# Who’s Actually Driving This Thing? | Really, Really Long Trunks

- Show: [EE Times Current](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current)
- Published: 2021-02-12
- Length: 29m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-12-whos-actually-driving-this-thing-really-really-long-trunks
- Listen: https://www.eetimes.com/podcasts/ep122/

## Summary

Missy Cummings, a professor at Duke University and former Navy fighter pilot, explains the concept of 'mode confusion' in autonomous vehicles, where drivers mistakenly believe the car is in control when it is not. She critiques Tesla's Autopilot for inconsistent alerting and lack of clear state transitions, citing her own testing that showed extreme variability in how the system initiates warnings. Cummings argues that automakers must implement standardized, multi-modal alerts (visual, audio, and haptic) to clearly signal when automation disengages, drawing parallels to aviation safety protocols. She also dismisses current torque-based driver monitoring systems as ineffective proxies for attention, advocating instead for camera-based systems and last-second threat detection like AEB.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-12-whos-actually-driving-this-thing-really-really-long-trunks#t=0) Introduction: EE Times Weekly Briefing and Mode Confusion Overview
- [7:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-12-whos-actually-driving-this-thing-really-really-long-trunks#t=431) Defining Mode Confusion: Aviation History and Tesla Autopilot Failures
- [12:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-12-whos-actually-driving-this-thing-really-really-long-trunks#t=751) Testing Tesla Autopilot: Inconsistent Alerts and Perception System Flaws
- [16:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-12-whos-actually-driving-this-thing-really-really-long-trunks#t=980) The Need for Standardized Multi-Modal Alerts and Training
- [21:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-12-whos-actually-driving-this-thing-really-really-long-trunks#t=1306) Driver Monitoring Systems: Torque vs. Camera and Future Sensor Tech

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Tesla (company)
- Cadillac (company)
- Airbus (company)
- Duke University (other)
- Waymo (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Passenger of confused Waymo robotaxi discusses what went wrong](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [134. Can We Trust Self-Driving Cars? 🚗💥](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-08-08-134-can-we-trust-self-driving-cars) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [The future of driving is autonomous with Dmitri Dolgov of Waymo](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-11-23-the-future-of-driving-is-autonomous-with-dmitri-dolgov-of-waymo) (How I Built This)
- [When trucks drive themselves with Chris Urmson of Aurora](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-07-20-when-trucks-drive-themselves-with-chris-urmson-of-aurora) (How I Built This)
- [123. Augmented Bad Drivers Turbocharge Autonomous Vehicle Development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-05-23-123-augmented-bad-drivers-turbocharge-autonomous-vehicle-development) (The Next Byte Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-12-whos-actually-driving-this-thing-really-really-long-trunks. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to EE Times Current.