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Similar to how pilots often ascend from freighters to passenger aircraft, self-driving systems should have started driving freight through the desert. (Or minin
by hengheng 3y ago
Similar to how pilots often ascend from freighters to passenger aircraft, self-driving systems should have started driving freight through the desert. (Or mining pits, for that matter.)
Passenger operation as well as operation around people should have come much later, and step by step. Error rates must be determined step by step, and reliability ratings must be earned, similar to ETOPS.
I can only see one reason why they would begin with taxi operations, the driving task with the most visible showing of servitude, and that reason has to do with US history.
- AlotOfReading 3y agoUrban taxis are also the most straightforwardly profitable part of the driving industry. Rural taxis can't be as profitable because they're spending more time in the driving phase (lower margin) and the distance between fares is much higher. Worse, almost all of your customers have alternative transportation that doesn't need to drive to their location that they'd rather use and the possibility of fare sharing doesn't exist to reduce prices. It's a difficult, low margin market to compete in, a terrible choice to demo your expensive and unproven technology.