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This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

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Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#91

Post by room271 »

HenryKissinger wrote: post #11

There are 3.5 million truck drivers in the US. What are 3.5 million people going to do if they're suddenly out of a job and have to change career completely? I am far from being a Trump supporter, but it would be easy for authoritarian politicians to ride to the White House on the grievances of millions of voters who had their livelihoods taken away from them by automation. Trump's promises to bring back manufacturin…

You're getting downvoted to oblivion, but it's an important question - though perhaps you could have at least explored some possible answers a bit in your comment.

Inequality in society, driven by poor early family life and environment for many (leading to many issues including poor education) is a real problem for 'the West', and especially the US.

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#92

Post by leetcrew »

lnsru wrote: post #79
BotJunkie wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the author of this. It was certainly surprising to learn that a lot of what AVs are doing right now is limited by the amount of power available to the computers. It didn't make it into the article in full, but we were told that in general more computing power means detecting and classifying more object types, tracking those objects over longer periods of time, and doing more detailed motion prediction and plannin…

I am not a car specialist, but I am not buying this. Alternator can be upgraded: https://www.trucknews.com/products/600-amp-alternator-for-mi... With 600 amps@24V one has 10 kW power for computers and the truck. That’s what 300 decent graphic cards consume.

10 kW is almost 10% of the max output of the engine in a honda civic. for another comparison, that would be like running three typical car AC systems at max simultaneously. so not infeasible, but a meaningful hit to fuel economy in a smaller vehicle. it would be even more detrimental to the range of a small EV.

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#93

Post by 14 »

lnsru wrote: post #79
BotJunkie wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the author of this. It was certainly surprising to learn that a lot of what AVs are doing right now is limited by the amount of power available to the computers. It didn't make it into the article in full, but we were told that in general more computing power means detecting and classifying more object types, tracking those objects over longer periods of time, and doing more detailed motion prediction and plannin…

I am not a car specialist, but I am not buying this. Alternator can be upgraded: https://www.trucknews.com/products/600-amp-alternator-for-mi... With 600 amps@24V one has 10 kW power for computers and the truck. That’s what 300 decent graphic cards consume.

I immediately thought about the car stereo guys they run stronger alternators and power massive amount of subs and speakers. But I know nothing about big trucks and their electrical needs. They have refrigeration and other electrical needs I am unsure of.

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#94

Post by njarboe »

xnyan wrote: post #78
njarboe wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Nothing new can ever be produced that can endanger lives. And people wonder why living standards have not gone up since this idea grabbed a hold in society in the 1970's

What are some examples of risk not taken that have lead to falling living standards? My understanding of the data is that living standards have fallen because wages for most workers have been fairly stagnate since the 70s while the price things like housing and healthcare has skyrocketed.

Nuclear power was set to decrease the cost of power by an order of magnitude. It was stopped due to perceived risks while coal was allowed to continue to be used at known high death toll of millions of people per year.

You cannot legally build a nuclear reactor in a normal way. You have to design it completely and then get it approved before you build it. This costs around $500 million dollars, as NuPower has shown. If you change the design much at all you have to get it approved all over again. Thus only one new reactor design in the US has been approved for 50 years and it still has not been built yet.

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#95

Post by BurningFrog »

Erlich_Bachman wrote: post #41
pydry wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bit more difficult with a person on board.

But not really. The person never makes a fuss (nor can realistically do so), and netiher does want to make a fuss for a simple job for one company, driving cargo owned by another company, with overall operation insured by a third company that's just going to reimburse everyone.

Don't a lot of truck drivers own their trucks?

Anyway, the human is a witness which adds problems.

He's also a potential murder victim, which drives up the potential legal consequences by a lot.

I don't have much real world experience with heist execution, so take my speculation for what it is.

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#96

Post by mlac »

I had the realization the other day that what I want is a self-driving truck bed.

Just a truck bed. Maybe one with a cab on it to stop the weather, but 8-10ft would be enough. I could send it to get my groceries, have it follow me places if I need to take something with me, and send it to my family if they need to give me something.

Rental truck beds would be even better. I could order one, have it go pick up my curbside order from Home Depot and the Grocery Store, and then drop it off at my house. Then I could send it back to the rental facility. Likewise, companies could buy them to deliver for the last mile.

Is anyone working on this?

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#97

Post by jpitz »

TigeriusKirk wrote: post #48
jpitz wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it is unoccupied it is burglary, right? A less risky crime, both in the face of opposition by a potentially armed driver, and the potential criminal justice consequences.

New crimes and penalties can easily be created.

They could, but ultimately, this is not a violent crime.

How does it benefit the greater good to treat this a different, and I assume, more severe, crime than simple burglary of an unoccupied building?

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#98

Post by Erlich_Bachman »

BurningFrog wrote: post #95
Erlich_Bachman wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But not really. The person never makes a fuss (nor can realistically do so), and netiher does want to make a fuss for a simple job for one company, driving cargo owned by another company, with overall operation insured by a third company that's just going to reimburse everyone.

Don't a lot of truck drivers own their trucks? Anyway, the human is a witness which adds problems. He's also a potential murder victim, which drives up the potential legal consequences by a lot. I don't have much real world experience with heist execution, so take my speculation for what it is.

> Anyway, the human is a witness which adds problems.

Because an automated truck will not have cameras all around it and also inside, and will phone home whenever some alert has been triggered?

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#99

Post by lnsru »

14 wrote: post #93
lnsru wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a car specialist, but I am not buying this. Alternator can be upgraded: https://www.trucknews.com/products/600-amp-alternator-for-mi... With 600 amps@24V one has 10 kW power for computers and the truck. That’s what 300 decent graphic cards consume.

I immediately thought about the car stereo guys they run stronger alternators and power massive amount of subs and speakers. But I know nothing about big trucks and their electrical needs. They have refrigeration and other electrical needs I am unsure of.

You made me curious. Big refrigerators and shipping containers have their own diesel engine: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_truck They are independent from big truck’s power system. That is a solution for powering electronics - external diesel generator.

Re: This Year, Autonomous Trucks Will Take to the Road with No One on Board

#100

Post by jessaustin »

Retric wrote: post #59
jessaustin wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not the policy of drivers who wish to retain their CDL. Gradually disintegrating radials are a hazard to everyone on the road. It isn't as though blowouts are uncorrelated, anyway.

That’s the joke. The obvious choice for the AI is to slow down without applying full breaking power, find the nearest safe spot to pull over, and then call for assistance. But, boring yet practical solutions are hardly worth discussing.

Sorry, I whooshed.
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