4 ms·

And all this is happening with a spec of dust sized brain for processing. Meanwhile we need acres of datacenters, satellites in space and lasers on top of car t

And all this is happening with a spec of dust sized brain for processing. Meanwhile we need acres of datacenters, satellites in space and lasers on top of car to stay on a road. We have obviously missed something.

pavel_lishin 9y ago
Yeah, but they've got a 99 million year head start on us.
- KON_Air 9y ago
  That and the speck of dust is not really doing much work.
  - entelechy0 9y ago
    One might argue that this is the default state of life on Earth; a speck of dust not really doing much work =\
bhewes 9y ago
Driving is more about avoiding other big brained humans then any environmental obstacles.
adrianN 9y ago
If you're now thinking "Why don't we just use insects to control our robots?", you're not alone: http://www.conceptlab.com/roachbot/ http://www.conceptlab.com/roachbot/
- jv22222 9y ago
  That is very interesting. Worthy of it's own spot at the top of HN. Thanks for posting.
PhasmaFelis 9y ago
Ants don't care if several hundred colony members accidentally die in the course of completing a task, though, which changes the parameters a lot. Making a car that stays on the road, like, 95% of the time is probably easier than making up the last 5%.
clairity 9y ago
insightful observation. biology is so amazing! but to be fair, the tiny processor in the phone in your pocket is pretty amazing as well. it seems that electronic circuitry is maybe a 1.5 dimensional structure (mostly linear, even if parallel, with some branching). brains/nervous systems are fully 4 dimensional, which is what allows them to be so powerful in such a small space. it will be fascinating to watch how we close that dimensional gap over the next few decades.
kenver 9y ago
You might find Rodney Brooks’ work interesting if you’re not familiar already.
nine_k 9y ago
Ants have no road to stay on, and a loss of some of them does not affect the colony much. Human car roads are extremely codified, and a self-driving car that drives as we as an average human would have an extremely poor reputation and no chance to take over driving.
Gravityloss 9y ago
"Structure and function of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) brains" - fascinating reading. http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/dornhaus/courses/read_ECOL597S/AntBrainRev%20MyrmecolNews08.pdf http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/dornhaus/courses/read_ECOL...

pavel_lishin 9y ago

Yeah, but they've got a 99 million year head start on us.

KON_Air 9y ago
That and the speck of dust is not really doing much work.
- entelechy0 9y ago
  One might argue that this is the default state of life on Earth; a speck of dust not really doing much work =\

bhewes 9y ago

Driving is more about avoiding other big brained humans then any environmental obstacles.

adrianN 9y ago

If you're now thinking "Why don't we just use insects to control our robots?", you're not alone: http://www.conceptlab.com/roachbot/ http://www.conceptlab.com/roachbot/

jv22222 9y ago
That is very interesting. Worthy of it's own spot at the top of HN. Thanks for posting.

PhasmaFelis 9y ago

Ants don't care if several hundred colony members accidentally die in the course of completing a task, though, which changes the parameters a lot. Making a car that stays on the road, like, 95% of the time is probably easier than making up the last 5%.

clairity 9y ago

insightful observation. biology is so amazing! but to be fair, the tiny processor in the phone in your pocket is pretty amazing as well. it seems that electronic circuitry is maybe a 1.5 dimensional structure (mostly linear, even if parallel, with some branching). brains/nervous systems are fully 4 dimensional, which is what allows them to be so powerful in such a small space. it will be fascinating to watch how we close that dimensional gap over the next few decades.

kenver 9y ago

You might find Rodney Brooks’ work interesting if you’re not familiar already.

nine_k 9y ago

Ants have no road to stay on, and a loss of some of them does not affect the colony much. Human car roads are extremely codified, and a self-driving car that drives as we as an average human would have an extremely poor reputation and no chance to take over driving.

Gravityloss 9y ago

"Structure and function of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) brains" - fascinating reading. http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/dornhaus/courses/read_ECOL597S/AntBrainRev%20MyrmecolNews08.pdf http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/dornhaus/courses/read_ECOL...