Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident • Hacker News Board

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#71

Post by datasink » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:42 PM UTC

jacobquick wrote: post #50

iskander wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know much about this google project. Can autonomous cars (i) drive on the highway (ii) drive at night (iii) drive in snow or rain?

I thought they were limited to driving on the highway in the empty parts of nevada?

I've seen the Google self-driving car navigating within morning traffic in San Jose. There were two men with laptops in the driver and passenger seats, presumably monitoring the car and available to step in if something went wrong. It was also kind of surprising to see the roof-mounted device it used to map its surrounding. It was fairly large and rapidly rotating.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#72

Post by Devilboy » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:42 PM UTC

secoif wrote: post #4

This was the easy part. The hard part will be fighting the technophobes when somebody drives into the side of one of these and kills themselves. I don't envy being in that battle.

I don't think this will be a problem because we're likely to see a gradual move towards fully self-driven cars where humans still drive but the computer takes over only when needed to avoid accidents. Volvo already has a system that stops you rear-ending other vehicles and BMW has a system that safely pulls the car over if the driver suddenly gets incapacitated. Eventually the most advanced cars will never cause an accident while still being human-driven. From there the leap to let go of the wheel is not that big and I think it will be reasonably easy.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#73

Post by 3amOpsGuy » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:43 PM UTC

I wonder what kind of denial of service attacks we'll see on autonomous cars once they're popular.

Trivial example, could i choose to always pull out in front of the robot even if it's not my right of way? (presumably safe in the knowledge the robot will always give way to avoid a collision)

Could that escalate to the robot being treated as a mobile speed trap / felony snitch?

Interesting times.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#74

Post by ridiculous_fish » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:43 PM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #32

Too bad it doesn't mention if this is better than a human or not. So, I decided to figure it out... 2.9 trillion miles driven in 2009 http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/09dectvt/09dectvt.pdf 10.8 million traffic accidents in 2009 http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.p... If my math is correct the average american can expect to get in an accident every ~250,000 miles driven, (NYC to LA 90 times) s…

I'm guessing that more accidents happen in intersections than on the highway. My understanding is that Google's self-driving cars are currently limited to highways and known-course driving.

I don't think it's going to do a very good job driving in San Francisco city streets (but then, who does?)

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#75

Post by johngalt » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:46 PM UTC

Will it be a problem when you have 50 autonomous cars in close proximity? Potential for crosstalk from the sensors? Similar to headlights at night making it so you can see, but blinding oncoming traffic.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#76

Post by Goronmon » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:48 PM UTC

apaitch wrote: post #17

uncoder0 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are suggesting human's will run into it more often right? I sincerely doubt we will see too many autonomous-car-at-fault crashes. The blacked out Lexus SUV's I saw at a Google event a few weeks ago were very discrete minus the velodyne sensor. If it adds an credibility I was on a team at the Victorville final in 2007. :) As an aside, I've been waiting to buy my Google car for 5 long years. During this time I've b…

Commuting does kind of suck if you're trying to roll in during rush hour. But without super-heavy traffic I find driving to be rather enjoyable in itself. Even more so if you're riding a motorcycle :) Perhaps the problem is not commuting, but the fact that many companies want their employees at work at 9:00 and out of work at 5:00?

The problem for me isn't commuting, it's having to invest so much money into a huge pile of metal and plastic that someone distracted by someone or something in their own pile of metal and plastic can destroy in an instance, possibly killing me and anyone with me. Or maybe I get distracted and the result is similar.

I just don't see the few cases where it's enjoyable to be worth the other costs. I'd consider it similar to smoking in that regard.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#77

Post by tedunangst » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:49 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #21

ams6110 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Will you be OK with google tracking everywhere you go and serving you ads for every shop you pass?

My wife sees a neurosurgeon who's an eight hour round trip away. I've driven her there and back at least six times this year. With a Google car, I'd a) be able to send her by herself and b) even if I had to come, I could work on the way, meaning I'd have more than a week's worth of vacation/sick time restored. Yes, I'd happily accept ads.

You could also hire a limo. I suppose in the future you'll be able to rent a google car for a day, but you don't have to wait for self-driving cars. They're here today, the self just happens to be a human.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#78

Post by enraged_camel » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:50 PM UTC

adolfojp wrote: post #64

andrewljohnson wrote: post #25

Autonomous cars are the next big tech that changes the world - I put them up there with computer, Internet, and smart phone. When economists think about technology, they look at it as a productivity booster. From that angle, robot cars will have a huge impact - so many commute hours will be transformed to work, or even leisure, which also boosts productivity. So many smart people are about to be given a 10% or better…

Eating food from a tube could also give us a lot more free time but we don't do it because it is not an enjoyable experience. We not only enjoy the flavors and textures that regular food provides, we also enjoy the rituals that accompany eating. In this regard driving cars is somewhat similar. A lot of people enjoy driving and many actually find it therapeutic. Some exceptions do exist, like driving in heavy traffic,…

>> Eating food from a tube could also give us a lot more free time but we don't do it because it is not an enjoyable experience. We not only enjoy the flavors and textures that regular food provides, we also enjoy the rituals that accompany eating. In this regard driving cars is somewhat similar.

Yeah, I felt this way for about two weeks after I learned how to drive. After that, it quickly got tedious and boring.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#79

Post by bartonfink » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:55 PM UTC

adolfojp wrote: post #64

andrewljohnson wrote: post #25

Autonomous cars are the next big tech that changes the world - I put them up there with computer, Internet, and smart phone. When economists think about technology, they look at it as a productivity booster. From that angle, robot cars will have a huge impact - so many commute hours will be transformed to work, or even leisure, which also boosts productivity. So many smart people are about to be given a 10% or better…

Eating food from a tube could also give us a lot more free time but we don't do it because it is not an enjoyable experience. We not only enjoy the flavors and textures that regular food provides, we also enjoy the rituals that accompany eating. In this regard driving cars is somewhat similar. A lot of people enjoy driving and many actually find it therapeutic. Some exceptions do exist, like driving in heavy traffic,…

Not all eating is for enjoyment, though, just like not all driving is for enjoyment. People eat fast food which is certainly not as enjoyable as a well-prepared meal because of the convenience. People may like to drive sometimes (nice day, low traffic, they're on vacation - whatever), but it would take an unusual dedication to hedonism to completely set convenience aside for pleasure of driving yourself.

Further, better public transportation isn't a practical substitute for many scenarios in the United States where these driverless cars could make great inroads (no pun intended). It's not at all uncommon for someone to live 20+ miles away from the nearest public transportation in the United States without being "rural." If you're already far enough away from public transportation that it's unusable, you aren't likely to move without at least considering whether a driverless car will ease the pain of your commute.

Further, there are plenty of reasons that public transportation simply isn't a feasible option but a driverless car would rule. Two of my very good friends got married this summer, for instance, and their wives were from extremely rural areas such that plane tickets were ~$700 a piece. Instead of buying ~$3000 worth of plane tickets for my wife and I to attend each wedding, we drove 800 miles to each for far cheaper. If I could tell my car on Saturday night "Take me to Peioria, IL - and I need to be there by 3 PM on Sunday. Pace yourself accordingly." and know that I'd get there on time and safely, I'd absolutely do it.

I think that, within 20 years, driving manually will be seen in a similar vein to how driving a stickshift is seen now, and within 50 years, it'll be unusual for anyone to drive themselves anywhere.

Re: Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

#80

Post by imgabe » Tue, Aug 07, 2012, 8:55 PM UTC

paganel wrote: post #59

andrewljohnson wrote: post #25

Autonomous cars are the next big tech that changes the world - I put them up there with computer, Internet, and smart phone. When economists think about technology, they look at it as a productivity booster. From that angle, robot cars will have a huge impact - so many commute hours will be transformed to work, or even leisure, which also boosts productivity. So many smart people are about to be given a 10% or better…

> Autonomous cars are the next big tech that changes the world - I put them up there with computer, Internet, and smart phone. I wouldn't be so sure. Yeah, it might prove to be a very good thing for the United States, but for the rest of world there's first Europe's public transport networks (I'm 31, don't have a driver's license, I live in Europe, I'm doing perfectly fine, thank you), and short of us reaching the Si…

It's going to shift a lot of capital that's currently tied up in owning and maintaining cars into other uses. Right now, most cars are only in use for about 5% of their lifetimes. When everybody owns their own private car, those cars spend a lot of time sitting parked. If those cars could drive around and be used by other people who need them on demand, you'd need a lot fewer cars, as well as a lot less parking.