Self-Driving Cars

Would You Buy A Self-Driving Car?

  • Yes

    Votes: 51 14.2%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 44 12.2%
  • No

    Votes: 265 73.6%

  • Total voters
    360
In the extreme cold, snow drifts, slush and sometimes life threatening weather I drive in a good part of the winter I would have a hard time trusting sensors incrusted in ice and snow to work the way they were intended to. I suspect that there would be shutdown protocols to prevent accidents and such but how fast can the computer get the attention of the driver (who is just a passenger at that point) to put his cell phone down and take over with the car doing 360's on the ice and heading for the ditch or worse, the front bumper of the oncoming kenworth.

Then there is the issue of reliability in extreme conditions. Would the system just crash at some point, turning the warm heated car into a "brick". That means suddenly being exposed to the elements which for me could mean anything from a blizzard or to temps down to - 50 deg weather.

When it comes to self driving cars or electric powered for that matter they can keep it all.. I'll be hanging onto low tech for cars for as long as I possibly can.
 
Tell me who's liable in an accident, the owner or the manufacturer.
I'm against it as I like driving and think more people need to pay attention while behind the wheel, not less. But there are a lot of lousy drivers out there that the self drivers would be an upgrade over, so I'm mixed.
It has been proven with the recent Toyota throttle sticking fiasco that the manufacturer isn't really on the hook due to the burden of proof. The code is so complex that no one can find the needle in the haystack. This being the rather simple action of a computer controlling what a ordinary reliable cable used to do. Imagine the complexity of a self driving car! Where would the burden of proof lie? Not with the manufacturer.
 
The real problem is the profit margin that creates a minimalistic approach to how well something is built. Like they say, time is money when dealing with people that lack passion...
 
In an automated car, you've got 360 degrees of coverage, fully alert in all directions all the time. Sorry, but no human can compete with that.
That's true. But the advantage that humans and animals have is not in the hardware (optics) - it's in the software (data processing). The ability to - in a small fraction of a second - comprehend all the multi-dimensional spatial / spectral / motion data is something that was produced by millions of years of genetic algorithms. We have nothing that even comes close to that. This ability developed as an aid to survival. At this point in time technology can certainly supplement that ability but it can't replace it.
 
In the extreme cold, snow drifts, slush and sometimes life threatening weather I drive in a good part of the winter I would have a hard time trusting sensors incrusted in ice and snow to work the way they were intended to. I suspect that there would be shutdown protocols to prevent accidents and such but how fast can the computer get the attention of the driver (who is just a passenger at that point) to put his cell phone down and take over with the car doing 360's on the ice and heading for the ditch or worse, the front bumper of the oncoming kenworth.

Then there is the issue of reliability in extreme conditions. Would the system just crash at some point, turning the warm heated car into a "brick". That means suddenly being exposed to the elements which for me could mean anything from a blizzard or to temps down to - 50 deg weather.

When it comes to self driving cars or electric powered for that matter they can keep it all.. I'll be hanging onto low tech for cars for as long as I possibly can.

Man,
Even a non-autonomous it doesn't sound like driving where you live is any fun in the winter (unless it's that way in the summer which would make it that much worse:D)
 
The other side of the coin is, it seems as if it'd have to be all or nothing.
It's been argued that either all (fully autonomous) or nothing (you do all the driving) is safer than the middle approach. The test vehicles on the road now use the middle approach (class 3?) in which the vehicle sounds an alarm if it needs human over-ride. It's been observed that in situations like this it could take up to seven seconds for the human to regain awareness of the driving environment / conditions and regain control of the vehicle.
 
In the extreme cold, snow drifts, slush and sometimes life threatening weather I drive in a good part of the winter I would have a hard time trusting sensors incrusted in ice and snow to work the way they were intended to.
Not trying to turn this poll into a crusade - but I do have some opinions as I indicated in the OP. In Michigan we have a particularly evil road hazard - the flooded chuckhole. It looks just like a harmless shallow puddle. They're pretty obvious to humans (because of our superior bio contextual processing) - and they'll eat your tire if you plunge into one.
 
I'm looking forward to a DIY add on package that would give me automatic interval maintenance ... I could be, like ... the ultimate tailgater! AHAHAHHAAAAAAA!!!

PS ... was watching Leno's Garage the other night and he sprung a new one on me ... driving a Tesla, toggle the turn signal, and the car automatically changed lanes one traffic cleared ... kewl beans!
 
Not trying to turn this poll into a crusade - but I do have some opinions as I indicated in the OP. In Michigan we have a particularly evil road hazard - the flooded chuckhole. It looks just like a harmless shallow puddle. They're pretty obvious to humans (because of our superior bio contextual processing) - and they'll eat your tire if you plunge into one.
I cannot fathom software ever being capable of functioning in the real day to day world like what you and I have described other than perhaps interstate travel or well maintained city streets. Maybe someday they will perfect it to replace the human brain but I fear by the time that happens the machines will have put every last one of us out of a job!
 
Man,
Even a non-autonomous it doesn't sound like driving where you live is any fun in the winter (unless it's that way in the summer which would make it that much worse:D)
That would depend on just how perverse your idea of fun is! :) Before the world seemingly warmed up, the climate was way worse in the northern lats (above 60 deg) In the 60's on up to around the late 70's we would see temps to -60F (not chill factor) every winter. I have personally experienced -75F back in the 60's. Nothing and I mean nothing functions right in that cold and I would be very wary of all the on board computers, servos, even the battery being designed to be reliable in that sort of extreme. Now about as cold as it seems to get is -40 but that still presents a huge challenge.
 
PS ... was watching Leno's Garage the other night and he sprung a new one on me ... driving a Tesla, toggle the turn signal, and the car automatically changed lanes one traffic cleared ... kewl beans!
Can't speak for the Chinese one but it definitely demonstrates what a "no-brainer" fail looks like -



.
 
Not to be snarky, but it is almost remarkable to me that anyone would think that it isn't inevitable. Sure, the technology isn't there yet, but isn't that always the case with these sorts of developments? We are already partway to the reality, and completing the transition is only a matter of time. There are simply too many advantages: the ability to make better use of one's time while in the vehicle, the increase in traffic density made possible, particularly when the cars start talking to one another, and most importantly a major, major reduction in fatalities. Despite the concerns for safety in the present day, once this gets dialed in and universally applied, I predict that fatalities will become as rare as plane crashes - maybe more so. They will occur, of course. But we will look back on these days with tens of thousand dead per year and wonder how society could have tolerated the carnage.
 
Let's consider it can be done and actually works. What happens when a lowly capacitor or IC fails in the PCM? To get around that you would need redundancy. This would add to cost. Also, just as we now have people that drive with the check engine light on all the time we would have people running the backup system until that also failed.

The cameras, obstacle avoidance and self parking features are an assist but should not be a substitute for good judgement. The human brain will hopefully not become obsolete.

I believe the cost model is going to change. Most people won't own a car, they'll own a share of a car, or a share of a car service that might get you access to various classes of vehicles, as needed. It will drive itself off for service as needed. As for reliability, when's the last time you flew in a plane? They've been running mostly on autopilot for many years now.

Cars are already heading down this route. The wifes BMW has drive by wire, no steering column. It wouldn't surprise me if the throttle and brake pedals are coupled electronically as well. With all the electronics in modern vehicles, they're light years ahead of cars built 2-3 decades ago in terms of reliability. And yeah, while repairs are more expensive, the on board systems can tell you what's wrong most of the time.

bs
 
Incidentally, I love driving and I think it will survive as a sport. But my commute is an hour each way and it is misery. It is a rare moment when I am on an uncrowded back road and driving is actually a pleasure.
 
Not to be snarky, but it is almost remarkable to me that anyone would think that it isn't inevitable. Sure, the technology isn't there yet, but isn't that always the case with these sorts of developments? We are already partway to the reality, and completing the transition is only a matter of time. There are simply too many advantages: the ability to make better use of one's time while in the vehicle, the increase in traffic density made possible, particularly when the cars start talking to one another, and most importantly a major, major reduction in fatalities. Despite the concerns for safety in the present day, once this gets dialed in and universally applied, I predict that fatalities will become as rare as plane crashes - maybe more so. They will occur, of course. But we will look back on these days with tens of thousand dead per year and wonder how society could have tolerated the carnage.

Agreed. I'm guessing that these things won't be running red lights and making sudden lane changes.

bs
 
I wonder who will
Not to be snarky, but it is almost remarkable to me that anyone would think that it isn't inevitable. Sure, the technology isn't there yet, but isn't that always the case with these sorts of developments? We are already partway to the reality, and completing the transition is only a matter of time. There are simply too many advantages: the ability to make better use of one's time while in the vehicle, the increase in traffic density made possible, particularly when the cars start talking to one another, and most importantly a major, major reduction in fatalities. Despite the concerns for safety in the present day, once this gets dialed in and universally applied, I predict that fatalities will become as rare as plane crashes - maybe more so. They will occur, of course. But we will look back on these days with tens of thousand dead per year and wonder how society could have tolerated the carnage.
You are right in the sense that they can overcome most of the tech hurdles, but to what end? As cars develop to not need us, so will everything else. Robots have started and will continue to take away employment. By your reasoning it wont take long before brain surgeons will be replaced by robotics and AI. So with that sobering viewpoint, who will be around with money to buy these driverless cars? Or even pay for a subscription service or whatever the system will be. Or will money even exist in an unemployed world?? That will be a test for capitalism. Either the gov will pay for it (but not through taxes because everyone will be out of work) or else the whole human economic system that has been in place since we stopped the hunter gatherer way of life will be in question.
Robotics is advancing at an incredible rate..
 
Doctors can already perform surgery without being in the same location as the patient. As I understand, they a use monitor and some type of robotic sleeve. The doctors movements are duplicated by similar sleeves, or arms if you will, on the patient. Pretty cool stuff especially in very specialized emergency situations where the doctor and patient can't be together.

As for self driving cars I imagine it's inevitable if we don't destroy ourselves first.
 
Cars are already heading down this route. The wifes BMW has drive by wire, no steering column. It wouldn't surprise me if the throttle and brake pedals are coupled electronically as well.
IIRC electronic throttle control consisted of ...
  • a pedal position sensor
  • a throttle position sensor
  • a wiring harness
  • a "smart" actuator consisting of a stepper motor and some PID control on a 16-bit chip
Vastly vastly unsophisticated compared to what would be required in a serious autonomous driving system. Just a point of clarification - the poll isn't about buying a self-driving car in the far distant Star Trek future. It's about buying one in the next five to ten years.
 
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