Posted on 04/20/2013 2:07:54 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Google has been testing a fleet of autonomous vehicles on U.S. roadways for quite some time now, and other companies such as Mercedes-Benz are adding more advanced technology to aid drivers. We now have cars that can automatically stop, parallel park themselves and even detect when another car is in a blind spot. Google executives have previously said that they would like to see self-driving vehicles on the road within three to five years, however it may not happen that quickly. Industry experts believe that by 2020, car computers will handle much of the work when traveling at high speeds and five years later, we could finally see fully autonomous vehicles arrive “in meaningful numbers.”
The dates given are still “guesstimates,” Christian Schumacher, head of advanced driver assistance systems in North America for Continental, told The Wall Street Journal. She also noted that there are many obstacles the industry must overcome to make driverless cars a reality. One concern is the question of liability: Who should take the blame if a self-driving car gets in an accident?
Then again, accidents may be so rare that it could be a non-issue. Google’s self-driving cars have logged more than 300,000 miles across a wide range of traffic conditions and have not caused a single accident. Automakers and regulators in the U.S. and Europe are serious about the future of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles and have been pushing the technology in an effort to improve safety.
NHTSA researcher W. Riley Garrott revealed some interesting data this week at the SAE International World Congress in Detroit. According to the agency’s crash data, only 1% of drivers involved in a crash apply the brakes at full force prior to the impact, while 33% of drivers don’t apply the brakes at all. He said that accidents due to poor braking were found to cost society about $45 billion, based on data from 2006 to 2008, and that these new technologies would not only save lives, but also money.
As we patently wait for self-driving vehicles to arrive, Garrott noted that the NHTSA intends to make a decision by the end of the year on whether technologies such as “crash imminent braking” should be a standard across the automotive industry.
OK I see. The Google cars, I’m pretty sure, are autonomous and don’t rely on any centralized system.
Our cars, in the very near term, are likely going to be increasingly aware of traffic and weather conditions via the internet and will make recommendations for us. So I suppose tracking would be possible.
I wouldn’t mind having a workerless job.
“Recalculating......Recalculating.......Recalculating.....”
Exactly, dfwgator.
I want no part of it. The world is “zombied” enough already.
Good point! Never thought of that.
Now if they could fold up like a briefcase, like on The Jetsons so you don’t have to worry about parking, then I’d be impressed.
Why would you have to worry about parking a driverless car? It’ll find parking on its own!
My dad moved our family from the East Bay (Berserkely area) to the South Bay because of BART. He was riding it in the early days, and got tired of all the problems, so we just moved to Silicon Valley (where his job was).
I drove my nephew to work in town today and I’m pretty sure the roads are already full of driverless cars.
The profit incentive is much more powerful for OTR trucks.
Warehouse to warehouse, rail yard to warehouse, factory to warehouse, mostly expressway driving.
That is very straight forward, plus, loaders and unloaders are waiting for the trucks, not riding in them.
If you can couple and decouple and gas up robotically, you have a driverless truck that literally runs 24 hours a day, every day, and never gets tired, never calls in sick, and never asks for a paycheck.
This isn’t going to happen. The entire liability will be on ‘the software’ meaning a few accidents will bankrupt entire companies.
My first thought was, "no way it takes that long." Then I realized it was only 12 years away. I sometimes have to remind myself that the 80s were more than 20 years ago. Haha.
The cars for seniors will only be able to be driven in the left lane as well. Optional dummy wearing a fedora while barely peering over the steering wheel.
p.s. I'm close to that age.
Wow amazing but....can the car cook and do windows?
Oh, yeah, I had forgotten about that controversy! I used to live in SF and was there when BART was rolled out.
Yep yep! Exactly! How do these things happen? Uh look at the driver. I rest my case. My wife a few years ago was waiting on line with her car to use a drive-in ATM machine at Chase bank, and when the car in front of her moved up she hit the gas and went right into a light pole totaling the car. First off, how did she not rear end the car in front? Well she decided to steer around him to avoid crashing into him and instead decided to crash into the pole instead which was all the way on the other side of the parking lot. Did the brake not work? No, she mistook the gas pedal for the brake.”Why isn’t it stopping? Let me press it harder and harder. It must be defective” And that is just ONE of her crashes! I rest my case.
Lol! And I supposed the drivers were just brainless, not that the cars were driverless.
>>By 2025, I’m gonna be getting close<<
Try cruciferous vegetables to make it past the line...
Sounds dangerous. Had to look it up... Turns out, I love cruciferous veggies! Got to eat more of them, though. Should try to eat some everyday, thanks!
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