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Mark Harris @meharris
, 8 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
Exclusive – Anthony Levandowski launches self-driving truck start-up Pronto.AI with claims of a hands-free, zero-disengagement cross-country trip from San Francisco to New York.
theguardian.com/technology/201…
Drive started Oct 26, covered 3099 miles in 50 hrs driving. Levandowski says he didn’t touch the wheel or pedals throughout & has released a timelapse video to back up his claims. If true this would be by far the longest drive with no human intervention
player.vimeo.com/video/30696931…
Camera-only system called Co-Pilot uses two neural nets for object detection, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control & collision avoidance: no HD maps, lidar, radar. It was deployed on a Toyota Prius for safety, expense and lower emissions during testing. Works only on highways.
I took a 48-mile trip on highways in and around San Francisco with Levandowski. Performance was safe and competent, including lane changes. System did fail to merge into busy traffic once, and Levandowski took over. We also met a @Waymo car on city streets at the end....
Pronto.AI wants to sell aftermarket Co-Pilot to truckers, starting at $5K for delivery 2019. It’s Level 2 driver assist: the trucker has to stay alert. An inward-facing camera tracks driver movement, gaze direction & cellphone use.
Levandowski says the tech is all his, developed in-house at Pronto.AI over the last year by a team of about 20. Co-founder is Ognen Stojanovski, long-time friend, and ex-Tyto /Otto/Uber.
He's also just put a Medium post up medium.com/pronto-ai/pron…
BTW looks like @antlevan is now on Twitter. Take a read of his Medium post -- it's basically the first time he's spoken in two years.
medium.com/pronto-ai/pron…
Pronto's website is now up pronto.ai
With more on tech, safety, and taking deposits $299 down on $5000 purchase. "Initial customers will be selected from this pre-order pool based on their fleet profile (any size is welcome) and the lanes they drive."
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Scoop! Silicon Valley start-up Swarm Technologies gets slammed by the FCC for launching unauthorized satellites that could endanger other spacecraft. Four tiny CubeSats flew on January’s PSLV mission after FCC denied permission spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aero…
Previously unknown Swarm, still in stealth mode, is planning an orbital satellite network for use by IOT devices anywhere in the world, promising “orders of magnitude” cheaper comms, with light, cheap data relay platforms. swarm-technologies.com
But Swarm’s 0.25U satellites were too small for the FCC, which denied launch permission citing concerns about tracking and collision avoidance. Apparently, Swarm launched anyway. I think this would be the first unauthorized launch of commercial satellites ever.
Read 5 tweets

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Opinion | Democrats want to dump Pelosi? That’s just plain dumb.
#TuesdayThoughts #TeamPelosi #116thCongress
wapo.st/2qTT9fp?tid=ss…
2/"According to lore or rumor, some ancient tribes used to place the old people on an ice floe and shove them into the frigid ocean. Whether this is true, I know not, but it is essentially what some 16 House Democrats want to do with Nancy Pelosi. Here the legend ends differently
3/"She ain’t going. Why she should be denied another term as speaker of the House is not entirely clear. One of those who wants Pelosi out is Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), who promised her constituents that she would oppose Pelosi as speaker, expounding her reasoning in a Post
Read 18 tweets
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1/ Following the one year anniversary of Cryptocurrency Jobs, a look at the state of the blockchain and cryptocurrency job market.
2/ Blockchain and crypto jobs are in great demand despite prices being down from their all time highs. Demand is actually growing. This seems to indicate that people are interested in the tech, and ecosystem, not just prices.
3/ Since launch, Cryptocurrency Jobs has featured over 1100 jobs at 400+ companies and startups across 100+ cities and 50+ countries.
Read 24 tweets
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1/ Thread - New Hampshire is 94% White

What's wrong with that?
2/ Of course, the article is behind a paywall, which I am sure is somehow racist.

If you want a #quickrundown, you can find it here:

twitchy.com/brettt-3136/20…
3/ The real underlying issues are related to population dynamics - an ageing workforce approaching retirement age requires more young workers to keep the social safety net (ponzi scheme) going.

But, the failing New York Times decides to blame it on race.
Read 29 tweets
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Could you help or signal boost, please? Been talking to this kid for a few days. He's escaped transphobic violence in Texas, but is now on the verge of being homeless in California because his family here is kicking him out after finding out he's trans. gofundme.com/homeless-trans…
I've been trying to remotely get him and his friend to find support through social services, which they are trying to get and qualify for. The problem is that the family member he trusted to stay with is extremely transphobic as it turns out. He has no chance with them.
And I have been trying really hard to find him and his place some kind of shelter here to no avail. All shelters are way past capacity. So far, there are a few day places and offers of tarps and sleeping bags, which they might have to take as a last resort.
Read 10 tweets
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When @JZarif says, "#Iran never raced towards a bomb, nor will it race towards a bomb," rest assured it is the exact opposite.
We will realize how Tehran sought nuclear arms for decades. For a country sitting on an ocean of oil & gas, a "peaceful" nuclear program is meaningless.
A very telling cartoon about #NorthKorea & #Iran, as Pyongyang signals indications to set aside its nuclear weapons/ballistic missile program. This is leaving Tehran as now sole target of the international community's soon-to-come pressures.
For those who describe #Iran's FM @JZarif as a "moderate" or "reformist"

"We will exit the NPT. / We will launch advanced enrichment," he says in response to Trump's May 12th #IranDeal deadline.
asremrooz.ir/vdciu5ar3t1app…
Read 198 tweets
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Let me talk about youths in the Nigerian tech. industry. This is my domain. 🔥

These men & women work really hard. Blood & sweat make up a great chunk of their daily diet to make the most difficult things happen. THREAD!!! #LazyNigerianYouths
The @Andela we all talk about today was co-founded by a #HardWorkingNigerianYouth. And Nigerian youths made it work especially when the general populace was wondering how you could turn young Nigerians into World Class developers within a short time frame.
#HardWorkingNigerianYouths helped scale Andela to Kenya and Uganda. Andela has offices in San Francisco and New York today.

Oh, I joined Andela in 2014 when it was just one very small office(shared) in one corner of Sabo, Yaba & we worked really hard to make things happen. 🔥
Read 21 tweets

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