One of Orange County's smallest cities votes to opt out of state sanctuary law, self-driving cars' pedestrian detection systems are a work in progress, spring cleaning tips for decluttering.
How self-driving cars detect pedestrians
Most Americans are already suspicious of self-driving cars. Now those safety concerns are on the front burner again after an autonomous car hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona over the weekend.
How to detect and avoid pedestrians and bicyclists is one of the biggest sticking points for self-driving technology. Anuj Pradhan is a researcher who specializes in pedestrian detection and autonomous vehicles for the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. He joined Take Two's A Martinez to explain how these detection systems work.
Why it's so difficult for self-driving cars to detect pedestrians
In the broader general sense, detecting pedestrians and other vulnerable road users by automated vehicles is a challenging task. There’s a lot of R&D going on in terms of detection. I would say if somebody has the full suite of sensors -- radar, lidar, cameras -- detecting the presence of pedestrians, peole have gotten good at it. What they’re not good at yet is inferring the intent of a pedestrian once it is detected.
How self-driving cars perceive pedestrians
When we as human drivers look at pedestrians, we use eye contact, which is a very, very major piece of communication between the pedestrian and a driver. A driver looks at a pedestrian’s gait, speed, posture and a whole host of other factors, intuiting how old or young they may be, if they’re in a group. All of those are processed by a human driver to figure out the intent of the pedestrian. These have to be accounted for by automated systems, and it isn’t being done yet.
What a self-driving car sees that says it’s a person
It depends on what sensors the autonomous vehicle has. If an AV has a suite of sensors which include radar and multiple cameras and lidar, then it will give the automated system a very good idea of what’s out there. A combination of sensors makes it possible to have redundant information because if your cameras are not working well because it’s night, radar or lidar will pick it up. The sensors give a good sense of what’s around the car — of what exists in terms of other vehicles, pedestrians, vegetation and so on. They’re pretty good at it.
Pedestrian detection isn't just a technology problem
The road is shared, so regulastors will have to get involved. We will have to hear from urban planning folks and folks that are not necessarily involved in the technology aspect of self-driving cars. This is not just a technology issue, it’s a societal issue.
Should we be freaked out about this self-driving car fatality
All of these deployments are test deployments, so it’s all a big experiment. What should be paramount to everybody is safety. In terms of people who have to interact with these systems that are out there on the streets who don’t want to but have to, what one would say is, 'Well, you are participating in a large, large experiment.' We can hope that everybody who's involved in conducting these take into account all the safety aspects, but it’s still an experiment.
5 spring cleaning tips for cluttered LA homes
If this week's expected rainstorm isn't enough to say we've officially entered a new season, today is the first today of spring. For a lot of us, that means flowers and Easter candy. And for others? Spring cleaning.
Julie Naylon is a personal organizer with No Wire Hangers in L.A. She joined Take Two's Sue Carpenter at her house in Highland Park to walk her through some decluttering tips and tricks.
Start with "the purge"
Take it one step at a time. Don't even think about the whole job. Think about doing the first step, which is the purge. The first step is you have to go through and group all the like items. Don't get rid of things until you see what you have.
Where to start
Start with whatever room is bothering you the most. It doesn't matter where you start, but it's good to go through, do the purge, group the items together. Once that's done, the fun part is to play with the space and figure out where it should go.
Clear purged items ASAP
Get it out within 24 hours. You can not have a donation bag that sits in your house for longer than 24 hours because if it does, it most likely is not going to leave. You have to finish it by getting it out.
How to decide what should go
Paper in my house I treat like it's on fire, so I immediately scan it and get it out. It's an action item. A good question to ask yourself is how easy it will be to replace if you need it.
One in, one out
Practice the one in, one out rule. When I buy a new pair of jeans, it's taking the spot of another. It's a good way to take inventory of your closet and see what you have.
How much time to spend
If you're doing it alone, set timers. It could easily get off track. Start with 30 minutes.
How to prep yourself ahead of this week's SoCal storm
Brace yourself and have an umbrella handy: a strong storm is moving toward Southern California and could dump as much as 6 inches of rain in some parts of Los Angeles County.
The National Weather Service says a large plume of subtropical moisture will be rolling ashore Tuesday, heading first to Santa Barbara County before bringing heavy rain to Los Angeles County Wednesday.
For coastal and valley regions, 2 to 5 inches of rain is expected, while the foothills and mountains could see 5 to 10 inches. Peak rainfall could reach 0.50 to 0.75 inches of rain per hour.
The rain is expected to linger into Friday and carries the potential for snarled roads, flash floods and debris flows. But there are things you can do today to help you prepare for the rain.
Tips on how to protect your car, home and more, from Jon Myers with Red Cross Los Angeles
- Take care of your car's tires, and pay special attention to the condition of your treads. The better they are, the more control you'll have on slippery roads.
- Don't underestimate the depth of pooled water or flooded roads. It only takes two feet of rushing water to sweep away a car.
- If you live in a hilly area prone to wildfires, you are also more likely to face mudslides and landslides. Head to higher ground.
- Remember to prep a safety kit for yourself and your pets.
- If your home is uninhabitable, go to RedCross.org for information about shelters you can head to.
Your guide to flood insurance if water damages your home, from Beth Beagle at Arrowpoint Insurance Center in Burbank.
- Insurance will cover up to $250,000 for home or dwelling damage, and $100,000 for replacing personal property.
- The premiums range depending on your placement within a flood zone, as determined by the federal government. The price of coverage is also locked: the government sets your price, not individual insurance agents.
- Insurance will cover flood damage, but also damage caused by mudslides and rising river levels. However, it will not cover damage from a sewer back-up in your home.
- It takes up to 30 days for flood insurance coverage to kick in, so if you apply today you will not by covered by tomorrow.
- Up to 20 percent of flood insurance claims in the country come from not flood-prone areas like Los Angeles.
- Flood insurance in California is only mandatory if your mortgage lender requires it. You can see if you're in a flood zone using KPCC's map.
Gee whiz! Where to shop without the biggest toy store there is
Gee whiz! The biggest toy store there is will be no more. Toys "R" Us and its mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe will be waving bye-bye to kids and parents. After 61 years, the iconic toy store has declared bankruptcy and is going to shut its doors.
Where do you take that carful of kids desperate for new toys now? Yvonne Condes and Sarah Auerswald write the local parenting blog, MomsLA. They shared some suggestions with Take Two's A Martinez.
Independent toy shops
Without Toys "R" Us, you may have to search a little harder for that unique, independently owned toy store, but the reward is worth the search when your kids feast their eyes on these local gems:
They have anything you could ever want. They have a baby area, an early years area, a toy shop, and an area for outdoor toys or sporting equipment… You can get everything there.
MomsLA lists their top indie toy store picks here.
Affordable options
The Southland offers more affordable options as well. Toy resale stores are a great place to shop at a reduced price.
They’ve got amazing quality stuff, clothes too. What’s great is that sometimes your kids get sick of toys or they aren’t going to use them for very long, so they’re still really new. But they’re new to your kids.
Interested in learning more about consignment shop options? Click here.
And let's not forget, the Los Angeles institution of the entire toy district in DTLA.
The downtown toy district has a lot of different options especially if you’re having a birthday party where you give a goodie to all the kids. That’s a great place to go get that, little things to put in gift bags, and also to get toys.
Kids books
Whether it's a new release you're hunting or a classic from your own childhood you'd like to share with a little one, a literary purchase can pay off for years to come. And some bookshops have impressive children's sections.
They have a ton of story times and they have every book you could ever imagine for a kid.
For a list of bookstores offering story-time events, click here.
Online shopping
Stores like Amazon, Target, and eBay remain favorites especially for buying in bulk. But online rental companies allow your kids to build new Lego sets, send them back when they're done, and get a new one in the mail.
You can rent these Lego sets and apparently they’ve even penciled in a minor loss. So you don’t have to worry, if you lose that one little rectangle.
Baby products
The loss of Babies "R" Us has some new parents wondering where they can scope out a new stroller in person. If you're expecting, there are spots that offer more than just products for sale.
One of the greatest places to go in L.A. to find not only baby gear but advice. If you’re a new mom and need to know which wrap is the best wrap to put my baby in... they can help you with that.
The soul music scene is alive and well in the UK
This week on Tuesday Reviewsday, music supervisor Morgan Rhodes introduces Take Two to the "freshman class" in a new generation of soul music.
They're young, they're from the UK, and they're not afraid to get deep.
Artist: Azekel
Song: "Hollow"
Azekel is a British R&B and future soul star, back with a follow up to a follow-up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZTxrgo6MAQ
Artist: Nubya Garcia
Album: When We Are EP
Song: "Source"
Nubya is one of the breakout stars of the British jazz underground collective, Jazz Refreshed.
Artist: Sango
Album: In The Comfort Of
Song: "Rude" ft. Jean Deaux
Sango's one of the most prolific beat makers in L.A.'s own Soulection crew.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yar-7FOa01E
(Bonus: "ToGether" ft. Jesse Boykins)
Artist: Cleo Sol
Album: Winter Songs
Song: "Why Don't You"
Repping West London, Cleo's jazz-tinged new album is one of the best new releases of the year.