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Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

uk.reuters.com

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Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#301

Post by [deleted] »

tsomctl wrote: post #62
gregschlom wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may result in the opposite effect though: pedestrians more willing to cross the street in front of you, and other cars trying to mess with you. (A friend of mine was telling me how he tried going really fast then braking hard behind a self driving car in front of him). The car swerved into the bike lane and almost hit a bicyclist before the driver regained manual control of the car)

Good thing California requires license plates on the front of vehicles. That way, if the bicyclist was hurt/killed, the video recorded by the self driving car would show your friend was the one liable.

[deleted]

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#302

Post by DoctorNick »

NicoJuicy wrote: post #225
old-gregg wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

During 2015-16 I was given 3 or 4 opportunities to get a free Chromecast, and I got one. It sits barely used now, in one of the rarely visited HDMI inputs on my TV. I wonder how many of those "sold" devices were actually given away and forgotten. Chromecast cannot possibly be considered usable by most because it follows a weirdo, google-style, controlled-by-the-browser (but only Chrome) model. It is the most absurd w…

I have the exact opposite feeling. Love Chromecast and don't care about Apple TV. Even if I open a torrent file on my laptop, it automatically starts streaming to the Chromecast. I'm honestly suprised that someone dares to say that the Chromecast isn't successful/usable Ps. I have 3 Chromecasts and 1 Chromecast audio

>Even if I open a torrent file on my laptop, it automatically starts streaming to the Chromecast.

Wait, what? How did you set this up?

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#303

Post by icanhackit »

elmar wrote: post #252
icanhackit wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.) That article is from 2015. 2.) Dividing operating losses by number of cars sold is...not a very good way of calculating things. You're taking R&D, new capital (Gigafactories, retail outlets, acquisitions like SolarCity) and all other expenses and dividing by number of cars sold. It makes for a nice clean Excel spreadsheet (A1 divided by A2) but a poor understanding of how emerging businesses with huge growth pote…

Why Investors Love Elon Musk, Even Though Tesla Is Losing Money (2017) https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhyu/2017/02/24/why-invest...

It's a more recent article but doesn't invalidate the primary point: the cars aren't losing money, vast capital investment results in losses. The stock price remains high despite this because significant investments implies significant future growth and innovation.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#304

Post by true_religion »

marvin wrote: post #227
true_religion wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't we just accept that the car won't drive itself in the snow or rain or with a missing headlight? I'd find that totally reasonable, and get back behind the wheel to take my own risks in a snowstorm (or ... you know... stay at home like the advisories always tell you to).

I would absolutely not find it reasonable if my "self-driving" car won't drive itself in the rain or snow, given that in my climate, it is raining or snowing >270 out of every 360 days of the year. Such a product would still have a large market value since there are nice climates with dense populations in the world too, but not everyone lives in California.

I actually live in Virginia. We get snow and rain just as much as any where else in the N.E. USA.

However our yearly precipitation is ~132 days, where each of those isn't a straight 24 hours of rain or snowfall.

I wouldn't find it terrible to buy a self-driving car that runs 2/3rds of the year without any problems, and I need to drive personally if and only if I must go out during heavy rain or snowfall instead of waiting 1 hour for the rain to stop.

Right now, many times I just wait for the rain to stop before going out because there isn't anything pressing or time sensitive about needing groceries on a Tuesday.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#305

Post by true_religion »

cromulent wrote: post #242
true_religion wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their logo is a curious mashup. Tag-line "the future in motion". Logo character: a horse. Really? It's as if they wanted to present themselves both as an old and respectable company (hence the horse, and name), and yet still modern enough to define the future. The mashup though is so clumsily done it makes me believe the company is either a very early stage startup, or an utter scam.

145 years old, 39 billion in revenue, 212000 employees. Quite the scam :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_AG

Let me revise my thoughts...

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/start/com/en/index...

Their main website has a splash flash page, which lead me to believe that they didn't put a lot of effort into "public", but not customer, branding. That's reasonable since they're a manufacturer.

However, I've also noted that they're German.

It's not very surprising that a German enterprise isn't spending a lot of effort on its English-language portal.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#306

Post by chrismealy »

m4x wrote: post #214
Mystrl wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

General AI can drive but a self driving car doesn't have to do everything a general AI can do therefor driving is easier than general AI.

A fully autonomous self-driving car (if that is what you mean by self-driving) will have to be capable of reasoning it's way out of every possible situation, which requires general AI. The sheer number of cars used and the variety of places they're used in means that thousands of cars get caught up in bizarre situations every day. Cars will be shutting down inconveniently all over the place unless they can apply gene…

I can think of a ton of everyday problems that will require actual AI: Following detour signs. Understanding a cop's hand signals. Understanding crossing guards in school zones. Making room for emergency vehicles on crowded streets. Driving on dirt and gravel. Navigating parking garages (ever notice that signage in garages isn't standardized? Probably not, because you're not a robot).

Most of the self-driving crash videos I've seen involve a car that lost it when it couldn't follow the white line. Following the white is not good enough.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#307

Post by Const-me »

wsinks wrote: post #284
komali2 wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most major cities in the world? All those major cities that don't get snow and icy roads? Major cities like Chicago, new York, Moscow? Any big city in northern Europe? What about Canada? I think the snow question is a good one.

18-30 million people in Moscow... That's a big market!

Average salary in Moscow is $14000/year.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#308

Post by Dylan16807 »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #195
agumonkey wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be worried about the youngs though. 10$ they don't see cars the same way previous generations did. They grew up with smartphones and internet. They may be very curious about feeling the Apple feel with a vehicle.

Very true! A16Z recently had an episode where they said millennials prefer nicely integrated infotainment over horsepower or looks.

Define "nicely integrated" here, because I'm perfectly satisfied with my 3.5mm to cassette adapter.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#309

Post by Dylan16807 »

shouldbworking wrote: post #85
yourapostasy wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think its an open question how nice society will be to participant unable to retaliate. I suspect that the initial implied liability carried by the first batch of commercially sold self-driving vehicles will lead to extensive sensor logs and 360° dash cam recordings. In the event a human driver tries to game a self-driving vehicle and it causes an accident, the extensive data logging will supply far more than tra…

I believe you are right about all of these legal issues, but a very human question remains. If a machine is driving, who decides who dies? As shitty as the human race is much of the time, people in life or death situations regularly show a lack of self preservation when given the choice between saving themselves or someone else. Human history is littered with countless real, and imagined, heroes that gave their lives…

Just brake and don't swerve! You don't have to solve stupid ethics puzzles to drive. Perfect is the enemy of the good, etc.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#310

Post by dmode »

rsync wrote: post #276
Waterluvian wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes! Come to Canada and try out your tech. California is so soft.

God it is so true. There's such an amazing cultural comparison to be made between I-70 over Vail pass (in Colorado) and I-80 over Donner pass in California. Vail pass rarely closes and is open for vehicle traffic in blizzard-like conditions - but you're on your own. You'd better be well prepared and be the competent driver of a well-maintained, capable 4WD vehicle. And so, in a blizzard, Vail pass will be nearly empt…

The reason they have to enforce chain control over Donner pass is because most Californians live in warmer climates and as such do not have snow tires. Very different to an average Colorado resident who swaps to snow tires during winter. What's the other option ? Just leave it open fully knowing that Bay Area drivers will be driving RWD, summer tires in deep snow ?
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