首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1) Silicon Valley is the land of the beta test, the constant tweak, where companies habitually release products still in develo
(1) Silicon Valley is the land of the beta test, the constant tweak, where companies habitually release products still in develo
admin
2018-06-29
48
问题
(1) Silicon Valley is the land of the beta test, the constant tweak, where companies habitually release products still in development to see how they work in the hands of consumers. Last week, that iterative approach, so ubiquitous in software, entered a new realm when Uber announced that it would begin testing a fleet of 100 self-driving cars for hire in Pittsburgh by the end of the month.
(2) The move means that the streets of a large American city, one that gets an average of 41 inches of annual snowfall and has more than 400 bridges, will become the company’s laboratory. And the test subjects will be real people who summon the vehicles, some weighing more than two tons with turbocharged engines, with their smartphones.
(3) Autonomous vehicles represent the future of transportation, industry officials say, with the potential to cut down on accidents and fill in gaps in public transportation. Perfecting the technology is a top priority for companies such as Google and Apple and automakers such as General Motors. But the dream of cars that can reliably and safely navigate urban areas on their own is thought to still be years away. The technology also suffered a significant setback only recently, when a driver of a semiautomated Tesla got into a fatal crash.
(4) Even experts in automated driving were therefore surprised by Uber’s move, which will mark the first time everyday commuters will be able to hail a ride in a driverless car. " They’re bringing their customers into the development process," said Pete Koomen, founder and president of Optimizely, a start-up that tests alternatives for websites, called A/B tests. " The customers understand that their goal is to create the best product possible, and they need their help in doing this. "
(5) To help allay concerns and to comply to with state law, which requires a driver behind the wheel, Uber will have two trained safety drivers on each ride.
(6) Earlier this month, Uber announced it was acquiring Otto, a tech start-up that makes self-driving trucks, in a move that Uber said gives it " one of the strongest autonomous engineering groups in the world. " In Pittsburgh, Uber has partnered with Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, which has three decades of building automation technology. The company points out that human error is the cause behind the overwhelming majority of traffic deaths, with motor-vehicle accidents the leading cause of death for those under 25. "This is a tragedy that self-driving technology can help solve," the company said.
(7) Even with safety drivers, Uber’s wager is risky because the project will allow vastly more people to see the technology’s flaws, said Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who researches self-driving cars. "This is going to expose the technology to the public but also will give them a much more intimate view of its mistakes," he said. "They’ll see in a very direct sense that these are technologies in progress. "
(8) He said he expects that the program will engender trust and that riders who experience the beta test are likely to walk away with a positive idea of automation. "The astounding thing is that people think that these are terrifying until they get into a vehicle," Walker Smith said. " Then, a mile later, they have total and complete confidence in these systems. " But for regulators to truly know whether a self-driving car is safe, they will need reams of data that come from hundreds of millions of miles of testing, he said.
(9) By that all-important metric, self-driving cars are a long way off. As of June, Google’s fleet of roughly 50 autonomous vehicles had driven 1. 7 million miles without a fatal accident, the company said. According to the Rand Corp. and other experts, self-driving cars need to be tested in real-world conditions for hundreds of millions more miles—at least—to be considered safe.
(10) These test trips enable the automation software to acquire the huge amount of data necessary to detect the difference between a puddle and pothole—something that today is still challenging, experts said. Uber declined to share how many miles its self-driving program had logged.
(11) Despite their safety measures, Uber, Google, Tesla and other automakers that are testing or deploying these systems should be prepared for the worst, too, Walker Smith said. They should have a plan for addressing the first serious injury or fatality that might take place, he said.
(12) In Silicon Valley, companies often use beta tests to get useful feedback before products are ready for prime time. Product development is more efficient when you can iterate continuously, rather than expend a huge effort to mass-produce something that may be a flop. "There’s always a trade-off between wanting to release early to guide your development and releasing too early when it’s not ready," Koomen said. But Uber’s plan is perhaps the most significant example yet of the digital ethos of continuous testing now moving into the physical world.
(13) In an interview, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto said Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick had approached him about the project a year ago. In their first meeting, Kalanick referred to his plans for " the Pittsburgh Project," a term that took the mayor by surprise. Kalanick said it was like the Manhattan Project, and the idea was to use the company’s resources to turn the city into a hub for autonomous cars. Initially, the self-driving pilot was slated for a November rollout. About two weeks ago, the mayor got a call from Kalanick saying that the timetable had moved more quickly and he was ready to launch. On the day of the announcement, Kalanick came to Pittsburgh and took the mayor for a ride in a self-driving car. " It was a steady ride home. There was no time I was fearful or worried," he said, adding that the safety driver took over the wheel twice during his trip. "I’m more worried when I’m on the road with an 18-year-old who is learning how to drive. "
(14) While the mayor may not be worried, some of his constituents are. Eric Heyl, a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, wrote in a recent column that someone should "slam the brakes on this plan". The problem isn’t just the self-driving cars—it’s Pittsburgh drivers, who, he wrote, "fail to properly merge, yield and stop. "
Which of the following statements is Pete Koomen most likely to agree with?
选项
A、It is innovative to bring customers into the development process.
B、Underprepared products should not be presented for beta test.
C、There is no way for companies to conduct beta test to real people.
D、Practices in the digital world tend to infiltrate the physical world.
答案
B
解析
推断题。根据题干关键词Pete Koomen定位至第四段和第十二段。第四段首句指出自动驾驶的专家们也对优步要进行道路测试的做法感到惊讶,而第十二段中库门则指出,需要在希望较早面市以指导产品开发和在未准备好就过早面市之间做好权衡,可见,他认为,准备不够充分的产品不应呈现到市场上,故[B]为正确答案。在第四段中库门的确提到优步的做法是将客户拉进了产品开发环节,但并未对这种做法是否创新发表看法,故排除[A];贝塔测试的对象一向都是真人,库门所质疑的是能否实施于实体产品,因此[C]与原文不符,故排除;虚拟产品世界的一些做法向实体产品研发渗透,这是作者在文中透露出的信息,不是库门的看法,故排除[D]。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/vzEK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
SuggestionsofReadingActivitiesI.Three【T1】______phasesofreading【T1】______—beforereading—inthecourseofreading—a
OnWednesday,theTreasuryDepartmentreleasedmoredetailsofitsplantostress-testthenation’s19largestbankstoseejust
SocialcircumstancesinEarlyModernEnglandmostlyservedtorepresswomen’svoices.Patriarchalcultureandinstitutionsconst
PassageFourWhat’stheauthor’sattitudetowardstheApple-Googlebattle?
PassageThreeWhereweresomeimportantexhibitionsofFrankLloydWright’sworksandcollectionsheld?
There’sabriefsceneinthebackhalfofPixar’sUpinwhich8-year-oldRussellrecallshow,yearsbefore,hisestrangedfather
Inthecompetitivemodel—theeconomyofmanysellerseachwithasmallshareofthetotalmarket—therestraintontheprivateex
Althoughitisanylongerthebigbusinessthatitwasintheforties,radiocontinuestobeamediumofessentialcommunication
Amajoraspectofmanyfirms’marketingstrategiesoverthepastdecadehavebeenthedevelopmentofnewproducts.【M1】______Co
Thenewborncanseethedifferencebetweenvariousshapesandpatternsfrombirth.Hepreferspatternsfordullorbrightsolid
随机试题
吸附类植物常采用________种植形式。
肾被膜由内向外依次为()
某肺心病患者,血气分析:动脉血氧分压6.0kPa(45mmHg),动脉血二氧化碳分压10.0kPa(75mmHg),应给予哪种氧疗法()。
哪种壁纸具有不怕水的特点且可对其进行多次喷涂?[2011—041]
我国财政收入的基础是()。
甲公司历年按10%计提盈余公积,2008~2011年有关投资业务如下:(1)甲公司2008年7月1日与A公司达成资产置换协议,甲公司以投资性房地产和无形资产换入A公司对乙公司的投资,该资产交换协议具有商业实质且换入和换出资产的公允价值能够可靠计量
明朝时.我国卓越的科学家写出了几部总结性的科学著作,它们()。①反映了我国传统科技居世界领先地位②包含有当时中外文化交流的成果③内容反映了当时的资本主义萌芽④包含着反封建的民主思想
这世上有一种文字可以抵抗岁月,它的存在不因现代媒介的日渐茂盛而萎缩、消亡或被替代,它________在人的内心,将它生命的芬芳________在人汩汩流淌的血液中,它总是能够调动起人所有的阅历和人生储藏,让曾经________的、只属于个人的美的感受一再降
A、条件(1)充分,但条件(2)不充分B、条件(2)充分,但条件(1)不充分C、条件(1)和(2)单独都不充分,但条件(1)和条件(2)联合起来充分D、条件(1)充分,条件(2)也充分E、条件(1)和条件(2)单独都不充分,条件(1)和条件(2)联
雨に________________、ぬれてしまいました。
最新回复
(
0
)