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"Now let’s compare these distances with the capabilities of various sensors:" Many cars monitor rotational speed of the tires in order to determine whether a w

"Now let’s compare these distances with the capabilities of various sensors:" Many cars monitor rotational speed of the tires in order to determine whether a wheel is slipping. A Model 3 can detect whether a tire is new or old based on tread depth, something I learned the hard way. If trucks were outfitted with rotational encoders on all tires, 'slipperiness' could be monitored periodically by, for example, tapping brakes and checking whether all wheels continue to rotate at the same speed. In emergency braking or maneuvering, the rotational speed of all tires can be input to the recovery algorithm to perform braking. If the brakes are independently controlled, this can be performed per wheel. More generally, trucks run in fleets and on routes. Similar to aircraft reporting turbulence so the next craft can adjust, trucks can report road conditions so that approaching trucks can adjust their speed or pull over completely if conditions are so bad.

ta8903 3y ago
>trucks run in fleets and on routes Makes me wonder if it would be more efficient to run trucks as "convoys", maybe consisting of competing companies along predetermined routes. And you could have an ultralight canary car go an appropriate distance along the front to ensure that in the worse case, it is the one that crashes.
- nine_k 3y ago
  You can even operate a small winged drone that would watch the conditions ahead of a convoy from a reasonable height, easily a few km ahead if needed.
thriftwy 3y ago
Trucks operating in fleet on the same route are called "the railway". That's what that your driverless fixed route trucks will have to compete with.
- nine_k 3y ago
  Unlike a railway train, trucks operating in fleets assemble and disassemble easily, without stopping, when their routes converge or diverge. They also can operate with a number of other vehicles between them. Rails are a more efficient interface to wheels, but also more demanding, and less flexible. 10-lane freeways are widespread, but most railways have two pairs of rails at best, and one pair in many places. You can't effectively use them without strict scheduling.

ta8903 3y ago

>trucks run in fleets and on routes Makes me wonder if it would be more efficient to run trucks as "convoys", maybe consisting of competing companies along predetermined routes. And you could have an ultralight canary car go an appropriate distance along the front to ensure that in the worse case, it is the one that crashes.

nine_k 3y ago
You can even operate a small winged drone that would watch the conditions ahead of a convoy from a reasonable height, easily a few km ahead if needed.

thriftwy 3y ago

Trucks operating in fleet on the same route are called "the railway". That's what that your driverless fixed route trucks will have to compete with.

nine_k 3y ago
Unlike a railway train, trucks operating in fleets assemble and disassemble easily, without stopping, when their routes converge or diverge. They also can operate with a number of other vehicles between them. Rails are a more efficient interface to wheels, but also more demanding, and less flexible. 10-lane freeways are widespread, but most railways have two pairs of rails at best, and one pair in many places. You can't effectively use them without strict scheduling.