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How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

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Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#21

Post by jasonbarrah »

zaroth wrote: post #18
notfromhere wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i dont think the arguments about a border wall were ever about morality, but more about it being a huge waste of money

Would the border wall be a huge waste of money? It’s a weird game where the stricter you enforce the less people try to come in the first place. So it’s all about signaling. And if a wall is to be built, should it not be a virtual wall to reduce cost and improve the likelihood that one day it can be merely switched off? Wouldn’t broad sensors of this type have massive secondary applications?

This is by far the best solution.

Plus by charging a small border crossing fee, Mexico could pay for the wall within a few years.

No massive environmental damage, no massive cost, and we could even help slow down the flow of guns back into Mexico.

Plus with a reliable and profitable entry program we could set up a WAY more reliable temporary work visas that would allow people to live and work freely without breaking US laws, stealing identities, or placing anyone at risk on either side!

Plus, police, tax officials and family services will get to know who everyone is and where they are working!

Everybody is a winner! No immigrant communities in fear. Prosperity for all. And did I mention Mexico pays for the wall?

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#23

Post by abakker »

shkkmo wrote: post #19
zaroth wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been in Paris this week and I’ve started to see more of them. I’ve found because they are silent they have an absolutely minimum impact on me. They appear to be able to slow to walking speed and still remain stable, I’ve walked right along side one without any concern. I’m thinking safety concerns are overblown. It’s a rad way to get around.

Yet I still see a great deal of very irresponsible driving of those scooters. I expect there to be a lot of local pushback as regulators catch up.

It’s always too bad that regulations catch up instead of manners. Things could be so much easier...

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#24

Post by madengr »

jasonbarrah wrote: post #21
zaroth wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would the border wall be a huge waste of money? It’s a weird game where the stricter you enforce the less people try to come in the first place. So it’s all about signaling. And if a wall is to be built, should it not be a virtual wall to reduce cost and improve the likelihood that one day it can be merely switched off? Wouldn’t broad sensors of this type have massive secondary applications?

This is by far the best solution. Plus by charging a small border crossing fee, Mexico could pay for the wall within a few years. No massive environmental damage, no massive cost, and we could even help slow down the flow of guns back into Mexico. Plus with a reliable and profitable entry program we could set up a WAY more reliable temporary work visas that would allow people to live and work freely without breaking…

There already is a legal entry program.

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#25

Post by heurist »

ejlangev wrote: post #2

I suspect this will be a fairly regular story in the next few months/years. Self-driving tech seems to be a lot further off than people think so a lot of companies that were formerly very exciting will not be able to deliver and will need to close up shop. I think there's some possibility that it will go the way of flying cars at least for now. Fortunately a lot of the tech that does work can find a second life as pr…

I've been enjoying Chevrolet's "adaptive cruise control" and "lane-keep assist". They both have a lot of room for improvement but are a good step into progressive enhancement, as you put it. I've been imagining different tools that we might start seeing in cars as this kind of product develops: adaptive high beams, rear view and side mirrors that auto-adjust to your gaze, automatic windshield wipers connected to a weather API and an internal camera system that measures visual noise from the windshield, a radar view in the dash so you know where the surrounding cars are... lots of little opportunities. Make the human driver redundant piece by piece.

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#26

Post by kovrik »

rossdavidh wrote: post #6

I'm not saying this is as extreme a case, but I got a whiff of similarity to Theranos, in the aspect of an emphasis on loyalty making it difficult for the CEO to listen to debate. Of course, that could also be because the journalists covering tech businesses nowadays are looking for the next Theranos story.

Yes. Looks like it is becoming a common thing with all that startup hype.

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#27

Post by rhizome »

shkkmo wrote: post #19
zaroth wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been in Paris this week and I’ve started to see more of them. I’ve found because they are silent they have an absolutely minimum impact on me. They appear to be able to slow to walking speed and still remain stable, I’ve walked right along side one without any concern. I’m thinking safety concerns are overblown. It’s a rad way to get around.

Yet I still see a great deal of very irresponsible driving of those scooters. I expect there to be a lot of local pushback as regulators catch up.

Someone is going to be seriously injured first.

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#28

Post by rhizome »

rossdavidh wrote: post #6

I'm not saying this is as extreme a case, but I got a whiff of similarity to Theranos, in the aspect of an emphasis on loyalty making it difficult for the CEO to listen to debate. Of course, that could also be because the journalists covering tech businesses nowadays are looking for the next Theranos story.

And Theranos was kept alive for too long by a lot of symbolic value.

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#29

Post by needles »

coldtea wrote: post #20
paganel wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the OP, but I think rain and especially snow and fog don’t happen that often in those two States and afaik driving autonomously under those circumstances is still an unsolved problem with no easy solution in sight. Now, if you want to extend the self-driving thing to other parts of the world you’ll most probably need to solve the singularity problem, at least for driving in the Eastern European capital city where…

> at least for driving in the Eastern European capital city where I’m currently living where you have to actually “guess” what the other traffic participants will do next: is that kid going against the flow of traffic on his bike? (answer: yes) Is that cab going to cut me off in the middle of the intersection and should I take my foot off the acceleration pedal so that we won’t crash? (answer: yes to both questions).…

Is there a reason you have brought up the inferiority of third-world countries in your last several comments?

Blind comparisons (to put things into perspective) aren't useful. You need to have a point of some kind.

Re: How a billion dollar autonomous vehicle startup lost its way

#30

Post by briandear »

heurist wrote: post #25
ejlangev wrote: post #2

I suspect this will be a fairly regular story in the next few months/years. Self-driving tech seems to be a lot further off than people think so a lot of companies that were formerly very exciting will not be able to deliver and will need to close up shop. I think there's some possibility that it will go the way of flying cars at least for now. Fortunately a lot of the tech that does work can find a second life as pr…

I've been enjoying Chevrolet's "adaptive cruise control" and "lane-keep assist". They both have a lot of room for improvement but are a good step into progressive enhancement, as you put it. I've been imagining different tools that we might start seeing in cars as this kind of product develops: adaptive high beams, rear view and side mirrors that auto-adjust to your gaze, automatic windshield wipers connected to a we…

Adaptive high beams are on Audi now, they are awesome. Weather API connected wipers? Bad idea, rain sensing already works, why use an API when you never turn on wipers before it rains anyway? Radar view for surrounding cars might be a nice gimmick but other than blind spot detection or parking assist, I’m not sure what benefit a radar display would have, unless it’s for parking, and an equivalent exists (Audi for example has 360 degree parking cameras and some cars have full autonomous parking already.)

But the fly-by-wire concept could be a good one — if reliability is ultra high.

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