5 ms·

The license plate thing is interesting. Why is it necessary to explicitly distinguish it as an autonomous vehicle?

by splatzone 14y ago

unimpressive 14y ago
So people know to be wary. Not everyone has as much faith in these things as the HN crowd.
- stcredzero 14y ago
  I'd like to see the accidents/operation-mile figures. I think that will be instructive.
  - MaxGabriel 14y ago
    Mostly I've read 160k miles with one accident so far, a fender bender blamed on a human driver. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390602,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390602,00.asp "Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder who has taken the self-driving car and other special projects under his wing, has he wants the self-driving car to drive a million miles without an accident. The company has also patented a "landing strip" for the cars, able to orient it or transfer information to it via short-range wireless technologies."
    - learc83 14y ago
      >a fender bender blamed on a human driver Just to be clear, it was a human driver operating the Google car. The car wasn't operating autonomously at all when the accident occurred, so 0 accidents so far.
- jfoutz 14y ago
  It's all in the black box. After an autonomous vehicle crash, all of the decision making state will be available so no autonomous car makes the same mistake ever again. Unlike teenagers, which can merely be encouraged to drive appropriately.
  - ghshephard 14y ago
    Even better - not only will the code/telemetry equipment that made that mistake be replaced, ideally the design/implementation procedures that resulted in that mistake in the first place will be reviewed. Given how frequently it will be used, I'd hope to see the same level of methodology we see with Space Control Software. See: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html for a nice article on this sort of software. I like the following comment: "Bill Pate, who's worked on the space flight software over the last 22 years, says the group understands the stakes: "If the software isn't perfect, some of the people we go to meetings with might die."
- induscreep 14y ago
  Ever took a long haul flight? A robot was flying your airplane 10000 feet in the air (autopilot). Why wouldn't people accept something that drives on the ground, at much lower speeds?
MaxGabriel 14y ago
Sounds like its a warning for now (edit: I think that's implied by the switch from red to green), and maybe a degree of bragging when they're made for the public: “I felt using the infinity symbol was the best way to represent the ‘car of the future,’ ” said department Director Bruce Breslow. “The unique red plate will be easily recognized by the public and law enforcement and will be used only for licensed autonomous test vehicles. When there comes a time that vehicle manufactures market autonomous vehicles to the public, that infinity symbol will appear on a green license plate.” [1] I think there could be an element of marketing to it, too: Google labelled its self-driving cars to distinguish them from its StreetView cars, because people didn't notice the difference[2]. Moreover, they proudly label "Self-Driving Car" in big letters on their vehicles. [1] http://www.nevadanewsbureau.com/2012/05/07/nevada-dmv-issues-first-autonomous-vehicle-license-to-google/ http://www.nevadanewsbureau.com/2012/05/07/nevada-dmv-issues... [2] A Thrun Udacity lecture I think
- EwanG 14y ago
  When the "auto" mobiles first came out, you had to have someone in front waving a flag to alert those on horses and in carriages that you were coming. I figure this is the modern day equivalent (and about as useful). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_flag_laws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_flag_laws

The license plate thing is interesting. Why is it necessary to explicitly distinguish it as an autonomous vehicle?

unimpressive 14y ago

So people know to be wary. Not everyone has as much faith in these things as the HN crowd.

stcredzero 14y ago
I'd like to see the accidents/operation-mile figures. I think that will be instructive.
- MaxGabriel 14y ago
  Mostly I've read 160k miles with one accident so far, a fender bender blamed on a human driver. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390602,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390602,00.asp "Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder who has taken the self-driving car and other special projects under his wing, has he wants the self-driving car to drive a million miles without an accident. The company has also patented a "landing strip" for the cars, able to orient it or transfer information to it via short-range wireless technologies."
  - learc83 14y ago
    >a fender bender blamed on a human driver Just to be clear, it was a human driver operating the Google car. The car wasn't operating autonomously at all when the accident occurred, so 0 accidents so far.
jfoutz 14y ago
It's all in the black box. After an autonomous vehicle crash, all of the decision making state will be available so no autonomous car makes the same mistake ever again. Unlike teenagers, which can merely be encouraged to drive appropriately.
- ghshephard 14y ago
  Even better - not only will the code/telemetry equipment that made that mistake be replaced, ideally the design/implementation procedures that resulted in that mistake in the first place will be reviewed. Given how frequently it will be used, I'd hope to see the same level of methodology we see with Space Control Software. See: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html for a nice article on this sort of software. I like the following comment: "Bill Pate, who's worked on the space flight software over the last 22 years, says the group understands the stakes: "If the software isn't perfect, some of the people we go to meetings with might die."
induscreep 14y ago
Ever took a long haul flight? A robot was flying your airplane 10000 feet in the air (autopilot). Why wouldn't people accept something that drives on the ground, at much lower speeds?

MaxGabriel 14y ago

Sounds like its a warning for now (edit: I think that's implied by the switch from red to green), and maybe a degree of bragging when they're made for the public: “I felt using the infinity symbol was the best way to represent the ‘car of the future,’ ” said department Director Bruce Breslow. “The unique red plate will be easily recognized by the public and law enforcement and will be used only for licensed autonomous test vehicles. When there comes a time that vehicle manufactures market autonomous vehicles to the public, that infinity symbol will appear on a green license plate.” [1] I think there could be an element of marketing to it, too: Google labelled its self-driving cars to distinguish them from its StreetView cars, because people didn't notice the difference[2]. Moreover, they proudly label "Self-Driving Car" in big letters on their vehicles. [1] http://www.nevadanewsbureau.com/2012/05/07/nevada-dmv-issues-first-autonomous-vehicle-license-to-google/ http://www.nevadanewsbureau.com/2012/05/07/nevada-dmv-issues... [2] A Thrun Udacity lecture I think

EwanG 14y ago
When the "auto" mobiles first came out, you had to have someone in front waving a flag to alert those on horses and in carriages that you were coming. I figure this is the modern day equivalent (and about as useful). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_flag_laws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_flag_laws