As someone who is BLIND
I truly am encouraged that these Self-Driving vehicles are going into real life applications ..
This is going to be ..
if the costs are brought down to where it is affordable ..
a BIG BOON in securing independence ..
the ability to be FREE to move around so much more ..
for those with Disabilities
(and definitely for the Vision Impaired/Blind ... especially me!)
California Legislators Approve Robot Cars on Public Roads: Do You?
Fef
2012/08/31 18:00:00
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502 votes
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52% | |||
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458 votes
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48% | |||
Ready to share the road with robots weighing 4,000 pounds of metal moving at speeds up to 65 MPH? California legislators voted to approve California Senate Bill 1298 (SB 1298) that “would permit autonomous vehicles to be operated or tested on the public roads in this state.” The senate bill also added that the robot cars will “offer significant potential safety, mobility, and commercial benefits for individuals and businesses in the state and elsewhere.”
It doesn't surprise me that the state legislator in California, where Google flexes its political power, would allow the bill. It also doesn't surprise me that the state senate already wrote nearly 1,300 new laws. I actually look forward to less California humans driving on the road, particularly in Los Angeles. However, we need to verify that these robots won't suffer road rage and go all "Terminator" on us.
ARSTECHNICA.COM reports:
It doesn't surprise me that the state legislator in California, where Google flexes its political power, would allow the bill. It also doesn't surprise me that the state senate already wrote nearly 1,300 new laws. I actually look forward to less California humans driving on the road, particularly in Los Angeles. However, we need to verify that these robots won't suffer road rage and go all "Terminator" on us.
ARSTECHNICA.COM reports:
Legislators pass new law that would set safety and performance standards.
Read More: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/robot-c...
Top Opinion
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sglmom 2012/08/31 02:24:45
I've followed the DARPA challenge over the years, and those machines have finally achieved the amazing: Off road navigation. The technology for this manner of controlled lane driving has been around for a long time and has seen extensive development. There have been test highways for years. The vehicles DO communicate with one another and from my understanding, even share their operating data with the adjacent vehicles. This allows other cars to detect faults, course intentions, and other manner of important detail on what the other cars around them plan to do, so they can avoid being in the way when that happens. Any car that failed to respond to such data polling would be rapidly and immediately avoided, so even if an individual machine failed, the cars around would be able to prepare for trouble. Most of these systems are redundant, and a fault should be caught and a vehicle allowed to pull over or slow to a stop before things get serious.
Other faults... Say a tie rod were to break and the vehicle lost steering contr...
I've followed the DARPA challenge over the years, and those machines have finally achieved the amazing: Off road navigation. The technology for this manner of controlled lane driving has been around for a long time and has seen extensive development. There have been test highways for years. The vehicles DO communicate with one another and from my understanding, even share their operating data with the adjacent vehicles. This allows other cars to detect faults, course intentions, and other manner of important detail on what the other cars around them plan to do, so they can avoid being in the way when that happens. Any car that failed to respond to such data polling would be rapidly and immediately avoided, so even if an individual machine failed, the cars around would be able to prepare for trouble. Most of these systems are redundant, and a fault should be caught and a vehicle allowed to pull over or slow to a stop before things get serious.
Other faults... Say a tie rod were to break and the vehicle lost steering control. The computer would be able to broadcast the alarm to other vehicles and the entire chain of following and oncoming cars could immediately brake. Even in the worst of situations, what once would have involves a multi-car pileup, would at worst only effect the immediate point of an accident... Only the vehicles at the immediate site that could not avoid one another.
As if that's not enough, this does add a great deal of mobility to those who lack it. The disabled, the elderly, the vision impaired. When the technology reaches the level of advancement where it can drive not only highways, but navigate city streets and parking lots, it will give those who do not have the ability to drive themselves the option of being driven, as riders.
This system would be a great thing. I for one would love to have one of these cars!
People will still be able to override the computer in the event of a computer crash. Don't you have cruise control on your car? You can turn it off by flipping a switch OR by pressing the brake.
These cars are coming and will be the norm in 10 - 20 years.
"people will still be ab;e to override..." yadiyadiyada, peope will be so stupd (stuck on their phones that if something where to happen, it would happen before they knew what hit them!! i will never drive one of those deathbots!
besides name one just one pc (pc's have been around for 30-50 years now) that has not failed? just one! doesn't matter if it has 20 years of testing it will fail!
These robot-driven cars will follow speed limits, won't tailgate, will use turn indicators properly, will parallel park properly, won't get lost and will pay attention to driving conditions 100% of the time.
And let's be real. Would you rather trust a robot that follows a given set of instructions and only those instructions or some idiot yakking on the phone who is virtuously oblivious to his surroundings?
id rather be in a car i control myself and be able to avoid the idiot driver! then a robotic car that will fail while im sleeping. being aware and knowing what the hell you are doing is much better then throwing your life at robots hands
I would have loved to have had a robot driver back then.
BTW - you rail on about computers failing but actual failure rates are well below 1% on specific purpose computers. And specific purpose comps have self-diagnostics running constantly.
I work in the oil & gas industry on the production side - between the wells and the refineries. On a typical production platform, the entire set of operations are run by computers - bringing the oil-gas-water mix up from the wells, separating the three components and delivering the oil and gas to separate pipelines. Where a platform had 40-50 workers in the 70's they now have 15-25 workers because the computers monitor and modulate the throughput constantly.
Whether you think these cars are a good idea or not, they are coming and will become the norm.
but hakers always love to hack the specific computers. robotic cares means easier theft for thiefs, and if someone has a vendetta against you youd best not be in one!
wow and your actually proud many workers where replaced by machines? people need money to make it in this world! what will people do when everything is robotic? get dumber fatter and stupider thats what!
i will NEVER DRIVE ONE! and matter of fact, robotic cars won't work properly (not that it would nayways) unless 100% of cars become robotic. and i refuse to give in to socialism! i will not ket robot and government drive me! or my kids when i get some! I WILL DRIVE, hats final!
There is nothing wrong with this technology. It's like calling drivers lazy and unable to think for themselves for choosing an automatic over a manual transmission. And this message... Bringing government into a discussion on technological advancement...
Obvious troll is obvious...
Don't sully the good image of Ron Paul with your peculiar brand of trolling.
ron paul woulD NEVER SUPPORT SUCH THING as this!
Those a just a few examples where a computer could do a better job.
Will there be failures? Yes I'm sure there will. Are there going to be as many accidents caused by a malfunctioning Computer, as by impaired drivers, I doubt it.
That's why I stated earlier it would take at least 5 years of testing before I would feel safe allowing a completely automated Car.
a computer isn't going to drive drunk no-but it will malfuntion. it won't drive exhausted your right, it will lag (all computers do) won't be talking on the phone or texting you are right, but can easily be controlled by a hacker or government.
its todays society that is the problem! changing things to adapt to a corrupt society is not a solution! the reason why so many people drive drunk is because thats our society! party party, lets live it up type attitude!
even if they had 1000 years of testing no way in hell or earth i would drive one (or ride in one)
Driving is a menial task that doesn't require much brain power... that's why people easily get distracted while doing it.
I would rather spend my time doing something a machine *can't* do.
Where did you get the idea that - the only other option was to be on your Smart Phone, and that being on your smart phone is automatically a negative thing?
Clearly you need to do more driving to sharpen that mind ;-)
On paper this is a great idea, super safe cars, maximum energy efficiency, recapturing the time lost driving, especially on the Monday morning commutes, etc, but we cannot even get our 100% computer controlled space vehicles to free themselves of the human element, what makes us thing a computer controlled car is going to do any better?
Will people still be 'able' to take control, for the sheer fun of it? I am sure that will remain the case, but cars will become better at identifying vehicles being controlled by us and take corrective actions (much as we do when we see someone driving dangerously or crazily - we get out of the way).
It is a far cry from having a vehicle designed to handle a broad variety of conditions to having a vehicle that can respond emotionally and irrationally to a situation, being able to identify the source of its anger, and to target that anger toward that source. Even if someone wanted to give vehicles these capabilities at the cognitive level, no authority would allow it to become institutionalized.