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Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

uk.reuters.com

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Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#121

Post by konradb »

ianamartin wrote: post #99
gregschlom wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may result in the opposite effect though: pedestrians more willing to cross the street in front of you, and other cars trying to mess with you. (A friend of mine was telling me how he tried going really fast then braking hard behind a self driving car in front of him). The car swerved into the bike lane and almost hit a bicyclist before the driver regained manual control of the car)

I don't know what it's like in the bay area, but in NYC, everyone is an enemy to cyclists. Granted, it's not all our fault. We have our fair share of wannabe lance armstrongs. But most of us are just trying to get to/from work in a healthy way. People who drive hate us, and people who walk hate us too. It's a shitty situation here.

London is very much the same. The recent large expansion of cycle routes along the Thames and the resultant roadworks has increased the us vs them sentiment unfortunately :(

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#122

Post by APPLthrowaway99 »

ianamartin wrote: post #96
APPLthrowaway99 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disclaimer: If it wasn't clear from the username, this is a throwaway. I don't want to endanger my business by associating my rant with my >7 year old HN account :-( There is a 0% chance that I would ever purchase a car from Apple with their self driving functionality in it. We recently had issues with a whole bunch of rejections of our app for reasons that are not clearly defined in their guidelines (allegedly they…

You . . . argue that you wouldn't trust an apple car on the basis that they make good hardware, but you have a software dispute with apple? I'm sure you are very frustrated, but this comment really doesn't make sense to me. I would tend to think of an apple car as hardware, which you admit is good. And it's probably being driven by apple software, which is sometimes iffy and buggy and downright crappy. I can't imagin…

While looking back at it, my comment was a rather vague as to the target... Apple's customer support is spotty if you factor in their B2B (?assuming being an app developer puts you in that position?). I don't want to trust my mode of transportation to them as a result of my experiences.

In this situation, a self driving car is a combination of hardware and software. As you said:

> it's probably being driven by apple software, which is sometimes iffy and buggy and downright crappy

Whether it rolls well is one thing, but I question the consistency of the software from them, as well as their consistency on policies (app rejections)

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#123

Post by eigenvalue »

konradb wrote: post #117
gregpilling wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, also why would it need oil changes since it would most likely be electric? Scheduled maintenance is a very occasional thing in electric vehicles.

I don't know much about engines nor cars but I am guessing that even with electric motors one needs gears? If so then there would be a need for gearbox oil.

No you don't need a gearbox.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#124

Post by yourapostasy »

shouldbworking wrote: post #85
yourapostasy wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think its an open question how nice society will be to participant unable to retaliate. I suspect that the initial implied liability carried by the first batch of commercially sold self-driving vehicles will lead to extensive sensor logs and 360° dash cam recordings. In the event a human driver tries to game a self-driving vehicle and it causes an accident, the extensive data logging will supply far more than tra…

I believe you are right about all of these legal issues, but a very human question remains. If a machine is driving, who decides who dies? As shitty as the human race is much of the time, people in life or death situations regularly show a lack of self preservation when given the choice between saving themselves or someone else. Human history is littered with countless real, and imagined, heroes that gave their lives…

> I believe this dilemma is un-solvable.

You are correct; it is un-solvable through technical means, as this dilemma requires a cultural shift that could take several generations to accept sensor- and machine-made decisions that are the embodiment of likely monied interests' policies who will lobby for the necessary legislative scaffolding. Not that will prevent companies from trying technical solutions: it may push sensor boundaries much further out, and at far greater granularity, for example. Scanning out to the mechanical limits of braking distance at current measured road traction, modeling every detected element, and simming projected versus actual paths microsecond by microsecond, and ultra-defensively maneuver. Not even limiting to just reacting to unfolding emergencies, but proactively easing out of potentially developing risk, like noticing it might get boxed in by human-driven vehicles (maybe identified by their erratic steering, not even requiring an IFF-type system), and easing out to join a "herd" of self-driving cars further ahead.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#125

Post by hyperpallium »

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #39

In some markets, it is more about getting it right than getting in at the right time. We've seen many carcasses of products that were ahead of their time, not because they were bad ideas but because they were not formulated for mass adoption. Apple's own Newton is one example. It took the iPhone formulation to make the product features successful in the market. A more recent example is the telepresence robot. Many en…

> getting it right

Self-driving. Apple Maps.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#126

Post by peregrine »

weaksauce wrote: post #113
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #39

In some markets, it is more about getting it right than getting in at the right time. We've seen many carcasses of products that were ahead of their time, not because they were bad ideas but because they were not formulated for mass adoption. Apple's own Newton is one example. It took the iPhone formulation to make the product features successful in the market. A more recent example is the telepresence robot. Many en…

to be fair, the apple tv remote is fantastic and it's better than any other remote i have used for the common features. (i do wish it had a tv power button though since it can actuate the volume but i guess they wanted to go with the standard that shuts down the tv when you shut off the apple tv if your tv supports it)

I've got just the apple support document for you! https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205225 If your TV supports HDMI features you will only ever need one remote.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#127

Post by APPLthrowaway99 »

megablast wrote: post #87
tehwebguy wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Apple Store service not the gold standard?

It is for electronic devices. Why someone would think they would do exactly the same model for a car division is very strange.

Their service may be good for hardware, but from personal experience it has been far from great if you're an app developer. We're in the top 100 grossing apps and can't even get a callback from them, let alone a point of contact if there are issues.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#129

Post by ams6110 »

gregpilling wrote: post #106
mikestew wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dude, the car is self-driving , why are you waiting for it to get its oil changed?

Agreed, also why would it need oil changes since it would most likely be electric? Scheduled maintenance is a very occasional thing in electric vehicles.

Electric is a much smaller market. And nothing about self-driving requires an electric vehicle.

I'd consider buying self-driving features on a regular car. Electric would be a total deal-breaker for me with today's technology.

Edit: upon further reflection I think it's likely that Apple is just developing the self driving tech and is unlikely to be actually planning to build cars, electric or otherwise.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#130

Post by ams6110 »

mvpu wrote: post #128

Wow. Amazon is probably working on it too. Great that 10 years from now we'll be seeing Teslas, Apples, Googles and Amazons on the road more than Fords, Chevys, Hondas and Nissans. Interesting times.

You think Ford, Chevy, Honda and Nissan are not working on self-driving technology?
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