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What I don't get is, if we're so close to this becoming a reality, why isn't the lower hanging fruit of train/locomotive automation already here? That seems to
by FooHentai 10y ago
What I don't get is, if we're so close to this becoming a reality, why isn't the lower hanging fruit of train/locomotive automation already here?
That seems to be an order of magnitude simpler issue to solve, and yet we don't seem to be there yet. Granted, forms of automation have penetrated that industry - deadmans switches, automated signalling and such. But there's still a human at the helm of every freight loco.
Smaller scale urban light rail deployments seem to have got close to full automation, presumably due to being able to embed all the necessary elements into the end-to-end installation of the system (signalling, stock, cameras/sensors etc).
How can the kind of full automation that would put truck drivers out of work, arrive before the kind that would put train drivers out of work?
- maxerickson 10y agoTrains may be easier to automate, but 100 train cars already only have 1 driver. There is a lot less cost that can be removed there than for trucking. Even just deskilling trucking offers the opportunity for bigger cost savings.
- 4ad 10y agoBecause in the grand scheme of things, train drivers cost nothing. A single train driver moves 100x more stuff than a truck driver.
- Tsagadai 10y agoIt is, it just isn't widely distributed. BHP and Rio Tinto operate automated trains in large areas of Australia.
- ucho 10y agoWell, if we talk about trains ... the future is already here. Humans where deemed unworthy to drive high speed trains so ETCS[1] takes over almost everything. The drivers are in cabin for the same reasons we still have pilots in airplanes - just in case. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Train_Control_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Train_Control_System