Autonomous cars...

jimgoose

According to a recent study in the U.S. by http://www.carinsurance.com/, 20% of current drivers would hand over the whole driving operation to a car capable of driving itself completely.

See here for more:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/11/10/never-drive-again-with-driverless-car/#!

So what say ye, good denizens of motors. Missing the point completely, or in the words of the old Semperit ad, a major contribution to road safety??

djimi

The day that fully automated cars hit the road is the day that I give up driving. The potential for something to go wrong with a fully automated car is frightening, and I dont want to be sharing a road with one...

Sobanek

The potential is there, but then, people said the exact same about Traction Control back in the 90s - car taking power away from me?? That will never catch on and will cause major accidents.

I think it's a great idea tbh. I wouldn't mind having a few pints and then being driven home by my own car...

jameshayes

djimi wrote: »

The day that fully automated cars hit the road is the day that I give up driving. The potential for something to go wrong with a fully automated car is frightening, and I dont want to be sharing a road with one...

I'd say the chance of a 92 year old granny who never sat her test would be more likely to hit you than an autodrive

jimgoose

Personally, I don't really fancy the idea. For me, it's all about the driving. But if we have to have them, I'd say every car on the road would have to be automated so the computers could operate the system without any wetware bugs intruding.

R.O.R

I'm all for it, as long as there is a manual override to give the driver control.

Could get an extra 2 hours rest a day, have a snooze to and from the office rather than the boring, monotonous, idiot filled, commute.

Was talking about this last week with a fleet contact. Apparently the Google autonomous car has done about 300,000km and been involved in 2 accidents. One where someone went in to the back of it, and the other when someone had manual control.

Cabaal

djimi wrote: »

The day that fully automated cars hit the road is the day that I give up driving. The potential for something to go wrong with a fully automated car is frightening, and I dont want to be sharing a road with one...

so you are going to quit driving in say the next 20 years?

Frankly the risk from idiotic humans crashing a speeding 120km+ bunch of metal into you is greater then a automated car,

djimi

Sobanek wrote: »

The potential is there, but then, people said the exact same about Traction Control back in the 90s - car taking power away from me?? That will never catch on and will cause major accidents.

I think it's a great idea tbh. I wouldn't mind having a few pints and then being driven home by my own car...

Its not even remotely the same though. We are talking about relying on the cars brain to know when to steer and more importantly brake. The consequences of a system failure could be severe; I dont like the idea of any system that effectively makes the driver a passenger.

djimi

Cabaal wrote: »

so you are going to quit driving in say the next 20 years?

Frankly the risk from idiotic humans crashing a speeding 120km+ bunch of metal into you is greater then a automated car,

How is the risk of a system failure in an automated car less than the risk from a human driver?

biko

djimi wrote: »

The day that fully automated cars hit the road is the day that I give up driving.

Me too! The car will do the driving for me

On a serious note, I can see motorway driving getting automated in not too distant future but town driving will be several years after that.

Cabaal

djimi wrote: »

How is the risk of a system failure in an automated car less than the risk from a human driver?

How it it any greater in that case, esp if manual control/override still exists :P
:pac::pac:

Anyway, bottom line is you'll eventually have to stop driving so won't matter to you

jimgoose

Sobanek wrote: »

...I think it's a great idea tbh. I wouldn't mind having a few pints and then being driven home by my own car...

That'd be the job alright, but there's no guarantee that being trolleyed while in charge of a vee-hickle that happens to be able to drive itself would be any less illegal than the current setup.

dloob

djimi wrote: »

Its not even remotely the same though. We are talking about relying on the cars brain to know when to steer and more importantly brake. The consequences of a system failure could be severe; I dont like the idea of any system that effectively makes the driver a passenger.

A lot of current human drivers aren't particularity up to those tasks either.
I'll take the risk of a system problem over the idiocy of current human drivers any day.

bazz26

This is a motors forum:

The sooner computers drive cars the better: no blind spots, no running red lights, no blocking yellow boxes, no weaving across lanes while changing the radio, no speeding, no nodding off at the wheel etc

I'm sure it will take a lot of engineering but I look forward to the day this is standard.

rovoagho

Anyone that votes Yes to this poll should be autobanned from the forum, since they're neither drivers nor motorists (yeuch).

cadaliac

It will never be fully automated anyway.
They can fly planes remotely but won't. There always has to be human intervention/control when it comes t peoples lives.
Systems are not infallible.

Anyway, I like driving, so they can fcuk off. :pac:

jimgoose

cadaliac wrote: »

...Anyway, I like driving, so they can fcuk off. :pac:

We have a winner!!

Sesshoumaru

It's going to happen and much sooner than most people think. I personally welcome the future and its advanced self driving technology



http://www.autonews.com/article/20131014/OEM06/310149986#axzz2kMDycknV

TOKYO -- Nissan is moving forward on its goal to commercialize self-driving cars by 2020, with an early prototype that has won accolades in Japan and another test variant that has been cleared for trials on public roads.

Both models are Leaf electric vehicles equipped with advanced spinoffs of Nissan's existing Safety Shield active safety system, which monitors a 360-degree view, scanning for risks and taking evasive measures when necessary.

A fully autonomous version of the Leaf won top honors in the Innovation Awards at the CEATEC exhibition this month in Japan, the country's largest consumer electronics show.

CEO Carlos Ghosn took that car -- or, rather, the car took him -- for a spin to help kick off the show. A video from the event shows a bemused Ghosn buckled in behind a self-activated steering wheel illuminated with a futuristic blue light running along the handle's rim.

"I didn't drive anything. I was just sitting in the car," Ghosn said. "This test proves to me that, first, we advanced a lot. Because I have tested the prototypes two years ago, which were way less advanced than this one. We're going to get there even sooner than we think."

In August, Nissan announced a target of being ready to deliver multiple commercially viable self-driving cars by 2020.

Ghosn said at the CEATEC event that the biggest hurdles will be regulatory, not technological. Indeed, regulations already restrict public testing of such systems.

Last month Nissan unveiled its first self-driving car for testing on public roads. It, too, was a Leaf, loaded with what Nissan calls its Advanced Driver Assist System.

But because Japanese road rules restrict autonomous driving, it does not have the full array of self-driving functions wielded by its more advanced counterpart at CEATEC.

Still, the Advanced Driver Assist System Leaf can automatically stay in its lane, change lanes, exit a highway, overtake a slower vehicle, slow up behind traffic jams and stop at red lights.



Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20131014/OEM06/310149986/nissan-steps-closer-to-self-driving-cars-with-road-test-model-in-japan#ixzz2kMEfT9h1
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Caliden

Google have had a car driving around on it's own for ~ 300k miles and it's had 2 accidents, both of which were the fault of the other (human) driver.

For commuting I'm all for it but it's still nice to drive yourself every now and then

piston

Looking out the office window, someone has just knocked over a No Parking sign with a Ford Focus whilst trying to park where he shouldn't be parking in the first place.

Could a computer do any worse?

If this means there will be no more middle lane morons, I'm in.

Atomic Pineapple

Definitely the way forward for public driving and opens huge possibilities for people to have their autonomous commute car and then a sports type car for using on tracks or designated self drive only roads like the ring of kerry.

Eliminating humans from the equation is much less risky than introducing machines.

Alanstrainor

I'd be all for a car that would drive me to work in the morning. If there was a network of mostly autonomous cars, it would make everything more efficient, given the number of vehicles on the road and best of all, I would get some extra morning sleep.

And I'd have something mental for the weekends/summer evenings

dgt

MadYaker

I don't think any of us will see it in our lifetimes. I enjoy driving. But for commuting in the mornings and evenings I think this would be much better. I could sleep or catch up on work while my car does the driving.

kirving

MadYaker wrote: »

I don't think any of us will see it in our lifetimes....

Oh yes you will! Look at what you can spec on cars as of today. Lane keep assist, auto park, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, speed limit detection, auto-brake. Most of those are available on a standard Ford Focus.

Autonomous cars are here, as Google (and plenty of others) have demonstrated. The main challenges from here on in will be to legislate for all the various technologies, and for people to get used to the idea.

deandean

Meh, autonomouse cars would probably obey the rules of the road so much that they wouldn't undertake on the motorway. No good in this country then. they would probably be programmed to follow the mid lane hoggers. Like lemmings.

MadYaker

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Oh yes you will! Look at what you can spec on cars as of today. Lane keep assist, auto park, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, speed limit detection, auto-brake. Most of those are available on a standard Ford Focus.

All those advances are molehills in comparison to the Everest that you outline below.

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Autonomous cars are here, as Google (and plenty of others) have demonstrated. The main challenges from here on in will be to legislate for all the various technologies, and for people to get used to the idea.

I just can't see it. How will it work? Will all cars be coordinated by a centralized computer or what? It can't be as simple as just typing in a destination and off you go. Who is liable if it all goes tits up and there are massive collisions? There is an ocean of bureaucracy surrounding this whole idea.

Bigus

Bringing the car to the pub/party and getting pissed would come back into fashion

Speed limits would rise, because they wouldn't be exceeded , and traffic lights could be eliminated or speeded up,

More cars could be squeezed into existing road space with speedier average journeys.

Mpg would improve.

Car sharing would be a lot more practical in fact you could only summon the car to the house when required and double parking could be possible .

As for planes not being autonomous yet, that's a different matter dynamically speaking because of changing wind and higher velocities involved.

Loafing Oaf

rovoagho wrote: »

Anyone that votes Yes to this poll should be autobanned from the forum, since they're neither drivers nor motorists (yeuch).

*shamefacedly raises hand*

I'm an , ahem, thirtysomething bloke who can't drive and is hoping to make it to my grave without ever having to learn. Does anyone know whether auto car owners will still have to have a licence so they can take over the wheel in an emergency, or will people be able to strap their toddler in on his own and have the car take him down to the creche?

Malcolm.

Fat blobs driven around by a robot, whatever next will the yanks think of ?

What's next, robots to wipe peoples fat ass for them ?

Supergurrier

Only viable if I can configure it to tailgate.

Overall I'm all for it once I can switch it off if I fancy a blast

visual

There never has or will be 100% reliability of electronics in cars.

Just look at the very simple systems abs traction control central locking electric windows air bags sat nav or radio

I bet nearly everyone on here has had one or more of these systems go faulty

Zcott

Sign me up, I can't wait for this. As someone who tracked long distances late at night, the idea of being able to hand over complete control to the car is a godsend. Please take me from Cork to Belfast without me having to do a thing.

Don't get me wrong, I love driving, and I image something like this would be like cruise control, where I wouldn't use it on every single journey. But those long dull motorways wouldn't be a bother anymore.

rovoagho

visual wrote: »

There never has or will be 100% reliability of electronics in cars.

Just look at the very simple systems abs traction control central locking electric windows air bags sat nav or radio

I bet nearly everyone on here has had one or more of these systems go faulty

FFS they're hacking into cars via WiFi valve caps right now. Between that and the fact that I wouldn't get to actually drive, I wouldn't get into one of these things if you paid me.

djimi

Zcott wrote: »

Sign me up, I can't wait for this. As someone who tracked long distances late at night, the idea of being able to hand over complete control to the car is a godsend. Please take me from Cork to Belfast without me having to do a thing.

Guy:Incognito

rovoagho wrote: »

Between that and the fact that I wouldn't get to actually drive, I wouldn't get into one of these things if you paid me.

You'll get in a taxi or a bus though yeah?

Malcolm. wrote: »

Fat blobs driven around by a robot, whatever next will the yanks think of ?

If the only thing keeping you from becoming a fat blob is the exercise you get from driving, then your in trouble.

visual

rovoagho wrote: »

FFS they're hacking into cars via WiFi valve caps right now. Between that and the fact that I wouldn't get to actually drive, I wouldn't get into one of these things if you paid me.

Technology being able to do the driving is one thing but guarantying it will be 100% reliable 100% of the time is impossible.

Even the most reliable systems are never perfect and have redundancy backup and human intervention. Its a big ask of any technology to be responsible for human lives.

Air craft for years have auto pilot that can take off and land from runaway but yet there will be two or more pilots sitting at the controls and take off and landing is still manual.

rovoagho

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

You'll get in a taxi or a bus though yeah?

EDIT: Ah, I see your point. You understand what a combination is though, yes? "Between that AND..." ? No?

kirving

Fair enough, no technology will ever be 100% reliable. But neither are humans, and even the current autonomous technology is far better than a human driver. Google have driven hundred of thousand of km with virtually no accidents, other than those caused by other drivers. Mercedes are currently demoing an S-Classs with autonomous tech and are looking towards implementing it in less than 10 years. Tesla are looking at 90% autonomous driving in three years, and Elon Musk iI not a man you bet against!

Zcott

djimi wrote: »

They'd love seeing me rock up with a keyboard and a load of amps...and telling them to pick me up at some random hotel at 1am...

Stinicker

Automatic cars would turn off their foglights and automatically dim, and refuse to run unless blown bulbs were fixed. I'm all for it, around 70 to 80% of the population are absolute idiots on the road and I'd much rather a robot than your typical Irish driver who to be fair is an absolute tool and should not be on the road.

jackofalltrades

visual wrote: »

Technology being able to do the driving is one thing but guarantying it will be 100% reliable 100% of the time is impossible.

Even the most reliable systems are never perfect and have redundancy backup and human intervention. Its a big ask of any technology to be responsible for human lives.

Human drivers are a long way off being 100% reliable.
There's plenty of computer systems that have multiple redundancies and very high reliability.
If a critical system fails the car can pull over.
All autonomous cars have to do is to beat the driver accident rate.

Air craft for years have auto pilot that can take off and land from runaway but yet there will be two or more pilots sitting at the controls and take off and landing is still manual.

Can you give an example off this? I don't know any passenger carrying commercial aircraft that is certified to use an auto-takeoff feature.
I think peoples perceptions of the capabilities of autopilot systems on modern aircraft are vastly overrated.