Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 634 posts

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#21

Post by gonehome »

samstave wrote: post #14

I do a hit and run on a driverless car, assume its on its way to pickup a passenger, so no humans involved. I hack a driverless car, again with no passengers, and make it do my bidding (hit that other [thing]) I follow driverless car back to its charging base and slash its tires? I rearend a driverless car then leave the scene? (same as option 1 I guess - but could be applied differently) A driverless car gets into i…

I’d guess the car has a detailed recording of the crash including your license plate and contacts the nearby google employees and the police.

Then it probably cancels the ride.

At least that’s the process that would make sense to me.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#22

Post by bwanab »

samstave wrote: post #14

I do a hit and run on a driverless car, assume its on its way to pickup a passenger, so no humans involved. I hack a driverless car, again with no passengers, and make it do my bidding (hit that other [thing]) I follow driverless car back to its charging base and slash its tires? I rearend a driverless car then leave the scene? (same as option 1 I guess - but could be applied differently) A driverless car gets into i…

Presumably all those cameras on the car will have picked you out.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#23

Post by k__ »

udfalkso wrote: post #2

Waymo’s tech requires the area to be meticulously mapped correct? Is this why the test is limited to a small geography?

How much of a problem is this mapping?

Huge part is up-front-work, and then?

How often do streets change?

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#24

Post by JshWright »

samstave wrote: post #14

I do a hit and run on a driverless car, assume its on its way to pickup a passenger, so no humans involved. I hack a driverless car, again with no passengers, and make it do my bidding (hit that other [thing]) I follow driverless car back to its charging base and slash its tires? I rearend a driverless car then leave the scene? (same as option 1 I guess - but could be applied differently) A driverless car gets into i…

Presumably the above average number of sensors on the car make it pretty easy to identify your vehicle and you are charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#25

Post by nawitus »

gervase wrote: post #12
Kiro wrote: post #11

How is this legal?

The laws governing self-driving cars in Arizona are extremely lenient, perhaps the most in the nation. Additionally, it appears as if each ride is being monitored in real time remotely by a Waymo employee, who can intervene if something goes wrong, or if the riders request.

Does the car have an emergency button to stop the driving?

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#26

Post by hardtke »

What happens if these cars get in a situation where there is no legal way to move? For instance, the other day I was driving down the street and it was closed because of a Farmers market. Will they just sit there for hours? In gridlock, there is often no way to move without "blocking the box."

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#27

Post by joshuamorton »

k__ wrote: post #23
udfalkso wrote: post #2

Waymo’s tech requires the area to be meticulously mapped correct? Is this why the test is limited to a small geography?

How much of a problem is this mapping? Huge part is up-front-work, and then? How often do streets change?

Not significantly more difficult than what goes into google maps, you just need a modified sensor suite, if I understand correctly. (Disclosure: googler, but I have nothing to do with maps or cars)

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#28

Post by samstave »

samstave wrote: post #14

I do a hit and run on a driverless car, assume its on its way to pickup a passenger, so no humans involved. I hack a driverless car, again with no passengers, and make it do my bidding (hit that other [thing]) I follow driverless car back to its charging base and slash its tires? I rearend a driverless car then leave the scene? (same as option 1 I guess - but could be applied differently) A driverless car gets into i…

OK - im replying to my comment because I find all these answers to be bullshit and here is why:

So what these answers say is that you "no longer have any expectation of privacy while driving out and about" -- which is a fine argument to make in a police state, are we a police state - because guess what: this is now saying that any self driving car company has the ability to license plate scan you and take your picture to ensure their corporate protection from YOU affecting their incomes.

And FUCK THAT - do you know that their was a major silicon valley tech company that is scanning every single vehicles license plate that drives within two miles of their campus and reporting that back to the municipality in which thy sit.

So now, we are going to say that self driving cars are the new state sensors that will record every license and driver that passes them by and report it back to [police]

Are you fucking kidding me?

So thats an acceptable "business model"? - WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HN? -- if you support this idea, that every freaking robot driving on the roads should auto report all data to the police, then, please, log off. I cant believe what I am hearing.

CHANGE MY VIEW!

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#29

Post by rayiner »

udfalkso wrote: post #2

Waymo’s tech requires the area to be meticulously mapped correct? Is this why the test is limited to a small geography?

That's pretty terrifying that it can't read street signs and is dependent on mapping. Here in D.C., there are all sorts of fine-grained road rules, such as streets that are one-way only certain times of day, streets that reverse direction at certain times of day, turns that are legal or illegal depending on time of day, etc. That's not including random road closures.

These databases apparently don't get updated that often. Recently, D.C. moved a major highway on-ramp. It used to be that you could get on 395-S heading west on H street, by taking a left onto the on-ramp. They replaced it with an underground entrance ramp on eastbound Mass. Ave., such that westbound traffic on H or Mass. Ave. could no longer use the on-ramp, and had to go several blocks south to use a different one. This was a widely-publicized move planned long in advance. And at least Apple Maps tried to steer me down the old route for awhile.

Similar thing in our neighborhood just outside the Annapolis city limits. They closed our street to car traffic with barriers, so that you can get in an out but can't drive along it for more than one cross street. Whatever database Uber uses still hasn't figured this out--I'll get Uber drivers waiting for me on the other side of one of the barriers.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#30

Post by kyrra »

nawitus wrote: post #25
gervase wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The laws governing self-driving cars in Arizona are extremely lenient, perhaps the most in the nation. Additionally, it appears as if each ride is being monitored in real time remotely by a Waymo employee, who can intervene if something goes wrong, or if the riders request.

Does the car have an emergency button to stop the driving?

https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/waymo_p...

The above image is from the inside of a Waymo minivan. There are 4 buttons on it: (1) Call/Help (2) Lock/Unlock (3) Pull Over (4) Start Ride

Post reply on HN