B.C.s government-run insurance body says the sort of driverless operation made possible by Teslas new Smart Summon feature is prohibited in the province, and that collisions involving Smart Summon may not be covered.Local outlet Richmond Newsthis past week shared a reader’s video showing a Tesla Model 3 being controlled via the Smart Summon app attempting to drive into a Richmond, B.C. parking lot in the oncoming lane.Had that car crashed, the ICBC told the newspaper, the owners insurance may not have provided coverage.Currently, B.C. laws do not permit driverless vehicles on our roads, ICBC said in a statement. A vehicle being driven autonomously in a shopping mall parking lot, for example, is not allowed. The driver is responsible for the operation of the vehicle including when driver assistance is activated.The videos were taken at a parking complex in Richmond, B.C., and show a white Tesla Model 3 with no driver at the wheel, driving to meet up with its owner, who was controlling the cars progress via the Smart Summon app a few hundred feet away.As the vehicle enters the parking lot it crosses the yellow center line, perhaps to avoid the person walking across the crosswalk. There are fewer painted lines on the pavement in shopping mall areas, so its possible the Teslas software was confused about its whereabouts.The video shows the car hesitating, and in the second video, a diesel VW Jettas driving past it seems to further confound the tech. The woman who shot the video says a security guard came running out of the mall to chase the vehicle before it was stopped, when a man thought to be a friend of the owners appeared. The Smart Summon feature was only rolled out in Canada a few weeks ago, and Transport Canada has yet to outline any specific standards governing its use. However, drivers generally arent even allowed to take their hands off the steering wheel while in a vehicle controlled by semi-autonomous tech, so their being completely outside the vehicle should be, by extension, prohibited, too.While many U.S. Tesla Smart Summon features have had no problem with the technology, there have also been dozens of videos of Smart Summon-controlled vehicles narrowly avoiding collisions and behaving bizarrely, prompting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there to launch a formal
Origin: Watch: ICBC rules Tesla’s driverless Smart Summon feature not allowed in B.C.
Smart
Tesla rolled out its Smart Summon feature, and it’s not going well
Tesla rolled out its Version 10 software update this past weekend, a suite which includes, among other new tricks, the long-awaited Smart Summon feature.The feature seems like one small step for the California automaker, but its one giant leap for car-kind: Smart Summon is the first piece of tech to apparently allowing a car to drive to its owner with nobody at the wheel.Sure, its only meant for short distances, and Teslas been telling owners they need to have a clear line of sight to the car to use it, but its still pretty neat.Where have you parked your Tesla?But also, who cares?Our Smart Summon feature means your car collects *you* from the parking lot. pic.twitter.com/boEtjJlY1V Tesla (@Tesla) September 26, 2019The car will drive toward the owner, as long as they have their finger on a button on an app; lifting their thumb stops the car if it has a problem.From the looks of Teslas video, it seems pretty cool, and looks like it works well. However, when owners try to make it work themselves, it sometimes doesnt go so well after all.Soday 1 with V10 Smart Summon was working beautifully. But someone didn’t notice my M3 and made a front bumper damage. We will claim our insurances but who’s fault do you guys think it’ll be ? Should I present this videos ? @teslaownersSV @Model3Owners @LikeTeslaKim @TesLatino pic.twitter.com/fhSA78oD6C David F Guajardo (@DavidFe83802184) September 28, 2019Other party thinks that I was actually driving because I ran to my car before he got out. Please give me some advise. @LikeTeslaKim @TesLatino @Model3Owners @teslaownersSV @teslamodel3fan pic.twitter.com/ScE12wHqA9 David F Guajardo (@DavidFe83802184) September 28, 2019Be forewarned @Tesla @elonmusk Enhanced summon isn’t safe or production ready. Tried in my empty drive way. Car went forward and ran into the side of garage. Love the car but saddened. #Tesla #TeslaModel3 pic.twitter.com/tRZ88DmXAW AB (@abgoswami) September 28, 2019So, @elonmusk My first test of Smart Summon didnt go so well. @Tesla #Tesla #Model3 pic.twitter.com/yC1oBWdq1I Roddie Hasan راضي (@eiddor) September 28, 2019The fine print on the update does note You are still responsible for your car and must monitor it and its surroundings at all times.Plus now the automakers underscoring that the feature is intended for use in private parking lots and driveways,” not on anything resembling a public road. Doubt that’ll stop some owners from using it that way, though.Hopefully Tesla can get some of these self-navigation details ironed out quickly, so owners wont have to walk 15 meters to their parked car ever
Origin: Tesla rolled out its Smart Summon feature, and it’s not going well
Nissan and EDF to expand smart charging partnership
Nissan and energy giant EDF Group have reached a deal to work together to develop smart charging technology for electric vehicles – including systems that could allow Leaf and e-NV200 van owners to earn discounts on their electricity bills. The two firms already co-operate on a number of EV systems, but have expanded their collaboration with a focus on smart charging systems in the UK, France, Belgium and Italy. In particular, the agreement will focus on ‘vehicle to grid’ (V2G) systems, which allow the energy stored in a car battery that is plugged into a home charger to be ‘sold’ back to a supplier when needed. Nissan will focus on developing technology that will work with the electric Leaf and e-NV200, with EDF leading the development of V2G charging systems and services. The technology is likely to be particularly relevant to businesses, which could have large fleets of electric vehicles plugged in outside work hours without being used. Such a fleet could offer a significant amount of energy storage capacity, which a supplier such as EDF could pay to use in order to balance supply elsewhere. Francisco Carranza, the boss of Nissan Energy in Europe, said the deal was “another sign that our vision of an electric ecosystem is becoming a reality.” He added that a V2G solution would be “a logical next step” for Nissan EV owners to manage their energy supply and open “new revenue
Origin: Nissan and EDF to expand smart charging partnership
Florida man parks Smart car in kitchen so Dorian won’t blow it away
A Florida man parked his Smart car in his kitchen to protect it from Hurricane Dorian.In a Facebook post, Jessica Eldridge said her husband Patrick Eldridge was afraid his car might blow away so he parked it in their Jacksonville homes kitchen. She wrote on Tuesday that their other car is parked in the garage.Dorian is skirting Floridas coast, narrowly missing Jacksonville as it heads northward along the Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina coastlines.The Category 2 storm has devastated the Bahamas, where rescue crews have only begun taking the full measure of the
Origin: Florida man parks Smart car in kitchen so Dorian won’t blow it away
Smart calls it quits in Canada and the U.S.
The Smart brand is being powered down in Canada and the United States. Mercedes-Benz Canada has confirmed that sales of the tiny car, which is currently sold only as a battery-powered electric vehicle, will end at the end of the 2019 model year. In a statement, the company cited “a number of factors, including a declining microcar market in the U.S. and Canada, combined with high homologation costs for a low-volume model.” Mercedes-Benz will continue its electric strategy with new EQ models, which will initially arrive in Canada with the new EQC in 2020. Smart initially launched in 1998 as a joint venture of Daimler-Benz and watch company Swatch – resulting in a tiny city car with replaceable coloured plastic body panels that could be switched out to change the car’s appearance, like a Swatch. The cars used a three-cylinder, 800-cc diesel engine, rated at just 40 horsepower, when they arrived in Canada in 2004. They didn’t arrive in the United States until 2008, when the powertrain switched to a three-cylinder gasoline engine. They were initially imported by United Auto Group, owned by Roger Penske, who transferred the distribution rights back to Mercedes-Benz in 2011. The car’s best sales years were shortly after its Canadian introduction, and declined after that. An electric EQ version was added for 2014, and for 2018, the Smart lineup of coupe and cabriolet dropped its gasoline engine and went strictly electric. Range was approximately 130 kilometres on a charge, which also limited its appeal when other electrics were offering much longer driving distances. Only 368 Smarts were sold in Canada in 2017, and that dropped to just 345 in 2018. The little car should carry on in other markets, though. Daimler recently announced a joint venture with Zhejiang Geely to build the electric Smart in China, with sales beginning in 2022. In both Canada and the U.S., Mercedes-Benz will continue to provide service and replacement parts for gasoline and electric versions through authorized
Origin: Smart calls it quits in Canada and the U.S.
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