Robocars - Autonomous Drive, Self-driving, Driver-less cars

"Nissan will be ready with revolutionary commercially-viable Autonomous Drive in multiple vehicles by the year 2020"

http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/nissan-announces-unprecedented-autonomous-drive-benchmarks

Self-drive cars would remove road-rage, improve motorway efficiency by allowing them to get closer and draft, possibly stop dumb crashes and SMIDSYs.

I wonder if they will be adopted, liked? How will they handle riders zipping out in front of them or kiddies running out into roads to grab a ball, etc.

Interesting stuff for the roads anyway.. discuss..

I have been reading about this for a while now. They are already on the road in California trials. All kinds of interesting aspects to this. I have to think that computers, if they can fly/land an airplane, they can drive a car better than many of the people now on the road.

but what happens when skynet becomes self aware ?

Bring back Gov. Schwarzenegger?

I have been reading about this for a while now. They are already on the road in California trials. All kinds of interesting aspects to this. I have to think that computers, if they can fly/land an airplane, they can drive a car better than many of the people now on the road.

I'm all for it! Was reading somewhere mileage tests (somewhere in the 500,000 miles) had a fraction of an error margin compared to a human. saying that, It came to me that that result was reached while the car drove in a 100% human controlled environment. As in, it was driving with other people.
Imagine how much safer, accurate and efficient that would be if even 50% of the cars in say, California were autonomous. If they communicated with each other, getting off a motorway junction would be spectacular no matter the speed, even if you're in the fast lane. All the cars near would accommodate each other in perfect flow.
Take that to an inner city and it'd be even more amazing. It'd be all timed so perfectly, there would be no need to cars to simply roam around.
Taxi's for example (tough subject) you need one pronto? it'll just be parked around the corner, couple of taps on your phone, car there in a few seconds, parking space immediately gets occupied by another empty car. Nothing would be wasted. Dump inductive charging into the infrastructure if the cars were electric, and bam, super clean cities.
Of course, I have no idea if the systems for this are available or not, or if they can be implemented or if they even will considering how many jobs autonomous cars will eliminate, but I guess it'll be interesting to see.

Just a couple of thoughts.

Eventually I imagine it'll be much cheaper to insure a car you don't drive than one you do drive.

The problem I think is perceived safety: if a human driver were to cause a fatal collision, people would see it as something that unfortunately isn't that rare. If a computer were to cause a fatal collision I think there'd be uproar, even if statistically it was less likely to happen in the first place (assuming the hypothetical autonomous vehicle caused fewer and less serious collisions than the average human driver).

Edit: And if an autonomous vehicle were to cause a collision, who would be liable for damages?

put the i-MAC in prison

simples

Eventually I imagine it'll be much cheaper to insure a car you don't drive than one you do drive.

The problem I think is perceived safety: if a human driver were to cause a fatal collision, people would see it almost as an everyday occurrence. If a computer were to cause a fatal collision I think there'd be uproar, even if statistically it was less likely to happen in the first place (assuming the hypothetical autonomous vehicle caused fewer and less serious collisions than the average human driver).

Edit: And if an autonomous vehicle were to cause a collision, who would be liable for damages?

While that is tricky, the legalities are being determined now as far as I know. What is almost guaranteed though, is determining the cause of the collision via constant data backups and possibly even real time streams and diagnosis, blackbox style. There would be no human input (we forget, lie, make up shit and pretend), so it would be a smoother legal process. As to WHO would be liable, well, that comes down to hard evidence. If it comes down to say, an electrical fault, then depending on how that came to be, it could be down to negligence or manufacturer unreliably. Explosive Tyre? Then well, what could anyone do about that? It varies, but if data starts showing drastic drops in any form of collision, opponents will have less and less to take up the pitchforks without looking like evangelists.

If you live far and out, it makes sense to own your own car, but in any city location, it becomes pretty pointless to own a car even more so. Since they will be available 24/7 and on demand! Money saved and peace of mind.

Brave New World with Stephen Hawking Ep1: Machines

featured the Google Car. Channel 4 douche nozzles have blocked it so use a VPN or something..

Brave New World with Stephen Hawking Ep1: Machines ¦ 720p [1/4] - YouTube

If you live far and out, it makes sense to own your own car, but in any city location, it becomes pretty pointless to own a car even more so.

Unless you actually really, really like cars. And your city is 503 square miles.
Most of humankind still can't even run an affordable, efficient train service. How's about learning to walk first, then run.

People don't want trains though, they want cars. I prefer trains but they don't run on Sunday mornings when I need them so I have a car. Anyway, how sweet would it be if cars could drive themselves and I could treat the drive like a train trip and actually enjoy the scenery or a book or something?! Fantastic. Shit, I want one now.

Its available now. LS460 owners boast on Lexus forums about snoozing at 80pm, with the radar cruise and lane guidance looking after the car.

The great thing about these is they are programmed to be ultra safe. So if someone steps out in front of one it will brake, and wait till the road is clear before setting off. I can see some fun times as people just stop whole queues of traffic, because they can. Drivers mouthing in fury but the car just sitting waiting till I get out of the way. Imagine Oxford st.

Its available now. LS460 owners boast on Lexus forums about snoozing at 80pm, with the radar cruise and lane guidance looking after the car.

Lexus drivers here generally think their car drives itself, going by what I see them doing at the wheel in traffic. Texting, eating, applying make-up, anything but paying attention to the task of driving. Stupid cunts that don't deserve a licence, basically.

People don't want trains though, they want cars. I prefer trains but they don't run on Sunday mornings when I need them so I have a car. Anyway, how sweet would it be if cars could drive themselves and I could treat the drive like a train trip and actually enjoy the scenery or a book or something?! Fantastic. Shit, I want one now.

Living up to your username quite spectacularly, there. People 'want' but are not prepared to do what's necessary to 'deserve'.
Do you honestly think the future of Autonomous cars is that people who can (just about) afford to run a car nowadays will later on be blessed with a personal vehicle that whisks them wherever they like whilst they sit there foffing off to a Miley Cyrus sex tape?
Or...
Do you think that the Government / DoT will happily prise the steering wheel out of your hands, kick you onto public transport and make the future of 'personal motoring' so expensive that only the rich can afford it?

Right now, I can buy and run a (used, probably quite old) car for a reasonable amount of money. That to me is quite a freedom.
I don't want to exchange that for a satellite-tracked, radar-guided, information-leaking JohnnyCab that will likely cost three times as much as a G-Wiz.

Makes me think of Johnny Cabs and Total Recall.

Do Not Want.

Makes me think of:

The great thing about these is they are programmed to be ultra safe. So if someone steps out in front of one it will brake, and wait till the road is clear before setting off. I can see some fun times as people just stop whole queues of traffic, because they can. Drivers mouthing in fury but the car just sitting waiting till I get out of the way. Imagine Oxford st.

footage of the first trial run by mercedes of their auto-braking technology
i think it was shown on top gear a year or two back

Mercedes Auto Brake Fail - YouTube

in my opinion i think we should wait until we can make mobile phones calls that don't break up cut out and end unexpectedly before we rely on that mobile technology to drive our cars

yeah it's ok we're only getting 50% of the signal we'll be fine

Living up to your username quite spectacularly, there. People 'want' but are not prepared to do what's necessary to 'deserve'.
Do you honestly think the future of Autonomous cars is that people who can (just about) afford to run a car nowadays will later on be blessed with a personal vehicle that whisks them wherever they like whilst they sit there foffing off to a Miley Cyrus sex tape?
Or...
Do you think that the Government / DoT will happily prise the steering wheel out of your hands, kick you onto public transport and make the future of 'personal motoring' so expensive that only the rich can afford it?

Right now, I can buy and run a (used, probably quite old) car for a reasonable amount of money. That to me is quite a freedom.
I don't want to exchange that for a satellite-tracked, radar-guided, information-leaking JohnnyCab that will likely cost three times as much as a G-Wiz.

I don't think you see the bigger picture in terms of usability. It's not going to be about ownership anymore. More of a subscription method that...well, you're signed up to long term. Like leasing a car, except you don't have it on your driveway, more like look at your phone, say I need a car and bam, it's right there within a minute.
As for who "want" and "deserve", that's now. If autonomous cars become the norm, that variable will be completely eliminated, and frankly, Autopilots in planes these days are fucking incredible and have a smaller margin of error than a human.
Maybe not in the beginning, but they will start paying for themselves when the infrastructure matures. You've got to look at it from a socio-economic perspective. Sure, I can buy a car for 500quid, but upkeep for me isn't realistic since I won't be driving it that often. Which makes more sense for me to get a zipcar subscription. The Socio one you experience everyday. Overcrowding. Too many cars. Now imagine if all those cars self monitored themselves in real-time and there was no congestion.

As for security, aren't you satellite tracked, radar guided now? information leaking you say? frankly, we do that by our own free will these days without a seconds thought.
It wont be forced down your gullet. Nor will it be all encompassing, you can still get public transport or (DLR anyone?) or buy your own. However, What's not to like about going down to the coast on a weekend completely traffic free?

footage of the first trial run by mercedes of their auto-braking technology
i think it was shown on top gear a year or two back

in my opinion i think we should wait until we can make mobile phones calls that don't break up cut out and end unexpectedly before we rely on that mobile technology to drive our cars

That's like saying we shouldn't try to find a cure for cancer because we haven't cured the common cold first.
Mercedes test. It was rigged: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/29/mercedes_brake_test_fiasco/

https://www.car2go.com/en/london/

It's starting...

Needs to be cheaper, have more coverage and more practical cars/vans to be viable I think though.

Like leasing a car, except you don't have it on your driveway, more like look at your phone, say I need a car and bam, it's right there within a minute.

Oh, that sounds amazing! Almost like a... Taxi.

The great thing about owning a car is that it's more than just a form of transport. It's a piece of design, a personal space, something that you can rely upon as a constant. It can also function as a refuge, a place to sleep, entertain, escape.
Tell me;
Will these autonomous 'public' cars clean themselves (inside, I mean) after every single use? I don't currently know of any form of transport that can do that. Piece of piss to keep my own car clean though.
Will these things be able to swallow/carry a shitload of stuff from Ikea? Mattresses strapped to the roof, tailgate tied down with rope, etc?
How about camping and exploring? Can I drive one out into the woods and sleep in it if I want to get up and surf at 5am? Are there going to be air-conditioned charging stations in Death Valley?
Then there is also the small (well, massive, actually) issue of Motorsport. You know, that technological behemoth fuelled by enthusiasm, passion and most importantly a fucking shitload of private money that develops the technologies that currently trickle down into our road cars. Do you expect anyone to race Autonomous vehicles? Or do we just leave Morgan and Caterham to carry on making their bread and butter for petrolheads to blast around in?

I don't think you see the bigger picture

I don't think you're right.

Do you expect anyone to race Autonomous vehicles?

That would be amazing. No more human error, just perfect laps each time, truly see which is the best car.

That would be awful. No more humans.

ftfy

That would be different.

I don't think autonomous cars require the total extinction of their human piloted predecessors. I mean zip car happened and people still have their own cars.

It could create a new 'sport' not replace an old one and an alternate transport which would have advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation.