Autonomous Cars

[Big Tea]

the problem is you can't overtake with an autonomous car. everything will be monitored. it will be like sitting in a train. no one can snake queues or gain an advantage... humans won't like that.
and then there is the moto bikers wreaking havoc on those "taxis".
so to make automous cars possible, selfdriving and moto bikes need to be banned... can we allow that?

Less overtaking may lead to reduced traffic. Some people tailgate and switch lanes frequently because it gives them the illusion of greater agency and control in a situation where they have little. They often only end up consuming more fuel and causing more traffic. I'm sure we've all seen people weaving through traffic, only to end up behind the same people they previously passed, or stopped at the same traffic signals.

The passengers in AVs will be absorbed by their screens, phones, or reading, sleeping, stargazing, meditating... I don't think they'll care too much about whether they're going 5% slower than they think they should be.

P.S. I'm calling it now: in-car yoga will be a thing within the next ten years.

I see VR as the big step. You sit in your car and the windows (screens) will shoe countryside, the shore line, or even beneath the water, the view from space, you name it. You could be in a lecture theater having a personal lecture tailored to your journey length.

Or, if you are a real swat, you could be in the same office chatting about the plans for the day with your oppo's

[roon]

Honestly, driving is just a chore to me. I do contract work, so I end up driving long distances regularly, with no chance to move my home to get closer. I mean, 9 contracts in the last 10 years covering 6 states is a bit much, but that is my livelihood.

Calling, texting, email, reading and many other things that take time from my family when im home could all be done during the commute. In other words, it would increase my quality of life (and my wife and 4 daughters' as well) enormously.

Doesn't surprise me. Would having a chauffeur improve your quality of life? Presumably yes, but they've been prohibitively expensive for most people.

I see VR as the big step. You sit in your car and the windows (screens) will shoe countryside, the shore line, or even beneath the water, the view from space, you name it. You could be in a lecture theater having a personal lecture tailored to your journey length.

Or, if you are a real swat, you could be in the same office chatting about the plans for the day with your oppo's

Sounds like a potential vomit comet.

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1007429986083459077

[Zynerji]

Honestly, driving is just a chore to me. I do contract work, so I end up driving long distances regularly, with no chance to move my home to get closer. I mean, 9 contracts in the last 10 years covering 6 states is a bit much, but that is my livelihood.

Calling, texting, email, reading and many other things that take time from my family when im home could all be done during the commute. In other words, it would increase my quality of life (and my wife and 4 daughters' as well) enormously.

Doesn't surprise me. Would having a chauffeur improve your quality of life? Presumably yes, but they've been prohibitively expensive for most people.

I've actually "employed" my wife for this at one point... Needless to say, she didn't like it any more than I did!

[henry]

...
My particular bugbear is path prediction, AFAIK they are using Kalman which is NOT conservative for pedestrians in particular.

...

If someone comes up with a better solution than Kalman filters then, supposing the vehicles have sufficient compute facilities, the improvement can be rolled out to vehicles already in use. This is very different to many safety related features we know today. They have to be physically implemented and tests have to be passed to prove compliance with legislation.

This raises the issue of regulation in general. Right now Tesla, for example, can rewrite their entire software suite and roll it out without having to prove to anyone that it is safe and reliable. I don’t think this is a sustainable situation. But I’m not sure who’s going to pay to develop regulations/test suites and whether any group of politicians will want to be seen to constrain the next big thing. Right now it seems quite the opposite.

[roon]

My particular bugbear is path prediction, AFAIK they are using Kalman which is NOT conservative for pedestrians in particular.

Are you talking about object recognition or "which object to hit first" in an avoidance scenario? Something else?

[strad]

Overall i hugely dislike most assistance system in modern cars, hell...i hate automatic gearboxes ... i want to be in control, i don't want some electronics to interfere ... i even turn off ESP and traction control when there's snow because i can do a better job at preventing wheelspin and slides than the computer

I'm with you buddy.
I also almost never use cruise control.

Some people tailgate and switch lanes frequently because it gives them the illusion of greater agency and control in a situation where they have little.

I hate tailgaters but the switching lanes thing, the California Hwy Patrol issued a study that found that lane jumpers helped break up the packs and help keep traffic moving.
I wonder will the self drivers be cutting in front of the A.V.s and make them automatically slam on their brakes.
I can see jerks doing that.
Will states that allow it have to outlaw lane splitting by motorcycles? How will A.V.s deal with lane splitters?
I didn't mean to disparage 12 years without incident like it sounded. That's a fairly good record. As with motorcycles I would imagine most "incidents" happen in the first year or so when people who start out cautious get the feeling of confidence. I call it the "Hell I can do this" attitude.

[strad]

A friend sent me this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQyY9PK_l9c&t=2s

[AJI]

A friend sent me this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQyY9PK_l9c&t=2s

So, considering that this is an example of an autonomous car in its infancy, are you slowly becoming a believer strad?

[strad]

So, considering that this is an example of an autonomous car in its infancy, are you slowly becoming a believer strad?

Not really but parts are kinda cool... Like I say if I was trapped every day in the I-5 traffic jam it might serve a purpose but not for everyday driving.
I enjoy the feel of hitting an apex properly and getting the power down. To me a nice stretch of curves done properly is like a ballet.
It makes me feel good to do things well and driving is one I have always done very well.

[FW17]

If cars are autonomous, what is the point of owning one?

Also since most people travel alone on a commute to work, cars should be just a single seater to save weight and space.

Also all the rubbish about safety in cars will be gone as there would be no crashes?

[JonoNic]

Make traffic lanes on highways that are for autonomous vehicles only and zones for self driving, people will quickly see if there's a benefit or not. The more people choose a particular vehicle then more lanes can be allocated to that group.

Question: Would it be beneficial for autonomous vehicles easily interlink each other on a highway and decouple from the group before it's turnoff?

Then autonomous vehicles and self driving vehicles should have separate offramps.

[strad]

Question: Would it be beneficial for autonomous vehicles easily interlink each other on a highway and decouple from the group before it's turnoff?

Puts me in mind of the plan they had to embed magnets in the road and have cars follow each other as close as train cars at 80mph on the freeway between L.A. and San Diego.

[AJI]

When you think of the cost savings for a government when going 100% AV it's a no brainer. No traffic lights, no line markings, no signage, half the number of lanes, no highway patrol, no speed cameras, less strain on emergency services… the list is endless.

[roon]

When you think of the cost savings for a government when going 100% AV it's a no brainer. No traffic lights, no line markings, no signage, half the number of lanes, no highway patrol, no speed cameras, less strain on emergency services… the list is endless.

Yes, it's almost like a return to the previous iteration of autonomous transportation: horses.

[FrukostScones]

the problem is you can't overtake with an autonomous car. everything will be monitored. it will be like sitting in a train. no one can snake queues or gain an advantage... humans won't like that.
and then there is the moto bikers wreaking havoc on those "taxis".
so to make automous cars possible, selfdriving and moto bikes need to be banned... can we allow that?

Less overtaking may lead to reduced traffic. Some people tailgate and switch lanes frequently because it gives them the illusion of greater agency and control in a situation where they have little. They often only end up consuming more fuel and causing more traffic. I'm sure we've all seen people weaving through traffic, only to end up behind the same people they previously passed, or stopped at the same traffic signals.

The passengers in AVs will be absorbed by their screens, phones, or reading, sleeping, stargazing, meditating... I don't think they'll care too much about whether they're going 5% slower than they think they should be.

P.S. I'm calling it now: in-car yoga will be a thing within the next ten years.

But people want to chose, they want to cheat and try to beat other people to the red light. It is stupid, yes, but it is human nature. Also they want status (and a car, posh car is still the main status symbol all over the world), what is the point of and AMG autonomous that is going at the speed limit guided by big brother? Also some people like to drive and don't need free time to do yoga or to jerk whatever off in a "taxi".
Zero accidents would be nice and happy people everywhere as well, but I don't think any gov. is willing to pay trillions for infrastructure for automated taxis.