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Can it drive in the rain and at night? Can it stop when a dog runs across its path? Before robotic cars are viable, we'll first need cars that prevent human d

Can it drive in the rain and at night? Can it stop when a dog runs across its path? Before robotic cars are viable, we'll first need cars that prevent human drivers from causing an accident. If a car can't stop a human driver from crashing, how can it stop itself? And if people were to see accident rates plummeting for new cars, they would have the confidence that robotic vehicles will be safe too. We can test robotic safety before the first robotic car takes to the road.

tomkarlo 14y ago
A robotic car can adjust to inclement conditions more effectively than a human will - not only can it use detection systems that are less hampered by rain than our vision, it also can adjust its driving to account for the change in braking distances, etc. We already have cars today that can stop a human from crashing - there are cars that will automatically apply the brakes to avoid a collision (Volvo has one for pedestrians, Toyota for objects, some are in production), and can maintain a set distance to the car in front of them on a roadway (auto cruise control). Those are both a form of automation / robotics, even if the car makers don't like to call it that.
- Qworg 14y ago
  No, sorry, it can't. It comes down to sensor systems. The Google Car uses a Velodyne - and it is terrible in heavy rain, snow, or fog. It has radar, but that isn't accurate enough to allow driving. The human eye is an amazing sensor, one we can't even get close to with our current technology.
  - tomkarlo 14y ago
    So you're taking the current state of the prototype, and projecting it out five-odd years to the capabilities of the final projection model? Google can make the sensors on the car better in each iteration, but our eyes aren't going to be changing. The human eye is amazing, yes, but it has severe limitations relative to other types of sensors, which we have to compensate for with systems like headlights and street lamps. It's also backed by a recognition system that wasn't really ever designed to work at >20 MPH.
  - Aloisius 14y ago
    I'd still take a self-driving car even if it pulled over to the side of the road and forced me to drive in heavy rain, snow and fog.
  - VMG 14y ago
    > The human eye is an amazing sensor, one we can't even get close to with our current technology. It's a pretty bad sensor. We can only see certain wavelengths need corrective devices, have a blind spot and can only focus on a small part of our visual field. And if the system gets tired and the sensors shut down.
danielweber 14y ago
In the rain: pretty good At night: much better than a human who can only see visible light Stop for a dog: no problem at all You haven't addressed the real problems: In the snow: lane markers disappear False positives: a load of snow falling off the car in front of you, or a garbage bag flying across the road, can both cause the car to go paranoid. It's still vastly better than ugly bags of mostly water

tomkarlo 14y ago

A robotic car can adjust to inclement conditions more effectively than a human will - not only can it use detection systems that are less hampered by rain than our vision, it also can adjust its driving to account for the change in braking distances, etc. We already have cars today that can stop a human from crashing - there are cars that will automatically apply the brakes to avoid a collision (Volvo has one for pedestrians, Toyota for objects, some are in production), and can maintain a set distance to the car in front of them on a roadway (auto cruise control). Those are both a form of automation / robotics, even if the car makers don't like to call it that.

Qworg 14y ago
No, sorry, it can't. It comes down to sensor systems. The Google Car uses a Velodyne - and it is terrible in heavy rain, snow, or fog. It has radar, but that isn't accurate enough to allow driving. The human eye is an amazing sensor, one we can't even get close to with our current technology.
- tomkarlo 14y ago
  So you're taking the current state of the prototype, and projecting it out five-odd years to the capabilities of the final projection model? Google can make the sensors on the car better in each iteration, but our eyes aren't going to be changing. The human eye is amazing, yes, but it has severe limitations relative to other types of sensors, which we have to compensate for with systems like headlights and street lamps. It's also backed by a recognition system that wasn't really ever designed to work at >20 MPH.
- Aloisius 14y ago
  I'd still take a self-driving car even if it pulled over to the side of the road and forced me to drive in heavy rain, snow and fog.
- VMG 14y ago
  > The human eye is an amazing sensor, one we can't even get close to with our current technology. It's a pretty bad sensor. We can only see certain wavelengths need corrective devices, have a blind spot and can only focus on a small part of our visual field. And if the system gets tired and the sensors shut down.

danielweber 14y ago

In the rain: pretty good At night: much better than a human who can only see visible light Stop for a dog: no problem at all You haven't addressed the real problems: In the snow: lane markers disappear False positives: a load of snow falling off the car in front of you, or a garbage bag flying across the road, can both cause the car to go paranoid. It's still vastly better than ugly bags of mostly water