Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here is a good list of potential obstacles to fully autonomous cars. This list makes me think its not going to happen "tomorrow".
----the time needed to turn the existing stock of vehicles from non-autonomous to autonomous
----ethical problems in situations where an autonomous car's software is forced during an unavoidable crash to choose between multiple harmful courses of action
----possibly insufficient Adaptation to Gestures and non-verbal cues by police and pedestrians
----Artificial Intelligence is still not able to function properly in chaotic inner city environments
----A car's computer could potentially be compromised, as could a communication system between cars
----Susceptibility of the car's sensing and navigation systems to different types of weather (such as snow) or deliberate interference, including jamming and spoofing
----Avoidance of large animals requires recognition and tracking, and Volvo found that software suited to caribou, deer, and elk was ineffective with kangaroos
----Autonomous cars may require very high-quality specialised maps to operate properly. Where these maps may be out of date, they would need to be able to fall back to reasonable behaviors
----Current road infrastructure may need changes for autonomous cars to function optimally
----Privacy could be an issue when having the vehicle's location and position integrated into an interface in which other people have access to
----risk of automotive hacking through the sharing of information through V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) and V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure) protocols
----There is also the risk of terrorist attacks. Self-driving cars could potentially be loaded with explosives and used as bombs
---Ethical and moral reasoning come into consideration when programming the software that decides what action the car takes in an unavoidable crash whether the autonomous car will crash into a bus, potentially killing people inside; or swerve elsewhere, potentially killing its own passengers or nearby pedestrians. A question that comes into play that programmers find difficult to answer is "what decision should the car make that causes the ‘smallest’ damage when it comes to people's lives?"
Ride sharing is only practical in certain situations. People should always have the option of owning their own vehicle if they want to.
I heard a really interesting idea bout this, you wouldn't buy the car but the cabin. Obviously this would not work for everyone but certainly feasible for more densely populated areas and/or people that could schedule a time they need it.
It's hands on work. No drone is going to do it. There is no sensor to detect a loose lug nut, or a damaged tire.
As far as the lug nut goes it would be able to store an image of each lug nut, it can then compare that to future inspections. It would be able to detect a lug nut coming loose before it comes loose. Same thing with the tire, it would be able to detect any abnormalities developing long before the human eye could spot it. You a human simply cannot compare a tires condition over it's entire lifetime using high resolution images of things you could never see.
Now add in some infrared cameras that can detect heat you cannot see, sound sensors that can detect sounds you cannot hear and motion sensors that can detect vibrations you cannot feel.....
---edit----
Even to take this step further. Is the truck losing more air pressure over given time period than we did yesterday for the same amount of brake work? Is it taking more air pressure to stop the truck than it did yesterday or any other point in the past? Is the fuel mileage dropping over yesterday or any other point in the past? Is this tire hotter than it was yesterday or any other point in the past? The more data these systems have the better they are and in this case it could be huge amounts of data over the entire lifetime of the truck down to minuscule details such as a single hairline crack in a tire.
Last edited by thecoalman; 06-04-2018 at 06:56 PM..
^^ The changes are already being implemented incrementally and gradually. The very first step is also a very old technology: cruise control. From there we went to variable cruise control, then the advent of emergency braking allowed for fully adaptive cruise control, then we added lane-departure warning systems, then lane-KEEPING systems, and we've now reached the point where cars can drive themselves for hours on well-marked limited-access highways without any human intervention. The advanced systems currently available still require the driver to grab the wheel every couple of minutes, but that's a liability concern more than a functional necessity.
What a joke, cruise control is not autonomous driving. It is just a speed control, it doesn't have any visual or direct sensor. For full autonomous driving it involves over $200k worth of equipment from onboard computers to LIDAR, 360 infrared cameras, and ability to detect moisture and weather changes. Without these tech onboard it will kill a lot of people and get into accidents.
Uber's tech is a 4000 lb Roomba that tries to detect collisions and fails hard at it and the result was death.
What a joke, cruise control is not autonomous driving. It is just a speed control, it doesn't have any visual or direct sensor. For full autonomous driving it involves over $200k worth of equipment from onboard computers to LIDAR, 360 infrared cameras, and ability to detect moisture and weather changes. Without these tech onboard it will kill a lot of people and get into accidents.
Uber's tech is a 4000 lb Roomba that tries to detect collisions and fails hard at it and the result was death.
Tell me, how do you think variable and fully adaptive cruise control works without visual or radar sensors? What I said is that cruise control was the FIRST STEP toward autonomous driving, not that cruise control IS autonomous driving. And guess what -- you can't have autonomous driving without it.
BTW, the problem in the Uber collision wasn't that it failed to detect the potential collision or even that it didn't recognize the need to react -- the problem was the automatic braking had been disabled and they didn't provide any way to alert the backup driver either.
I am talking fully autonomous, no driver, no steering wheel, no gas pedal, no break pedal. Teslas are not self-driving cars.
So you are saying trucks drive themselves around the streets and highways of Holland with NO drivers in them (or safety "drivers")? When I say self-driving, I mean NO driver at all period resides in the truck. None. Software drives it. There is not one fully autonomous car or truck in commercial operation on the streets in the USA as of now that I know of.
Frankly, I don't see it happening as you describe it (no pedals, wheel, driver...) on a large scale. A city bus, a garbage truck, maybe so. But for a car, even for a "zip car" car sharing platform, I don't see it.
What I do see is something that's a lot more like a high tech yacht or Jet Aircraft. Sure, you'll be able to leave your house in Raleigh, and plug in a destination in Northern Virginia, and get there without ever really having to do anything but take over and pull the car over to use the bathroom and eat.
Where I see it failing is where a road is closed, and the GPS doesn't really acknowledge or cope well...Or there is a wreck and you literally have to turn around. Or, very rural areas, where there's a road washed out or being worked on and there's a detour.
Or, a power line is down on the road. I can see it, but its totally flat and unlikely to be noticed by sensors...
Or backing up to hook up to a utility trailer to take a load to the dump.
Or a boat ramp.
Or a private area (could be office complex, private estate, farm, etc...)
but take over and pull the car over to use the bathroom and eat.
You would just tell it that and it will offer you up a bunch of options of where you want it to stop.
Quote:
Where I see it failing is where a road is closed, and the GPS doesn't really acknowledge or cope well...Or there is a wreck and you literally have to turn around. Or, very rural areas, where there's a road washed out or being worked on and there's a detour.
It can only be aware of this if it has the information just like any human driver. It would provide an alternative route. Furthermore with an integrated sytem where the cars are communicating with central hub they can relay that information and every car would be aware there was accident and the road is close. With centrally controlled system even the flow of traffic can be controlled so all available roads are utilized to their fullest.
Here is example of centrally controlled system similar to cars.
You would just tell it that and it will offer you up a bunch of options of where you want it to stop.
It can only be aware of this if it has the information just like any human driver. It would provide an alternative route. Furthermore with an integrated sytem where the cars are communicating with central hub they can relay that information and every car would be aware there was accident and the road is close. With centrally controlled system even the flow of traffic can be controlled so all available roads are utilized to their fullest.
Here is example of centrally controlled system similar to cars.
Being able to do these things is what AI provides.
Well, when iPhones and navigation units become foolproof, I’ll start looking for the autonomous vehicles. But, even now with a new phone, and good coverage in a metro area, that’s not reliable enough to do away with steering wheels and petals.
Well, when iPhones and navigation units become foolproof,
GPS navigation and mapping only improves as the data improves, autonomous cars would constantly be adding to and updating that data even in real time for temporary road closures due to something like an accident.
Quote:
But, even now with a new phone, and good coverage in a metro area, that’s not reliable enough to do away with steering wheels and petals.
GPS is only one point of data used in these cars, it along with mapping provides a route from point A to point B and could provide some data for maneuvering if for example you were on a snowy country road. If you have deep/drifted snow it can even be difficult for the human driver to know exactly where the road ends and you are going into a ditch.
The very first test vehicles for this tech were operating in the desert. They were given some GPS coordinates but still had to maneuver the curves and and other obstacles between those coordinates using LIDAR, video recognition and whatever else they may use.
GPS navigation and mapping only improves as the data improves, autonomous cars would constantly be adding to and updating that data even in real time for temporary road closures due to something like an accident.
GPS is only one point of data used in these cars, it along with mapping provides a route from point A to point B and could provide some data for maneuvering if for example you were on a snowy country road. If you have deep/drifted snow it can even be difficult for the human driver to know exactly where the road ends and you are going into a ditch.
The very first test vehicles for this tech were operating in the desert. They were given some GPS coordinates but still had to maneuver the curves and and other obstacles between those coordinates using LIDAR, video recognition and whatever else they may use.
I'm not concerned about its ability to avoid hitting things, moving or stationary.
I'm convinced it can park me in a parallel or standard parking spot. In fact, plenty of cars, from Fords to Toyota's to Teslas, it already can.
I've seen enough off road applications of modern technology that I know it can be better than a human for navigating down a steep, slick hill or crawling up an incline.
I'm more concerned about the computer moving slow, freezing, etc; GPS does that regularly, any of them have foibles that can be bothersome...
Or the fact that I don't want to put in or search for the Grocery Store every time I get in the car. I want to drive out of my neighborhood, two miles down the main road, and pull in.
Or, I have a five hour trip in front of me...But first I need to stop at the dry cleaners and the gas station and pull through starbucks drive through for a coffee. Frankly, I can't be bothered to hassle with a computer, app, nav, etc, for that...I'll do my errands and then get on the road and load up Waze in case there's a faster way due to an interstate backup.
Or, I have a trailer full of decoys that I'm driving into the middle of a field to setup a goose hunt.
Or, I want to pull in somewhere specific to load my car, and thus want to make sure I'm tight on one side, close on another, with the rear of the car convenient...
Again, Can I see a reality where you need not touch the pedals or breaks if you care to avoid it? Yes.
Do I see a reality where they're done away with? Not so much. Ever pull off at an exit and decide not to stop there? Or decide that you're going to look for a gas station, but it better be right off the exit because you aren't driving 1.5 miles into town through three stoplights and 1.5 miles back? I do. My Dad does. My boss does.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
