This month’s fatal crash involving a self-driving Uber 4x4 in Arizona drew attention to a new employment category that barely existed a few years ago: the autonomous vehicle safety driver.
In Arizona alone, more than 600 autonomous vehicles are being tested on public roads. Car and technology companies need to rack up real-world miles to improve their self-driving systems. Most of those vehicles need one, often more, people in the car to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Safety drivers typically operate robotic vehicles in eight-hour shifts and provide critical feedback to engineers. But qualifications, training and practices vary widely. Most companies, including Zoox and Argo AI, have two people in the car at all times: one ready to take the wheel and the other monitoring code. Uber only had one in a vehicle that hit and killed a pedestrian a couple of weeks ago.
“For more hardcore testing, it’s common to see two or even three operators in a vehicle,” said Richard Wallace, director of the transportation systems analysis group at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “It’s clearly cheaper to have just one person. It’s a fairly dull job most of the time. This crash may get companies to take a look at how these safety drivers are trained.”
State regulations also vary. In Arizona, autonomous vehicle safety drivers are only required to have a valid driver’s licence, just like any other driver on the road. In California, the drivers must have completed a test driver training programme by the company they work for, not have any at-fault collisions resulting in injury or death on their driving record and be clean of any citations for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the last decade.
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The job itself can be tedious. “It’s actually really boring to drive a vehicle that you’re not driving,” said Eran Sandhaus, a former vice president at Aptiv who oversaw autonomous driving and is now an adviser to mobility start-ups in Silicon Valley.
Rafael Vasquez, the safety driver in the Uber Technologies vehicle involved in this month’s collision, came under public scrutiny after police released a video of the incident. Mr Vasquez appears to look down at something off-camera in the moments before impact.
Uber grounded all of its test vehicles while the US transportation officials investigate the crash. Toyota temporarily halted tests of its “Chauffeur” system in Michigan and California, saying the Uber incident “may have an emotional effect on our test drivers”.
Job boards are filled with listings for safety drivers. The staffing agency Adecco, which works with Alphabet's Waymo, has openings for entry-level operators, with pay listed at $20 an hour. Primary duties include: operate vehicle five days a week; ability to work evenings and/or weekends; monitor software systems with constant focus; provide concise written and oral feedback to engineering teams; and complete daily reports.
The Toyota Research Institute’s vehicle operations specialist must “consistently demonstrate situational awareness, an understanding of the technology in his/her care, and a willingness to constantly adjust to changes in the environment”.
Paid training is provided, with employment contingent upon successful completion of training. The goal is to eliminate these jobs eventually, when cars can be trusted to drive themselves in any situation.
The Uber incident suggests that day is still a ways off.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
