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Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

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Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#51

Post by pbhjpbhj »

shiven wrote: post #30

A future with no taxis! No Lyft or Uber either. Less and less humans tied up doing work that can be done by a "bash script"[0]. I look forward to this! [0] Or highly advanced AI for that matter. Same final impact.

A future with self-driving cars makes more sense if all cars are taxis (of some form). Why leave your car stationary overnight (except perhaps to charge) when it can be out driving people around and earning money?

I'd like to see a system where one could purchase a guarantee that you'd get a car of a particular class to take you where you need to go within a given time (shorter time, higher cost; if you decide you can always wait 60mins for a ride from the time of booking the management of availability is far easier). Or, you'd just book journeys in advance - cheaper if you match logistical requirements. Then car ownership can be far more optimally managed.

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#52

Post by sp332 »

shiven wrote: post #50
tcwatrous wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think you won't be calling a self driving car to pick you up on the Uber app?

I'd love for that to happen! But I always thought Uber/Lyft's equation worked only due to idle cars and underemployed humans, at least in a large part?

Sure, but if I own a self-driving car and I'm not currently using it, I wouldn't even have to get out of bed to send my car over to you and get some money :)

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#53

Post by krapp »

lars512 wrote: post #46
toxican wrote: post #45

Every time a self-driving car story pops up, I think of Rush's Red Barchetta. I have a sinking feeling we're eventually going to get to a point where traditional cars are completely outlawed. I definitely would love to be driven to work every morning, but I know I'd miss having the option to drive myself with the windows down. Driving can be fun!

I'm sure they'll have historical districts where you can rent an old time car and drive manually on weekends, with the appropriate waivers and insurance forms signed :)

A future where personal freedom and autonomy is treated as a dangerous and obsolete quirk?

Where do I sign up?

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#54

Post by toxican »

Retric wrote: post #47
toxican wrote: post #45

Every time a self-driving car story pops up, I think of Rush's Red Barchetta. I have a sinking feeling we're eventually going to get to a point where traditional cars are completely outlawed. I definitely would love to be driven to work every morning, but I know I'd miss having the option to drive myself with the windows down. Driving can be fun!

You can still ride a horse just not on public roads. I expect driving to be no different.

Ha...I've been through Amish country and obviously they still do the horse/buggy thing. It has me thinking of a neo amish faction that will still drive cars on the side of the road at 60mph while all of the self-driven cars blaze by at 500mph.

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#55

Post by [deleted] »

krapp wrote: post #53
lars512 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure they'll have historical districts where you can rent an old time car and drive manually on weekends, with the appropriate waivers and insurance forms signed :)

A future where personal freedom and autonomy is treated as a dangerous and obsolete quirk? Where do I sign up?

[deleted]

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#56

Post by Crito »

jmpeax wrote: post #17

Being a programmer, a sci-fi fan, and always excited by new developments even from a young age, I thought I'd never reach a time where I would find it difficult to accept new technology. Clones, immortality, interstellar travel, tech-enabled telepathy, bring it on. I now realise that sitting in a self-driving car will cause me to press on the ghost brake pedal while sweating with anxiety every time it needs to slow d…

That happens to me when the driver is braking later than I would have. However I suspect that self-driving cars will, at least initially, be much more conservative and defensive that most human drivers, so that effect may not be triggered as often as you suspect.

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#57

Post by drb311 »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #51
shiven wrote: post #30

A future with no taxis! No Lyft or Uber either. Less and less humans tied up doing work that can be done by a "bash script"[0]. I look forward to this! [0] Or highly advanced AI for that matter. Same final impact.

A future with self-driving cars makes more sense if all cars are taxis (of some form). Why leave your car stationary overnight (except perhaps to charge) when it can be out driving people around and earning money? I'd like to see a system where one could purchase a guarantee that you'd get a car of a particular class to take you where you need to go within a given time (shorter time, higher cost; if you decide you ca…

Book a car in advance? Stone age!

Google Now will figure out where you need to be, and have a car waiting for you when you open the door.

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#58

Post by ghshephard »

dmd wrote: post #49
swombat wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you "ghost brake" when driving in the back of a limousine? Yep. I'm frequently uncomfortable when someone else is driving. There's a handful of people in the world who don't make me uncomfortable when driving... my parents, a few friends who drive "safely"... Oh, and taxi drivers (where somehow my lizard brain appreciates that though I am not in control, the creature that IS in control has 100+ times more experien…

> the creature that IS in control has 100+ times more experience of driving than me, and is therefore unarguably a better driver Bingo. A self-driving car will have millions or billions of times more experience driving than you.

Another key thing about cars - microsecond response as opposed to millisecond response. There are a number of (but not all) situations where that 1000x reduced latency will make a difference between a collision and a miss.

More importantly, the automated car will be able to scan 360 degrees for endless amounts of time with that same microsecond response.

The tipping point for automated cars is going to happen faster than anyone today would ever imagine.

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#59

Post by Crito »

jpatokal wrote: post #29
jacquesm wrote: post #8

What is the ANCAP rating for these? Cute they might be but they look to be quite flimsy in construction. Maybe that's one of the reasons why they are so slow, not just to avoid the risks of high speed impact but also so that they don't have to be tested right alongside the output of the rest of the automobile industry. That gives google time to perfect the software in a real world traffic without all the costs and co…

As a low-speed vehicle capped at 25mph, the car is exempt from most federal regulation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-speed_vehicle#United_State...

"In many cases, doors may be optional, crash protection from other vehicles is partially met compared to other non motorized transport such as bicycles because of the use of seat belts. In 2011, a Time magazine article concluded that the lack of passenger safety protection made most LSVs unfit for city driving, despite their excellent maneuverability.[6]"

I suppose rationally I should consider these safer than bicycles or motorcycles, and therefore feel comforted, but without crash protection I would fear being side-swiped from drunk drivers. I hope they are building these to regular-car standards, despite not being required to.

Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute

#60

Post by afarrell »

iagooar wrote: post #13
swalsh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, your big problem with self driving cars is you think a giant laser on top is ugly?

I can kind of understand that. Cars are not only a motor on 4 wheels. Design is one of the most important aspects when man building and selling cars, so it is not strange that people think of the camera as something that doesn't fit. Until Tesla came and showed an electrical car that actually DID attract car / driving fans, the majority of people wouldn't consider an electrical car because most of them were plain ugl…

But part of the point of Tesla is that lots of hobbyists and researchers and failed companies already did the work for proving that electric cars are feasible on a basic level. They could take that work and on top of it build cars that are beautiful and have refined engineering.

Aside from the DARPA challenge in the desert, Google has had to start from square 1, so it needs to accept that it will build ugly cars first.

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