrWc, https://bit.ly/3MtAcKM, https://bit.ly/3FIF2Qm, and https://n.pr/3tYeDvn.
The backup driver for a self-driving vehicle that killed a pedestrian in suburban Phoenix sentenced. Associated Press, NPR, July 28, 2023. https://bit.ly/3MpyVVa. The backup driver, charged with negligent homicide, was sentenced to three years supervised probation due to mitigating circumstances. “The contributing factors cited by the NTSB included Uber’s inadequate safety procedures and ineffective oversight of its drivers, Herzberg’s [the deceased] decision to cross the street outside of a crosswalk and the Arizona Department of Transportation’s insufficient oversight of autonomous vehicle testing.
The board also concluded Uber’s deactivation of its automatic emergency braking system increased the risks associated with testing automated vehicles on public roads. Instead of the system, Uber relied on the human backup.”
Fatigue, complacency leads to a Washington state ferry striking mooring Structure. Oct 12, 2023, NTSB. https://bit.ly/40wCKNZ. A Washington state passenger and car ferry struck a mooring structure, at a Seattle ferry terminal on July 28, 2022, which resulted in $10.3 million in damages to the vessel and $300,000 in damages to the mooring structure. According to the NTSB, rudder commands stopped 30 seconds before the contact. This lack of input was attributed to microsleep by the fatigued ferry master. In addition, the quartermaster did not adequately monitor the master’s performance or intervene, as required by company policy. The full report is available at https://bit.ly/3Mtp0xR. Also see https://bit.ly/47kI35n.
Maui’s warning sirens failed to warn: Their warning system was designed primarily to warn of impending tsunamis and people are trained to go to higher ground. In this case, that would have put them into the wildfire area. Multiple independent warning systems on different platforms are needed. https://bit.ly/3u5QROg, https://bit.ly/3QIlOAN.
California approves Mercedes-Benz Level 3 autonomous driving system for public roads. By Eric Walz, June 12, 2023. Automotive Dive, https://bit.ly/3QkPani “Mercedes-Benz will be the first automaker to introduce an SAE Level 3 system for use on public roads in California after the state certified its Drive Pilot conditionally automated driving system … It will be available on the 2024 S-Class and EQS sedans.” The system allows drivers to focus on other activities such as checking email, using apps, and reading. It relies on redundant systems (braking and steering) and multiple sensors including lidar, rear-window cameras and microphones (for detecting emergency vehicles). The driver is not required to keep a hand on the steering wheel, but is expected to respond when advised by Drive Pilot. The current system only works at speeds below 40 mph (https://bit.ly/3Mwu5W2). For an excellent video describing system capabilities/constraints (traffic below 40 mph, clearly marked roads, no rain, daytime), see https://bit.ly/3SqbjDz.
Emerging technologies for musculoskeletal disorders: National Safety Council report discusses computer vision, biofeedback, and exoskeletons (https://bit.ly/3QvnYlY).
Arizona driver says he was “trapped” in hot Tesla after battery died. By Jennifer Kovaleski, Aug 01, 2023, ABC15. https://bit.ly/3tWNyss. The driver could not exit the vehicle when the 12 v battery failed. The power failure also locked the glove compartment so the owner’s manual cannot be consulted. This was not an isolated incident. The unlabeled exit handle is described in the Tesla manual (https://bit.ly/49rJv80).
A deaf football team will debut a 5G-connected augmented reality helmet to call plays By Becky Sullivan, PR, October 7, 2023. https://bit.ly/3Mwx2Ww. “A deaf football team at Gallaudet pioneered perhaps the most iconic sports communication innovation—the huddle. In an 1894 game against another deaf team, Gallaudet’s quarterback did not want to risk his opponent looking in on his American Sign Language conversations with his teammates, so he gathered them around in the tight circle now commonplace in many team sports.” The NCAA’s Division III team is now using an augmented reality helmet.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Faster airline boarding. United airlines economy class boarding system will utilize a window, middle, and aisle seat order. This process saves approximately 2 minutes. https://bit.ly/3Mw4DA0.
Spacesuits designed by Prada: https://bit.ly/3QM8ZW1 and https://bit.ly/47Eocyn.
Form follows function (sometimes). Read Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close, by Hannah Carlson. https://bit.ly/45XT23r.
Design choices and lack of testing/certification may have doomed the man submersible Titan https://bit.ly/3u19QJI, https://bit.ly/49q7xA3, https://bit.ly/49mbINl.
Forensic science isn’t all that scientific. https://bit.ly/40of1Q9; https://bit.ly/47kT6vn, https://bit.ly/46ihJrP.
New Logitech Wave keyboard review: https://bit.ly/3Sv3WLg and https://bit.ly/47lpWw1.
