Motoring Google Car

[DaGaffer]

So I'm reading up about the new Google Car, and I keep thinking, "that's familiar". Then I realised:

Spoiler

I went to Peppa Pig World last week:

 

[Raven]

Can't wait to fuck with them.

 

[Poag]

To be honest, the car looks awful. But the technology is awesome.

Truly i cannot wait for this to reach mass market approval and start hitting the roads....the elderly get them first! Swiftly followed by people who queue jump.

But in the long run this is the future and i really can't wait. Of course they will have 'backup' steering wheels to start with.
It wont be long until there are motorway lanes for packets of cars moving along together at higher than normal motorway speeds.


Its all good in my opinion so long as the tech is sound and unmodifiable by the end user.

 

[Poag]

Can't wait to fuck with them.

Why? these cars records what goes on around them, so if someone was to 'fuck' with them by swerving in and around them, only they will get punished.....the car will avoid them better than a normal driver would and continue happily on its way.

 

[Raven]

No I mean things like just standing in the road. The cars have zero controls for passengers so theoretically they could get stranded by a traffic cone for days when heading back to their charging/base station.

Also, I was slightly joking so er...yeah.

 

[DaGaffer]

To be honest, the car looks awful. But the technology is awesome.

...except when it rains, or snows.

I'm sure they'll iron those issues out, and we will see this type of car become mainstream in the next decade or so, I just wish it wasn't Google doing it. I also really doubt your "packets of cars at high speed" idea will pan out; legislation always lags, so don't expect speed limit changes for driverless cars, mainly because of the "think of the children" brigade. On the other hand, if I was a taxi driver, I'd be thinking about a new line of work; these things in urban areas makes a ton of sense.

 

[Bodhi]

As long as it can be overridden so those of us who enjoy driving and see it as a skill to be learnt can still do so I don't see too much of an issue, wouldn't buy one through choice however.

I do like BMW's approach to this however, as all their tech demos seem to involved cars going sideways very quickly round a racetrack. Now that I would be interested in - if the car picks up that you're on a track, it activates the "Scare yourself shitless" mode.

 

[Poag]

Maybe not a google car dealing with the road surface hazards, but DARPA have been doing good things with off road vehicles, its only a hop skip and a short jump to snow/ice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_Grand_Challenge

 

[Tom]

Brilliant, although my work means that I'll always need my own car. Self-driving cars will be much safer than what we currently have, and for most people, who have a car that does absolutely nothing whatsoever for 99% of the time they own it, it'll save them a fortune.

As for inclement conditions, it's just sensor noise. If the car can't "see" far enough to drive safely, it'll just slow down - which is exactly what humans should (but mostly don't) do anyway.

And just imagine how liberating these vehicles will be for disabled folk. Imagine being blind and no longer having to rely on someone else to travel any kind of distance.

 

[Tom]

The cars have zero controls for passengers so theoretically they could get stranded by a traffic cone for days

The car would just drive around the cone. Or find another route. And it would signal all other cars, alerting them to the problem. So the other cars would just use another route.

 

[Fweddy]

The car would just drive around the cone. Or find another route. And it would signal all other cars, alerting them to the problem. So the other cars would just use another route.

They could be like ants and lay down pheromones to help them find the best alternate route! I think this will be a great thing when it's ubiquitous . So much safer and easier.

 

[Raven]

The car would just drive around the cone. Or find another route. And it would signal all other cars, alerting them to the problem. So the other cars would just use another route.

Many places only have one way in.

 

[Tom]

Many places only have one way in.

If they have only one way in, how do people get out?

 

[MYstIC G]

Cede control of your car totally... no thanks.

 

[Chilly]

Driverless cars would solve so many problems. Road deaths would plummet, road usage efficiency would skyrocket (fewer cars needed, everyone just summons one from a pool), parking becomes way simpler as you don't need to park on your own premises, you can send your car to a secure carpark in a cheap bit of town. Petrol usage goes down because robots can drive more efficiently than humans with that the energy problems we face will become slightly easier to handle (gas prices are tied to oil prices, if we make petrol cheaper by reducing demand, the cost of heating our houses drops). YOU CAN DRIVE TO THE PUB, DRINK 20 PINTS AND THEN DRIVE HOME!

 

[CorNokZ]

One idiot with a spray can and your car is ruined...

 

[DaGaffer]

One idiot with a spray can and your car is ruined...

That's true now.

 

[MYstIC G]

fewer cars needed, everyone just summons one from a pool

Sorry, they're self-driving, not self-cleaning. Go rent a ZipCar/Van for a day and then come back to that one, k.

 

[DaGaffer]

I still think there would be a market for owned vehicles, but there would probably be a expansion of schemes like the one BMW runs for the i3 where you also get access to a regular rental car for long distances etc. I can see leases on your "home" vehicle, which could be personalised just like any car, but with a focus on what you want to do in it while its driving itself - work, leisure, family etc. and then access to rentals or pool cars when you're elsewhere or abroad.

What would work really well is a "last mile" model, so you can go home>car>public transport>(car)>work etc. in a seamless fashion.

 

[MYstIC G]

Yeah, why own when you can rent and constantly have to hand money to someone else forever with no end point...

 

[Raven]

Erg, 3 vehicles to get to and from work. Bugger that. Door to door or nothing.

 

[Bodhi]

And just imagine how liberating these vehicles will be for disabled folk. Imagine being blind and no longer having to rely on someone else to travel any kind of distance.

I've heard this touted as a benefit - so blind people can go shopping on their own. Can they? Won't they need assistance when they get there to make sure they're buying the right stuff?

 

[Bodhi]

I still think there would be a market for owned vehicles, but there would probably be a expansion of schemes like the one BMW runs for the i3 where you also get access to a regular rental car for long distances etc. I can see leases on your "home" vehicle, which could be personalised just like any car, but with a focus on what you want to do in it while its driving itself - work, leisure, family etc. and then access to rentals or pool cars when you're elsewhere or abroad.

What would work really well is a "last mile" model, so you can go home>car>public transport>(car)>work etc. in a seamless fashion.

Yes. That sounds a massive improvement on home > car > work. In a seamless fashion.

 

[DaGaffer]

Yes. That sounds a massive improvement on home > car > work. In a seamless fashion.

The reason why a lot of people don't use public transport and spend fortunes on owning a car just for work is that they can't get to public transport in the first place. Mass transit is still a cheaper solution for society than chains of driverless cars going up and down the motorway.

 

[Bodhi]

The reason why a lot of people don't use public transport and spend fortunes on owning a car just for work is that they can't get to public transport in the first place. Mass transit is still a cheaper solution for society than chains of driverless cars going up and down the motorway.

Well no, I have no problem with access as I live directly opposite a train station. The reason I don't use it is it's unreliable, dirty, full of people with diseases and the general public. And it's pretty fucking dull not being able to drive.

It's mostly the diseases and the general public though.

 

[Raven]

The last thing I want to deal with on my commute to work is the rifraf. I used to have to catch a bus to work in my younger days, bus stop outside my house and bus stop outside of work. I still got a taxi half the time.

 

[DaGaffer]

Well no, I have no problem with access as I live directly opposite a train station. The reason I don't use it is it's unreliable, dirty, full of people with diseases and the general public. And it's pretty fucking dull not being able to drive.

It's mostly the diseases and the general public though.

Hey, you chose to live in Staffordshire, no use bleating about it now.

 

[Bodhi]

Hey, you chose to live in Staffordshire, no use bleating about it now.

Lesser of two evils, it was Staffordshire or the centre of Birmingham. I realise that's a bit like asking if you'd like AIDS or the Ebola virus, but still....

 

[caLLous]

I lived in Stoke (for all of about 3 weeks) and then I lived in Wolves. If I had to choose again; Wolves every time.

 

[Tom]

I've heard this touted as a benefit - so blind people can go shopping on their own. Can they? Won't they need assistance when they get there to make sure they're buying the right stuff?

Fortunately, we have these wonderful things called "shops". Big shops, commonly called "supermarkets", are usually filled with special people called "staff" who are only too happy to help people buy their groceries.

But blind people don't just want to shop. There are lots of things they'd like to do. Perhaps they want to visit their relatives, 30 miles away - a self-driving car would be perfect for that. And when they're done, the car just turns up to take them wherever they next want to go.