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The amount of sensor data that Google could pick up from a fleet of self-driving cars is staggering. If Google wanted, they could use these Self-Driving cars t

The amount of sensor data that Google could pick up from a fleet of self-driving cars is staggering. If Google wanted, they could use these Self-Driving cars to: 1. Convert Streetview to show same-day photos. 2. Bring in Traffic data that is WAY more precise than phone GPS pings. 3. Scan for and report open parking spots 4. Monitor for design-based congestion problems (e.g. no-bike-lane street with lots of bike traffic, areas where speeding is norm) 5. Track location of food trucks in real time. 6. Monitor foot traffic by street address.

jonknee 12y ago
> 2. Bring in Traffic data that is WAY more precise than phone GPS pings. They already have that with Waze.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
afarrell 12y ago
#5 is probably more easily done by selling it as a service to the food trucks themselves, who then self-report.
- jonknee 12y ago
  Twitter serves this purpose currently (not terribly well, but with food tricks trying to be hip that's almost the point).
- psbp 12y ago
  This would be a great ecological experiment.
lftl 12y ago
Throw in some license plate recognition and they could track individual car locations with a pretty wide breadth.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Or track individuals with facial recognition; my understanding is that Facebook's facial recognition algorithm is very accurate, not sure where Google's tech is in this regard.
  - stingraycharles 12y ago
    Isnt Picasa owned by Google? Their facial recognition is pretty accurate too, not noticeably different from Facebook's imho.
    - chavesn 12y ago
      OT here, but I've used Picasa's facial recognition extensively on a very large library of photos (about 50,000). Anecdotally, I would say it started out very good, but, strangely, it got much worse over time. Part or all of this effect may have been due to UI bugs or deficiencies that didn't clearly show what it was really trying to tell me (does it really think this is a new person, or separate for some other reason?), or didn't allow for subtle variations on what I was trying to tell it (such as "no, but good guess", or "this looks nothing like the person, but actually is")[1]. I can only guess why this is, but at first it seemed to be quite good at finding new faces that looked very similar to the ones it had found so far. Over time, it's as if the wide variety of confirmed positives reduced the confidence in finding any new faces at all. [1]: It was somewhat confusing whether I should select and move a bunch of wrong faces to the right person, or just say no and let it try again. It might have also helped if I'd been able to say "yes these are all the same person, but I don't want to name them in my database".
  - nemothekid 12y ago
    Eric Schmidt said a while back that they have the technology and is probably pretty accurate, but they want to avoid building a facial recognition database. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/01/facial-recognition-google_n_869583.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/01/facial-recognition-...
  - mcpherrinm 12y ago
psbp 12y ago
The last few struck me a few years ago when this was first announced. The first company that rolls these out will have so much power over commerce in general. I can imagine Google offering a service to help optimize those kinds of variables for businesses and consumers alike.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
civilian 12y ago
How about scoring people's driving ability based on their car's actions, record licenses plate numbers, and report it to insurance companies. As someone who is a good-but-fast driver, I am not sure how I feel about this.
- ihsw 12y ago
  If it reduces insurance rates and accident rates, is that good? If such scoring technology is mandatory at the behest of insurance agencies, is that bad? If 'naked' cars -- cars whom are lacking the scoring technology -- are prohibited on certain roads at certain times, is that good? Self-driving cars will be the gold standard that humans are measured against, how we apply that standard is something else entirely.
- Pxtl 12y ago
  > As someone who is a good-but-fast driver, I am not sure how I feel about this Every fast driver thinks this about themselves.
  - toomuchtodo 12y ago
    Slow drivers typically also think they're safer, because they equate speed to safety.
    - orbifold 12y ago
      If all other circumstances are equal this is true from a physical standpoint, as E = 1/2 m v^2, at least as long no high speed driver crashes into them.
      - mitochondrion 12y ago
        The problem is that we humans throw a wrench into the mix. Slow drivers even cause irrationality in other drivers; I would like to consider myself competent, but I'm willing to admit that a bumbling old fart in his Mercedes can get on my nerves. I realize that, "if all other circumstances are equal," was specifically mentioned.

jonknee 12y ago

> 2. Bring in Traffic data that is WAY more precise than phone GPS pings. They already have that with Waze.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

afarrell 12y ago

#5 is probably more easily done by selling it as a service to the food trucks themselves, who then self-report.

jonknee 12y ago
Twitter serves this purpose currently (not terribly well, but with food tricks trying to be hip that's almost the point).
psbp 12y ago
This would be a great ecological experiment.

lftl 12y ago

Throw in some license plate recognition and they could track individual car locations with a pretty wide breadth.

toomuchtodo 12y ago
Or track individuals with facial recognition; my understanding is that Facebook's facial recognition algorithm is very accurate, not sure where Google's tech is in this regard.
- stingraycharles 12y ago
  Isnt Picasa owned by Google? Their facial recognition is pretty accurate too, not noticeably different from Facebook's imho.
  - chavesn 12y ago
    OT here, but I've used Picasa's facial recognition extensively on a very large library of photos (about 50,000). Anecdotally, I would say it started out very good, but, strangely, it got much worse over time. Part or all of this effect may have been due to UI bugs or deficiencies that didn't clearly show what it was really trying to tell me (does it really think this is a new person, or separate for some other reason?), or didn't allow for subtle variations on what I was trying to tell it (such as "no, but good guess", or "this looks nothing like the person, but actually is")[1]. I can only guess why this is, but at first it seemed to be quite good at finding new faces that looked very similar to the ones it had found so far. Over time, it's as if the wide variety of confirmed positives reduced the confidence in finding any new faces at all. [1]: It was somewhat confusing whether I should select and move a bunch of wrong faces to the right person, or just say no and let it try again. It might have also helped if I'd been able to say "yes these are all the same person, but I don't want to name them in my database".
- nemothekid 12y ago
  Eric Schmidt said a while back that they have the technology and is probably pretty accurate, but they want to avoid building a facial recognition database. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/01/facial-recognition-google_n_869583.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/01/facial-recognition-...
- mcpherrinm 12y ago

psbp 12y ago

The last few struck me a few years ago when this was first announced. The first company that rolls these out will have so much power over commerce in general. I can imagine Google offering a service to help optimize those kinds of variables for businesses and consumers alike.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

civilian 12y ago

How about scoring people's driving ability based on their car's actions, record licenses plate numbers, and report it to insurance companies. As someone who is a good-but-fast driver, I am not sure how I feel about this.

ihsw 12y ago
If it reduces insurance rates and accident rates, is that good? If such scoring technology is mandatory at the behest of insurance agencies, is that bad? If 'naked' cars -- cars whom are lacking the scoring technology -- are prohibited on certain roads at certain times, is that good? Self-driving cars will be the gold standard that humans are measured against, how we apply that standard is something else entirely.
Pxtl 12y ago
> As someone who is a good-but-fast driver, I am not sure how I feel about this Every fast driver thinks this about themselves.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Slow drivers typically also think they're safer, because they equate speed to safety.
  - orbifold 12y ago
    If all other circumstances are equal this is true from a physical standpoint, as E = 1/2 m v^2, at least as long no high speed driver crashes into them.
    - mitochondrion 12y ago
      The problem is that we humans throw a wrench into the mix. Slow drivers even cause irrationality in other drivers; I would like to consider myself competent, but I'm willing to admit that a bumbling old fart in his Mercedes can get on my nerves. I realize that, "if all other circumstances are equal," was specifically mentioned.