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Read Now: TuSimple addresses autonomous truck crash during Q2 earnings call – 101 Latest News
#TuSimple #addresses #autonomous #truck #crash #earnings #call
Autonomous trucking company TuSimple used its second-quarter earnings call to address an April crash during which one of the company’s autonomous trucks suddenly veered across the I-10 highway in Tuscon, slamming into a concrete barricade.
The crash first came to light via a YouTube video that showed footage of the crash along with a letter from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), dated May 26, alerting TuSimple to a “safety compliance investigation.” The accident was later reported on by The Wall Street Journal.
“An error occurred when a test driver and safety engineer tried to reenter autonomous driving mode before the system computer was primed to do so, and the truck swerved, making contact with the highway barrier,” said Xiaodi Hou, TuSimple co-founder and CEO, during Tuesday’s earnings call. “No one was hurt. And the only evidence of the accident are a few scrapes and some minor damages on our truck.”
Hou noted that in the past seven years, TuSimple had accumulated 8.1 million miles of road testing with “precisely one incident.” When the incident happened on April 6, TuSimple grounded the entire fleet and began an independent investigation, said Hou. After determining the cause of the error, the company then upgraded all of its systems with an overhaul of its human machine interface to make sure the same problem would never happen again, the executive continued.
That internal report, which was reviewed by WSJ, revealed that the truck abruptly swerved left due to an outdated command, which was 2.5 minutes old and should have been erased from the system but wasn’t.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University told WSJ that common safeguards, had they been in place, would have prevented the crash. For example, the truck shouldn’t be responding to a command that’s even a couple hundredths of a second old, let alone more than two minutes old. The system also shouldn’t be able to turn so sharply while traveling at 65 miles per hour, nor should a safety driver be able to engage a self-driving system that’s not properly functioning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has since joined the FMCSA’s investigation into the TuSimple highway crash.
Hou said that the two agencies have yet to find any anomalies in their investigation or give TuSimple any safety recommendations, but the investigation is not yet complete.
During the earnings call, TuSimple repeated its plans to commercialize driver-out operations, in which no human safety operator is present in the vehicle. The company first completed a driver-out demonstration along an 80-mile stretch in Arizona in December, and has completed several more runs since.
TuSimple said the crash wouldn’t affect its plans to begin driver-out operations for Union Pacific Railroad, but it’s unclear if the company is even on schedule for that at present. TuSimple was meant to launch fully autonomous freight hauling for Union Pacific in the spring of this year and scale to commercial viability by the end of 2023, but Hou said the company has encountered a complete road closure in front of the distribution center at its destination point, which has delayed the run by “a couple of weeks.” He also reiterated that the company’s deadline for driver-out in Texas is set for 2023, but did not specify if those will be initial test runs or fully commercial operations. TuSimple did not respond in time for requests for clarification.
TuSimple Q2 financials
TuSimple’s total revenue was $2.6 million in the second quarter, which is up 73% year-over-year and 13% sequentially. Wall Street analysts expected TuSimple’s revenues to come in at $4.06 million; moreover, they expected the company to beat those estimates.
The company attributed its growth, such as it was, to increased utilization of existing assets and year-over-year price increases.
TuSimple’s net loss came in at $108.6 million, versus $116.5 million in the same quarter of last year. The company appears to have slimmed down on total operating expenses, which came in at $107.5 million this quarter versus $119.4 million last year. However, R&D spending was up 13% year-over-year at $85.5 million. TuSimple said the largest portion of R&D expense was $60.8 million related to hiring, including a stock-based compensation expense of $22.4 million. That said, sales, general and administrative spend was significantly lower than last year.
To prepare for driver-out operations and to expand its autonomous freight network, TuSimple invested a total of $3.8 million in purchases of property and equipment. The company ended the quarter with $1.16 billion in cash.
Updated full-year guidance
TuSimple’s updated guidance on 2022 revenue remained unchanged at $9 million to $11 million. Generally, the company intends to spend less, and therefore lose less money this year. TuSimple’s adjusted EBITDA loss for the year is now expected to be between $360 million and $380 million, versus previous guidance of $400 million to $420 million.
In addition, TuSimple will spend less on stock-based compensation — attributable to a hiring slowdown — as well as purchases of property and equipment. The company is hoping to end the year with $950 million in cash versus previous guidance of $900 million.
Executive shakeups
Hou touched on some key leadership changes that had been announced in June, including chief financial officer Patrick Dillon leaving the company, to be temporarily replaced by Eric Tapia, TuSimple’s global controller and principal accounting officer.
In addition, Dr. Ersin Yumer, previously head of TuSimple’s autonomous freight network, was promoted to EVP of operations, and Dr. Lei Wang was promoted to EVP of technology. Both were promoted to support TuSimple’s driver-out operations.
Worth noting
It’s worth noting that TuSimple would not address a question about the company’s tentative plans to sell off its China operations, something that was touched on during the first-quarter earnings call.
At the time, TuSimple told TechCrunch that the company’s stock price today doesn’t reflect the value of the China autonomous freight business, so it would be a good idea to split off APAC operations. A perusal through the company’s 10-Q revealed TuSimple is more likely looking to sell its China operations because it’s too expensive to keep it going, given the National Security Agreement the company agreed to as part of a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Tapia, TuSimple’s interim CFO, also shared that the company is in the process of upgrading most of its older trucks to its newest AV hardware technology, a process which will continue through 2023 and will involve adding upgraded sensors to the vehicles.
“While we plan to introduce some new trucks into the fleet, our ability to add a significant number of trucks is difficult, given the challenges in purchasing new or even slightly used trucks,” said Tapia. “Lastly, we plan to continue to invest in adding terminals to the [autonomous freight network], primarily around the Texas triangle. Our intention is to do this in a capital-light manner, partnering when possible.”
In 2020, TuSimple partnered with Navistar to build fully autonomous trucks, and has previously set a deadline to begin manufacturing by 2024 and deliver to certain customers, like DHL, by 2025. Hou and Tapia dodged one analyst’s repeated attempts to get clarity on this timeline.
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Read Now: Macs, MR, and more: Everything coming from Apple in a jam-packed June – 101 Latest News
#iPhone #Camera #Accessories #CNET
Not too long ago, photographers used to laugh at smartphones. A lot has changed over the years, however, with many phone launches focusing on the cameras themselves. Now smartphones can take impressive photos on par with even the best cameras. All you need is some additional gear, and you can be shooting photos that border on professional-grade.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Pro offer excellent features that creative professionals will enjoy, like multiple rear cameras — including a superwide-angle lens — that can capture incredible photos and videos.
Perhaps the most notable, however, is the addition of ProRes, which started in the previous generation and is available on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. It enables you to produce a far more professional-looking postproduction look. This means that, now, creative professionals can incorporate these phones into their productions.
And sure, you can simply walk outside with your phone and snag some beautiful footage, but there’s a wealth of iPhone 14 accessories you can use that’ll help elevate both your videos and photos to new levels to wow your followers.
Here’s our list of the best gear to pair with your iPhone to give your shots a boost. Every iPhone 14 accessory listed here has been tested by us to make sure it works as well as it’s supposed to. If it didn’t impress, it didn’t make the list. Look no further if you’re after the best iPhone filming accessories to take your skills to the next level. These excellent accessories will make shooting a breeze.
Read more: Best iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro Cases You Can Buy Right Now
The best iPhone camera accessories
There’s no one accessory that by itself will revolutionize your iPhone photography, as different products bring different things to the table. I love the Moment Anamorphic lens as it lets you achieve a stunning cinematic look with your phone. DJI’s phone gimbal meanwhile provides superb stability to get super smooth-looking shots, while the Aputure MC LED video light simply lets you light up the scene you’re shooting when the sun goes down.
But an LED light will do nothing to improve your audio, so you’ll need to look towards the Rode VideoMicro if sound quality is important. These items all add something different to your photo and video production and used together let you take your mobile video production to a whole new level. Want some inspiration? Here’s my guide for shooting better video with your phone.
Camera cages are common tools that let you attach a wide variety of accessories to a DSLR, including lights, microphones, handles and external monitors. SmallRig’s new mobile cage offers much the same functionality, but for your iPhone, and with multiple mounting points around the edge to attach whatever accessories you need like microphones.
I’ve been using the cage with an attached Aperture LED light, PolarPro tripod and Rode microphone (all seen below), which makes for an incredible mobile vlogging rig. SmallRig also offers various attachments of its own, including top and side handles, which help provide stability when you’re hand-holding while filming. The cage is solidly built from aluminum, has bayonet lens mounts (see below), and has a convenient clasp for easily slotting your phone in and out.
Anamorphic lenses are normally something you’d find in a professional cinematographer’s kit bag. These lenses provide a wider aspect ratio that you get in a wide angle lens, along with distinctive blue-line lens flares that give footage a much more filmic quality. Moment’s mobile anamorphic lens does exactly that for your iPhone.
Clip it on and it’ll squeeze your footage into the shorter, wide shots format that completely transforms the look of the video you can take from your phone. I’ve absolutely loved the look of my phone footage using the lens and it’s a must-have for any budding film producers wanting to up their game with their phone.
You’ll need to shoot with apps like Filmic Pro that let you “unsqueeze” the footage so it doesn’t look all distorted on most cameras. The lens uses a bayonet mount that attaches to compatible cases, including Moment’s own ones or a variety of third-party options, including the SmallRig cage mentioned above.
iPhone cameras don’t have the greatest lighting, so having a backup light is always a good idea. This USB-C rechargeable video light is packed with LED lights and is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand but puts out a huge amount of light when you’re short of proper lighting.
It’s great for lighting up your subjects, whether that’s for portraits, product photography or macro or to light up yourself if you’re vlogging at night. The power output is easily adjustable, as is the color temperature of the light.
It also has a variety of creative light effects to spice up your production, including simulations of fireworks, lightning, a flickering fireplace or the flashing red and blue of police car lights.
The iPhone 14’s built-in image stabilization is already superb, but for an even smoother ride, consider using a dedicated gimbal like DJI’s OM 5. It evens out all but the most aggressive movements, allowing you to get smooth tracking footage of you running behind your subject as you film a chase scene.
It also has a built-in extendable selfie stick, which not only makes it great for YouTube vloggers, but also allows for more creative angles by holding it up higher, or even flipping it over and having the camera run close to the ground or through grasses.
Recording good audio for your vlogs or your next iPhone-based short film is crucial, and while the iPhone does a decent job of capturing audio, a dedicated microphone will take things to the next level. Rode’s VideoMicro shotgun mic can plug into your phone’s Lightning port (via an adapter) and provides crystal-clear audio when recording with the standard iPhone camera app or any third-party video app, making it one of the best iPhone camera accessories on the market.
I love using it on top of my phone for vlogging and the included wind shield is superb for cutting out wind noise when working on location. Alternatively, get a 3.5mm extension cable and you can try using the mic on the end of a boom pole for recording audio in a conversation you’re filming.
It’s a great investment if you’re looking for a directional microphone.
At $1,349, industry goliath Profoto’s B10 studio flash will be little more than a pipe dream for most. But if you want to get truly professional lighting on location or in a studio using your iPhone, the B10 is second is one of the best iPhone camera accessories. . This pro flash is designed primarily for use with DSLRs but can also be used with iPhones and Android phones via the Profoto app. If you’re ready to take your smartphone photography to the next level, it allows you to get shots with your phone that would simply not be possible to achieve without it.
Sure, most pros probably wouldn’t consider shooting a major project on just their phone, but it’s a potentially great backup in case of camera failure, or simply a lightweight and convenient way to test ideas in the field without hauling bags of gear around.
It also comes with a carrying case that will protect it from other elements. Its rechargeable battery provides a battery life that can provide more than 400 full flashes.
Rather than use screw clamps to secure your phone in place, Moment’s tripod mount uses Apple’s MagSafe system, which makes it incredibly quick to pop your phone in place and start shooting. When you’re done, just rip your phone away from the magnetic disk and pop it back in your pocket. Easy!
The minimalist approach to the mount’s design makes it extremely compact so it’s no hassle to always carry it with you for when inspiration strikes. The magnets are strong, too, so you don’t need to worry about your phone popping loose while you’re walking along. It’s available as a mount by itself, or with the cold-shoe bracket (pictured) to attach a microphone when vlogging.
Having a solid tripod can make all the difference in getting stable, wobble-free video, particularly if you want to put yourself in the frame. PolarPro’s Apex Minimalist tripod is a great option for mobile producers, as its compact size means it’s easy to chuck into a backpack, but it’s burly enough to support bigger cameras should you need to.
I love using it for static shots, and for holding my phone up to shoot vlogs while walking around. It comes either with an integrated twist-locking ball head, or as the tripod legs only. I prefer the latter as it allows me to use my own compact ball heads, which are more stable with heavier loads.
How we test iPhones
We test phones in real-world scenarios, looking at the performance of the processor, battery and cameras, and judge how each model compares to its competition. We take value into account, as well as extra features like storage, connectivity, software additions and anything else that will make a real difference to your life with the product.
Accessories like the ones seen in this list are treated in exactly the same way; they’re put to real-world use both indoors and outside, evaluating how well they perform and whether they’re worth the money. Everything that’s featured here has been tested by our own fair hands and if it didn’t impress, it didn’t make the list.
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