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> real world conditions like snowy roads and places with obscured road signs. Snowy roads are actually much better in many ways for cars (theoretically) than
by chimeracoder 12y ago
> real world conditions like snowy roads and places with obscured road signs.
Snowy roads are actually much better in many ways for cars (theoretically) than humans, because cars have much shorter reaction time. As for obscured road signs, if self-driving cars become the norm, road signs will likely disappear, because (A) they will use wireless communication to transmit information to cars, rather than visual scanning, and (B) a lot of information contained on road signs would simply be irrelevant or redundant for self-driving cars.
Remember that modern cars are already very autonomous, even though they "feel" manual. Recently, I drove a car[0] that will actually automatically steer the car back into a lane if it senses that the driver is veering on the highway (ie, if he/she falls asleep or is drunk).
We don't think of this as "self-driving" because the improvements are incremental and the driver is still present and feels like he/she is in control, but drivers have been slowly giving up control over cars for several decades now. Self-driving cars are actually much less of a leap from the status quo than people realize; it's simply[1] the final step in a long series of incremental automation of automobiles[2].
[0] Subaru, I believe.
[1] Not that it isn't still an impressive feat, of course.
[2] Let's not forget the prefix or etymology of the world automobile - it's not accidental!
- lttlrck 12y agoA measured response/judgement is far more important than reaction time in snowy/icy conditions IMO.
- andyidsinga 12y agoyes for sure -- but software can measure & respond 1000s of times more than a human within a given time frame. This is what control systems get very good at and apparently the traction control firmware in many cars that controls anti-lock brakes can include code that detects incorrect steering in icy scenarios and compensate for it. (sorry no reference - I heard this on NPR a while back)
- monk_e_boy 12y agoAll the problems people point out about the current state of driverless cars seems silly. Like an obscured speed limit sign is going to stop all autonomous cars. Please. We already have park and ride buses, I think autonomous cars (buses) will fit in just fine. No one cares if we need to carve out some 'auto-bus lanes' and traffic lights for them, sort of like trams used to be. If it saves money, then countries in Europe that are still in recession will be all over it.
- VLM 12y ago>(ie, if he/she falls asleep or is drunk) More likely a pedestrian in the road, a cop pulled someone over, a bicyclist is on the shoulder and you feel the need to give him some space, there's an accident, a crate with a refrigerator in it just fell off the truck in front of you, it sounds super creepy. Set off an alarm of some kind, sure. However, having a "haunted car" take control away from you and mow down a little kid because it thought it was helping you drive, sounds like a recipe for PTSD, and the related gigantic lawsuits, in addition to the lawsuits for the dead kid. And of course the legal liability protection that driverless cars will require will result in car designs like the bad old days, so now when your gas tank explodes in a minor fender bender your heirs will be legally unable to sue because driverless cars have blanket immunity.
- falcolas 12y agoBlack ice will be an interesting challenge for autonomous cars. As will dirt roads, deer, slush, worn-out road markings, packed snow, drifting snow... My current car has a lot of automation, and all of that automation falls apart in the winter. The automatic windshield wipers don't know how to handle snow or freezing rain, the automatic brights try to go bright when it's snowing heavily, I would never dare try to use the automatic cruise control on anything but bone-dry roads... even the rear-view camera doesn't work without frequent cleaning due to the aerodynamics of the tail of the car coating it with sand and snow in almost any conditions. The only two automated parts which work as intended during the winter are the anti-lock brakes and automatic four wheel drive.