Posted on 10/23/2017 8:28:31 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
On my fourth day in a semi-driverless car, I finally felt comfortable enough to let it stop itself. Before then, I’d allowed the car — a Volvo S90 sedan — to steer around gentle turns, with my hands still on the wheel, and to adjust speed in traffic. By Day 4, I was ready to make a leap into the future.
With the car traveling 40 miles an hour on a busy road in the Washington suburbs, I pushed a button to activate the driverless mode and moved my foot away from the brake and accelerator. The car kept its speed. Soon, a traffic light in the distance turned red, and the cars in front of me slowed. For a split second, I prepared to slam on the brake.
There was no need. The cameras and computers in the Volvo recognized that other cars were slowing and smoothly began applying the brake. My car came to a stop behind the Ford ahead of me. I began laughing, even though no one else was in the car, as my anxiety turned to relief.
If you’re anything like most people, you’re familiar with this anxiety. Almost 80 percent of Americans fear traveling in a self-driving car, a recent poll found.
When a friend saw me in the Volvo last week and I explained that I was test-driving it for work, she asked which roads I’d be using — so she could avoid them. Another friend asked if driverless cars could be hacked. Colleagues said they feared semiautonomous cars lulling people into ignoring the road.
Driverless cars tap deep into the human psyche. We want to be in control, or at least to give control to trained professionals, like doctors. We don’t want computers to be in charge.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It won't be long before the driverless truck steals the tellerless ATM machine.
-PJ
Driving through the hood and there are thirty ferals between the ages of 12 and 25 standing on the corner. Look both ways while you drift up to the light and then stand on it. Believe me, the cops will understand if there are any around.
That’s a good one! I totally can see that happening: Traffic Management and Control.
“We control who goes onto what roadway to ensure a smooth flow of traffic and less fuel used.”
I need only experience an odd thing or two on my computer; such as clicking on an irl link and getting an error message such as, “Windows has ceased operating. Attemting to reestablish connection,” OR “Unable to complete operation due to long running script,” and I KNOW computer driven cars and trucks are not anywhere near ready for prime time.
>>Have you ever flown or do you know any pilots? These systems are not fool-proofed and the last thing you would want is a connectivity issue when trying to take over remotely.<<
1) I have nearly 3 million Frequent Flyer Miles (over 3 million if I add smaller carriers)
2) It doesn’t undermine my statement. I said the pilot is a redundant failsafe mechanism.
If we wanted to, we could make vehicles where no one would ever die from a car crash. We have collectively decided it is too expensive and chosen different risk/reward point.
The same is true for pilots. We have chosen a particular risk/reward model that says we want to pay the expense of a pilot just in case.
But the pilot is not necessary for 99.9999% of all flights. You can argue the .0001 if you want — I won’t disagree, since that isn’t my point.
To get to the other side?
-PJ
When the aliens are ready, they press a switch and all the cars drive off cliffs and overpassess while the occupant is "busy"...
ALIEN 1: So sad we had to kill them all off, I rather enjoyed watching their antics.
ALIEN 2: But at least they were doing something they apparently greatly enjoyed. It is a good thing.
The negative impact for tens of thousands of attorney will be devastating. Thousands of firms which have become rich doing nothing but auto collision personal injury stuff. It will trickle down to body shops, auto painters, courts, cops, tow trucks drivers, insurance adjusters and on and on.
LOL, I am thinking of the eventual remake of "Airplane"...
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: "OH MY GOD! WE HAVE A BLUE SCREEN! ARE THERE ANY IT PEOPLE ON BOARD????!!!!"
“Much like cell phones, driver-less cars will change how we live.”
As I near 70 years old, I’m interested in the possibilities of driverless cars. I can see it making it possible for older people to maintain more independence than they can now.
We have trip navigation on our newest auto. In rural areas it works pretty well.
Never drive near DFW airport guided by it unless you want to spend the rest of the day trying to escape. What a mess.
And forget driving through Dallas, with the current construction, no matter how good at driving in Dallas you think you are.
Long and short? I agree totally with you.
The solution comes from private industry, Congress is just trying to stay out of the way.
In a driverless car world, we won’t have cars. We will have RVs where we go to bed at home and walk up in the office parking lot — go and shower then step into work.
Assuming the 100% telecommuting world doesn’t exist by then.
But vehicles as know them will disappear except as specialty items. We will be in transport boxes that are mobile living rooms, dens, offices, etc.
Congress needs to Go Away from DC most of the year. They consistently create more problems than they solve.
And their “solutions” are terribly expensive.
Correct, it will be very disruptive in many ways.
Why own a car? If there’s fleets of Uber type services that are crazy cheap (no driver), that are available on demand, why bother owning?
If that is the case, also consider how much revenue cities receive from parking. I won’t need to park.
Insurance companies are all for it right now, I’m not sure how long it’ll last when accident rates approach zero - especially if people don’t own the cars they use.
-PJ
I have absolutely no opinion on this topic——but I read this article several times and found it VERY interesting.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2014/10/air-france-flight-447-crash
.
The Insurance companies alone will be able to lay off tens of thousands. ☺
>>but I read this article several times and found it VERY interesting.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2014/10/air-france-flight-447-crash<<
I am aware of that 18-year old event. I have not been able to find a documented case of am autopilot malfunction since and even that one is not 100% sure.
All that does is add weight to the existing rule of keeping the redundant pilot. It doesn’t change the fact the pilot is unnecessary for operations.
I am glad there is a pilot but it would not bother me if I was on a pilotless flight.
The most logical *initial* use for ‘driverless’ cars would be on the Interstates. You plug your destination into the car and a network assembles a train of cars going to that same area. Provisos will be made for fuel stops and rest stops but this scenario will allow real world testing under a 90%+ stable environment AND maximize fuel savings as the vehicles can functionally draft on the cars ahead.
Start there and add functionality.
Me, in spite of a lot of science fiction reading through my life, I am very wary of autonomous (read pre-programmed) responses to chaotic conditions in city and suburbs. As a retired programmer, I fear the decision path that has to decide what is going to get hit when the SHTF happens. That the conditions will happen is INEVITABLE but the aftermath will have the legal system in knots.
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