RMweb Gold ROSSPOP Posted November 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2016 I`ts all on the news again today......... I certainly would`nt fly in a pilotless aircraft and as someone who enjoys driving I don`t care much for seeing driverless cars around and about. I don`t think the technology is perfect enough at the moment and don`t ever see a time that it ever will be, not to mention the ` third world` road surfaces we all have to negotiate. Am I just an old brittle fogie? Or are we all being fooled ? John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 .... I don`t care much for seeing driverless cars around and about.... Arguably there are already driverless cars around because those who should be piloting them seem to be playing with their mobile phones instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 If all vehicles are driverless then they might have a chance but while some vehicles are driven by unpredictable humans I cant see it working, dont get me started on other road users or pedestrians upsetting the computers on the cars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted November 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2016 Well I definitely don't want one. Hopefully, with only about 15 years of driving ahead of me, I will always be able to get a proper car. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkeNd Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I believe the transition will be the biggest problem - what will the technology take care of and which actions are the driver's responsibility. And when there is an accident who is liable in an insurance claim - how do you prove that the car technology was a fault so that the motor manufacturer is liable. Hadn't thought of these sort of complications myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted November 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2016 If all vehicles are driverless then they might have a chance but while some vehicles are driven by unpredictable humans I cant see it working, dont get me started on other road users or pedestrians upsetting the computers on the cars. I agree. Making them hacker-proof is probably the deal breaker. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted November 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2016 I certainly would`nt fly in a pilotless aircraft You pretty much already do given the level of automation these days. Flying planes is a much simpler task to automate since they operate in a controlled environment and never have to negotiate with a horse rider over a passing place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Interesting article here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37706666 Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I'm all for autonomous cars if the technology is up to it. "Proper" cars won't disappear though, they'll just become recreational toys, in the same way that horses have become expensive toys since the internal combustion engine took their work away. If the car can take over the sitting in traffic/ motorway cruising which is no fun then bring it on. I want a steering wheel for a quiet B road in the sunshine, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastairq Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 There are already changes within the Highway Code being worked up, regarding this issue. I plan to still be able to drive when I reach 150! Leastwise, I'll give it a damn good go! {Eyesight still unsupported...tests annually.......Hypertension medically under control,........don't have to [medically] renew vocational licences until late next year....[although I probably won't bother...I like this not-work lifestyle!]...... With regards to technology? Well, I seem to have...automotively-speaking, become very retrograde....even giving up hydraulic brakes! Indicators next....followed by door handles! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I suspect that the first will be on designated roads like the experiment at Milton Keynes and at other University campus, or industrial parks. The technology is there, but cannot be connected to full AI as yet, it is simply that processors are not fast enough, and cannot multi task. The only worthwhile duplication of a real driver is not Mr Average but a perfect driver under all circumstances. US experiments have been in California, not Glasgow on a wet winters day with snow! Tesla have the driver assist mode, but it is barely beyond an advanced cruise control for US highways at present, and there have been several accidents using it. The GPS systems used are not the military grade, they use the far looser commercial signals, so the hope of the designers is that the US will relent and give access. The other problem, rarely mentioned, is the other drivers around the Autonomous car, which will have to be strictly programmed to follow the law on all speed limits and all mandatory rules of the road, so the researchers have worryingly found that other motorists try to overtake and push the automatic car around, cutting in and braking hard in front of them. This is a very serious problem. The only answer is dedicated auto roads, or all other cars being fitted with limiters to ensure speed compliance. Another thing the makers are relying on is all junctions having signals sent to the car to cope with complex road lanes. This would require every single junction in the UK to be fitted, not very likely. At present the most advanced research is in the UK, but no commercial development at present. The question of insurance and ownership still has to be answered by Parliament, along with do you allow unlicensed drivers to use these cars, pretty basic stuff, still all undecided. It all has a future but it is still decades off being general practice to use such cars everywhere, city centres maybe in 5 to 10 years. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 will the driverless car be able to wash itself, take my dogs for a walk, and carry out the other chores that occupies my chauffeur? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 .....other motorists try to overtake and push the automatic car around, cutting in and braking hard in front of them. This is a very serious problem. This has been happening with "crash for cash" scams anyway. It's not exactly a new phenomenon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Bah, humbug? Sweet. I'll suck it and see. ;-) But it'll probably end up bah handbags. G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 will the driverless car be able to wash itself, take my dogs for a walk, and carry out the other chores that occupies my chauffeur? Chauffeur? Does your man Jeeves walk the Dogs? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 My car has driver assist fitted. Using radar sensors it maintains your speed relative to the cars in front and automatically slows down if they do. That's been around a while now, but when you add in the second option which keeps the car ability within lane markings, fully automatic cars are not that far away. It does take a lot of faith in computer systems to take your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals at 70mph on the motorway. You can drive that way for 90 seconds until a red steering wheel comes up on the speedo, an alarm sounds and the steering wheel vibrates until you put your hands back on the wheel. I choose not to drive with my hands off the wheel, but the system is a useful aid if you are temporarily distracted. It will keep you in the lane markings, so you don't wander off the road and will brake for you if you are not aware of slowing cars in front. I got the impression today that they are talking of dedicated lanes for driverless cars and if that means getting from A to B quicker and letting a computer take over, then I'm all for it. With the current levels of congestion, driving must be one of the most stressful things we do each day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 This has been happening with "crash for cash" scams anyway. It's not exactly a new phenomenon. It far worst than that, as the driverless car has to react to the other motorist, it can't make a decision to stop etc or pull back at present, other wise any slight miss manoeuvre around the car would result in a possibly false emergency situation. A test quoted on the road in California resulted in the auto car being driven on to the sidewalk three times in a mile, just to dodge bad cutting in. They will eventually be able to program for this, but it is really years away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I certainly would`nt fly in a pilotless aircraftHow do you know you haven't? Yes, there are people in the little room in front, but how much of the time do you think they actually flying the 'plane? Ooops - missed this one: You pretty much already do given the level of automation these days. Flying planes is a much simpler task to automate since they operate in a controlled environment and never have to negotiate with a horse rider over a passing place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted November 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2016 It does take a lot of faith in computer systems to take your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals at 70mph on the motorway. You can drive that way for 90 seconds until a red steering wheel comes up on the speedo, an alarm sounds and the steering wheel vibrates until you put your hands back on the wheel. The addition of a can of pop will upgrade your car to full autonomous mode. Darwin award pending. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I think this is most likely to start with self-driving lorries and other commercial vehicles - the technology is mostly there, and the UK regulators seem to be comfortable with the idea, so the biggest issue is the extra cost. I can see self-driving lorries vehicles being really appealing to large firms. Not having a driver means you can get a higher utilisation out of the vehicles (no more overnight stops for sleep), so you need fewer of them. This itself will offset any additional cost of all the extra gubbins. All of the problems mentioned just delay when this is going to happen, rather than stop it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 If all vehicles are driverless then they might have a chance but while some vehicles are driven by unpredictable humans I cant see it working, dont get me started on other road users or pedestrians upsetting the computers on the cars. They are on the road and dealing with unpredictable humans. One of the biggest problems they have is snowy conditions - they can't see the road. (Of course humans have exactly the same problem.) Volvo's testing ground is in Gothenburg to try to mitigate this (for now). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kickstart Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Hi Can't say I want any form of partial driverless cars. To be useful I think it needs to be 100% control. For it not to matter whether the driver is asleep or not. Suspect anything short of that will just cause a lot of problems with loss of attention. Railways are probably far easier to make fully driverless than the roads. Far more controlled, far more limited network and far less traffic. All the best Katy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Only in America. A salesman demonstrating the driver assist package. Start at 2.45..... The guy should be locked up for suggesting it's fine to answer emails or text's whilst driving. Apologies for the ad up front..:-( Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Of course with autonomous vehicles, there would be virtually zero car / train level crossing accidents. Doubtless there would still be some outliers - grounded trailers that get high-centred on the crossing or similar nightmare scenarios, but in terms of motorists trying to beat the lights/gates - zero. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 To be useful I think it needs to be 100% control.I think that is the point and an autonomous system would be 100% where humans demonstrably are not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.