The roads are already dangerous. People shouldn't expect perfection.
Posted on 05/26/2014 3:15:22 PM PDT by Kaslin
When I see them haul a load of logs out of Pecwan I will believe it.
Driverless cars, or driverless trucks, on any type of large scale.....are not going to happen.
There a large differences between the world of Google (computers, software, internet) and the world of automobiles.
Cars have had computers for a very long time...and they hardly ever fail. This is because the automotive industry (and the automotive consumer) have a very different expectation of their car’s reliability, vs their web browser’s. My Android phone locks up a few times a month...I take the battery out and restart. If my car did this - time for a new car.
Companies like Google will NEVER meet an automotive consumer’s expectation. Nor will Tesla, which has described their product as more software than car. To an IT guy, they think that’s a good thing to boast about. To most of us, it most certainly is not.
Now on to the concept of the driverless car. It uses LIDAR. I am very familiar with LIDAR, and use it at work...so I am no luddite. I am also aware of how much LIDAR costs...a lot. Google claims $70k...which I think is a lowball estimate. Mobile LIDAR starts at $250k. And then there are laser rangefinders and of course, software. And there’s got to be a large computer on board - LIDAR creates huge files, that bog down conventional computers.
So its expensive. Is it effective? I’d love to see how it reacts to a blowout on the interstate, an engine fire, seized brake, etc. I suspect serious shortcomings.
Trucking industry? It boggles my mind to contemplate how a driverless truck could enter a factory, weigh in, find the right spot to dock, open its own doors or take its own tarp off, weigh out, inspect itself for proper lights and tires, and refuel itself, before getting back on the road.
Or what about a truck with multiple deliveries...who installs load locks...who keeps client #1 from pilfering some of client #2’s delivery?
I’m sure a system that overcomes all of these problems is technically possible...but not reasonably cost effective at all.
What an opportunity for computer hackers.
Can you imagine someone hacking into the network controlling the car or the wifi used to link it to whatever.
It would be like the Grand Theft Auto video game to them.
The roads are already dangerous. People shouldn't expect perfection.
Roads Must Roll
What could possibly go wrong?
I have a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. It can drive on the freeway by itself a ways (lane control, adaptive cruise control). I drove from Truckee (past the inspection station) to Roseville without touching the brake or accelerator. It just occured to me that if it was red in color I could have named it “Redskin”.
Which of those means of transportation mentioned does NOT have a driver?
They’ll be following at a safe distance and will see the object.
Just like most large passenger aircraft fly today (for 98 percent of the trip).;
Only computers that talk to the outside world can get hacked. Self contained systems are... well self contained.
Don’t get angry???
How about Dennis Weaver vs truck in Duel
And Christine?
Garbage men, circa 1990. "I'll always have a job. Who's going to lift those cans into the truck but us?"
There’s no reason for it to be all or none. Doesn’t matter if the people are slower, collision avoidance is collision avoidance, the methods are the same, and having one side react faster just makes the accident easier to avoid. And frankly the way moving cars respond to input negates most of the computer’s “advantage”.
Machines do grey just fine. People won’t die, they’ll live because the computer driven cars will be better than the human driven cars at not killing people.
Blowouts and breakdowns will be handled the same by a computer as a person, pull over and stop, it ain’t complicated. We already HAVE the tech IN cars right now to do this, the delay right now is our laws and acceptance.
There was a driver in the truck. And Christine was possessed.
Aviation has autopilot.
Actually they already ARE happening. Strip mining is now done almost entirely by automated vehicles. And we have cars that park themselves, and cars that avoid collisions for you. The only thing delaying self driving cars in mass production now is us, we still aren’t willing to admit the world we already live in.
No network control. That’s how we always thought it was going to be done, but the current drive shows it’s unnecessary. Our cars are already driving themselves.
Not to worry. I think they hired a lot of the talented programmers who brought us obamacare. What could possibly go wrong?
Malaysia Airline MH370
:>)
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