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I think it will be way easier to rebuild our infrastructure around self driving than to teach computers how to react to human drivers.

by tootie 5y ago

justicezyx 5y ago
I agree. Modern cars depend on modern road infrastructure. Like traffic lights, lane markers, traffic engineering, etc, enabled the efficiency and convenience we enjoy today. And this infrastructure was built for human driver. And they do not work well for software driver.
- thereisnospork 5y ago
  >And this infrastructure was built for human driver. And they do not work well for software driver. How much would it cost though for parallel infrastructure that is suitable for a software driver? (better signage, rfid tags in the roads, 'smart' traffic cones, etc.) For say the Bay Area. 10 billion to a few hundred billion? Speaking for myself, I'd be happy to pay say an additional 1% sales tax if it meant facilitating an area wide 24/7 autonomous 'public transit' taxi service, presumably with at-cost per mile fares.
  - justicezyx 5y ago
    I don't know. There has not been any serious effort in theoretizing the changes needed for software driver. The so-called vechle and road codesign has been mostly gimmick as far as I know.
silisili 5y ago
I've considered this before, but never ironed out details. What would it entail? Magnets/IR/Beacons of some type marking roads and lanes? And each car would need them too I guess. It doesn't sound insurmountable, especially if the auto manufacturers worked together on speccing it out.
- mojuba 5y ago
  Recognizing the roads is not the biggest problem, it seems. It's the myriad of purely human situations. Anything and anyone can suddenly appear on the road in front of the car, not just traffic cones. Which means the AI needs a pretty much full understanding of the world it operates in. On the other hand, isolating the roads for AV's from us may become a major inconvenience. I really don't see how this tech can evolve today, unless cars learn to fly already.
mike00632 5y ago
Why not trains then? We could put the vehicles on tracks and link them together for extreme space and energy efficiency.
- lupire 5y ago
  How long a train do we need to take me to the grocery store?
  - ryan_lane 5y ago
    You don't need a long train, you just need enough to cause most people to not drive, then the grocery store will come to you. Seriously, though, check out the density of grocery stores in areas with good public transportation. Your grocery store is far away from you, and huge, with a giant parking lot, because of cars. I have 3 grocery stores within a 5 minute walk. I also have 3 bakeries, a general butcher shop, two chicken butcher shops, 4 convenience stores, 3 dry cleaners, numerous clinics, and too many restaurants to count. Cars ruin your city and you're simply unaware.

I think it will be way easier to rebuild our infrastructure around self driving than to teach computers how to react to human drivers.

by tootie 5y ago

I think it will be way easier to rebuild our infrastructure around self driving than to teach computers how to react to human drivers.

justicezyx 5y ago

I agree. Modern cars depend on modern road infrastructure. Like traffic lights, lane markers, traffic engineering, etc, enabled the efficiency and convenience we enjoy today. And this infrastructure was built for human driver. And they do not work well for software driver.

thereisnospork 5y ago
>And this infrastructure was built for human driver. And they do not work well for software driver. How much would it cost though for parallel infrastructure that is suitable for a software driver? (better signage, rfid tags in the roads, 'smart' traffic cones, etc.) For say the Bay Area. 10 billion to a few hundred billion? Speaking for myself, I'd be happy to pay say an additional 1% sales tax if it meant facilitating an area wide 24/7 autonomous 'public transit' taxi service, presumably with at-cost per mile fares.
- justicezyx 5y ago
  I don't know. There has not been any serious effort in theoretizing the changes needed for software driver. The so-called vechle and road codesign has been mostly gimmick as far as I know.

silisili 5y ago

I've considered this before, but never ironed out details. What would it entail? Magnets/IR/Beacons of some type marking roads and lanes? And each car would need them too I guess. It doesn't sound insurmountable, especially if the auto manufacturers worked together on speccing it out.

mojuba 5y ago
Recognizing the roads is not the biggest problem, it seems. It's the myriad of purely human situations. Anything and anyone can suddenly appear on the road in front of the car, not just traffic cones. Which means the AI needs a pretty much full understanding of the world it operates in. On the other hand, isolating the roads for AV's from us may become a major inconvenience. I really don't see how this tech can evolve today, unless cars learn to fly already.

mike00632 5y ago

Why not trains then? We could put the vehicles on tracks and link them together for extreme space and energy efficiency.

lupire 5y ago
How long a train do we need to take me to the grocery store?
- ryan_lane 5y ago
  You don't need a long train, you just need enough to cause most people to not drive, then the grocery store will come to you. Seriously, though, check out the density of grocery stores in areas with good public transportation. Your grocery store is far away from you, and huge, with a giant parking lot, because of cars. I have 3 grocery stores within a 5 minute walk. I also have 3 bakeries, a general butcher shop, two chicken butcher shops, 4 convenience stores, 3 dry cleaners, numerous clinics, and too many restaurants to count. Cars ruin your city and you're simply unaware.