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(Not that this effort is intended to do so, but)... Guessing without wrecks, autonomous racing would likely never become mainstream.

by nxzero 11y ago

taneq 11y ago
Racing is about pushing the limit until something breaks, then easing juust slightly back from that limit. There will always be crashes, equipment failures, and things blowing up.
joshu 11y ago
Normal racing involves a fair bit of collision, too. There are at least a few teams out there with working robots. The racetrack is a much more controlled environment than the street, and there is a great deal more safety set up.
- Animats 11y ago
  Also, this particular raceway is in an isolated area.[1] There's lots of open space if anything goes badly wrong. [1] https://goo.gl/maps/1oTTBJNGEjL2 https://goo.gl/maps/1oTTBJNGEjL2
  - joshu 11y ago
    Beyond that it's actually Thunderhill West, which is the smaller track to the west. In that photo, it doesn't even exist except as a bunch of dirt trails.
- joshu 11y ago
  Edit: I think parent means that the wrecking is what people are watching for? There's not a lot of spectators in club racing. This isn't for spectators anyway.
  - nxzero 11y ago
    Exactly, race clubs are for racing, not wrecking. Mainstream racing is designed to entertain the fan(antic)s - and they watch the races for the wrecks.
    - nl 11y ago
      Are you from the US? Most non-US race series (F1, MotoGP etc) don't have lots of crashes. When they do occur they tend to be annoying for spectators because they occur somewhere else on the track and they interrupt the racing.
      - elsurudo 11y ago
        Not to mention that despite being "exciting", most people would probably prefer they didn't happen, as when they do occur, they can be fatal. I'm talking mostly about F1 here, as that is how I personally feel. I mean, when a crash occurs, naturally I do want to see it, but it can be an exiting race without crashes...
        nxzero 11y ago
        Good points, though... Some of the best known, and as a result watched races are the ones that had wrecks; my opinion. Personally, I don't watch races, and do either street racing, long distance, or bad weather driving; which is it say that I don't care for race tracks personally.
adrianN 11y ago
If the robots don't run a significant risk of crashing, they'll probably lose to those that do.
exDM69 11y ago
There will be wrecks (probably unintentional) but why do you think they'll be required to make AI racing mainstream? I hear this often from people who don't actually watch racing. Yes, wrecks can be spectacular and dangerous, but overall it usually doesn't make a race more interesting. The wreck is over in seconds, the driver usually/hopefully walks away and then there's minutes worth of clean up effort with yellow flags and safety cars afterwards. American broadcasts typically give you ads, but European race broadcasts don't have ads when the race is going on. So you end up watching a bunch of guys with brooms cleaning carbon fiber bits from the track when you could be watching racing instead. Then there's the cost aspect. For an amateur series like this, the teams can't afford to crash many cars. Additionally, when there's humans on board there's always the worry about the driver being alright. After seeing a few fatal crashes unfold in live broadcasts, I don't really want to see any more. It puts things into perspective when you realize that these guys risk their lives to provide you with entertainment. I don't think many "mainstream" racing fans enjoy seeing crashes.
- SmellyGeekBoy 11y ago
  Not a hardcore racing fan but I have a casual interest in all forms of motorsport and I share your sentiments. On that note, I wonder how "self aware" the robot drivers will have to become before people start raising similar ethical concerns about their welfare? Really interesting to ponder.
Aaargh20318 11y ago
This will be far more exciting to watch than regular racing. Look at Formula 1, they keep changing the rules in order to gimp the cars for safety reasons. Get rid of the drivers and we can let go of the safety limitations.
- CWuestefeld 11y ago
  Get rid of the drivers and we can let go of the safety limitations Not entirely. There have been a number of horrifying wrecks where spectators have been hurt and even killed. We need to protect against that. Example: The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race in Le Mans, France in June 1955, when a crash caused large fragments of debris to fly into the crowd. Eighty-three spectators and driver Pierre Levegh died and 120 more were injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster

(Not that this effort is intended to do so, but)... Guessing without wrecks, autonomous racing would likely never become mainstream.

by nxzero 11y ago

(Not that this effort is intended to do so, but)... Guessing without wrecks, autonomous racing would likely never become mainstream.

taneq 11y ago

Racing is about pushing the limit until something breaks, then easing juust slightly back from that limit. There will always be crashes, equipment failures, and things blowing up.

joshu 11y ago

Normal racing involves a fair bit of collision, too. There are at least a few teams out there with working robots. The racetrack is a much more controlled environment than the street, and there is a great deal more safety set up.

Animats 11y ago
Also, this particular raceway is in an isolated area.[1] There's lots of open space if anything goes badly wrong. [1] https://goo.gl/maps/1oTTBJNGEjL2 https://goo.gl/maps/1oTTBJNGEjL2
- joshu 11y ago
  Beyond that it's actually Thunderhill West, which is the smaller track to the west. In that photo, it doesn't even exist except as a bunch of dirt trails.
joshu 11y ago
Edit: I think parent means that the wrecking is what people are watching for? There's not a lot of spectators in club racing. This isn't for spectators anyway.
- nxzero 11y ago
  Exactly, race clubs are for racing, not wrecking. Mainstream racing is designed to entertain the fan(antic)s - and they watch the races for the wrecks.
  - nl 11y ago
    Are you from the US? Most non-US race series (F1, MotoGP etc) don't have lots of crashes. When they do occur they tend to be annoying for spectators because they occur somewhere else on the track and they interrupt the racing.
    - elsurudo 11y ago
      Not to mention that despite being "exciting", most people would probably prefer they didn't happen, as when they do occur, they can be fatal. I'm talking mostly about F1 here, as that is how I personally feel. I mean, when a crash occurs, naturally I do want to see it, but it can be an exiting race without crashes...
      - nxzero 11y ago
        Good points, though... Some of the best known, and as a result watched races are the ones that had wrecks; my opinion. Personally, I don't watch races, and do either street racing, long distance, or bad weather driving; which is it say that I don't care for race tracks personally.

adrianN 11y ago

If the robots don't run a significant risk of crashing, they'll probably lose to those that do.

exDM69 11y ago

There will be wrecks (probably unintentional) but why do you think they'll be required to make AI racing mainstream? I hear this often from people who don't actually watch racing. Yes, wrecks can be spectacular and dangerous, but overall it usually doesn't make a race more interesting. The wreck is over in seconds, the driver usually/hopefully walks away and then there's minutes worth of clean up effort with yellow flags and safety cars afterwards. American broadcasts typically give you ads, but European race broadcasts don't have ads when the race is going on. So you end up watching a bunch of guys with brooms cleaning carbon fiber bits from the track when you could be watching racing instead. Then there's the cost aspect. For an amateur series like this, the teams can't afford to crash many cars. Additionally, when there's humans on board there's always the worry about the driver being alright. After seeing a few fatal crashes unfold in live broadcasts, I don't really want to see any more. It puts things into perspective when you realize that these guys risk their lives to provide you with entertainment. I don't think many "mainstream" racing fans enjoy seeing crashes.

SmellyGeekBoy 11y ago
Not a hardcore racing fan but I have a casual interest in all forms of motorsport and I share your sentiments. On that note, I wonder how "self aware" the robot drivers will have to become before people start raising similar ethical concerns about their welfare? Really interesting to ponder.

Aaargh20318 11y ago

This will be far more exciting to watch than regular racing. Look at Formula 1, they keep changing the rules in order to gimp the cars for safety reasons. Get rid of the drivers and we can let go of the safety limitations.

CWuestefeld 11y ago
Get rid of the drivers and we can let go of the safety limitations Not entirely. There have been a number of horrifying wrecks where spectators have been hurt and even killed. We need to protect against that. Example: The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race in Le Mans, France in June 1955, when a crash caused large fragments of debris to fly into the crowd. Eighty-three spectators and driver Pierre Levegh died and 120 more were injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster