Autonomous Cars Struggle in Snow, but MIT Has a Solution for That

car and no driver ^ | FEB 25, 2020 | By Colin Beresford

[Olog-hai]

Didn’t think Nissans aged that quickly. All the Toyotas I ever had went over 250K easily and probably would have gone longer than that if I held onto them.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Oh, this one still runs fine, but the paint is shot (Arizona), and things like struts are wearing out, leading to bigger repair bills. I’d like to find something about the same size, 2-5 years old, with a stick. Not too particular about make.

[ctdonath2]

Too many miles of road, too much maintenance to keep such solutions viable.

[nascarnation]

I got a pretty decent re-paint on a small car (same color as original so no work on the door jambs or inside of the hood and trunk) from MAACO for 300 bucks a couple years ago.

[philman_36]

Too many miles of road, too much maintenance to keep such solutions viable.

There is little to no maintenance once installed.
10" concrete road. 1 road crew for installation.
A drilling truck or trailer with about 12 drills on each side of it at...what...about 3" spacing?
Drill the holes to a set depth, blast the dust out with compressed air, drop in some epoxy and drop in the magnets.

Once they are installed there is no real maintenance.
They're pretty durable if they are damaged simply replace them.

Installation seems more the problem to overcome for a "too many miles" argument, IMO.

[philman_36]

Volvo Thinks Magnetic Roads Will Guide Tomorrow's Autonomous Cars

They do have their magnets spaced further apart.

And it isn't like the concept/idea hasn't been around...
How Magnets Can Potentially Change the Auto Industry and the World
Self-driving cars have been on the horizon for a long time, but just how realistic is a world that travels primarily by autonomous vehicle? In 1997, the US Department of Transportation funded a series of projects to develop and demonstrate a highway prototype. The resulting automated system with embedded magnets performed “flawlessly.” This meant the possibility of switching from automatic to partial or full automation was actually attainable.

[ctdonath2]

4 million miles of roads in US.
How many dollars & minutes per foot are you talking here?
With what payoff?
And surpassed when by what technology? You’re talking well behind the times here.

Google has been gathering road position GPS data for decades. Enormous amount of road data, not meaningfully less accurate than your proposed physical markers.

It’s not the location of the road that’s so much the issue (we know where it is), it’s the unexpected stuff in the way. You may have magnetic markers in place, but doesn’t matter if there’s a stopped car or construction barrier or bicycle or deer there unexpectedly.

Musk observed that humans drive with just 2 video cameras. His “FSD v3” system, just a few years in the making, is doing very well in most cases (using around 9 cameras). Not perfect yet, but suitable for long drives with an attentive standby driver.

[MichaelRDanger]

If your financial computer crashes you only have to restart it. If your computerized auto driving car crashes, due to any number of factors, your car will physically crash. Do you want to place your life in the hands of buggy software?

[ctdonath2]

1. Financial software crash I’m referring to is loss of all your money. System cheerfully says “your balance is $0” or suspiciously asks “who are you? we don’t know you.” Sure you’re not dead, but your entire retirement savings just vanished after giving your final two-week notice.

2. Engineering includes building in failure mitigation. Address EVERYTHING that can go wrong. Yes a occupant-terminal condition might occur - just make sure the odds are demonstrably less than a non-computerized alternative (yes, computer-free cars fail & crash too).

Yes I’m extremely aware of your point.
My life, minute to minute, depends on a computer not crashing.
I’m very comfortable with the statistics involved.