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Self-driving automobiles

Would you support strictly using self-driving automobiles?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 24.4%

  • No

    Votes: 25 55.6%

  • Unsure

    Votes: 9 20.0%
  • Total voters
    45
Mason66 said:
I was just thinking about this yesterday.

I was making a left turn and the water department had torn up half the street.

How would a self driven car handle that situation?

I had to drive on the wrong side to get around the construction.

I don't think you can replace a human thinking driver.
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Actually it would handle the situation fairly well. Any self driving car would include video cameras to view the environment around it (360 degrees) the computer would visually pick up the torn up road and should stop.

Darpa I believe has a competition for self driving vehicles and put a large number in a town like environment some did rather well, others not so much. The technology is quite a few years away (10), and I doubt it will be introduced in the US firsr (to litigation happy)
 
I do not trust it:(
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
Actually it would handle the situation fairly well. Any self driving car would include video cameras to view the environment around it (360 degrees) the computer would visually pick up the torn up road and should stop.
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What would happen, though, if there was a trap designed to look like a normal road, maybe a large crater/hole with an asphalt-colored tarp covering it.

I wonder if the car would be effective in detecting and detouring in that scenario.
 
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David D. said:
What would happen, though, if there was a trap designed to look like a normal road, maybe a large crater/hole with an asphalt-colored tarp covering it.

I wonder if the car would be effective in detecting and detouring in that scenario.
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What would happen to a normal driver in such a situation. A driver paying partial attention would suffer the same fate would they not
 
Kandahar said:
Unfortunately for you and everyone else, you aren't the only driver on the road...and if you count yourself among the 80% of people who think they're a better-than-average driver, chances are your driving skills aren't as good as you think they are anyway.



You keep repeating this claim and have not provided any explanation why this is so.
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Computers are but another tool- making life easier,perhaps even better...hard to tell.
Love is what makes life better...
 
David D. said:
What would happen, though, if there was a trap designed to look like a normal road, maybe a large crater/hole with an asphalt-colored tarp covering it. Neither the computer nor the brain will catch this one, initially, but the brain forgets, the computer does not...(hopefully, if memory space diminishes to zero...we are in trouble.)

I wonder if the car would be effective in detecting and detouring in that scenario.
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Computers are but another tool, freeing our brain from the repetitious
So, nothing is perfect, nor can be...
 
The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain....
Engineer Scott in Star Trek III.

If it is safety you want, get the crappy drivers off the road...
 
earthworm said:
Computers are but another tool, freeing our brain from the repetitious
So, nothing is perfect, nor can be...
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Sure, and I believe that the human element - the brain - would be good at detecting the slight abnormalities in the road ahead that might be hinting towards a possible fake road trap such as heavy road debris (ie from digging a hole) next to an otherwise "untouched" road scene ahead.

The computer , on the other hand can utilize modern technology - maybe tools such as sonar & heat seeking radar - to detect holes beneath sheets of tarp painted to look like asphalt to alert the driver electronically of imminent danger.

"False roads" or "fakeways" (as we call it in Chicago) are becoming a real problem and cause millions of dollars in damage each year to cars and roads. This is just another tool in the fight against them.
 
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What do we do when the car's OS freezes? What happens when it drops into an endless loop, waiting for some resource to become available? Ooo, ooo, hard drive failure!

Hell, for that matter, do we really to give hackers an even more tempting target than our smart-phones?

In case you couldn't guess, I'm voting "no."
 
earthworm said:
Computers are but another tool- making life easier,perhaps even better...hard to tell.
Love is what makes life better...
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If nothing else, self-driving cars will make commutes go faster (and make it so you don't have to watch the road during your commute), which will free up more leisure time that you could spend with your family, thus improving life by your definition.

Let's not forget that long commutes increase divorce risk too.
http://www.thelocal.se/33966/20110524/
 
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What do we do when the car's OS freezes? What happens when it drops into an endless loop, waiting for some resource to become available? Ooo, ooo, hard drive failure!
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That is a solved problem. There are plenty of redundant setups, ie airplane computers, that have acceptable reliability compared to a generalized consumer OS.

Hell, for that matter, do we really to give hackers an even more tempting target than our smart-phones?
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The sensible way to avoid hacking is to keep the vital components off any kind of network. If you restrict hacking to people who have physical access, the danger is no greater than it is today.
 
Kandahar said:
If nothing else, self-driving cars will make commutes go faster (and make it so you don't have to watch the road during your commute), which will free up more leisure time that you could spend with your family, thus improving life by your definition.
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Yeah -- right up until your boss figures out he can compel you to use that time for work. :D
 
rathi said:
That is a solved problem. There are plenty of redundant setups, ie airplane computers, that have acceptable reliability compared to a generalized consumer OS.
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I realize that, but I imagine that the pilots who fly those planes would never expect those to bear any resemblance to their home systems, or to provide any entertainment functions, or to be expandable or compatible or any number of other things that would instigate failures.

Furthermore, are those systems used to manage the avoidance of collisions? Do they steer the craft through traffic as dense as downtown or the freeway? My sneaky feeling is that the answer to all of that is "no."

rathi said:
The sensible way to avoid hacking is to keep the vital components off any kind of network. If you restrict hacking to people who have physical access, the danger is no greater than it is today.
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No, the sensible way to avoid hacking is to avoid networking our cars to begin with -- but we won't.
 
TacticalEvilDan said:
Yeah -- right up until your boss figures out he can compel you to use that time for work. :D
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If bosses want to make you work more hours, there is nothing stopping them from doing so right now (other than the economics of their business and a few labor laws). Why would they care whether you spend your time off the clock with your family or stuck in traffic?
 
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TacticalEvilDan said:
I realize that, but I imagine that the pilots who fly those planes would never expect those to bear any resemblance to their home systems, or to provide any entertainment functions, or to be expandable or compatible or any number of other things that would instigate failures.

Furthermore, are those systems used to manage the avoidance of collisions? Do they steer the craft through traffic as dense as downtown or the freeway? My sneaky feeling is that the answer to all of that is "no."
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Self-driving cars can and do navigate through dense traffic and avoid collisions. And the performance is constantly improving in line with Moore's Law.

No, the sensible way to avoid hacking is to avoid networking our cars to begin with -- but we won't.
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Self-driving cars do not need to be networked to other cars (although in some cases it might improve efficiency to do so). Most current designs are truly autonomous.
 
Kandahar said:
If bosses want to make you work more hours, there is nothing stopping them from doing so right now (other than the economics of their business and a few labor laws). Why would they care whether you spend your time off the clock with your family or stuck in traffic?
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My belief is that if they can have you working while you're driving to or from work, they'll do it. Call it a gut feeling.
 
Kandahar said:
Self-driving cars can and do navigate through dense traffic and avoid collisions. And the performance is constantly improving in line with Moore's Law.
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I have no doubt that there have been successful tests of self-driving cars. Have they managed craptacular weather or rush hour traffic? How about the fact that as self-driving cars become more common, a simple design flaw cascaded across a fleet of cars could result in gigantic pile-ups?

Kandahar said:
Self-driving cars do not need to be networked to other cars (although in some cases it might improve efficiency to do so). Most current designs are truly autonomous.
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I didn't mean cars networked to other cars -- I thinking more about cars with Internet access:

Parrot's ASTEROID Connects Your Car to the Web

It's a short hop from something like that to a self-piloting system with integrated wireless or remote access -- and we do love to push those kinds of boundaries.
 
I realize that, but I imagine that the pilots who fly those planes would never expect those to bear any resemblance to their home systems, or to provide any entertainment functions, or to be expandable or compatible or any number of other things that would instigate failures.
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The computer system controlling a robot car would have dedicated hardware running on its own system, just like modern computerized engine timing and traction control. The driver of the car will have zero ability to interact with it. Entertainment functions would obviously be completely separate, just like they are now.

Furthermore, are those systems used to manage the avoidance of collisions? Do they steer the craft through traffic as dense as downtown or the freeway? My sneaky feeling is that the answer to all of that is "no."
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I am not claiming that autopilot software on a plane is the same as a care. The point is that the computer itself will function reliably in the face of potential shutdowns, glitches and minor hardware failure. If you can devise a navigation system that works on a car, you won't have to worry about it getting the blue screen of death.

No, the sensible way to avoid hacking is to avoid networking our cars to begin with -- but we won't.
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Cars are already networked together. Using turn signals may be primitive, but it is an effective form of communication nonetheless. Networking may sound scary, but it doesn't mean the car is vulnerable to hacking anymore than you are just because you can communicate with fellow drivers. A properly designed system can keep different system separated enough to maintain security.
 
I would love the option, I'd buy one for sure. But I would never force people into it.
 
TacticalEvilDan said:
My belief is that if they can have you working while you're driving to or from work, they'll do it. Call it a gut feeling.
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If you're on the clock then that's reasonable, otherwise they can't make you. It's funny how I'm trying to design something to make your life simpler and you seem all worried that it'll make your life harder.
 
American said:
Hold on now, you're the OP, we don't have to explain ourselves.
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That was a rhetorical question to imply that the feature requested was unnecessary.
 
dadrone said:
I would love the option, I'd buy one for sure. But I would never force people into it.
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I would push for it as the standard in order to maximize efficiency and eliminate accidents due to ignorance. If the majority of the cars on the road are still human-driven then benefits are pretty significantly reduced. For example, grandpa or grandma driving in front can still prevent the self-driven car from being able to do the speed limit. I've already mentioned that it prevents people from driving recklessly, DUI, talking/texting while driving, etc. Therefore, forcing people into it is for the greater good.
 
Mathematician, do you percieve any flaws in your plan of self-driving automobiles?
 
Wake said:
Mathematician, do you percieve any flaws in your plan of self-driving automobiles?
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from my perspective, and assuming the technology to make this actually viable is on the horizon, the upside of this prospect massively dwarfs the negative implication of the learning curve required to achieve total reliability

besides being safer, more efficient, and better utilizing our existing infrastructure, this would make personal transportation a routine option for those who do not possess it today: the elderly who cannot/should not drive, those without the means to afford a car, and those under the current driving age (potentially eliminating the need for school buses)
 
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