Bollinger Unveils New Customizable Work Truck
The battery-electric work vehicle market is getting a little more crowded as Bollinger Motors has jumped into the fray with a specialized variant of its all-electric B2 called the B2 Chassis Cab, or B2CC.
The B2CC is the world’s first and only Class 3 all-electric chassis-cab truck platform, the company proclaims, adding it will offer unlimited work truck variants.
“The Bollinger B2 Chassis Cab’s unique features – including the 5,000-lb. payload and large energy source to power tools – make it perfect for businesses, small and large,” said CEO Robert Bollinger.
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
The Biggest Myth About The Development Of Self-Driving Cars
When people hear the term autonomous car, they are often under the mistaken belief that the role of the human driver has been eliminated, that he or she is now relegated to the role of passenger.
AI is sophisticated enough to take over the basic function of driving a vehicle, but driving entails so much more than just navigating a car. We still have the edge over AI because we think like other human beings. We anticipate that other drivers or pedestrians may not always follow the rules of the road, or they may behave in irrational ways.
“The biggest myth about automation is the more automation, the less you need human expertise. Actually, the more you automate, the more you need to educate, where, when, how etc.,” observes Bryan Reimer, PhD, a research scientist at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, a researcher in the AgeLab, and associate director of the New England University Transportation Center.
Read the article at Fast Company.
AI Might Trick Us By Pretending To Be Dimwitted, Including For Self-Driving Cars
True self-driving cars are ones that the AI drives the car entirely on its own and there isn’t any human assistance during the driving task.
We’ll have AI-driving systems that aren’t the brightest, yet nonetheless can drive a car, doing so to the degree that they are either as safe as human drivers or possibly more so. Continuing to obediently take requests from humans for rides, the AI would dutifully drive the self-driving cars.
Remembering HAL from 2001: A Space Odessey, will we end-up with AI-based true self-driving cars that have AI systems pretending to be less-than-full AI so as to hide their capabilities and remain on the low-down? Should there always be a human-in-the-loop proviso, thus presumably safeguarding that if the AI system goes awry, there is a chance that humans can catch it or stop it?
Read the article at Forbes.
Pandemic Underscores the Need for an Optimal Government Fleet Vehicle Replacement Policy
By Maria Neve, Manager, Mercury Associates
Everyone is saying it, and it’s true: we are living in unprecedented times. COVID-19 has upended how we do business and has shown that the existing playbooks are insufficient. The virus has also affirmed some long-held basics of fleet management.
First and foremost, a lifecycle management policy is a must. Every fleet—whether it be commercial or government—should have a plan in place to replace vehicles in a measured and timely fashion.
State and municipal governments find themselves in the unenviable position of being essential to the health and welfare of the population, and also at the mercy of incredible budgetary pressure that is only going to worsen over the short term. All government entities will be looking for ways to cover the shortfall caused by reduced tax revenue.
Then there is the responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. One can argue that a well-thought-out and data-driven fleet replacement policy does exactly that. Let’s take a look how:
Updating Existing Fleet Policies for the Pandemic
If you haven’t done so already, now is a very good time to update your existing fleet policies to address new risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
