Is truck robbery at gun point a huge problem currently? Already robbing trucks is pretty simple afaire, but there doesn't seem to be huge boom going on...
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.
That would probably happen if you had armored autonomous Brinks CIT trucks driving around. But just as likely they’d have thought of this scenario and prepared for it.
No one prepares for what motivated attackers think of. These trucks will be robbed. I look forward to LIDAR invisible, reflective cars in the next fast and furious installment.
They'll just insure it and be done with, like they currently do with regular trucks (which BTW have to stop every 9 hours and let the driver sleep, thus creating a very vulnerable situation wherre the truck is parked and driver is helpless). Truck robberies are just not a big problem already.
If I block a road an autonomous truck is expecting to drive along, will it automatically reroute to another road? If it does, then these trucks are going to be very easy to rob simply by corralling them in to a quiet location..
But you're still robbing a truck...
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.
If I block a road an autonomous truck is expecting to drive along, will it automatically reroute to another road? If it does, then these trucks are going to be very easy to rob simply by corralling them in to a quiet location..
But you're still robbing a truck...
One with a large array of cameras. So the dumbest possible target.
But people rob banks, where they're also 100% guaranteed to be on camera and automatically involves an FBI investigation. As well as having a surprisingly low average haul (a few thousand dollars).
"This year"... kinda... This year there will be the first real tests run with no one in the cab. "By 2024,TuSimple plans to achieve Level 4 autonomy, meaning that its trucks will be able to operate without a human driver under limited conditions that may include time of day, weather, or premapped routes." Somehow I've managed to miss that trucks are better for this stuff not just because of the type of driving they d…
>"Trucks are also a better platform for autonomy, with their large size providing more power for computers"
I'm no expert but "power for computers" doesnt strike me as a bottleneck, Geohot/Comma seem to be doing fine, this just sounds like marketing bs
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…
What are 3.5 million people going to do if they're suddenly out of a job and have to change career completely? There's a precedent for this. Back in the early part of the 20th century the number of people working in the horse trade fell dramatically as horses were replaced with automobiles. Society survived.
My grandfather grew up in an orphanage and was later sent to train to become a wheel maker, that is, someone who makes large wooden wheels with spokes for horse carriages. This must have been around 1925. Luckily for him, the skills he learned were quite easily transferred to general carpentry and cabinet making.
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.
I cannot believe that this isn't the foundation of autonomous driving: long hauls, highways, no stop signs, semi-controlled circumstances. The economics are more clear and industrialized. Even if a driver had to be present when they got off the highway, I think 'long haul' should be naturally the first thing to be tackled. And I'm surprised Walmart isn't leading the way, they should be.
But even semi-controlled isn't fully controlled. I've always wondered about what happens when the system really gets off the 'happy path'. Maybe there's an accident, and police are directing traffic? Does the truck understand hand gestures (which aren't necessarily standardized)? Or maybe the police aren't there yet, damaged cars are blocking the road, and the truck may need to get out of the way for emergency servic…
They'll just have remote control and call HQ on every unexpected operation, where an operator will make a decision using cameras. On routes without cell coverage they'll use satellite internet or starlink, etc. It's not reliable enough to make operator drive it all the time, but it would already today be reliable enough to keep safety in extreme situations and make the operator make decisions.
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…
This was pretty much Andrew Yang's campaign pitch, even specifically referencing the coming wave of unemployed truck drivers due to automation.