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The first two DARPA Grand Challenges took place on dirt roads. Well maintained dirt roads but dirt roads nonetheless.
by eco 9y ago
The first two DARPA Grand Challenges took place on dirt roads. Well maintained dirt roads but dirt roads nonetheless.
- ghaff 9y agoWell-graded dirt roads in good weather aren't really challenging other than not having lane markers. (Which is pretty much a trivial issue for a human.) Maybe you need to slow down a bit if it gets washboardy. The challenge is as roads get narrower (<2 cars), rougher, etc. to the point where you really need high-clearance 4WD and may even have to deal with washouts, etc. I don't expect you'll see autonomous driving systems get here for many decades if only because it's not worthwhile to do so and so much is dependent on evaluating the current conditions on the ground.
- eco 9y agoJust an aside but you actually want to do the counterintuitive thing and speed up on washboardy roads (provided it is safe to do so). Higher speed means your vehicle won't have time to be pulled down into dips letting you ride smoothly supported by the peaks.