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The Man Who Built Google’s First Self-Driving Car Is Now a Trucker (drone trucks)
backchannel.com ^ | 2 hrs ago | Mark Harris

Posted on 05/16/2016 10:59:11 PM PDT by Trumpinator

Mark Harris 2 hrs ago

The Man Who Built Google’s First Self-Driving Car Is Now a Trucker

A group of ex-Google engineers have just launched Otto, an autonomous trucking startup

Otto’s first vehicle is twice as long and six times as heavy as Google’s cute prototype car, but has exactly the same number of drivers: zero.

Founded by four ex-Google engineers — including Anthony Levandowski, the man who built Google’s very first self-driving car — Otto is applying Google’s all-or-nothing approach to commercial big rigs: ditch human drivers, avoid thousands of road deaths, help the environment, and if all goes well, make a ton of money along the way.

(Excerpt) Read more at backchannel.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
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To: cynwoody

And when computers are able replicate simulated thinking that is close enough to a human ability to think, then what?

It’s the end process that counts. Whether it be a human’s ability to connect disparate dots or a computer’s ability to mine billion points of data to come to the same solution, business will only be concerned about which one costs less.


41 posted on 05/17/2016 4:24:20 AM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
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To: Trumpinator

It’s fortunate that the route guidance that GPS-based navigation systems give you is 100% accurate.

It is, isn’t it?


42 posted on 05/17/2016 4:30:36 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (Hey now baby, get into my big black car, I just want to show you what my politics are.)
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To: Jonty30

Including politics?


43 posted on 05/17/2016 4:34:45 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

I don’t it’s possible to make a non-thinking machine.


44 posted on 05/17/2016 4:41:15 AM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
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To: Jonty30

Sure it is. The Obamacare website proved that.


45 posted on 05/17/2016 5:10:56 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Trumpinator
Self-driving trucks? Sounds like a great idea.


46 posted on 05/17/2016 5:26:58 AM PDT by ZOOKER (Until further notice the /s is implied...)
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To: cynwoody
We are going to see a lot of good jobs be automated.

If it's automatable, it wasn't a good job.

I guess airline pilots are low skill, shit jobs. Because drone flown commercial passenger planes maybe around the corner. It's tech t hat actually exists now - just has not been released to teh civilian market yet.

47 posted on 05/17/2016 6:15:21 AM PDT by Trumpinator ("Are you Batman?" the boy asked. "I am Batman," Trump said. youtube.com/watch?v=HZA9k7WAuiY)
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To: Regulator; Pelham
Should be no problem at all to get insurance for an automated vehicle barreling down I-80 grossing 78000 lb at 70 mph.

No worse than insuring a trucker with diabetes or sleep apnea. A big firm might even be self-insuring.
48 posted on 05/17/2016 6:26:25 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit."-R.Reagan)
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To: EEGator

“Soma”

That’s just some of what would not be to enjoy.


49 posted on 05/17/2016 8:12:59 AM PDT by equaviator (There's nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth.)
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To: Utmost Certainty
Re: “I think AI is pipe dream that’ll never really materialize.”

I was thinking more short term, and more in terms of current middle management skills.

Finding and collating data, writing reports, etc.

Also, a lot of the mid-level technology and engineering skills are going to be absorbed into software programs.

Just yesterday I read about an experimental physics software program that, completely on its own, can determine the ideal laser power and firing sequence to create super cooled Bose-Einstein condensates.

Apparently, in the past, this was done mostly by trial and error over a period of many months.

50 posted on 05/17/2016 8:16:36 AM PDT by zeestephen
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To: Trumpinator

Ii drove through a bad thunderstorm yesterday. You couldn’t see anything and the traffic was erratic.

I wouldnt want to be near one of these things in a bad rain, ice, or snow storm. Also, what if there are problems with the satillite connection?


51 posted on 05/18/2016 4:55:17 AM PDT by boycott (--s)
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To: boycott

The drone cars have on-board sensors. In the near future I can see the roadways embedded with sensors as well.


52 posted on 05/18/2016 6:03:34 AM PDT by Trumpinator ("Are you Batman?" the boy asked. "I am Batman," Trump said. youtube.com/watch?v=HZA9k7WAuiY)
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To: Trumpinator

I do a lot of driving for my work. Occasionally around a 1000 miles. I would love for these driverless cars to work. I could rest and do paperwork on the way.

It will take a while before I gain confidence in the technology but it is one technology that I would like to see a reality.


53 posted on 05/18/2016 6:28:02 AM PDT by boycott (--s)
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To: boycott

Me to to be honest. It will be a revolution in how we commute. I will spend extra time in traffic if I can chill.


54 posted on 05/18/2016 6:42:49 AM PDT by Trumpinator ("Are you Batman?" the boy asked. "I am Batman," Trump said. youtube.com/watch?v=HZA9k7WAuiY)
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To: Trumpinator

Me to to be honest. It will be a revolution in how we commute. I will spend extra time in traffic if I can chill.

It would be one of the best things ever for my job.


55 posted on 05/18/2016 6:54:57 AM PDT by boycott (--s)
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To: boycott
I think we are going to see this soon - like in 10 years or sooner.

We already have cars that auto brake, etc.

56 posted on 05/18/2016 6:58:48 AM PDT by Trumpinator ("Are you Batman?" the boy asked. "I am Batman," Trump said. youtube.com/watch?v=HZA9k7WAuiY)
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To: Trumpinator

I’ll probably drive 600 miles this week. It cannot happen soon enough.


57 posted on 05/18/2016 7:02:18 AM PDT by boycott (--s)
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