How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Inverted Spectrum

It is possible for a person and their environment to be physically identical each day and yet the representational content of their beliefs about color are inverted. Each day they utter the same words, ‘Wow! The colors of everything have switched again today.’ In uttering these words, they express a different proposition each day. This supports the view held by Reichenbach and Carnap that when it comes to representations of colored objects, relations of similarity and difference are fundamental. There are no such things as colors like ‘redness’ and ‘greenness’ apart from the particular things we call red and green

Public opinion about self-driving vehicles in China, India, Japan, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia

This report documents a new study of public opinion about self-driving vehicles in China, India, and Japan. The survey yielded completed responses from 610 respondents in China, 527 respondents in India, and 585 respondents in Japan. For comparison, the report also includes recently released findings from the same survey in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. The main findings (applicable to each of the six countries) are as follows: The majority of respondents had previously heard of autonomous or self-driving vehicles, had a positive initial opinion of the technology (or neutral in the case of Japan), and had high expectations about the benefits of the technology. However, the majority of respondents expressed high levels of concern about riding in selfdriving vehicles, safety issues related to equipment or system failure, and self-driving vehicles not performing as well as human drivers. Respondents also expressed high levels of concern about vehicles without driver controls; selfdriving vehicles moving while unoccupied; and self-driving commercial vehicles, buses, and taxis. The majority of respondents expressed a desire to have this technology in their vehicles. However, a majority was also unwilling to pay extra for the technology (except for respondents in China and India). In comparison to the respondents in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, respondents in China and India had more positive initial opinions of self-driving vehicles, expressed greater interest in having such technology on their personal vehicles, and were willing to pay the most for it. Japanese respondents, on the other hand, generally had more neutral initial opinions about self-driving technology and were willing to pay the least for it. The main implications of these results are that the respondents in the six countries surveyed, while expressing high levels of concern about riding in vehicles equipped with this technology, mostly feel positive about self-driving vehicles, have optimistic expectations of the benefits, and generally desire self-driving-vehicle technology (though a majority in four out of the six countries surveyed are not willing to pay extra for such technology at this time).The University of Michigan Sustainable Worldwide Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109433/1/103139.pd

Fuel-economy distributions of purchased new vehicles in the U.S.: model years 2008 and 2014

We have recently shown that the average EPA-rated fuel economy of purchased, new, light-duty vehicles in the U.S. improved from 20.8 mpg for model year 2008 vehicles to 25.3 mpg for model year 2014 vehicles. This report provides information about the changes in the sales-weighted distributions of fuel economy for the same model years. The findings indicate that the improvements are also present throughout the distributions of vehicle fuel economy. For example, (1) 22.2% of model year 2008 vehicles had fuel economy lower than 16.0 mpg, as compared with only 3.2% of model year 2014 vehicles, and (2) only 1.3% of model year 2008 vehicles had fuel economy of 32.0 mpg or higher, as compared with 16.7% of model year 2014 vehicles.Sustainable Worldwide Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110907/1/103159.pdfDescription of 103159.pdf : Final repor

Motion sickness in self-driving vehicles

Motion sickness is expected to be more of an issue in self-driving vehicles than in conventional vehicles. The reason is that the three main factors contributing to motion sickness (conflict between vestibular and visual inputs, inability to anticipate the direction of motion, and lack of control over the direction of motion) are elevated in self-driving vehicles. However, the frequency and severity of motion sickness is influenced by the activity that one would be involved in instead of driving. This report calculates the expected frequency and severity of motion sickness in fully self-driving vehicles based on the expected frequencies of different activities from a recent survey of what individuals would be likely to do in a fully self-driving vehicle—a survey performed in the U.S., China, India, Japan, the U.K., and Australia. The results indicate that, for example, 6%-10% of American adults riding in fully self-driving vehicles would be expected to often, usually, or always experience some level of motion sickness. Analogously, 6%-12% of American adults riding in fully self-driving vehicles would be expected to experience moderate or severe motion sickness at some time. Calculations for the other five countries are also presented. The report concludes with a discussion of ways to minimize the frequency and severity of motion sickness in self-driving vehicles.Sustainable Worldwide Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111747/1/103189.pdfDescription of 103189.pdf : Final repor

Motorists’ views of fuel economy and advanced vehicle technologies

This report focuses on consumer-acceptance issues related to fuel-saving and advanced vehicle technologies. The main objective of this survey was to understand the overall importance of fuel economy, consumer preferences, and general knowledge regarding various advanced vehicle technologies and vehicle types (i.e., powertrains, including electric and fuel-cell vehicles) when deciding which vehicle to own. Of special interest were the factors that consumers consider to be problematic or disadvantages that may impede greater acceptance of advanced vehicle technologies, as well as general willingness to pay for various levels of improvement in fuel economy. The following advanced vehicle technologies were included in the survey: continuously variable transmissions (CVT), cylinder deactivation, diesel engines, gasoline-hybrid vehicles, stop-start engine systems, supercharging, turbocharging, and twincharging. The survey yielded completed responses from 674 vehicle owners (or lessees) 18 years of age or older. Overall, fuel economy is important to consumers and they generally do not care specifically how fuel savings are achieved. Knowledge and opinions were mixed, with older respondents and males being more likely to have stronger opinions (both positive and negative) and to claim to know more about the technologies covered by the survey than younger respondents and females. As expected, willingness to pay for improved fuel economy was directly related to the magnitude of the improvement. An overview of advanced vehicle technology market-share trends during the past 40 years is also included.ExxonMobil Corporationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113267/1/103201.pdfDescription of 103201.pdf : Final repor

A comparison of CAFE standards and actual CAFE performance of new light-duty vehicles: an update through model year 2014

In August 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the final standard governing new-vehicle fuel economy for model years 2017 through 2025. The new standard continues the current system of incremental increases in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements for new light-duty vehicles each model year, based on targeted decreases averaging approximately 5% per year in CO2 output per mile. This report compares the recent improvements in fuel economy with the projected CAFE performance levels anticipated by NHTSA. This report updates the analysis in a previous report (Schoettle and Sivak, 2013) by including model year 2014 vehicles. Recent trends in CAFE performance, when compared with the performance levels projected to be achieved by NHTSA under the current standards, indicate that achieved CAFE performance has exceeded these anticipated levels for each of the 2012, 2013, and 2014 model years—the first three years that the current standard has been in effect. Additionally, achieved CAFE performance has consistently increased annually from model year 2008 through model year 2014. If the current trends in annual improvements continue, future achieved CAFE performance is expected to continue meeting or exceeding the projected performance levels (and desired GHG reductions) contained in the latest CAFE standards.The University of Michigan Sustainable Worldwide Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109262/1/103063.pd

What do current owners of hybrids and non-hybrids think about hybrids?

This survey examined the views of U.S. motorists concerning hybrid vehicles, both in terms of their current vehicles and future vehicles. The survey yielded completed responses from 1,002 owners of a hybrid and 1,038 owners of a non-hybrid. The main findings related to current owners of a hybrid are as follows: - The main reason given for owning a hybrid is the environmental impact; females are more concerned than males about this aspect of hybrid ownership. - Only a small percentage of respondents report any hybrid-specific problems. - About 4/5 intend to buy a hybrid again for their next vehicle; about 1/3 of them intend to buy a plug-in hybrid. - Out of those that do not intend to buy a hybrid for their next vehicle, about 1/6 are lanning to get an electric vehicle.The main findings related to current owners of a non-hybrid are as follows: - The most frequent reasons given for not getting a hybrid as the current vehicle are not considering hybrids at all and the initial cost. - About 1/3 of respondents intend to buy a hybrid for their next vehicle.In looking ahead to the future, this report also contains a table that summarizes 14 aspects of 12 different fuel sources (including hydrogen) that will likely influence driver acceptance.ExxonMobil Corporationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109078/1/103025.pdfDescription of 103025.pdf : Final repor

Motorists' preferences for different levels of vehicle automation

This report builds on a recent series of reports addressing public opinion, human factors, and safety-related issues with self-driving vehicles (Schoettle and Sivak, 2014, 2015; Sivak and Schoettle, 2015a, 2015b). A survey was developed for this study to examine motorists’ preferences among levels of vehicle automation, including preferences for interacting with and overall concern about riding in self-driving vehicles. The survey yielded completed responses from 505 licensed drivers in the U.S. he main findings are as follows: The most frequent preference for vehicle automation was for no self-driving capability followed by partially self-driving vehicles, with completely self-driving vehicles being the least preferred choice. • Concern for riding in self-driving vehicles was higher for completely self-driving vehicles than for partially self-driving vehicles. • Respondents overwhelmingly want to be able to manually control completely self-driving vehicles when desired. • Preferences were generally divided between touchscreens or voice commands to input route or destination information for completely self-driving vehicles. • Most respondents prefer to be notified of the need to take control of a partially self-driving vehicle with a combination of sound, vibration, and visual warnings. The levels of concern for riding in completely self-driving vehicles found in this study are similar to those found in our previous survey that was administered in June 2014. Currently, as in the previous study, concern about riding in completely self-driving vehicles remains high.Sustainable Worldwide Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/114386/1/103217.pdfDescription of 103217.pdf : Final repor

Consumer preferences regarding product registration

This study explored the factors that influence the decision to register a product. A survey was developed to examine consumer preferences for various registration methods, the effects of various conditions on the likelihood of product registration, and the overall likelihood of registering eight different product types. The survey yielded completed responses from 522 adults in the U.S. The main findings are as follows: Respondents generally register products, though always was the least frequent response. While most respondents indicated an increased likelihood of registering safety-related products, warranty activation and the cost of a product both had greater influence on the likelihood of registering a new product. Respondents were more likely to say they would register major appliances and electronic devices (usually expensive items with a warranty to activate) than infant and toddler products or automobile tires (both safety-related products). Many respondents were concerned about unwanted communication from the company after registering a product, and most said they would be more likely to register if such unwanted communication was legally prohibited. Automatic registration at the time of purchase was preferred most, followed by email, website, and post card registration.Sustainable Worldwide Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116020/1/103219.pdfDescription of 103219.pdf : Final repor