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Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

reuters.com

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Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#21

Post by egwynn »

skizm wrote: post #18

Curious, are these pilot programs sending the trucks out completely driverless? Or are there going to be humans in the "cockpit" sort of managing things and taking occasional naps?

Did you read the first paragraph?

> San Diego-based startup TuSimple said its self-driving trucks will begin hauling mail between USPS facilities in Phoenix and Dallas to see how the nascent technology might improve delivery times and costs. A safety driver will sit behind the wheel to intervene if necessary and an engineer will ride in the passenger seat.

Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#22

Post by oldgradstudent »

skizm wrote: post #18

Curious, are these pilot programs sending the trucks out completely driverless? Or are there going to be humans in the "cockpit" sort of managing things and taking occasional naps?

Of course not.

> A safety driver will sit behind the wheel to intervene if necessary and an engineer will ride in the passenger seat.

There are no self driving cars in existence. At least not ones that are even remotely competitive with human drivers.

Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#24

Post by mrbgty »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #19
linsomniac wrote: post #6

Back in 1987, at my first job at Hewlett-Packard, they had a little robot that would deliver mail. This was their plant in Loveland, CO, I believe it was the first non-California site HP opened. Along the main hallways there was some sort of retroreflective tape laid down, and the robot, which looked like and equipment cart, would follow that tape. At every stop it would sound a chime and the secretary for that secti…

IIRC the movie Space Camp (80s?) features a mail-robot, perhaps the kid hides in it?

Flight of the Navigator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4v-dMfzp3E

Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#25

Post by kaybe »

Spooky23 wrote: post #12
ru999gol wrote: post #3

I always wondered why it seems we've get automated trucks pretty soon everywhere, but there is almost no one talking about self driving trains?

Trains are super efficient. My uncle is a locomotive engineer. He has one or two conductors with a train that is a couple of miles long. They pay a premium to keep staffing at a minimum -- he can be called with 30 minutes notice to come in and drive a train for a 24 hour period. You'd probably be able to run more smaller trains with automation, but competing with trucks is tough, because the efficiency gains associat…

So I was a bit incredulous at the claim of miles-long trains.

If anyone else is - turns out, there's a wikipedia page which has more information on very long trains (it's true):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_trains

Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#26

Post by alistairSH »

linsomniac wrote: post #6

Back in 1987, at my first job at Hewlett-Packard, they had a little robot that would deliver mail. This was their plant in Loveland, CO, I believe it was the first non-California site HP opened. Along the main hallways there was some sort of retroreflective tape laid down, and the robot, which looked like and equipment cart, would follow that tape. At every stop it would sound a chime and the secretary for that secti…

My wife's office (NFCU HQ) still has one of these.

It feels so very 1970s and nostalgic.

Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#27

Post by sneak »

oldgradstudent wrote: post #20

Totally self driving. Well, except for the driver. And also the engineer sitting next to the driver. But otherwise, self driving.

From TFA:

> “A safety driver will sit behind the wheel to intervene if necessary and an engineer will ride in the passenger seat.”

I’m not sure where you went from “intervene if necessary” to mocking what seems to me to be a significant achievement.

Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#28

Post by oldgradstudent »

jerkstate wrote: post #10

Headline is misleading IMO. This is for long-haul mail routing from post office to post office, not last mile delivery.

The mail delivery part is the least misleading part of the headline. The description of the trucks as self driving is far worse.

Re: Self-driving trucks begin mail delivery test for U.S. Postal Service

#29

Post by [deleted] »

egwynn wrote: post #21
skizm wrote: post #18

Curious, are these pilot programs sending the trucks out completely driverless? Or are there going to be humans in the "cockpit" sort of managing things and taking occasional naps?

Did you read the first paragraph? > San Diego-based startup TuSimple said its self-driving trucks will begin hauling mail between USPS facilities in Phoenix and Dallas to see how the nascent technology might improve delivery times and costs. A safety driver will sit behind the wheel to intervene if necessary and an engineer will ride in the passenger seat.

[deleted]
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