Posted on 10/11/2010 3:05:35 PM PDT by Mojave
Larry and Sergey founded Google because they wanted to help solve really big problems using technology. And one of the big problems we’re working on today is car safety and efficiency. Our goal is to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people’s time and reduce carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use.
So we have developed technology for cars that can drive themselves. Our automated cars, manned by trained operators, just drove from our Mountain View campus to our Santa Monica office and on to Hollywood Boulevard. They’ve driven down Lombard Street, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, navigated the Pacific Coast Highway, and even made it all the way around Lake Tahoe. All in all, our self-driving cars have logged over 140,000 miles. We think this is a first in robotics research.
Our automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic, as well as detailed maps (which we collect using manually driven vehicles) to navigate the road ahead. This is all made possible by Google’s data centers, which can process the enormous amounts of information gathered by our cars when mapping their terrain.
Was it legal for them to let these cars drive themselves on public streets?
Of course, I'll want the cheat codes. Alt.2300 should have them by the time I need them. ;)
/johnny
Current law probably doesn't cover this, and past behavior predicts that governments will screw it up for at least a decade.
/johnny
Can I send the car to pickup pizza, chicken, or burgers?
Imagine a street full of moving cars, but nobody in them!
That is interestig. I guess each car would have a “Go Home” button for transporting drunks home, or even kids to and from school. lol.
true
Send the car to the shop for maintenance, then to the bank to make deposits, then to stores to pickup items you ordered via Internet. The car could even call you to resolve problems it has, such as “Popeyes is out of chicken breasts. Should I get the dark meat or go to Church's?”
Ultimately, this would spawn a whole class of USVs (unmanned street vehicles). Small vehicles with no room for passengers that are primarily “errand boys” for their owners. No steering wheel, seats, brakes, accelerator, windows, a/c, or stereo. Sort of a Radio Flyer with a brain. Completely controlled from your computer or phone.
I can easily see me browsing a virtual grocery store or Walmart, making purchases, then sending the USV to pick them up & bring them home.
Hal: Dave, you know you shouldn't be buying all those Snicker Bars! Dave: Shut up & bring me my Snickers, or I'm gonna disable your Moral Choice algorithms!
I do have one concern: What happens when a big ol' bug splatters on the laser rangefinder or video lens at 80 mph, in traffic?
So the newly licensed fast food worker opens the drive-thru window and finds a flat screen shoved at him, displaying the order from his master. Or maybe a real time 2-way video connection, just in case they are out of white meat.
Won’t even worry about cash.
“Just put the box of chicken into the recepticle and we’ll be on our way”
It would be convenient & easy to send the car for maintenance or a wash. Vehicles could deliver themselves to the dealership or owner, from the factory.
The car could drop you off in front of your office or home, then find a parking space & park itself. That feature alone could sell a bunch of cars.
I once visited a friend in Queens, NY. I was amazed to watch the parking “circus” going on in his neighborhood. He often had to park blocks from his apartment, rain or shine. But if he spotted an empty space later, he would run & move his car closer to home. He said all the neighbors did it. What a nightmare!
I can imagine that neighborhood with 100 empty Google cars prowling the streets all night, looking for a more advantageous parking spot. Spooky! Sorta like the Headless Horseman.
The thing you are missing with the Google car is that you call for one when needed. They are located in depots and not roaming the streets. You don't own one. You borrow one, or rent one, or subscribe to a service that promises to have a car at the curb within 10 minutes of when you call/email/IM.
When you go from Ft. Worth to Dallas for the weekend, the car stays in Dallas and maybe another one takes you home Sunday night. But you aren't driving, and the hangover isn't going to cause an accident, so insurance is cheaper. And fuel costs are marginally cheaper.
/johnny
There is no reason you couldn't have several autonomous “vehicles” doing your bidding all day. All commanded from your mobile device. Cooking, cleaning, mowing, shopping, etc.
The savings in time & energy could be huge. Cars are built to transport people safely & comfortably. Small, cargo only vehicles that do pickups & deliveries autonomously would use far less fuel & free the owner to do something else.
I know there is a lot of unknowns in a technology like this. But it is obvious that if you allow the car to drive you around, then it wont be long before the car drives itself around without you.
true and why would they need to be as big as a car? Some of them are likely to be small enough to ride on the sidewalk and enter a store to shop for you too.
What we are seeing here is a new born baby, that will grow up fast. A mere Version 1.0. The reason it is rental only is because a baby must crawl before it walks. I imagine the developers have MANY unanswered questions that are better addressed in the limited rental car market using a pickup/delivery scheme.
I have no doubt that the people at Google would like to see this tech in EVERY car on the road. Do You?
The unknown for me is what I am going to do when I see a car approaching me with no driver at the wheel. Oh, shiite!
I don't want to do maintenance, drive, invest in a losing asset, deal with the burro-ocracy to register it, and all the rest.
I'm good with automagic cars. I DO want cheat codes, so that I can clear the logs, give an 'unapproved' destination, and all of the other human things. But, I'm good with unmanned cars. Feel safer, actually. I know some idiots that drive.
/johnny
Agree completely.
I have no doubt the cheat codes will be there.
Got to go to bed now. Good night!
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