Autonomous Vehicles

[Vanimal46]

Just read an article that Tesla is forecasting to have fully autonomous vehicles by 2020.

 

http://www.fox9.com/news/tesla-gears-up-for-full-self-driving-cars-amid-skepticism

 

I've been excited for this technology for a while... In theory, traffic should flow smoother and there should be less accidents on the road by taking user error out of the equation.

 

This does open up a can of worms that I don't think law enforcement is ready for... What's going to happen if someone's pulled over in an autonomous vehicle and they've been drinking? Does that matter anymore if the driver isn't touching the steering wheel?

[TheLeviathan]

That's not even the biggest can of worms.  If this kills the trucking industry at some point the economic effect would be incalculable.  

[Vanimal46]

That's not even the biggest can of worms. If this kills the trucking industry at some point the economic effect would be incalculable.

It's already killing the freight industry and companies are proactively planning for it. FedEx and Emerson Freight are anticipating laying off thousands of employees this year because of automation already in place or on the way.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

With all due respect, I don’t think this will ever happen.

 

The tech will never be able to replace a human driver. To not even mention winter states. Plus what Levi said, the policy is terrible (or should be). Companies planning around this have lost their way.

[Mike Sixel]

With all due respect, I don’t think this will ever happen.

 

The tech will never be able to replace a human driver. To not even mention winter states. Plus what Levi said, the policy is terrible (or should be). Companies planning around this have lost their way.

It will totally happen. Just like robots are doing the kinds of intellectual jobs that we were told were safe a couple decades ago.

 

It will be safer, and faster.

 

The truly hard part is deciding the coding in ethical situations.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

It will totally happen. Just like robots are doing the kinds of intellectual jobs that we were told were safe a couple decades ago.

It will be safer, and faster.

The truly hard part is deciding the coding in ethical situations.

No chance. The “last mile” problem cannot be solved, in my opinion. There’s a short road near me in Minneapolis, I scoff every time I think about a programmmed driverless vehicle trying to navigate it.

 

Also, who wants to be the person required to sit behind the steering wheel but not driving but then fully liable should anything bad happen or an intervention be needed? I’m a skeptic.

 

 

...also, not intending to squelch discussion on this by being so against it...

[Doomtints]

People miss where autonomous cars will really help us.

 

Taxis? How are you going to page a taxi to pick you up and how will it know it's you? How will you flag down a taxi in a downtown area?

 

Delivery services? Who will deliver the packages from the vehicle to the business?

 

18-Wheelers? How will an autonomous vehicle handle the multitude of people who cut in front of trucks, wind shear, and everything else a truck driver has to be constantly aware of?

 

The real social benefit will be that older people who can no longer drive will be able to get on the road again. This is important as our retiree population grows.

 

Plus, people who cannot drive now because of disability will now be able to drive. People who get seizures, blind people, quadriplegics, etc.

 

We have life changing stuff staring at us in the face for many people and the market is talking about taxi cabs. Come on.

[Vanimal46]

To answer the how will a driverless taxi know it's you question... I would imagine the car stops where your cell signal is and you use your finger print or eye scan to confirm your identity.

[Vanimal46]

With all due respect, I don’t think this will ever happen.

 

The tech will never be able to replace a human driver. To not even mention winter states. Plus what Levi said, the policy is terrible (or should be). Companies planning around this have lost their way.

The companies that aren't planning around this will be blindsided and years behind their competition. This is reality and happening sooner than you may think.

[Mike Sixel]

Robots are doing surgery, and people think driving a truck is too hard for them?

 

The really hard part of this is that lots of jobs will disappear. Then more and more. And then what will we do in this country where helping people is bad government?

[MMMordabito]

Are they contemplating how to deal with humans who may be entertained by "f-ing around" with the robots?   

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The companies that aren't planning around this will be blindsided and years behind their competition. This is reality and happening sooner than you may think.

I think the biggest, final obstacle is that people don’t want it.

[MMMordabito]

 

I've been excited for this technology for a while... In theory, traffic should flow smoother and there should be less accidents on the road by taking user error out of the equation.

 

By simply inserting programmer error?

[Mike Sixel]

I think the biggest, final obstacle is that people don’t want it.

Really? I do. Lots of people I know do. I know my wife, who drives all around town meeting with customers does, she could work during drive time, instead of late at night.

[MMMordabito]

Steve Terry will have a new slogan for all his billboards.

 

"Injured by an autonomous vehicle. It's TSR time.  Let me help you sue the $%#$ out of Elon Musk."

[Vanimal46]

I think the biggest, final obstacle is that people don’t want it.

Tough luck if you don't want it? Corporations want it. Consumers want it. There are 50+ companies working on this technology right now.

 

I mean, it's going to happen and nothing's going to stop it from happening.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Really? I do. Lots of people I know do. I know my wife, who drives all around town meeting with customers does, she could work during drive time, instead of late at night.

Perhaps she should hire a driver or take public transportation — either would be cheaper than a self driving car, I would bet.

 

It’s not meant to be a personal dig. To me, fully autonomous or self-driving means that your wife gets in the vehicle, all by herself, programs the destination, then doesn’t have to watch the road until she gets to her destination on time and the car is parked. Legally. I happen to think we are decades away from that happening. By the way, back in 2012, Google thought we were 5 years away from that happening.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Tough luck if you don't want it? Corporations want it. Consumers want it. There are 50+ companies working on this technology right now.

I mean, it's going to happen and nothing's going to stop it from happening.

Happy for ya

[Mike Sixel]

Perhaps she should hire a driver or take public transportation — either would be cheaper than a self driving car, I would bet.

 

It’s not meant to be a personal dig. To me, fully autonomous or self-driving means that your wife gets in the vehicle, all by herself, programs the destination, then doesn’t have to watch the road until she gets to her destination on time and the car is parked. Legally. I happen to think we are decades away from that happening. By the way, back in 2012, Google thought we were 5 years away from that happening.

She has a mobile show room..... So no mass transit.

 

I agree, fear is the thing that will slow this down, not the technology.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

She has a mobile show room..... So no mass transit.

I agree, fear is the thing that will slow this down, not the technology.

If we could call it doubt, instead of fear, then I think we could be in agreement.

[MMMordabito]

I honestly don't care if there are autonomous vehicles on the road, as long as they don't start passing a bunch of laws to either deter people from driving or flat out make it illegal to drive.  Elon Musk is high if he thinks we're three years away from a robot takeover of the highways.  

 

I would guess that at least 75% of the people between the ages of 40 and 70 (including myself, but not to this extreme) would say, "I'll be god-damned if anyone is going to tell me that I can't drive my car the way I want to or have to over-compensate to accomodate these things."

 

Honestly, if I want to go ten over on the interstate to save myself time, slow down to get a better look at something that I see along the road or jet around someone or something who's/that's driving like a jack@$$, I don't want to run into an "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that" situation.

[Mr. Brooks]

I predict that in 100 years, this technology will be looked back upon as one of the, if not THE most lifesaving advancement in the history of humankind.

40,000 people every year die in traffic accidents, and nearly every single one of them is due to driver error.

 

No offense intended Hosken, but you remind me of Newsweek famously predicting that the internet would be a short lived fad.

[MMMordabito]

 

I predict that in 100 years, this technology will be looked back upon as one of the, if not THE most lifesaving advancement in the history of humankind.
40,000 people every year die in traffic accidents, and nearly every single one of them is due to driver error.

No offense intended Hosken, but you remind me of Newsweek famously predicting that the internet would be a short lived fad.

 

No way .... Medical advancements will blow it out of the water.

[Mr. Brooks]

No way .... Medical advancements will blow it out of the water.

Cumulatively sure, but outside of curing cancer, I'm not sure any one single medical advancement can save 40,000 lives every year.

[Vanimal46]

I predict that in 100 years, this technology will be looked back upon as one of the, if not THE most lifesaving advancement in the history of humankind.

40,000 people every year die in traffic accidents, and nearly every single one of them is due to driver error.

 

No offense intended Hosken, but you remind me of Newsweek famously predicting that the internet would be a short lived fad.

Yes, this advancement benefits everyone in the world... No more accidents as a result of someone checking their texts. No more drunk driving fatalities... Hell, there won't be any more people driving 20 MPH below the speed limit in the passing lane!

 

Taking driving away from humans is the best thing we can do to improve driving conditions in big cities.

[Vanimal46]

I try to ask everyone I know with small children this question... "Do you think your kid will ever have to learn how to drive a vehicle?" The answers are quite interesting.

 

Kids today don't value driving on their own as much as we did at their age. They would much rather be driven around by someone or something else so they can continue scrolling through their Instagram feed.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I predict that in 100 years, this technology will be looked back upon as one of the, if not THE most lifesaving advancement in the history of humankind.

40,000 people every year die in traffic accidents, and nearly every single one of them is due to driver error.

No offense intended Hosken, but you remind me of Newsweek famously predicting that the internet would be a short lived fad.

No offense taken, and I don’t really see a contradiction between what you said and I said and maybe I was too harsh on the original poster.

 

Maybe 100 years from now, we’ll have 25-50 years of traffic data showing the lives saved.. That still means the technology is still decades away, and not right around the corner.

[PseudoSABR]

 

 Elon Musk is high

True

[MMMordabito]

 

Kids today don't value driving on their own as much as we did at their age. They would much rather be driven around by someone or something else so they can continue scrolling through their Instagram feed.

 

Yeah, let's promote that valuable life skill.

[Vanimal46]

Yeah, let's promote that valuable life skill.

They're doing it anyway WHILE they're operating a motor vehicle. It's better to take the driving aspect out of the equation.