quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I'll admit I don't know much about the technology.

What would it do, for example, if:

1) A kid suddenly runs out into the street? As a driver, I can make a decision to swerve and hit an adjacent car or even opposing traffic vs hitting the kid. Or if it's a coyote, maybe I would choose to hit the coyote. What decisions and on what basis would the technology make while the driver is sleeping, playing on his phone, doing her makeup or whatever?

2) lots more but maybe start slow...

First, you have to acknowledge that humans make bad judgment calls all the time. Millions of automobile "accidents" happen every year when someone should have reacted one way but instead reacted a different way.

Humans have poor reaction speeds compared to machines. Given a situation where a human and machine must purely react to a situation, the computer will be able to do it faster and more reliably than any human. In this instance, if the situation merely presented a child vs a coyote, the computer will likely be able to make the better choice than the human--the computer would know the exact speed of the vehicle, direction of travel/momentum, available traction, and can be programmed to look in all 360 degrees at the same time, etc. Given your example, a car can be taught to identify a person versus an animal, and can probably arrive at that distinction faster than a person can.

The advantage that we do have over machines, for now, is that we learn. Our experiences build up our ability to react to new situations--with enough experience, we react faster than we can comprehend. We jam on the brakes before we are even sure what jumped in front of us. However, computer learning is catching up--and computers have the ability to aggregate knowledge from other sources.

It would not be far fetch to believe that not only could a computer, some day in the future, be able to identify the coyote that runs across the street (visually and with sensors in zero visibility), but also draw upon data from millions of similar encounters made by other vehicles to optimize the outcome. The car could apply maximum braking pressure at the earliest opportunity, decide that it had enough traction to direct the car 5 degrees to the right, and know that in 78.9523% of cases with similar encounters, the coyote continues running left and that with the 23.456 feet left of travel before impact that it can release the brakes and correct the steering before the vehicle crosses the outside safety margin of the road.

Won’t it be interesting to experience the “blue screen of death” in traffic at 70 mph?

That's where the ejector seat comes in.

No problem. Just unplug it, wait ten seconds, hold the reset button, and plug it back in.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
No problem. Just unplug it, wait ten seconds, hold the reset button, and plug it back in.

I thought you held the 'home' and 'sleep' buttons until the Apple reappeared...this is too complex already I thought I could be sleeping.....

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
No problem. Just unplug it, wait ten seconds, hold the reset button, and plug it back in.

I thought you held the 'home' and 'sleep' buttons until the Apple reappeared...this is too complex already I thought I could be sleeping.....

Just wait until you get the free updates that brick it forcing you to buy a new one.

The first day in my life using the new GM-AutoDriving Experience car.

Location: Fayetteville, Georgia

8:45 am. Accessed the GM-Car app on my iPhone24 to order a pickup at 9:15 am. Was advised that the closest available car would arrive between 9:30 – 9:45 am. Decided I would have to make the stop at the County Water location to drop off my payment on the way home from my wife’s doctor appointment, as well as the stop at the Post Office to drop off the snail mail payment to my Health Company or we won’t get to the Dr. office on time. Oh well, it really doesn’t matter I suppose.

9:42 am. The car arrived. It’s up on the cul-de-sac blowing its horn. The stinking thing won’t come down my 100 yard long driveway. My nearly crippled wife has to struggle up the darn driveway.

9:46 am. The blasted car just announced that it would leave in one minute if the passengers weren’t in the car by 9:47 am. I ran the last 20 yards up the driveway to open the door before the sorry car could abandon us. Thought I was going to have a heart attack, after all I’m 84 now. Ran 19 yards back down the driveway to help my wife the rest of the way up the drive.

9:48 am. The car just announced that if there was no passenger in the car by 9:48:30 am it would close the door and leave. We would be charged a $50 cancellation fee also. Again, I had to run another 5 yards up the drive and get in the car. Left the door open and hollered at wife to shuffle a little faster.

9:49 am. Wife reached the car just as red strobe lights began to flash along with audio warning that the doors were going to close. Grabbed wife and drug her into the car just as the door began to close. The car then asked us to verify the destination address I had entered on my iPhone24 when I ordered the pick-up. I verified the address. The car informed me that the distance to the destination was 45.1 miles and since it exceeded 45 miles there would be a $20 surcharge in addition to the $40 destination fee. Wonderful.

10:57 am. We arrived at the doctor office in Sandy Springs on the north side of Atlanta. 3 minutes to spare before her appointment time. Before I got out I questioned the car if it could wait for us until we were done at the doctor’s office. Car answered, “Yes, for a surcharge of $60 plus $1 per minute.” I said,
“Forget that crap” and we got out. Off the car went to get its next un-suspecting victim, oops, I mean customer.

12:13 pm. The wife finally comes back into the lobby after seeing the doctor and says, “I’m done. We can go now.” I open the GM-Car app and request another pick-up to take us home with a stop at the post office to drop off a letter in the drive through and a stop at the Water Company drive through to drop off a payment. The app states there will be a $20 surcharge since the distance will be 48.7 miles including the two additional stops, plus a $10 surcharge for each additional stop in addition to the $45 destination fee. The app states that the nearest car will arrive no later than 1:00 pm.

12:56 pm. The car arrives, we get in and we depart.

2:07 pm. We are arriving in Fayetteville, Georgia. I query the car to see if it can stop at the drive through at McDonalds to pick up a couple of Big Macs. Car replied, $10 surcharge. I said, “Forget it Jose, we’ll order a pizza when we get home.

2:14 pm. Arriving at Post Office. Car enters wrong entrance for the drive through and has to go around and come into the correct entrance. Thank God, there was no surcharge for making a second attempt!

2:28 pm. Arrived at the Water Company and dropped payment into the box.

2:43 pm. Arrived back home. Car tried to stop in the cul-de-sac. I told the car to get it’s a.., uh, I mean it’s derriere down that drive way or this would be the last time it went anywhere until it could be picked up by a driver-less tow truck. Dang, it worked, that stinking car immediately pulled down the drive way.

3:01 pm. The car is still trying to back out of the driveway. I’m standing in the front yard shaking my head and watching it. It finally makes it out, knocking my mail box down in the process. As it pulls away I pop two rounds into the trunk of the idiot car with my P239 .40 S&W.

3:32 pm. The pizza delivery car just left after bringing the Large Pepperoni Lover’s with extra pepperoni pizza. That car had no problem negotiating my drive way. I think it was a Ford.

3:34 pm. Fayette County Sheriff’s Department deputy just stopped in. He was actually driving the Charger himself. He said there was no way they were using any of the autonomous patrol cars. Then he said he was there because a GM car had reported some kind of damage at this address. I showed him the mail box lying on the ground and said the stupid car took 18 minutes to back out of my driveway and ran over the mail box in the process. Told him I had already called my lawyer to file a claim against GM. He wrote it all down and told me to have a nice day. I gave him a slice of pizza and thanked him. Then, just before he started to pull out he asked me, “By the way, do you happen to own a handgun?” I said, “I used to have one but it got lost in the middle of Lake Michigan 6 years ago when my jonboat capsized. He said, “Thanks, no problem.”

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Yellow Jacket,

If the same standards are applied to these wonderful new autos that are used by aircraft manufacturers to adhere to FAA refs, I'll consider getting one. I've already nearly been in accidents thanks to the traction control on am Infiniti I used to own. Now the traction control on my wife's Audi and my BMW is flawless.

The other thing I have to say is if a car for you is just a way to get from point A to point B, please buy this tech as soon as possible, and take ride sharing or public transport until that time. The rest of us will thank you.

quote:

If this is so far fetched and crazy, why are companies like GM and Ford investing so heavily into autonomous vehicles AND competitors to Uber? Ford has never been in the taxi business, now they are. Doesn't that send some signal that they are worried about this?

Maybe, maybe not, they could be investing in it as a way to protect the company should the market move in that direction, better to be out front than come from behind, All Ford and GM want to do is sell cars, they don't care who's driving.

Right now Social media is full of people saying they want autonomous vehicles, and that may very well turn out to be the future, then again it might not.

We were told we wanted electric cars to combat global warming, yet when you studied it the amount of pollution used to create the E car was significant and in the long run counting in the pollution from the power generation plant increased because of the amount it would have to generate to fuel those "clean cars" and the fact that there isn't any global warming and you find these cars sitting on lots at huge discounts.

More power to you, me I'd prefer my vehicles allow me to drive, change my mind, stop, go, exceed the speed limit or not and to be shifting gears as I like, doesn't mean I don't like tech, it just means I'm not interested in this tech...

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

I will never own a "driverless car." No way never.

Just more control over our lives. Jesus.

How much control do you have when you take any kind of mass transportation ... a plane, train, cab or bus?
Do you have a problem getting on an elevator or escalator?

Not trying to be a smart-ass but there was a time when those things were new technology and I'm sure they had nay-sayers too ... Just like TV is a fad and the common man will never be able to afford a computer, much less understand how to operate one.

I remember trying to explain to my grandmother that my daughter wasn't watching the same cartoon over and over, she was playing a video game called Super Mario Brothers on a game console called Nintendo that connected to the TV.

Remember when your parents couldn't keep the set the time on their VCR and you had to set it every time you went over?

No sense in fighting it, it's coming ... Unless a astroid F's up the world ... Or an ass F's it up first.

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
they Uber everywhere they go.

Bet they couldn't get an gUber ride from Charlottesville VA to Old Rag Mountain (40 miles, give or take) and have the gUber driver wait until they have hiked to the summit then hike back down, because they sure as hell won't have cell service to call gUber back to come pick them up! gUber= new wave mode of transportation for those that don't travel outside of the city and probably could have walked there in the first place if they weren't so damned lazy . You see where this is headed? Lots of folks live in a city, sure....but, there are quite a few of us that don't even live close to a major city. I live roughly 40 miles from my states capital (down some seriously shitty back roads at that) and I highly doubt that any gUber type driver would come to my house because I live so far from the money making opportunities. If they did, it would be so cost prohibitive from my side and I'd have to call well in advance of "needing" to go anywhere. It's not like there are gUber's and taxi's waiting on every corner.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
It would not be far fetch to believe that not only could a computer, some day in the future, be able to identify the coyote that runs across the street (visually and with sensors in zero visibility), but also draw upon data from millions of similar encounters made by other vehicles to optimize the outcome. The car could apply maximum braking pressure at the earliest opportunity, decide that it had enough traction to direct the car 5 degrees to the right, and know that in 78.9523% of cases with similar encounters, the coyote continues running left and that with the 23.456 feet left of travel before impact that it can release the brakes and correct the steering before the vehicle crosses the outside safety margin of the road.

If any computer and sensor combination could predict deer and their behavior, I think we'd already see it on cars. They are about the stupidest things I have ever come across and where I live there is no chance of them going extinct. I have seen them run l-r, r-l, l-r-l then turn head on into or away from car and every other possible way they can go. There is nothing that will be able to predict where an animal jumps out from within the trees or corn fields that butt up against the roads. Hell, half of the time there is an animal strike any more the vehicle is a total loss because of the amounts of doodads and whatnot's on them, can't imagine throwing another $10-20k for sensors, radar, and all the other gadgetry required would make it any less costly for an insurance company There's a reason you rarely see nice/new/fancy cars out in BFE, it's because the locals know that it won't be nice/new/fancy once the deer take a flying leap into it while you are moving right along at about 60 miles per hour.

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
If this is so far fetched and crazy, why are companies like GM and Ford investing so heavily into autonomous vehicles AND competitors to Uber? Ford has never been in the taxi business, now they are. Doesn't that send some signal that they are worried about this?

If this is so crazy and stupid, they wouldn't be competing with Uber. They've obviously studied this more than any of us and think it is possible and would cripple their business if they don't act.

I think they are trying to figure out a way to make money off of the tax payers that have bailed their asses out before. None of this will be possible without the government stepping in and mandating that all new cars will be self driving and nobody will be allowed to own/possess/or otherwise operate "an old fashioned" car with a human driver. They are simply banking on the idea that the .gov will subsidize all of their expenses with some kind of tax scheme much like the Cash for Clunkers.

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

I will never own a "driverless car." No way never.

Just more control over our lives. Jesus.

How much control do you have when you take any kind of mass transportation ... a plane, train, cab or bus?
Do you have a problem getting on an elevator or escalator?

Dude, are you yanking my crank? An elevator? Come on, get out of here!

Haha, an elevator he says...

Are they going to communicate with satellite or cell towers? Both have issues and gigantic coverage gaps.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

I will never own a "driverless car." No way never.

Just more control over our lives. Jesus.

How much control do you have when you take any kind of mass transportation ... a plane, train, cab or bus?
Do you have a problem getting on an elevator or escalator?

Dude, are you yanking my crank? An elevator? Come on, get out of here!

Haha, an elevator he says...

You're making his point. I'm sure folks in the 19th century were as skeptical of the now ubiquitous technology as you are today.

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:

You're making his point. I'm sure folks in the 19th century were as skeptical of the now ubiquitous technology as you are today.

I'm not skeptical about it. I simply don't want it. I want to drive myself. Period. I don't want in the future some mandated nonsense that we all must have driverless cars. Get it?

And making his point? He's talking about elevators and escalators and mass transit as if these things are comparable in any way.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:

You're making his point. I'm sure folks in the 19th century were as skeptical of the now ubiquitous technology as you are today.

I'm not skeptical about it. I simply don't want it. I want to drive myself. Period. I don't want in the future some mandated nonsense that we all must have driverless cars. Get it?

And making his point? He's talking about elevators and escalators and mass transit as if these things are comparable in any way.

Oh I get it. I got it in the last thread you were in on the subject. I suspect you hold yourself superior to anyone who is for this is. In your eyes, they’re lining up to sign their life and liberty away to kneel at the altar of new technology and somehow don’t appreciate freedom as much as you.

And while I’m sure you will brush this aside with a “different strokes” quip, a reply you made directly to me took just such an accusatory tone.

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:

You're making his point. I'm sure folks in the 19th century were as skeptical of the now ubiquitous technology as you are today.

I'm not skeptical about it. I simply don't want it. I want to drive myself. Period. I don't want in the future some mandated nonsense that we all must have driverless cars. Get it?

And making his point? He's talking about elevators and escalators and mass transit as if these things are comparable in any way.

Oh I get it. I got it in the last thread you were in on the subject. I suspect you hold yourself superior to anyone who is for this is. In your eyes, they’re lining up to sign their life and liberty away to kneel at the altar of new technology and somehow don’t appreciate freedom as much as you.

And while I’m sure you will brush this aside with a “different strokes” quip, a reply you made directly to me took just such an accusatory tone.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

But you seem to be taking this personally for some reason. Some are saying that this technology is coming, that everyone will be riding around in driverless cars whether he or she likes it or not, and I'm simply saying screw that noise; I don't want it. That's my simple position. I don't want some lawmakers mandating away my ability to drive my own car on the highway. If people want some robot to drive them around then fine, I don't care. Just don't make me have to live with it.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

I have no idea what you're talking about.

But you seem to be taking this personally for some reason. Some are saying that this technology is coming, that everyone will be riding around in driverless cars whether he or she likes it or not, and I'm simply saying screw that noise; I don't want it. That's my simple position. I don't want some lawmakers mandating away my ability to drive my own car on the highway. If people want some robot to drive them around then fine, I don't care. Just don't make me have to live with it.

Here's the response I'm talking about.




Seeing as I'm not usually hit with "people like you" on this forum, it stuck with me.

Dude, I don't care. Ride in one, don't ride in one. Ride a horse. Whatever makes you happy.

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

I have no idea what you're talking about.

But you seem to be taking this personally for some reason. Some are saying that this technology is coming, that everyone will be riding around in driverless cars whether he or she likes it or not, and I'm simply saying screw that noise; I don't want it. That's my simple position. I don't want some lawmakers mandating away my ability to drive my own car on the highway. If people want some robot to drive them around then fine, I don't care. Just don't make me have to live with it.

Here's the response I'm talking about.




Seeing as I'm not usually hit with "people like you" on this forum, it stuck with me.

Dude, I don't care. Ride in one, don't ride in one. Ride a horse. Whatever makes you happy.

Yeah, that remark was uncalled for. I'm sorry for that.

Thank you.