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It's odd that there is so much interest in automated driving of trucks, which is a really hard problem, but very little interest in automatic shunting operation
by ant6n 6y ago
It's odd that there is so much interest in automated driving of trucks, which is a really hard problem, but very little interest in automatic shunting operations, which is technically easy in comparison. It would enable trains to compete better on trips which are shorter and/or have less volume.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y agoIt's a union job. Same reason the longshoremen use antiquated written methods for tracking shipping containers in port.
- liability 6y agoThe second season of The Wire comes to mind; perhaps longshoremen are wary of digitization because it would threaten their 'supplemental income.'
- jcranmer 6y agoOffhand, I suspect it's a labor issue. The real labor issue for transportation is in finding people to do long-distance drives, and the mandatory rest periods you have to have in those positions. In contrast, local transportation allows people to go home to their families every night, and given that the crew also partakes in other tasks (such as handling sign-offs and manifests), it's not immediately clear to me that you could actually eliminate human positions with automation.