Autonomous vehicles

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by PhantomOnTour

The roundabout experiment here in Cajunland has been a bit of a failure. We have around 4-5 of them and I would say about 10% of the brilliant locals actually know how they work.
Most treat it like a four way stop, which they don't know how to use either...they stop and then they go, period.
The concept of the right of way belonging to those in the roundabout hasn't reached them yet. Heck, the whole "right of way" concept down here is totally backwards. Everyone is so intent on being nice that they yield when they have the right of way, which causes more problems than if they would just go.

It's pretty comical out here in Arizona where they've tried to integrate them as well. People hate them and have no idea what to do with them. We had them bask east in the middle of highway speed roads and you got run over if you slowed more than a few miles an hour at the merge. I can remember getting my first lesson in driving the Latham Circle: "the key, is to never get going slower than seventy."

[JustRalph]

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/6/148...ncept-mobility

Check this out

[OntheRail]

From the Vault 7 leak.

As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.

That is exactly why I hate drive by wire...it is hackable. Give me linkage and leverage to steer, brake and accelerate with.

And some people want to turn it over to I-ride Robots.

[Actor]

Originally Posted by tucker6

would you bet your life on it?

One guy did. Last May he set his cruise control at 74 mph, turned on his Tesla's autopilot and went to sleep. The car did not recognize a truck crossing the road and hit it full speed killing the car's driver.

[PhantomOnTour]

Originally Posted by highnote

When I first moved to the NYC metro area from the rural Midwest, it took me about 2 weeks to figure out that there is a reason no one is "nice". Being nice just pisses everyone else off because being nice slows down the whole system.

No one expects you to be nice. People on the East Coast are not mean. They are efficient. People from the Midwest might interpret that as being mean, but that is wrong. East coast drivers accept that you might be a little delayed by having to wait your turn or wait for a break in the traffic to make your move. Being nice causes a bottleneck and that is unacceptable.

Gospel, this ^^

[Actor]

Originally Posted by Fager Fan

Lol. True. It's not yield to the car on the right anyway. It's who got there first. Then go in turn.

"Yield to the car on the right" is a "same time" rule.

[Actor]

Originally Posted by tucker6

OR signs saying slow down, blind child at play. How would a computer know?

Artificial vision. It's in the works.

[Actor]

What the auto industry is working on is a truly autonomous vehicle, one that will not need special highways. It's an exercise in artificial intelligence. The vehicle will be able to see the road, signs, the entire environment and act accordingly.

The ultimate will be when you trust the car enough to put the kids in the back seat and have it take them to school without anyone behind the wheel.

[tucker6]

Originally Posted by Actor

What the auto industry is working on is a truly autonomous vehicle, one that will not need special highways. It's an exercise in artificial intelligence. The vehicle will be able to see the road, signs, the entire environment and act accordingly.

The ultimate will be when you trust the car enough to put the kids in the back seat and have it take them to school without anyone behind the wheel.

what happens when that AI has a glitch due to a solar glare or some other interference, or simply due to a malfunction? Since nothing is 100% reliable, problems are inherent.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by tucker6

what happens when that AI has a glitch due to a solar glare or some other interference, or simply due to a malfunction? Since nothing is 100% reliable, problems are inherent.

Same thing that happens in the pizza place when a computer goes down now. The world starves rather than someone locating a pen and piece of paper.

[Actor]

Originally Posted by tucker6

what happens when that AI has a glitch due to a solar glare or some other interference, or simply due to a malfunction? Since nothing is 100% reliable, problems are inherent.

True. But humans are also not 100% reliable. The claim (or hope) is that the robot driver will make fewer mistakes than a human with a net saving of lives in the long run. We'll see.

[tucker6]

Oops...


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/b...rash.html?_r=0

[PaceAdvantage]

Wonder what the insurance rates are on these autonomous vehicles....

[tucker6]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

Wonder what the insurance rates are on these autonomous vehicles....

I guess the first question is why do people even need to have a self driving car? Is it too difficult to drive normally? I know geriatric and handicapped people may need such a car, but what about the other 90%? Seems like the market is smaller than the cost/benefit analysis needs it to be.

My gut tells me that as these cars advance toward being a commonplace occurrence on the road, states will more and more put stringent rules/laws in place to make it prohibitive to own one. Insurance rates will follow as well.

Edit to add that the contraption on the roof probably makes the vehicle top heavy, and thus why it turned onto its side. A wreck in an intersection rarely flips a car, so will be interesting to understand that dynamic as well.

[PaceAdvantage]

I'm curious as to the here and now...these cars ARE on the road today, and thus require insurance if they are on the road...my question is, how do the insurance companies see these vehicles in terms of risk, and thus, my question as to the rates that are currently being charged.