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. Googles 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 agencys crash data, only 1% of drivers involved in a crash apply the brakes at full force prior to the impact, while 33% of drivers dont 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.
That’d be nice! I want one of those robots they’re going to have in the not too distant future (I hope) that cleans, cooks, drives, etc. I’ll bet people in those days will be thanking their lucky stars they weren’t born in the primitive 20th Century.
Lol... Reminds me of “Blue hair driving in my lane,” a parody of Willie Nelson’s “Blue eyes crying in the rain.”
Good and bad. Bad is what happens when something goes wrong? Judging from man’s inability to create software that always works and doesn’t do anything stupid when something goes wrong, I prefer to remain skeptical.
If they perfect it, then go out or a pop and don’t worry about who’s driving. Safer driving for young drivers. No crazy driving, weaving, tailgating, passing in the breakdown lane. I’m starting to like it.
And the almost indestructible shell with optional super pursuit mode coupled with bland sense of humor upgrade software package.
Good point.
The best thing would be the free time. It would be like having your own driver.
Wow and to think a brody knob was a great invention for making boobie playtime easier
No, they won't. It is several orders of magnitude easier to automate an airliner than an automobile, yet who among us would willingly fly in an airplane with no pilot and no ground station controlling it?
Another 10-15 years is not going to change that.
BTW, I've been meaning to wish you... happy birfday!
LOL are you that much of a youngin and thanks for the birfday wishs
I would hope the day never comes when “driverless” cars are mandatory. There is something quintessentially American about getting in a car, seeking a destination on a map, and going there. Or, just getting in a car and meandering down some coastal highway, with no particular destination in mind.
I think you’d probably have to have the highways of the future quite different than what we see now. Cars will be equipped with magnetic devices or with devices that can be attached to tracks on the roads. It will all be computer controlled and operated. This is great visionary advice. Please send all checks to my address, Driftless the Seer—5555 Karnak Road, Nome, Alaska.99998
And robot trucks that drive half as fast can be engineered to use one forth the fuel. Normally the extra human labor costs would offset that savings but with no human, shipping costs drop in half.
Really opens up the jihad possibilities, eh?
Thanks LibWhacker.
Blow up a truck in the right spot at the right time and you have a potential toll in the hundreds.
When I want to drive 90 or better on the freeway no damn car is going to tell me I can’t!!!
I was thinking same thing. Our track record for predicting future trends is not very good
“Where is my flying car?”
ready as soon as you come up with the quarter million and a pilots license, they are on the market.
According to GM, we should have had automated highways by 1976.
I think the privacy issues are there no matter who or what is driving the car. Things like location, speed, destination and occupants are trackable anyway.
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