Monthly Archives: February 2022

There has been incremental, but steady, progress in the development of self-driving cars. Some form of driver-assistance technology focused on safety is now inside most new vehicles.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) defines six levels of vehicle driving automation systems. Right now, we're at level two, with cars able to control steering, acceleration and braking, while still requiring drivers to remain engaged. Down the road, level 5 autonomy would mean fully driverless cars.

But the transition into the future hasn't always been smooth. As the technology advances, drivers adjust, and the government tries to keep up.

Among the new crowd of autonomous vehicles is the 2022 Honda Civic. One of the newest settings on the standard-issue Honda Civic is it can drive itself down the road itself, then smoothly break behind a stopped car.

Honda told CBS News the system is not intended or capable of detecting the end of a road, and is not marketed or considered ahands-free technology.adding that it's the driver's responsibility to maintain control at all times, CBS News' Brook Silva-Braga reports.

But researcher Kelly Funkhauser, who tests self-driving technology for Consumer Reports, worries such systems work so well most of the time that many drivers won't be ready when the inevitable exception pops up.

"There's a tendency to find a stimulus because you're bored," she said. "Monitoring a system that's performing well is extremely boring but the problem is the features aren't quite up to speed yet in their capabilities."

For all automakers, the promise of self-driving is both convenience and safety. But neither has fully arrived quite yet.

"Is the person driving or is the person not driving? Because if they're driving then this stuff seems pointless and if they're not driving you can't ask them to drive at a moment's notice," Silva-Braga said.

"Exactly, and that's what they're saying is, they're giving you the little legalese warning, 'Take over, 'cause we don't want responsibility. You must pay attention, even though we know it's boring and we know that you're a human being and you're not going to, but we don't want responsibility because we know that our system's not perfect.' That's where we are," said Funkhauser.

In the 1950s, GM imagined self-driving cars by the 1970s. In 2018, they promised them within a year.

Elon Musk previously said a Tesla would self-drive across the country by 2017. It still hasn't, and instead, the company faces federal investigations and lawsuits over some alleged instances of failure of its autopilot system.

Waymo launched self-driving car taxis but the high-end sensors are far too costly for mass production vehicles. TuSimple launched a self-driving option for its semi-tractor-trailers, but they still come equipped with human safety drivers.

"A lot of people are finding out that developing for all the chaos of the roadway is a lot harder than anyone ever thought," Funkhauser said.

Last year, Elon Musk conceded he did not expect self-driving to be so hard. Then, he launched an audacious plan to solve it, putting a full self-drive system on real roads and using carefully screened Tesla owners to chaperon the cars as they worked on their driving. The idea is all these test miles will teach Tesla's system in ways only the real world can.

Tesla did not respond to CBS News' request for comment, but has described the beta tests as a safe way to make their software better. Some critics, however, argue it's a potential menace to anyone on the roads.

Consumer Reports wants automakers to only enable these features for drivers who agree to compromise their privacy and be actively tracked, as Tesla and GMC drivers, to an extent, already are. Otherwise, Funkhauser said she does not trust drivers to actively watch these imperfect systems, which could need watching much longer than we'd hoped.

"I don't think you can order a car, pick you up from your house, take you to work until probably 2050," she said.

Funkhauser says the biggest thing that would help self-driving cars is if they could communicate with each other and objects around them, but that also may not happen any time soon. In the last days of the Trump administration, the FCC took away most of the radio spectrum that cars were planning to use. Unless that changes, experts, including Funkhauser, say it will be much more difficult for cars to communicate.

Trending News

For Breaking News & Analysis Download the Free CBS News app

Continue reading here:

What's the status of self-driving cars? There has been progress, but safety questions remain. - CBS News

A deep dive into 5 American pig countries (I)

Leading up to the United Pork Americas event, which is scheduled for April, Pig Progress is taking a closer look at pig-producing countries in the region and considers prospects for development. In this edition on pages 6-9: Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, Canada and Peru.

The UK pig industry made headlines in the UK press in the autumn of 2021 for all the wrong reasons. The situation in the sector has caused pig prices, producer confidence, and industry profits to suffer. Has all this been a minor bump on the post-Brexit, post-Covid road, or might this be a turning point? A closer look on pages 11-13.

Canadas swine industry suffered a loss when long-time pork industry researcher and advocate, Dr George Foxcroft, passed away in December. Fellow professor, Dr Ruurd Zijlstra, said Foxcroft always aimed to bring research to reality. A tribute on page 14.

On page 15, columnist Francesc Molist, R&D manager at Schothorst Feed Research, warns that some ingredients increase stomach pH and that must be taken. He takes a closer look at the 2 main ingredients, namely zinc and calcium.

Manure makes good money for French pig producer, Patrick Talibart. Cooperls Trac system, which is a manure-separating technology, has been installed in his pig house with 1,000 animals and requires little attention, he says. The manures thick fraction will yield about 20 per tonne, and the pigs on the farm are happy. Take a closer look on pages 18-20.

An ASF vaccine is imminent and will become a world first. How far has science advanced in the search for an ASF vaccine? Independent researcher, Dr Samaneh Azarpajouh, shares the details on pages 22-23.

From June 2022, the medicinal use of zinc oxide, which is often used to prevent weaning diarrhoea, will be limited in the EU, when only nutritional levels will be allowed. With a restriction on the use of antibiotics, this is a challenge. This article on pages 24-25 considers how nutritional strategies and biosecurity can help producers.

As farrowing crates are gradually phased out in the EU, one wonders what farrowing pens of the future look like. Pig Progress Editor, Vincent ter Beek, hosted a webinar, which was an initiative of a group of international pig welfare scientists, to discuss this very relevant topic. Pages 26-28.

Correspondent, Philippe Caldier, considers the rising popularity of cultured meat, which brings with it an increased concern by those involved in animal production chains. What is cultured meat, how popular is it, and what opportunities exist for the animal nutrition business? Find the answers on pages 30-31.

Studies estimate that 8-34% of sows show some clinical evidence of a shoulder sore. On page 34, columnist and pig health and welfare expert, Dr Monique Pairis-Garcia, reveals results from a study that evaluated iodine spray and zinc oxide as treatment options.

View Pig Progress digital magazine

Follow this link:

Faeces, free farrowing and future prospects in Pig Progress 1 - Pig Progress

Russias Progress MS-19 supply ship closes in on the International Space Station on Thursday. Credit: Roscosmos

Two days after launching from Kazakhstan, a Russian Progress cargo freighter docked with the International Space Station on autopilot Thursday with a fresh delivery of food, crew supplies, experiments, and CubeSats that will be released outside the complex on a future spacewalk.

The Progress MS-19 spacecraft docked with the space stations Poisk module at 2:03 a.m. EST (0703 GMT) Thursday. The final approach occurred on autopilot, with the Progress spacecrafts on-board computer receiving navigation data from a Kurs rendezvous radar.

The docking occurred as the space station soared 270 miles (434 kilometers) over the South Pacific Ocean.

Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov planned to open hatches leading to the Progress spacecraft and begin unpacking the cargo inside. The Progress MS-19 spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the station until next February, a stay of around 370 days.

The mission launched at 11:25 p.m. EST Monday (0425 GMT Tuesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A liquid-fueled Soyuz rocket placed the Progress MS-19 cargo ship into orbit, then the Progress used its own thrusters to maneuver toward the space station.

The arrival of Progress MS-19 at the station marked the first docking at the orbiting outpost this year. The Progress mission is the first of two unpiloted cargo freighters heading to the International Space Station within a week.

NASA and Northrop Grumman teams in Virginia are preparing for launch of a Cygnus cargo ship Saturday on a commercial Antares rocket. Teams rolled the rocket out to its launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, earlier this week.

If that launch occurs on time, the Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the station Monday, Feb. 21.

Roscosmos, Russias space agency, said the Progress MS-19 spacecraft delivered around 5,562 pounds (2,523 kilograms) of supplies to the station.

Russian ground teams loaded 3,598 pounds (1,632 kilograms) of dry cargo into the Progress freighters pressurized compartment, according to Roscosmos. The space agency said the mission carries 950 pounds (431 kilograms) of propellant to refuel the stations Zvezda module propulsion system, 926 pounds (420 kilograms) of fresh drinking water, and 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of compressed gas to replenish the space stations breathing air.

The equipment the Progress mission ferried to the space station included six Russian student-built CubeSats, which will be deployed outside the outpost by Russian cosmonauts on a spacewalk later this year. The six YuZGU CubeSats each about the size of a shoebox come from Southwest State University in Kursk, Russia.

The Progress MS-19 supply ship also delivered kits for an experiment studying how long-duration spaceflight affects the work of cosmonauts, and cargo for research investigations probing the effects of bacteria on spacecraft structures.

There are also items aboard the Progress MS-19 mission for a plant and microbiology experiments, and equipment to support investigations involving the production of pharmaceuticals in microgravity.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

Read more from the original source:

Progress supply freighter docks with space station Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

Stability remains a rare commodity in the Middle East. Thats all the more reason to welcome modest signs of rapprochement between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and for both sides to build on them.

Admittedly, conditions hardly look propitious for peace. Israels fragile ruling coalition is split between hardliners firmly opposed to an independent Palestinian state, leftists, centrists and even an Islamist party. The Palestinians are even more divided, with Hamas dominating the Gaza Strip and making inroads into the West Bank, where the deeply unpopular Palestinian Authority holds sway. Meanwhile, the U.S. has its hands full trying to fend off crises from Ukraine to Iran, and has little bandwidth to broker a new Middle East peace process.

That doesnt mean incremental progress cant be made. In recent months, Israel has taken some promising steps. It has tentatively agreed to allow Palestinian companies to set up 4G mobile networks, which the World Bank has described as critical to developing a Palestinian digital economy. In late December, Israeli officials promised to legalize the status of several thousand Palestinians and to provide more travel passes for Palestinian officials and businesspeople. Most important, Israel has offered more than $180 million in loans so the PA can pay salaries and forestall a fiscal crisis.

While Israels government has taken flak for giving too much and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for accepting too little, these measures are good for both sides. They shore up the PA a critical security partner for Israel against Hamas. They should also help ease mounting frustrations in the West Bank by removing some needless daily indignities. Israel could further bolster the PAs fiscal position by following through on proposals to lower handling fees for fuel shipments and allow more expansive cross-border commerce with Jordan.

Palestinian leaders could unlock more aid by taking a few sensible steps of their own. First and foremost, they need to abandon their longstanding policy of paying stipends to the families of Palestinians, including convicted terrorists, whove been imprisoned or killed by Israeli security forces. The payments have prompted Israel to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the customs revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, and they prevent the U.S. from directly funding the PA. Privately, some Palestinian officials have acknowledged the program needs to be overhauled and families offered welfare only according to financial need. Abbas should have the courage to act.

For their part, Israeli leaders should remember that piecemeal efforts are welcome but not sufficient. If young Palestinians are to resist the appeals of radical groups such as Hamas, they need to see some hope for political as well as economic progress. While it may be premature to envision new peace talks, Israel should at least not foreclose them with unilateral moves, such as building settlements in areas critical to a future Palestinian state.

The fact remains that there is no one-state solution that can guarantee Israel remains Jewish, democratic and secure. Its supporters should both applaud steps to stabilize relations with the Palestinians and press for more.

The above editorial was published Feb. 16 by Bloomberg Opinion. Its views are its own.

Continued here:

Modest progress should be welcomed in the Middle East - bedfordgazette.com

BATON ROUGE - Progress on the $200 million Amazon fulfillment center at the site of the former Cortana Mall is undeniable. Just ask Raul Urdiales.

"From the time they tore Cortana down, piece by piece, to now, they don't waste any time," Urdiales, owner of El Rio Grande, said. "They just keep going."

Urrdiales can see the cranes and construction site from his restaurant across Airline Highway. He keeps up with progress, frequently driving by. To him, it seems like some parts of the facility pop up overnight.

"I watch it about 4 or 5 times a week," Urdiales said. "I see extra things being built. There are docks being built, walls being put up. It's just awesome watching this thing go up."

Even on the weekends, he'll see crews out, and since work started, he's seen those same workers add to his lunch rush.

"My dad's talked to a few of them, and he's trying to get more people to come over here," Urdiales said.

The facility, expected to be up and running by December 2022, is anticipated to bring a much-needed boost to the local economy and the area's revitalization effort.

As Baton Rouge leaders attempted to attract Amazon, the Capital Area Finance Authority offered the shipping giant tax incentives through the PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, program, in the form of a 10-year exemption on property taxes.

Amazon, though, expressed interest in still paying the portion of property taxes that would typically flow to the East Baton Rouge school system.

"It is very important to Amazon that our schools are fully funded," Amazon representative Jessica Breaux told school board members Thursday. "So, we do not want to accept an abatement of school taxes."

Thursday night, the school board approved a cooperative endeavor agreement with Amazon to receive an annual "school enhancement payment."

"Amazon is actually electing to pay to the school system what they would have not paid through the tax program, the PILOT program," said Gwynn Shamlin, general counsel for the school system. "We're actually receiving, directly, those monies versus them going through the collection process of tax collection with the sheriff."

Last February, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council approved the project's overall tax abatement plan, totaling $35 million over 10 years.

Read more:

Nearby businesses pleased with progress on new Amazon fulfillment center at site of shuttered mall - WBRZ

KANSAS CITY, Mo. After Kansas Citys biggest winter storm of the winter season, many across the region have seen half a foot or more of snow Thursday.

The National Weather Service reported, as of noon, Kansas City had already recorded 6.4 inches of snow for Feb. 17, breaking the daily record of 6 inches set back on the same day back in 1893.

As the snow winds down Thursday afternoon, you might be wondering when the streets will be cleared.

Cities all over the KC area have had crews working diligently to clear streets overnight and all day. Interstates and major city streets take priority, and then crews get to work on residential roads.

Many large cities in the KC metro allow residents to track snow plow routes in real time, see whether or not streets have been cleared, or at least provide information on snow plans and priorities.

If youd like to check the progress of snow plows in your neighborhood, visit the appropriate link below:

If you have to travel across Kansas or Missouri, check out these traveler maps that show current conditions, and whether Kansas City-area interstates and highways are covered in snow:

Heads up: City and state transportation agencies are asking drivers to stay off the road Thursday as much as possible. Fewer drivers means its easier for them to plow the roads. It also means fewer crashes for first-responders to work.

Download the FOX4 News app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for FOX4 email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on fox4kc.com for Kansas City and all of Kansas and Missouri.

More:

Where are the snow plows? Track progress in the Kansas City area - WDAF FOX4 Kansas City

Pierce County Executive, Bruce Dammeier announcement.

Many people and departments across the County are doing the critically important work to create both safe AND just communities for all our residents.

As you may remember, our Criminal Justice Workgroup (made up of leaders from the Prosecutors Office, the Sheriffs Department, the Department of Assigned Council, and the Executives Office) has been providing both transparency and reform recommendations to promote a more just system. Previously, they have issued two important reports that provide crucial insight into the criminal justice system. The first report reviewed key policies and procedures as well asan analysis of arrest dataCountywide, and thesecond report was a comprehensive review of the use of forceby the Sheriffs Department. I wrote about this work in arecent blog. These are important first steps in our effort to create a more just County.

These reports have already resulted in key reforms, including: body-worn and dash cameras (fully implemented); a joint Executive-Council letter to the Legislature requesting criminal justice terms be clarified (like physical force); and most recently a recommendation, from the Prosecutor, Sheriff and myself, for the Council to adopt the Workgroupsproposalfor a Civilian Review Board. All three of these reforms stem from the principle that transparency both builds trust in community and promotes confidence in our law enforcements actions.

And the Criminal Justice Workgroup is far from done! I am looking forward to their next report, which should be available shortly.

At the same time, we are working to create a safer community. You may have heard anecdotes and seen news stories about the rise in crime over the last year both in the region and Pierce County. And we do have the data to prove it. In nearly every category homicide, assault, car theft, etc. crime is up significantly.

Thats why last week I brought forward two proposals to help reduce crime.

In the joint letter with the Council, we have formally asked our Pierce County Legislative Delegations to support three critical revisions to laws that were passed last Session. Sadly, some of these well-intended laws were fraught with unintended consequences that made it harder for our deputies to catch and arrest criminals. Basically, they both demoralized our deputies and emboldened the criminals. Correcting these laws is crucial to addressing the crime in our community.

Sadly, we have seen many deputies leave the County some to other agencies, some to other states, and some to other professions. If this trend were to continue, our core responsibility of protecting our community would be compromised. That is why the Sheriff and I proposed retention bonuses to keep our committed law enforcement professionals serving our County residents as well as attract new deputies to the County. This proposal needs to be bargained with the Deputies Guild and the funding approved by the Council.

You can learn more about these recent proposalshere.

While weve made criminal justice a high priority, we are also focusing on broadening economic justice, so that everyone has an opportunity to prosper in Pierce County.

Ive previously written in thisblogabout how we have used some of our federal CARES and American Rescue Plan Act funds to create a business accelerator program for new and budding small business owners, with an emphasis on Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and veteran entrepreneurs. Our goal is to have 12 classes completed by Fall.

The next step of this effort is the navigators program, which is kicking off next week. With several key community partners, we will be able to support many more small business owners from our communities of color and rural areas. I had the chance to meet with the lead navigators last week representing several of our partners: the Korean Womens Association, the Asia Pacific Cultural Center, the Black Collective, Mi Centro, Business IMPACT NW and PLU.

I cant wait to share some of the success stories with you in future blogs!

Thanks for reading.

Originally posted here:

Progress The Suburban Times - The Suburban Times