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Waymo Via

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Re: Waymo Via

#91

Post by alexhutcheson »

fullshark wrote: post #52
drozycki wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the bedsheet heist just as plausible with a human behind the wheel? There's a chance he won't see the people in the road or will choose to run them over, but if he does the decent thing then he's a sitting duck.

Well you'd have an eyewitness that you would need to attack, who is potentially armed. I imagine the solution would be comparable to whatever security protocols ATMs have v. bank tellers.

You are overrating how far truck drivers would go to resist a robbery. That's not their job, and the load is insured - even if a driver is there, they're not going to do anything to stop you.

Re: Waymo Via

#92

Post by Qworg »

Pfhreak wrote: post #89

If Waymo is successful, there are potentially massive impacts to the population of the US. Trucking is a major industry. The Luddites weren't mad about the advancement of technology, they didn't destroy looms out of religious or anti-technological ideals. Many of them were skilled loom operators. They were squeezed out of their jobs by the race to the bottom, and they were angry that there wasn't any consideration fo…

Trucking will go the same way - it is far more efficient (and allows you to grow faster), therefore market pressure will drive every trucking company to autonomous.

Re: Waymo Via

#93

Post by organsnyder »

BigBubbleButt wrote: post #79
tyfon wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The unmanned truck would likely be _crammed_ with cameras and other surveillance tools like hidden gps senders in the containers. It might initially be easier but I'm not sure if you would get very far with the stolen goods.

Set fire to the truck after you rob it to destroy any on-board evidence (like hard drives containing surveillance footage), only commit crimes in a wireless dead zone so no data is transmitted outside (or better yet, use a police stingray so you can do it anywhere), and put all cargo inside a faraday cage. Also I'm not sure there's any reason to believe those kind of security measures wouldn't already exist for a man…

Life isn't like a movie. Anyone who has the knowledge (of the vehicle and its surveillance systems, the schedule, the cargo onboard...) and the capability (skills and resources) to pull off what you're suggesting has plenty of lucrative legal opportunities. And any cargo load valuable enough to make a Hollywood-style heist actually worthwhile would be transported by more secure means.

Re: Waymo Via

#94

Post by fphhotchips »

tyfon wrote: post #60
BigBubbleButt wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have not thought much about robbing trucks before, but I disagree this is the same as a manned truck. I think it's much more like the difference between robbing a house that is empty and a house while the owners are home. Most burglaries happen when nobody is home. Why would trucks be any different? Besides that, it is (likely) easier to trick an unmanned truck into stopping as OP mentioned. A person would easily r…

The unmanned truck would likely be _crammed_ with cameras and other surveillance tools like hidden gps senders in the containers. It might initially be easier but I'm not sure if you would get very far with the stolen goods.

Also, every 10th truck probably has a guy with a shotgun in the back.

More to the point, I think if we're trying to secure the use case of "truck the same as it has been for 30 years gets a black box put in it" we're doing it wrong. After not too long you just flat out won't be able to get in, even if you do stop the truck from moving. You won't be able to drive it anywhere - what need is there for a cab on an auto-truck?

Re: Waymo Via

#95

Post by olex »

stefan_ wrote: post #49

Just from looking at it there seem to be obvious sensor dead zones, particularly behind it.

Less than with a human driver, who can't see anything immediately in front and partially to the sides of the cab as well.

Re: Waymo Via

#96

Post by zp33 »

organsnyder wrote: post #93
BigBubbleButt wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Set fire to the truck after you rob it to destroy any on-board evidence (like hard drives containing surveillance footage), only commit crimes in a wireless dead zone so no data is transmitted outside (or better yet, use a police stingray so you can do it anywhere), and put all cargo inside a faraday cage. Also I'm not sure there's any reason to believe those kind of security measures wouldn't already exist for a man…

Life isn't like a movie. Anyone who has the knowledge (of the vehicle and its surveillance systems, the schedule, the cargo onboard...) and the capability (skills and resources) to pull off what you're suggesting has plenty of lucrative legal opportunities. And any cargo load valuable enough to make a Hollywood-style heist actually worthwhile would be transported by more secure means.

It doesn't take that much skill to know that a certain stretch of road doesn't have cell signal and how to set fire to a truck. It takes even less skill when you know there's no human on the truck to stop you

Re: Waymo Via

#97

Post by jpadkins »

BigBubbleButt wrote: post #65
silvestrov wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is not doing the robbery itself. It's doing it again and again and again without being discovered/traced. Serial killers have it easy: they can bury the body. You can't bury goods you need to fence. At some point there will be a pattern.

I'm not saying robbing trucks is easy. I'm saying if I were to choose between robbing a manned truck vs an unmanned truck, I would definitely rob the unmanned truck.

why? the driver of the manned truck is going to comply just as willingly. No way they are going to put their life on the line (unless they own the cargo). The unmanned truck will cameras and video uploaded, which is stronger evidence than eye witness testimony. Also police response will be faster on unmanned (they can't call the police during the hold up, you can take the persons cell phone). No way you can stop the distress call from unmanned unless you had an EMP or something.

Re: Waymo Via

#98

Post by uasm »

Pfhreak wrote: post #89

If Waymo is successful, there are potentially massive impacts to the population of the US. Trucking is a major industry. The Luddites weren't mad about the advancement of technology, they didn't destroy looms out of religious or anti-technological ideals. Many of them were skilled loom operators. They were squeezed out of their jobs by the race to the bottom, and they were angry that there wasn't any consideration fo…

> "If Waymo turns trucking into an automated business (or even just reduces the number of humans needed to haul cargo), we could be in for a similar situation."

Sure.

Tuning in to last week's news - "Mass layoffs reported after Starsky Robotics fails to find buyer, investors" [0]. Starsky had a demonstrable path to "reduce the number of humans needed to haul cargo". What gives?

[0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22420147

Re: Waymo Via

#99

Post by WhompingWindows »

Pfhreak wrote: post #89

If Waymo is successful, there are potentially massive impacts to the population of the US. Trucking is a major industry. The Luddites weren't mad about the advancement of technology, they didn't destroy looms out of religious or anti-technological ideals. Many of them were skilled loom operators. They were squeezed out of their jobs by the race to the bottom, and they were angry that there wasn't any consideration fo…

I'm not sure if drivers will be completely eradicated, though. The vehicle may still have an operator for non-highway situations, and given there's already a shortage in truck drivers, perhaps the career will slowly ramp down as automation slowly ramps up. I used to think SDC and automation would be fast and furious, but the opposite has occurred so far.

Re: Waymo Via

#100

Post by starlust2 »

tachyonbeam wrote: post #87
gretch wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can already do this to humans pretty much just as easily, I just need some orange cones Then what? You have 20 palettes of dog chew toys or asian pears....? Some of the goods have serial/tracking numbers. The reason people don't rob 18 wheelers or trains is because it's not a good criminal enterprise

> Then what? You have 20 palettes of dog chew toys or asian pears....? Some of the goods have serial/tracking numbers. Your comment made me laugh. Very true. Besides the fact that there is no black market for 20 palettes of dog chew and asian pears, the other problem is that unless you successfully steal a few highly valuable items, you would need one or multiple trucks to carry what you've stolen from that semi. You…

You'd also have to dodge every other vehicle in the fleet, which are all technically drones.
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