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I'm for human driving, but that doesn't mean I'm against a computer driven vehicle. Most car enthusiasts (myself included) love to drive and are usually better at it than non-enthusiasts. I'm all for having those people not drive.
With that said, I'd love to be able to drive to a bar, have a few drinks, and then have the car drive me back home.
I've been following the autonomous vehicle threads since they first emerged on this site about three years ago, and have to admit that the basic technology seems to be making slow, but steady progress; but the problem, from my viewpoint, is that the threads almost immediately draw those who see what they want to see, rather than what is falling more firmly within the realm of possibility.
We have the basic building blocks to devise a system which, as in the early stages of cybernetics and IT, will do exactly what it is programmed to do, and only that. That condition, in turn, is most compatible with a fixed, and well-delimited right of way -- in other words, a railroad. Yet with a couple of exceptions (and only in situations where conflict with the general public, with all its whims and foibles, is restricted), the major railroads have expressed virtually no interest in this process, and I think this can be attributed to the point that the huge amounts of weight and mass involved greatly increase the potential for serious injury, (As I once heard it explained by a railroad recruiter -- "an amputated finger can be reattached, but a crushed arm leaves the surgeon no option but to amputate"); also, the perception of "deep pockets" in our litigation-conscious society,
I can, however, think of an instance which would provide an excellent testing ground for autonomous highway vehicles -- that would involve the "yard jockeys" who move semi-trailers strictly within the enclosed confines of a terminal, with its large number of dock doors and general parking/staging areas. The enterprise(s) involved would have enough to gain to justify financing their own research, and would, in large part, be shielded from the risk of personal-injury lawsuits.
Beyond that point, I believe that the nest step might involve vehicles, presumably as small and of as light a weight as possible, programmed with a permanent database to serve a limited area -- addressing the dilemma of mobility for persons, most of them elderly, who need to travel outside their homes (but not too far) in order to continue to function independently.
But it's at this stage where adaptable technology runs up against the very large number of factors presented by an open, and not-always-definable real world which, in turn, multiply at an exponential rate as the scope of the task increases; and it's also the point at which the desire for authority of those afflicted with the "do-gooder" mentality (we, the enlightened few, know what's best for all of us) begins to take root; that should make anyone who recognizes the desire for personal freedom -- which lies at the root of all human progress -- a little uneasy.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 01-12-2017 at 11:53 AM..
I don't give a freak about whether or not humans will be allowed to drive cars legally or whether it becomes a criminal offense.
I'm just looking forward to the day that the disabled, the blind, the deaf, the poor, and the elderly or injured can get around without having to have a driver's license.
Buses don't make it for most of the disabled, certainly not the blind, or the elderly due to physical limitations that make it either impossible or stupid for them to drive - but just as impossible or stupid for them to try to get to a bus, which may be a mile or even more from their home and may not actually go to say a doctor's office.
As for the poor - try making it when it takes 2 hours or more to get from your house to your job, and then another 2 hours back. Not because work is THAT far away - but because of all the stops. And in that time they're not supposed to be leaving their kids alone. Now they have to pay for 12 hours of babysitting instead of 8. Riiiiight. Their minimum wage job is going to cover that, in addition to food, medicine, rent, and other necessities.
I've got a friend who is totally blind and is dependent on $50 cab rides to get to the grocery and back. On SSI. Not SSDI. A pittance.
And don't give me "uber". That would be UBER unsafe for a blind person (she is also going deaf).
Imagine, instead, that she can just maintain the passenger cabin (no undercarriage) and then just call for the drivetrain which will autoload her personal cabin and take her where she wants.
Why, you might ask, the added complication?
Because it's the best way to handle morons who would take a crap in a "public" cabin, or throw up, or otherwise nasty the thing up. And with no humans involved - well, this would solve a whole lot of logistics problems requiring checking the cars in and out and cleaning them and levying fines ad infinitum. The "passenger cabin", having no drive train, would be way cheaper than a whole car.
Doubtless I'm way underestimating human greed. But that's how it OUGHT to work.
I don't think self driving cars will be the "norm" in 15 years. Most of the cars and trucks sold today will still be on the road then.
The cars being sold might be the norm. This is biggest hurdle for full implementation. What will probably occur is perhaps in 10 or 15 years they will set a date when all cars must come equipped with self driving feature another 10 years down the road. There will be perhaps another 15 or 20 years grace period before requiring any car on the road be self driving. It might be 40 years plus before every car is self driving but I think that is inevitable.
Imagine, instead, that she can just maintain the passenger cabin (no undercarriage) and then just call for the drivetrain which will autoload her personal cabin and take her where she wants.
Why, you might ask, the added complication?
Because it's the best way to handle morons who would take a crap in a "public" cabin, or throw up, or otherwise nasty the thing up. And with no humans involved - well, this would solve a whole lot of logistics problems requiring checking the cars in and out and cleaning them and levying fines ad infinitum. The "passenger cabin", having no drive train, would be way cheaper than a whole car.
Doubtless I'm way underestimating human greed. But that's how it OUGHT to work.
With that said, I'd love to be able to drive to a bar, have a few drinks, and then have the car drive me back home.
That would be great benefit and even a bigger benefit is it could drop you off at front door of the bar, go park itself and be waiting at the front door when you are ready to leave.
That would be great benefit and even a bigger benefit is it could drop you off at front door of the bar, go park itself and be waiting at the front door when you are ready to leave.
I think many of you are overthinking the self driving car. I don't ever see these fully auto driven vehicles buzzing around doing everything without the input of a driver. There is still going to need to be a "driver" involved to input programs, addresses and play backup for when something fails.
As an example, much of an airlines flight path is automated now days, but there is still a licensed pilot and co pilot at the controls. The airlines don't just let anybody up there to sit at the helm while the plane flies itself. So sorry people, there will be no drinking and driving, no reading the paper while driving, no extra few minutes napping while driving. Not going to happen. If it does, god save our sorry and lazy asses as we will be on a rabildly downward spiral. Might as well have moving sidewalks so no person would ever have to lift a leg to take a step ever again. Bunch of lazy ****s!
I have absolutely zero interest in ever owning a self-driving car. That being said, they might be useful for some people with special needs. I have a friend who can't drive due to very occasional epileptic seizures, for example. Depending upon the cost over a regular car, I think it will be a very long time until low income people could afford one, so I don't see them ever becoming mandatory. One question I have is this: I often visit new home developments where the streets are so new that they don't appear on my nav or even Google maps. How would a self-driving car get there ?
I think many of you are overthinking the self driving car. I don't ever see these fully auto driven vehicles buzzing around doing everything without the input of a driver. There is still going to need to be a "driver" involved to input programs, addresses and play backup for when something fails.
As an example, much of an airlines flight path is automated now days, but there is still a licensed pilot and co pilot at the controls. The airlines don't just let anybody up there to sit at the helm while the plane flies itself. So sorry people, there will be no drinking and driving, no reading the paper while driving, no extra few minutes napping while driving. Not going to happen. If it does, god save our sorry and lazy asses as we will be on a rabildly downward spiral. Might as well have moving sidewalks so no person would ever have to lift a leg to take a step ever again. Bunch of lazy ****s!
Thus is the point I was trying to stress in my previous point; the dreamers and gadflies have led the public to expect too much, and too soon.
I'm beginning to believe that we can develop some sort of autonomous vehicle, but it will likely be very small -- about the size of those "Smart Cars" I encounter occasionally. And since the potential input of data is large (and changing constantly) it's probably going to require a database -- programmed exclusively for a local neighborhood or small town. It might, one day, be able to get your grandparents to the doctor's office, or the market, but I can't yet envision something for door-to-door transportation, from anywhere to anywhere.
And looking further down the road, from the other end of the spectrum, and probably long after many of us have departed, you might be able to convert some major highways for autonomous trucks -- along the lines of the double-bottom "trains" that are allowed on a handful of toll roads, but such ideas have a very long way to go.
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