The Dispatcher Newsletter

Michael L. Sena works for his clients to bring clarity to the often opaque and complex issues connected and highly automated vehicles.  He has not just studied the technologies and analyzed the services. He has developed and implemented them. He has shaped visions and followed through to delivering them.

The Dispatcher newsletter touches on the principal themes of the industry, highlighting what is happening and, even more importantly, how and why.  Explaining and understanding the implications for your businesses and working with you to develop your own strategies, are what we do together.

The Dispatcher’s Manifesto

Transport cannot be viewed in isolation. Traffic congestion is not caused by cars. It is an effect of policy decisions about where people live, work, shop and recreate. Most people live where they can afford to live and work where they get a job; everything else follows. The numbers and types of cars and trucks that are sold are the results of political and business decisions that are made locally, nationally and globally. Most people don’t buy cars and trucks to just drive around. They buy them to take them where they need to go and to make their lives easier to live. Changes to the transport network that affect driving and owning cars and trucks motivated by environmental considerations should only be made after full consideration is given to all potential societal impacts and after evaluating all alternatives, including possible future technological breakthroughs, like hyperloops, hydrogen fuel cells and CO2 capture. If actions we take make life for humans not worth living, then what’s the point?

Contact me at ml.sena@mlscab.se with comments or thoughts on the material covered in The Dispatcher.

The Dispatcher Issues

There are two groups of issues below. In the first group immediately below are issues beginning in September 2023 with the most recent issue at the top. Further down on the page are issues beginning in November 2013 and ending in June 2023 with the earliest issue at the top.

The Dispatcher Issues Beginning in September 2023

December 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 11

October 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 10

September 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 09

June 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 08

May 2024- Volume 11 – Issue 07

April 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 06

March 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 05

February 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 04

January 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 03

November – December 2023 – Volume 11 – Issue 02

September – October 2023 – Volume 11 – Issue 01

The Dispatcher Issues: November 2013 – June 2023

The Dispatcher_18 November 2013x

This is the first issue of The Dispatcher.

  • Report from Telematics Update in Munich
  • Call center services – What are the benefits
  • What car companies are doing in telematics
  • Insurance telematics
  • V2V and V2I
  • Split billing using a single SIM
  • Big data
  • What happens next

The Dispatcher_17 January 2014_V3x

  • Report from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
  • What to expect in 2014
  • Trends affecting the automotive business
  • Autonomous driving: Quo vadis?  Where are we headed with self-driving cars.
  • Third Party eCall Services (TPS)

The Dispatcher_17 March 2014_V2x

  • Report from Telematics Fleet and Asset Management Conference in Amsterdam
  • The Chauffeured Generation
  • Specific solutions versus guidelines: Why standards groups and legislators should avoid pushing solutions on the automotive industry and offer guidelines instead
  • More paint: What governments need to do to speed up autonomous driving
  • European eCall law passed

The Dispatcher_17 June 2014_V2

  • Report from ITS Europe 2014 held in Helsinki, Finland
  • Future of Call Centers
  • Automotive Eco-systems
  • Cloud computing
  • Personal Periscope – Why a more direct and personal approach to traffic information delivery is superior to the indirect methods that we have today
  • Google shows its true colours
  • Is the Connected Car too complex

The Dispatcher_17 September 2014_V2

  • Testing self-driving cars
  • The cybersecurity dilemma
  • One (St)app too far
  • Apple-Android-Genivi
  • CEOs on electric cars
  • Invest in infrastructure

The Dispatcher_21 November 2014_V2

  • Telematics Update Munich 2015
  • Standardization
  • Next Phase for Maps
  • Mobility Wishes
  • The Newsletter

The Dispatcher_11 January 2015

  • Consumer Electronics Show Las Vegas 2015
  • Uber’s Valuation
  • Self-driving Test Sites – Part I
  • European eCall
  • ERA-GLONASS – Russia

The Dispatcher_15 March 2015

  • Antediluvian just isn’t what it used to be: Immediate Threats
  • What is Apple’s Core
  • Self-driving Test Sites – Part II
  • Macro Factors: Real Influences on Telematics
  • Musings: It snows in Boston; don’t let that catch you by surprise

The Dispatcher_25 May 2015

  • The Future of Vehicle Navigation
  • OnStar Returns to Europe
  • Uber Buys deCarta
  • Is this the last word on EU eCall?
  • Parking in Cities: Time for Phase Three
  • Musings: What’s happening at Verizon Telematics?

The Dispatcher_15 September 2015

  • A Car Hacking in St. Louis
  • Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs)
  • National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS)
  • Tesla: Disruptive Business Model or Business as  (almost Usual)
  • Vehicles as Robots
  • Musings: Transport in a Digital Age: Reflections from a Summer School

The Dispatcher_11 October 2015

  • What happens next with Here (better known as Navteq)?
  • Telematics Valley: Past and Future
  • ITS World Congress in Bordeaux, France
  • The Future of Transport
  • Musings: What’s in a name.

The Dispatcher_1 January 2016

  • WirelessCar: Past, Present and Future
  • ADASIS Forum: Part One
  • Big Data: Is it the OEM’s answer, or just another question?
  • Management by rule-breaking is transforming the industry
  • Where do new ideas come from?

The Dispatcher_7 March 2016

  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems That Fly–and Why are they called drones?
  • Electrical Car Charging – There’s a lot to think about
  • Over-the-Air Updates of Firmware and Software
  • Lyft and Sidecar in the GM Sphere
  • Toyota and Kymeta Team Up On Satellite Connectivity
  • Saab Says No to NEVS on Name

The Dispatcher_May 2016

  • Data Privacy and Connected Vehicles
  • EU/US Safe Harbor for Data Agreement
  • EU General Data Protection Regulation
  • Customer Choice of Service Providers and C-ITS
  • G7 and EU on Autonomous Driving
  • Inrix
  • 5G and ITS G5
  • GM Buys Cruise Automation

The Dispatcher_1 July 2016

  • Report from Dispatch Central – What General Motors is up to; ACEA on connectivity strategy
  • Third Party Automotive Services – What is the future of roadside assistance
  • Mobile Apps and roadside assistance
  • Insuring the Connected Car
  • The Future of Automotive Navigation – What types of maps will self-driving cars need to have
  • Vehicle Data Issues – Who owns the data from vehicles
  • Autonomous Driving News
  • Musings of a Dispatcher

the-dispatcher_7-september-2016

  • What does BREXIT mean for the UK auto industry
  • Will the UK do EU eCall and will EU Member States be ready when the EU eCall buttons are pushed on 1 April 2018
  • What is Ford’s connected car strategy, really
  • URGENT.LY and Allianz Global Assistance Australia cooperate
  • Why isn’t usage based insurance taking hold
  • Car manufacturer associations want governments to cooperate on automotive safety regulations
  • Who will drive future automotive navigation developments
  • What’s the big deal with BIG DATA
  • Tesla Autopilot is not ready for the road
  • Musings of a Dispatcher

the-dispatcher_4-october_-2016_v2

  • Advice to the new U.S. President for keeping transport policy moving forward
  • U.S. DOT and NHTSA issue the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy
  • The Open AutoDrive Forum looks to expand the mission of NDS
  • To have a steering wheel, or not to have a steering wheel: that is the question
  • Who are your customers for your cars and trucks and what do they need?
  • Another personal periscope is introduced
  • Professor Amnon Shashua, Chairman and CTO of Mobileye, gives his views on the company’s differences with former customer, Tesla
  • Google and Uber have fallen out: Why is that not surprising?
  • Oxbotica, the new kid on the autonomous driving block
  • Musing of a Dispatcher

the-dispatcher_15_november-2016

  • Report from Dispatch Central – Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW are taking a leadership role
  • Autonomous Driving News – Why not let all cars be driven by robots?
  • What the car companies are doing – Toyota, Volvo and Geely produce a new car, Carlos Ghosn of Renault/Nissan
  • Are governments using regulations as tools as weapons?
  • HERE and the future of automotive navigation
  • Musing of a Dispatcher

The Dispatcher_5_January 2017

  • Report from Dispatch Central – Will JLR build a new electric car manufacturing plant in the UK?
  • Autonomous Driving News – Apple wrote a letter to NHTSA
  • What the car companies are doing – Is Uber a good partner for Volvo?
  • Cabman’s Shelters in London
  • Reubanizing or Spreading the Sprawl – Cities are becoming livelier and business are moving back the the urban centers, but the suburbs continue to grow as well
  • The Future of Automotive Navigation – The future of traffic information and the standards that support it
  • Musings of a Dispatcher – When companies in different companies merge, there are always winners and losers

The Dispatcher_10_March 2017

  • Report from Dispatch Central – This is not an easy time to be in the transport-related business
  • Automated Driving News – Robot-driven cars need a backup, a lifeline if they get themselves into trouble. Remote drivers is the answer
  • The Future Networked Car Symposium in Geneva
  • NHTSA on the Tesla Crash – Current laws are not up to the task enforcing accountability
  • Cars can now talk to each other, but the question is what is the best way for them to do so.  Cellular-V2X vs. WAVE
  • The Future of Automotive Navigation – New owners for HERE
  • TomTom Today and Tomorrow
  • Musing of a Dispatcher – Self-driving cars are not the answer to traffic congestion

The Dispatcher_5_April 2017

  • Report from Dispatch Central – OnStar’s future in Europe following sale of Opel/Vauxhall to PSA
  • Reality Check – How many readers own an electric vehicle or walk to work
  • Automated Driving News – Intel buys Mobileye and the HERE ecosystem
  • What the Car companies Are Doing – Ford and its F-150 money machine; European 112 eCall in Sweden
  • Feature Article: The Issue of Ethics and Self-driving Vehicles
  • Travis’s Travails – What business should Uber be in? Not the self-driving car and map business
  • Musings of a Dispatcher – Let’s pull together on connected vehicle technology

The Dispatcher_May 2017

  • Report from Dispatch Central – Trucks as Weapons
  • TomTom and Its Sphere
  • Car Makers: Don’t Forget the Other Half – Not everyone lives in San Francisco, Boston and New York City
  • Planet Labs: The Swarming Satellite Company
  • Blockchain Beyond Bitcoin: Is there a life for the concept
  • Blockchain Basics
  • Princeton University SmartDrivingCars Summit to be held on 17-18 May 2017
  • Musings of a Dispatcher: The car, once a miracle and considered the saviour of the city when it was introduced, is now considered a problem. It’s the city planners who are the problem, not the cars

The Dispatcher_June 2017

  • Spotlight on Sweden
    • Lindholmen Science Park
    • Vision Zero
    • Connected Car Sphere
    • Drive Sweden Forum
  •  Dispatch Central
    • Tesla Lawsuit
    • Swedish Unicorns: Skype and Spotify
    • Amazon’s Servers to Sweden
  • The End of Mobility: It’s Amazon that is the car killer
  • Musings: Pick up those cones

The Dispatcher_July 2017

  • Real Driverless Cars are Not Just Around the Corner
  • Identifying hype
  • SAE Levels of Driving Automation
  • Dispatch Central
  • For the Record
  • NHTSA update on Automated Vehicles Policy
  • The Paris Agreement
  • It’s not really the real deal for climate change
  •  Car and Truck Business
  • It’s a high stakes game
  • Musings                             
  •    Normative Ethics

The Dispatcher_August 2017

  • The World and Transport in 2030
    Will it really be all electric robot cars delivering mobility as a service?
  •  Dispatch Central
    • Volvo Cars Electrifying
    • NEVS and Microsoft
    • NHTSA update on Automated Vehicles Policy
  • Sensoris: Making sense of sensor data
  • Zenuity: A Swedish OEM and Tier One team up
  • Are BEV Owners Getting a Free Ride
  • Musings: Robotic buses and trams don’t go out on strike

The Dispatcher_September 2017

  • Automated Vehicles
    Are we moving too fast or too slow?
  •  Dispatch Central
    • No ICE on Our Streets
    • Charge ‘er up – Charging Stations Needed
    • GM Maven Offers Gig
  • The AV Industry Needs an Asilomar Conference
  • ISO/TC 204 WG3 and OADF: How do they fit together?
  • Lithium-Ion Batteries: Are They Really the Answer
  • To Share or Not to Share
  • Musings: Plausible Deniability Does Not Result in Better Transport

The Dispatcher_October 2017

  • Work in the Future
    What it will be and how we will get to it
  • Dispatch Central
    •   Future Quotes
    •   Move to the Right
    •   IKEA Moves to Town
    •   China’s New Silk Road
    •   Ford Delivers Pizza
  • Cybersecurity:   The Achilles Heel of Automated Vehicles
  • Change of Plans:   NavInfo and Tencent will not invest in HERE
  • Report on the European Commission: Access to In-vehicle Data
  • European Parliament:   Why isn’t one house enough
  • Musings:   Food and Driving Memories

The Dispatcher_November 2017

  • NHTSA on AVs
    Version 2 provides guidance not regulation
  • Dispatch Central
    •   Distracted drivers
    •   Electric outages
    •   The Serge on BEVs
    •   PSA Free2Move in US
    •   Toyota’s two wheeler
    • Mercedes mit drone
    • Shell game
    • The Dispatcher’s office
  • SoftBank:   Investment vision
  • Cybersecurity Part 2:   The Achilles Heel of Automated Vehicles
  • London’s Congestion: What did you expect?
  • What3Words:   Will it replace your street address, or?
  • Location Referencing: A short primer
  • Musings:   Global Warming will get you

The Dispatcher_December 2017

When Accidents Weren’t the Drivers’ Fault

   The Nader effect

Dispatch Central

   GM Abandons Lyft

   Mark Fields’ New Job

  Tesla keeps losing money

   Bob Lutz on the future of the automobile

   Ford’s Stay Awake Hat

Mediamobile

   Safety Related Content

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles

   Are they the answer or a diversion?

Has DSRC Reached the End of the Road?

Not the WAVE of the future

Eye in the Sky

   Traffic UAVs

Musings                              

   A Friendly Wave

The Dispatcher_January 2018

The Bus to Utopia         1-2

Who gets to ride it

Dispatch Central           1-3

   Tim O’Reilly

   Electric Uniti

   Geely flying high

   Electric Volocopter

BMW in South Carolina   2

   New factory brings jobs and growth to region

Car Insurance                    3

Don’t look for carrots

Do-it-yourself Maps          4

From Rudbeckius to LIDAR

Calculating the Value of Humanless-driven MRTVs  5

What are we gaining?

Musings                              6

Finding another sun

Note: There are two files. The first is standard newsletter format that I have used since I began writing The Dispatcher. The second is a format optimized for reading on a digital e-reader.  Take you pick.

The Dispatcher_February 2018

The Dispatcher_February 2018_Flowing

Artificial General Intelligence           1-3

Key for humanless driving

Dispatch Central           1-3

   Passengerless buses

   Cable cars over the river

Bosch and Conti buy into Here

   WirelessCar on the move

Geely Buys into AB Volvo                4

That’s the Volvo that makes trucks, not cars

Drive Me                              4

Volvo Cars resets

Electrified Roads              5

Hot roads

Musings                              6

Why can’t afford it any longer

 * Humanless-drive

This is a vehicle piloted by a non-human which is capable of taking itself and passangers anywhere a vehicle driven by a human can be taken at any time.   I use this term instead of ‘driverless’ since driverless connotes the absence of a driver, human or otherwise. The terms ‘self-driving’ and ‘autonomous’ can imply varying degrees of mechanical or software assistance to a human driver.

The Dispatcher_March 2018

The Dispatcher_March 2018_Flowing

GEAR 2030                      1-3

Latest attempt by the EC to steer the competitiveness bus

Dispatch Central           1-3

   2017 Car Sales Winner

   U.S. Recalls

   AutoPilot Redux

   More Musk

   Stuck in Traffic

   U.S. DOT Summit

   ITU-T in Geneva

The Cycle of Cities           3

Depopulation and Concentration

Edge Computing              4

Power Where It’s Needed

Marketplace Platform       5

Here delivers

Drive Sweden                    5

Annual Meeting

Musings                              6

Too many red herrings

The Dispatcher_April 2018

The Dispatcher_April 2018_Flowing

In this issue:

The Future Networked Car – Geneva             1-3

Notes from the Future Networked Car Symposium

Dispatch Central           1-5

   Geneva Motor Show

European Car of the Year

   VW’s CEO on Diesels

   Broadcom Broadsided

   Zetsche’s Photo Op

   Dissent and a Death

Another Geely Deal          4

What is Geely’s Chairman up to?

Are We Ready to Fly?      5

Options for Personal Aerial Transport

Musings                              6

Do we really need to choose between diesel engines and tofu?

The Dispatcher_May 2018

The Dispatcher_May 2018 The Dispatcher_May 2018_Flowing

In this issue:

EU 112eCall Begins         1

Better late than never

Dispatch Central           1-3

   Tesla X fatal crash

   No furs in San Francisco

   Merging sharing

   Numbers of things

   Virtual feelings

China’s One Belt One Road             2        

   No more slow boats          

High-speed Rail                3

   Clipping wings

Beating Traffic Ten Years Later      4

   Can robots get us unstuck?

Mapbox                               5

What is it really?

Musings                              6

Who washes a rental car?

The Dispatcher_June 2018

The Dispatcher_June 2018_Flowing

In this issue:

Princeton SmartDrivingCars Summit 2018  1

2nd Annual Summit on making cars smarter and safer for everyone

Dispatch Central           1-5

   GM expands OnStar

   Safe testing by Toyota

   Blockchain for autos

   Delivery to cars and homes: Is it secure?

High-speed Rail              4        

   Luxury or Necessity          

Musings                              6

There is no free lunch

The Dispatcher_July 2018

The Dispatcher_July 2018_Flowing

In this issue:

 GM’s OnStar                   1-2

   An experimental work in progress

 Dispatch Central           1-5

   Future of auto shows

   Top car brands

   Veoneer spins out from Autoliv

   German numbers

 Over-the-Air Updates  3-4        

   Absolutely indispensable

 EU on Mobility                   5

   An updated strategy document

 Musings                              6

   What have we done to our postal services?

 The Dispatcher_August 2018

August 2018 – Volume 5, Issue 10

In this issue:

Roboticized Vehicles Viewed in the Wider Context 2
Death of the Suburbs Is Greatly Over Exaggerated  5
To Buy or Use: These Are the Today’s Car Questions  9
EC Proposal for New Type Approval Regulation  13
Dispatch Central 15
The Last Great Market for Paid Chauffeurs Falls  15
It’s Human Nature Not to be Bored  15
Stockholm Parking Agency Didn’t Get the GDPR Memo  16
Musings of a Dispatcher: Train Stations of Dreams  17

The Dispatcher_September 2018

September 2018 – Volume 5, Issue 11

In This Issue

Data Control Is the Key to the Future of Transport 2
Bicycles: Are They Good or Bad for Cities?. 7
Robot Drivers Need to Navigate More Like Humans. 11
SOCRATES 2.0:  Interactive Traffic Management 15
Dispatch Central 17
FAA: It’s My Ball so I Make the Rules of the Game. 17
Uber Autonomous Truck Project: Otto-ejected. 17
…and will Uber sell its self-driving car division?. 18
Volvo Cars Announces It Will List on Stockholm Exchange. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher: Car Company Leadership. 19

The Dispatcher_October 2018

October 2018 – Volume 5, Issue 12

In This Issue

Where Are We Going with Our Road Infrastructure. 2
Radical Chic: The Automotive Experience House. 7
Agero, Inc.: An Automotive Call Center Case Study. 11
JRC Science for Policy Report: CCAM in Europe. 14
Dispatch Central 16
Tesla will not, after all, delist itself from Nasdaq. 16
Do we need continuous education for drivers. 16
If I only had a chauffeur. 17
Time to close your social media accounts?. 17
Not yet ready to ring the stock market bell for Volvo Cars. 17
Next Issue of The Dispatcher. 18
5G: It’s Show Time. 18
Tesla: “You don’t understand me.”. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher: Car Collecting Fervor. 19

The Dispatcher_November 2018

November 2018 – Volume 6, Issue 1

In This Issue

Ready or Not, Here Comes the Waymo Taxi Robot 2
Tesla Inc.: The Most Misunderstood Car Company. 7
United Nations Climate Panel Issues Its Report 13
Dispatch Central 16
     U.S. DOT Issues Automated Vehicles 3.0. 16
     Senator says BEV’s not paying fair share. 16
     Stockholm unwelcomes dockless bicycles. 16
     Driving with one hand tied behind your back. 17
     The first experience house was in Paris. 17
IKEA Imagines Roaming Rooms for Its Furniture. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher: Pollyanna Predictions. 20

The Dispatcher_December 2018

December 2018 – Volume 6, Issue 2

In This Issue

The 5th Generation of Mobile Wireless is Arriving. 2
     5G for the auto industry. 5
    Results of a field test of ITS-G5 versus C-V2X. 6
U.S. DOT Issues Its Report on Automated Vehicles. 7
Dispatch Central 11
     Daimler and Geely set up JV taxi service. 11
     AAA says ADAS adds both safety and cost 11
     Who makes the most reliable cars?. 11
     Digital license plates in California. 12
     Are Tesla’s October sales a one-off event?. 13
Is It Time to Throw the Bus Under the Bus?. 14
A Dispatcher’s Musings: The End of History – Part II 17

The Dispatcher_January 2019

January 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 3

In This Issue

Amaz’n Amazon: Making Hay While the Sun Shines. 2
Dispatch Central 7
   At opposite ends of the climate spectrum.. 7
   WirelessCar turning twenty. 7
   Ever wonder what happened to Segway?. 8
   Tesla and U.S. November sales. 9
   1H = 2X Range + ½ Cost + 0 Tailpipe Emissions. 9
Carlos Ghosn: Fallen Hero or Betrayed Emperor?. 10
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Whose City Is It Anyway?. 15

The Dispatcher_February 2019

February 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 4

In This Issue

OEM De-fossilization and Automation Programs. 2
Dispatch Central 10
   China car sales drop; the world reacts. 10
   Tesla joins the big league. 11
   Waymo gets stoned in Arizona. 11
   Venice entry fee: pedestrian congestion charge. 12
   How do I get to mum’s for Christmas dinner?. 12
   TomTom Telematics sold to Bridgestone. 13
   May I drive without a driver? Yes you may. 13
Hard to put a price tag on a sustainable climate. 14
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Can Time be Wasted?. 16

The Dispatcher_March 2019

March 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 5

In This Issue

OEM De-fossilization and Automation Programs II 2
   General Motors Company. 2
   Ford Motor Company. 6
   Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) 9
Dispatch Central 12
   Where public transport will be free. 12
   Driving for knowledge and pleasure. 13
   Amazon’s Scout delivers, but why?. 14
   Nevs, Koenigsegg and Faraday Future. 14
Drive Sweden’s Annual Meeting: A Day Well Spent 16
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Hitting Home Runs. 18

The Dispatcher_March 2019_Musings

The Dispatcher_April 2019_Dispatch Central

The Dispatcher_April 2019

April 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 6

In this issue

The Symposium on the Future Networked Car 2019. 2

Session One: Connected and automated vehicles at the cross-roads to success. 3

Session Two: Cybersecurity impact and outlook for automotive systems. 4

Session Three: Automated capabilities and AI in the vehicle: status and expectations. 6

Session Four: The deployment of automated mobility services. 7

Dispatch Central 9

Driverless Power to the Geezers. 9

This is serious; we have to do something. 10

When is a Mustang not a Mustang?. 11

An OEM blinks (sort of) on speed. 12

…while another OEM blinks on sales. 12

Veoneer: After the hype, reality hits—and bites. 13

EU CAD  and CCAM Policy and Regulation Initiatives. 14

Dispatcher’s Musings: Control and Impact 16

The Dispatcher_May 2019

May 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 7

In this issue

OEM De-fossilization and Automation Programs III 2
Where Hidden Value Lurks in the Car Industry. 8
Dispatch Central: All the news that fits we print 14
Geely takes 50% stake in Smart 14
I know you wanted to go to Düsseldorf, but….. 15
Computer program bug reason for Boeing crashes. 15
Tesla unlocked and stolen in two seconds. 16
Amazon invests in Rivian (It’s a car company) 17
SoftBank and Nvidia part company. 18
Book Review: Volvo’s Revenge. 19
A Dispatcher’s Musings: UX for User Experience. 21

The Dispatcher_June 2019

June 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 8

In This Issue

Third Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit 2
Day One: The Global View on SDCs. 2
Time to catch our breath. 4
Driverless Mobility Initiatives in Europe. 5
Day Two: The Business and Institutional View.. 6
Perspectives from the Insurance Industry. 7
OEMs and Dealerships. 7
Take Aways from the Summit 8
European Commission is getting it wrong on V2X. 9
Dispatch Central 15
Toyota backs off IEEE WAVE in U.S. 15
Uber: A Fool’s Gold. 16
FCA and Tesla: Strange bedfellows. 17
Tesla’s fifteen minutes of European fame. 18
A Road Trip Down Memory Lane. 18
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Here’s looking at you, kid. 19

The Dispatcher_July 2019_2

July 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 9

In This Issue

Where Will You Sell Your Cars in the Years Ahead?. 2
     Passing Through the Ordeal of Change. 3
     The Making of a Car-buying Nation. 5
     China Discovers the Magic Potion. 8
     What About the Continental Conjoined Twins. 10
     And Now for the Ultimate Questions. 11
Dispatch Central 13
     FCA a Pawn in the RNM Alliance Game. 13

The Dispatcher_August 2019

August 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 10

In This Issue

Putting Their Heads and Their Data Together for Us. 2
     The EU Data Task Force (DTF) 2
     There’s something different this time. 4
     SOCRATES2.0: Parallel and Complementary. 5
     EU Regulation for Free Flow of Data. 6
Dispatch Central 8
     Fifty Years Since First Moon Walk. 8
     Paying the Price for Irresponsibility. 9
     Lee Iacocca: One of the Great Ones Dies. 10
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Losing the Olympics. 11

The Dispatcher_September 2019

September 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 11

In This Issue

Who Are the Companies Making Driverless Claims. 2
     Everyone’s got the singularity answer 3
     Argo AI: Peter, Bryan and the Argonauts. 3
     Aurora Innovation: The Dawn of a New Age. 5
     Cruise Automation: Do you believe in magic. 7
     Should we put it in the skunk works. 10
Another Aurora: Father Juliano’s 1957 ESV. 11
Dispatch Central 12
     Europe’s Galileo Suffers Major Outage. 12
     ESRI and Mobileye Cooperate on Maps. 13
     Who in the World is Franky Zapata. 14
     OEM Q2 profits are up and down. 14
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Palo Alto Dreaming. 16

The Dispatcher_October 2019

October 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 12

In This Issue

Deciders Will Decide If or When Driverless Arrives. 2
     Deciders, Influencers and Everyone Else. 3
      A new way of thinking emerges. 7
      Invention is the mother of necessity. 8
     You say you want a revolution. 12
     Automation is a religion. 14
James Dyson: Appliancizing the Automobile. 17
Rental e-scooters Are Worse than a Nuisance. 18
Dispatch Central 21
     NHTSA’s Acting Leader Leaves. 21
     A sign or our times. 21
     Electric Cars: A matter of give and take. 22
     New California law encourages driverless taxis. 23
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Which Brave New World?. 24

The Dispatcher_November 2019

November 2019 – Volume 7, Issue 1

In This Issue

Is This the End of the International Motor Show?. 2
Dispatch Central 12
     The Hotel California Parking Lot 12
     Who Was Richard Trevithick?. 13
     What WeWork Has to do With Driverless Cars. 13
     Why Musk Must Push (Not So) Smart Summon. 15
A Dispatcher’s Musings: The Will to Charge. 16

The Dispatcher_December 2019

December 2019 – Volume 7, Issue 2

In This Issue

Turning Over Vehicle Infotainment to Tech Titans. 2

     Good for Google is not always good for us ganders. 4
     We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. 5

Dispatch Central 7

     New Consortium for Self-driving Cars. 7
     Sergio’s Vision Still Guides FCA. 8
     The EU wants to know if it is needed. 9
     Tesla Does the Right Thing with its New Plant 10

A Dispatcher’s Musings: The 95% Solution Myth. 11

 

The Dispatcher_January 2020

January 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 3

In This Issue

Is Chasing Traffic Congestion a Fool’s Errand?. 2
     Should we not worry and just be happy?. 10
     Rickshaws in Our Midst: Importing Intractability. 12
Dispatch Central 17
     Paying a speeding fine with your time. 17
     Uber has an inadequate safety culture. 18
     GM sues FCA: More than a family feud. 18
     Daimler reality check on driverless cars. 19
     This is Tesla country, home on the range. 20
     Nikola got the charging station memo. 21
     Sometimes you need the almost human touch. 22
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Where Robots Will Roam.. 23

The Dispatcher_February 2020

February 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 4

In This Issue

Open Data Access Challenges Entire Car Ecosystem.. 2
      How the seeds of discontent were sown. 3
      Everyone wants the same thing: the customer 4
      For the OEMs, this is bigger than electrification. 8
      Car companies already signaled acquiescence. 10
Dispatch Central 14
      Future Networked Car 2020 (FNC2020) 14
      China is buying the European car industry. 14
      California Consumer Privacy Act vs. GDPR. 16
      Here Technologies gets two new investors. 17
      Tech Titan Turnover: Part Two. 19
A Dispatcher’s Musings: High-Speed Rail is Too Slow.. 20

The Dispatcher_March 2020

March 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 5

In This Issue

The U.S. and EU Can Still Save Their Car Industries. 2
     Dieselgate was the climax not the commencement 3
     The higher the bar, the fewer who can jump over it 5
     Musk showed China how it could win. 8
     China has a plan; the West doesn’t 11
     The West needs to decriminalize the car business. 13

The Dispatcher_April 2020

April 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 6

In This Issue

Symposium on the Future Networked Car: FNC2020. 2
      Opening Remarks. 3
      Session 1: Policy and Regulatory Issues. 4
      ITU Activities on Intelligent Transport Systems. 5
      Session 2: Cybersecurity. 6
      Session 3: AI for Autonomous and Assisted Driving. 9
      UNECE Activities. 10
      Session 4: Connected and Automated Vehicles. 10
      Closing Remarks. 13

The Dispatcher_May 2020

May 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 7

In This Issue

The Automotive Industry in a Post-COVID-19 World. 2
     Lessons learned from a global shutdown
Dispatch Central 14
     Volvo and Veoneer Close Down Zenuity. 14
     Clayton Christensen Cleared Away the Clouds. 15
     Stockholm Gets a Mail Order Bridge. 17
Musings of a Dispatcher. 19
     Climate change solved; just one glitch. 19

The Dispatcher_June 2020

June 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 8

In This Issue

Competing in a World Full of Electric Skateboards. 2
     Competing Yesterday and Today. 3
     Competing Tomorrow.. 6
Only Non-essentials Get to Give Commuting a Rest 12
     Not everyone can work from home. 13
     Maybe some people should always stay home. 15
Musings of a Dispatcher: Driverless Cars. 16
     Evaluating the Evidence for a Need. 16
     Do we need driverless cars?. 22

The Dispatcher_July 2020

July 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 9

In This Issue

The Plan to Merge Geely Auto and Volvo Cars. 2
     Is it time to say Zàijiàn to Volvo Cars?. 2
Dispatch Central 8
     Battery Electric Vehicle News. 8
          Dyson shows ditched BEV, codenamed N526. 8
          France most generous with €12,000 EV incentive. 9
          Germany, not be outdone, hands out cash too. 10
     Ultimate Co-branding: SpaceX, Model X, NASA. 11
Musings of a Dispatcher: Vehicle Connectivity. 13
     We’re all speaking different languages. 13

The Dispatcher_August 2020

August 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 10

In This Issue

Car OEMs Driving Toward Relevance or Perdition. 2
     Are we ready to be online carscribers?. 2
Dispatch Central 11
     Battery Electric Vehicle News. 11
          Former British icon leading the Chinese BEV charge. 11
          Tesla is scaling back its European Gigafactory. 12
     Is the Volvo Cars and Waymo tie-up a big deal?. 13
     BMW and Daimler pause self-driving alliance. 15
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Way Forward. 17
     We Continue to Wander in the Desert 17
Postscript on the China Series. 25

The Dispatcher_September 2020

September 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 11

In This Issue

Creating Standards in an Environment of Mistrust 2
     Will ITS standards work fall prey to geopolitical conflicts and meddling?
Dispatch Central 16
     Battery Electric Vehicle News. 16
          Chinese BEV maker Byton bites the dust, maybe. 16
          Germany officials investigating EV charging. 17  
          A reader’s clarification on Tesla as pure online seller 18
     Is the new FCA and Waymo deal a big deal?. 18
     Undecided between Geely and Volvo Cars. 21
     Six months of COVID-19 and still counting. 21
The Low-earth Orbit Satellite Broadband Battle. 24
     Is this another win for Elon Musk?

The Dispatcher_October 2020_V2

October 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 12

In This Issue

Dealers are the Present and Future of Automobility. 2
   New and used car dealers deliver what car buyers want and need
Dispatch Central 11
   Battery Electric Vehicle News. 11
      Europe is not going gentle into that good BEV night 11
      Chinese Xpeng raises $2.1 billion with a U.S. IPO.. 13
   Self-driving Vehicle News. 14
      China’s TuSimple wants to mine gold in U.S. 14
   Daimler loses a round on patents to Nokia. 15
   The (Motor) Show Must Go On in China. 16
   Subscriptions: When a car rental is not a car rental 17

Musings of a Dispatcher: Turn Back the Clock. 19

   Fan Club Petitions IH for Scout II Redux

The Dispatcher_November 2020

November 2020 – Volume 8, Issue 1

In This Issue

Will the Vehicle OEMs Acquiesce on Data Sharing?. 2
   Service providers and car OEMs diverge
Dispatch Central 9
   Electric Vehicle News. 9
      GM and Nikola: A deal made in heaven or hell 9
      Tesla and its market value. 12
       Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40 Recharge. 13
   Dealers remind Volvo who owns the pitch. 15
   What happens after the 3rd of November 2020. 16
The Other Button: It’s More Than Meets the Eye. 19
   That button needs to work like a charm

The Dispatcher_December 2020

December 2020 – Volume 8, Issue 2

In This Issue

The Vehicle Fuel Debate Has Been Hijacked. 2
   It’s time to start listening to the experts. 2
Dispatch Central 8
   Battery Electric Vehicle News. 8
      A shortlist of cars on their way West from China. 8
      Polestar leaves its Swedish heritage behind. 10
      …and here’s one from Croatia. 10
   Self-driving and Data Sharing News. 11
      UK insurance group criticizes plans for self-driving cars. 11
      Massachusetts independents win on data sharing. 12
Is Waymo’s Driver-less Taxi Service Now for All?. 13
Musings of a Dispatcher: Cars are from Mars. 19
   Will driverless riders be only from Venus?. 19

The Dispatcher_January 2021

January 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 3

In This Issue

Automotive Service Providers Press for Data Share. 2
     Claim it’s the customers’ choice not OEMs’
Dispatch Central 16
     Electric Vehicle News. 16
          Geely wants a Volvo and Daimler HEV engine hook up. 16
          Will new U.S. administration push BEVs again. 17
          GM has a rethink on Nikola. 19
     The FCC Takes Big Bandwidth Bite. 19
     What is the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. 21
Cybersecurity and OTA Updating Regs are Ready. 22
     Time to get the show on the road
Musings of a Dispatcher:  Living with Change

The Dispatcher_February 2021

February 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 4

In This Issue

Spatial Cognizance: How We Learned to Find Our Way. 2
   And how to teach a new dog old tricks
Dispatch Central 9
   Electric Vehicle News
      Why would Foxconn want to build Byton’s BEVs
      Will Apple build its car after all?
      Magna Steyr slated to build Fisker’s Ocean Electric SUV
   Aurora and Uber 12
   When It’s Time to Call It Quits. 14
   When You Can’t Reach Stretch Goals By a Date. 15
CES Experience Without the Las Vegas Buzz. 16
Musings of a Dispatcher:  The Safety Proposition. 18

The Dispatcher_March 2021

March 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 5

In This Issue

Vehicle Testing: There is no way to test a car virtually. 2
Dispatch Central 10
   Electric Vehicle News. 10
      Is there no end to Geely’s partnerships. 10
      Chinese Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV. 11
      There’s a new political climate on the climate in DC. 12
   VW goes it alone on its driverless software. 14
Driving Neat: Can U.S. Take Its Cars Without ICE?. 16
   Europe and U.S. following different paths. 16
Musings of a Dispatcher:  The Button Doesn’t Work. 20

The Dispatcher_April 2021

April 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 6

In This Issue

A Closer, Critical Look at Operational Design Domain. 2
Dispatch Central 12
     Geely decides to leave Volvo Cars alone. 12
     What do you do when the chips are down?. 14
     Electrifying Roads: Part Two. 16
New UNECE Regulation for Automated Lane Keeping. 18
     UN Regulation No. 157 Adopted. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher:  The Book of Mercedes. 22

The Dispatcher_May 2021

May 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 7

In This Issue

To Ban or Not to Ban: Should That Be the Question?. 2
   They banned spray cans with chloro-fluorocarbons, didn’t they? Why not ICE?
Dispatch Central 9
   Tesla profiting from emissions credits. 9
   More Thoughts on Operational Design Domain. 11
   Seventy years of car production. 14
   Have we now had an automotive cyberattack?. 15
C-V2X PC5 Saves Face for European Commission. 16
   Shall we all agree to move on from DSRC?
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Leviathan Syndrome. 22
   The EC can’t let go of Wi-Fi-based V2X

The Dispatcher_June 2021

June 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 8

In This Issue

The Future of Mobility is Slowly Coming into Focus. 2
     Two Ends Forming Around a Big Middle
Dispatch Central 11
     Better Batteries Are on the Way. 11
     A Burning Question. 13
     The sky is falling! 14
Musings of a Dispatcher: Our Own Legacies. 15
     At some point we have all burned coal

The Dispatcher_July 2021

July/August 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 9

In This Issue

How Important is Exact Localization for HAD?. 2
   Road Data for Highly Automated Driving
Dispatch Central 14
   Driverless dreams meet insurance reality. 14
   Tesla takes steps to expand Tesla Insurance. 17
   Bits and pieces. 19
      Tesla’s China orders were halved in May, or were they?. 19
      Please come back to me again, my little darlings. 19
      Stealthy BEVs shall be no more. 20
      Why have traffic deaths risen during the pandemic?. 20
      The Milan-Monza Auto Show shows how it can be done. 21
      Using stationary LiDAR for intersection data. 22
Musings of a Dispatcher: Who Crosses the Bridge?. 23
   You only have to cross a bridge if you want to get to the other side
The Dispatcher_September 2021_V4

The Dispatcher_September 2021

September 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 10

In This Issue

Not So Easy to Pop a Top Hat on a BEV Skateboard. 2
   It turns out that a car is not an e-scooter
Dispatch Central 11
   SOCRATES2.0 submits final report 11
   Germany and France say no to EU Commission. 12
   Bits and pieces. 14
      Panasonic sold all its shares in Tesla. 14
      ISA: Map Data or cameras for speed limits – Neither good enough. 15
      Some interesting statistics on world energy and BEVs. 17
   Flooded coal mines could heat homes. 19
   This is what happens when a city loses control 20
Taking Back Control of the Vehicle from the Robot 21
   Fail-safe response must be designed in
Musings of a Dispatcher: Evolutionary Domesticity. 29
   Choosing a post-pandemic place to live

The Dispatcher_October 2021

October 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 11

In This Issue

There Is a New Order Emerging for the Auto Industry. 2
   What happens when suppliers can do it all
Dispatch Central 19
   Finally, a U.S. mandatory alcohol lock law.. 19
   Tesla meets its fork in the road—and fails. 20
   Do BEVs cost more to service than ICE vehicles. 23
   Baker Electric: Turn-of-the Century Elegance. 25
   FCC says it’s C-V2X in top 30 MHz of 5.9 GHz. 27
Musings of a Dispatcher: A Sense of Cars. 28
   Do you need to have it to build them?

The Dispatcher_November 2021

November 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 12

In This Issue

The Coming Battle Over Car Electrification. 2
     Energy shortages a sign we have been moving too fast
Dispatch Central 20
     GM recalls all Chevy Bolt BEVs for fire risk. 20
     Synthetic fuel: Is it better than a BEV switch?. 23
     China says it has too many BEV car companies. 25
     Veoneer leaves Magna at the altar 27
     Ford, Argo and Walmart deliver the goods. 28

The Dispatcher_December 2021

December 2021 – Volume 9, Issue 01

In This Issue

Germany’s Automotive Industry in Transition. 2
     Will it remain at the auto industry’s heart
Dispatch Central 18
     In the end, investors must place their bets. 18
     Rivian makes a big IPO splash. 20
     BEV, ICE, and alternative vehicle news. 21
        A BEV maker delivers the facts. 21
        BEVs will continue to have competitors. 22
        We’d all be driving electric today, if only….. 23
        Ensuring the survival of ICE intellectual property. 24
Musings of a Dispatcher: Not Your Father’s Volvo. 26
     China’s trendsetters prefer sex appeal
 

The Dispatcher_Special Edition

Our First Cars

The Dispatcher_January 2022

January 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 02

In This Issue

One Way to Achieve Mobility for the Non-mobile. 2
      Putting Driverless Vehicles to Use for Those Who Really Need a Ride
Environmental Activists Want to Engineer a Utopia. 14
      Utopias and Democracies Don’t Mix Well
Dispatch Central 21
      Until cars fly, we need roads and bridges. 21
      Tesla has missed the point on safety. 24
      The first gasoline-electric hybrid car 27
      Looks like congeston charging isn’t working. 27
Musings of a Dispatcher: Roadway Intruders. 28
     It’s a free-for-all on urban roads

The Dispatcher_February 2022

The Dispatcher_February 2022_V2

February 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 03

In This Issue

U.S. FTC Wants to Level the Tech Playing Field. 2
     Data sharing not on monopoly table
Dispatch Central 21
        Regulatory oversight of driverless cars receiving a second look in California. 21
        Business phrases from Bartleby. 28
        Let’s look at some statistics together 29
        Everyone’s time comes, sooner or later 30

The Dispatcher_March_2022

March 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 04

In This Issue

The Evolving Business of Powering Our Vehicles. 2
     Coal bins, gas pumps and charging points
Sony Corp Wants to Join the Crowd of Car OEMs. 11
     Wannabe success depends on details
Dispatch Central 17
     To beat traffic, give commuting a rest 17
     There’s been an event in the world of cameras. 19
     Daimler becomes Mercedes-Benz. 21
     Chekhov’s Gag: DeLorean and de Vries in double redux. 22
Musings of a Dispatcher: Running on CO2 24
     Why not make like a tree and leave

The Dispatcher_April_2022

April 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 05

In This Issue

The Symposium on the Future Networked Car 2022. 2
     Annual Event Arranged by ITU and UNECE
Dispatch Central 13
     New OEM strategy: Divide and Conquer 13
     NOX: Objection sustained and then overruled. 14
     UK investigating laws for driverless cars. 17
Musings of a Dispatcher: Renault Says It’s Staying. 21
     Who said making cars isn’t a political act
 

May 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 06

In This Issue

Legal Framework for Driverless Cars Already Exists. 2
   We need compliance, not disruption
Dispatch Central 12
   West Virginia mulled ban on OTA updates. 12
   UNITI, a BEV company full of promises, sinks. 13
Musings of a Dispatcher: Different Shades of Urban. 16
   America’s anti-city legacy lives on today. 16

June 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 07

In This Issue

NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program: A Critical Look. 2
How does it fit into the standards framework
Dispatch Central 17
DOJ targeting Google Maps 17
Honey, can you pump my gas one last time. 18
Driving on uncrewed toll roads in a foreign land. 22
BMW and M-B: We’re not sharing anymore. 23
Freebees to EVs matched by cash for gas. 24
Austria follows its own nose on ITS issues. 26
Driving on uncrewed toll roads in a foreign land. 22
A notable quote on the move to BEVS. 23

July 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 08

In this issue

Princeton Fifth Annual SmartDrivingCars Summit
Safe, Equitable, Affordable, Sustainable, High-quality Mobility for Everyone
Dispatch Central
Someone lit a fire under NHTSA
The Economist: Right Analysis, wrong solution
Musings of a Dispatcher: Eyes on the Back Story
The evolution of digital maps and ADAS
Digital Maps for the Vehicle – 1970 – 2022

Other Documents

2017-05-access-to-in-vehicle-data-and-resources
NHTSA Automated Driving Systems

August 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 09

September 2022 – Volume 09, Issue 10

October 2022 – Volume 09, Issue 11

November 2022 – Volume 09, Issue 12

December 2022 – Volume 10, Issue 01

January 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 02

February 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 03

March 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 04

April 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 05

May 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 06

June 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 07