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A truck could just stop at the shoulder when something goes wrong and wait for assistance, while a plane still has to land, which is anything but easy, dependin

by dEnigma 11y ago

A truck could just stop at the shoulder when something goes wrong and wait for assistance, while a plane still has to land, which is anything but easy, depending on the circumstances.

gambiting 11y ago
Like the other person pointed out - if you have a problem with a plane and the autopilot disengages, a pilot has minutes(sometimes several) to figure out what is going on and land the plane safely. If an automated truck is driving on a highway and one of the tyres blows out, the time between autopilot disengaging and the truck moving into opposite lane and colliding with someone head-on is measured in seconds. Obviously, there is no guarantee that a human driver would handle it better, but it's a real problem with automated cars.
- jotm 11y ago
  Wait, but with the right sensors, a computer could respond way faster and better than a human, provided it has the right programming on what to do in specific conditions. That data could be aggregated from crash tests and actual drivers around the world.
  - gambiting 11y ago
    >>provided it has the right programming on what to do in specific conditions That's my exact point - you can't hard code in every single possible problem. And in case autopilot doesn't have sufficient data or programming to handle the situation it has no other choice but relinquish control to the driver, at a moments notice. Of course it could always try breaking with full force, but a) breaks might be damaged b) breaking is actually a bad idea, if any of the wheels are on a soft surface(like in my example, after a tyre blowout the truck has moved closed enough to the edge that wheels on one side are now on grass - applying maximum breaking force in this situation will actually tip over the truck, the correct solution is to keep going until the truck slows down by itself). The truck might not know what surface it's on or where it's going(say a bird hit the laser sensor on top), so the autopilot would fail spectacularly in this situation, which would not be very difficult for an experienced driver to handle.
    - Dylan16807 11y ago
      >The truck might not know what surface it's on The truck should have a notably better feel for the surface than a human. >say a bird hit the laser sensor on top Say a bird hits the human driver in the face?
- pjc50 11y ago
  no guarantee that a human driver would handle it better Assuming the control system is smart enough to cope with changes in control authority, it's got to be better - it has much faster reactions and direct access to the tyre pressure data. A system where the autopilot disengages and gives up control without having confirmation that the human has taken over (by giving a control input) is an obvious danger though.

by dEnigma 11y ago

A truck could just stop at the shoulder when something goes wrong and wait for assistance, while a plane still has to land, which is anything but easy, depending on the circumstances.

gambiting 11y ago

Like the other person pointed out - if you have a problem with a plane and the autopilot disengages, a pilot has minutes(sometimes several) to figure out what is going on and land the plane safely. If an automated truck is driving on a highway and one of the tyres blows out, the time between autopilot disengaging and the truck moving into opposite lane and colliding with someone head-on is measured in seconds. Obviously, there is no guarantee that a human driver would handle it better, but it's a real problem with automated cars.

jotm 11y ago
Wait, but with the right sensors, a computer could respond way faster and better than a human, provided it has the right programming on what to do in specific conditions. That data could be aggregated from crash tests and actual drivers around the world.
- gambiting 11y ago
  >>provided it has the right programming on what to do in specific conditions That's my exact point - you can't hard code in every single possible problem. And in case autopilot doesn't have sufficient data or programming to handle the situation it has no other choice but relinquish control to the driver, at a moments notice. Of course it could always try breaking with full force, but a) breaks might be damaged b) breaking is actually a bad idea, if any of the wheels are on a soft surface(like in my example, after a tyre blowout the truck has moved closed enough to the edge that wheels on one side are now on grass - applying maximum breaking force in this situation will actually tip over the truck, the correct solution is to keep going until the truck slows down by itself). The truck might not know what surface it's on or where it's going(say a bird hit the laser sensor on top), so the autopilot would fail spectacularly in this situation, which would not be very difficult for an experienced driver to handle.
  - Dylan16807 11y ago
    >The truck might not know what surface it's on The truck should have a notably better feel for the surface than a human. >say a bird hit the laser sensor on top Say a bird hits the human driver in the face?
pjc50 11y ago
no guarantee that a human driver would handle it better Assuming the control system is smart enough to cope with changes in control authority, it's got to be better - it has much faster reactions and direct access to the tyre pressure data. A system where the autopilot disengages and gives up control without having confirmation that the human has taken over (by giving a control input) is an obvious danger though.