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China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

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Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#53
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is also amazing and sad to see positive comments on such technological developments in China where similar developments in e.g. the USA would be lambasted on this very same site: Flying taxi drones? They'll fall out of the sky on the heads of the elderly and Musk should stay away from this . Tech and integration? Big brother getting even bigger and no I don't want Musk to be part of this . Is it just that the neig…

When I made that comparison, I did not mean to bring politics into the conversation, but I assume it is a natural direction people can take it too. I will just say this: the issues with the US are beyond *partisan* politics. In my opinion, it is a social problem much deeper than what is shown on TVs and discussed in election campaigns. Changing the party in power will not change the situation. Until the US acknowledg…

Yeah, that’s particularly funny coming from the guy who petitioned to forbid discussing politics https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43122960

Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#54
post #11

It is both amazing and sad to see China is literally in the future compared to the US in terms of infrastructure and social development. A trip to one of the major cities in China made it clear to me that they are ahead of the world right now. The amount of tech and the level of integration are unbelievable. In comparasion, the streets of SF, one of the crown jewels of the US technosphere, are just so "normal" I find…

Actually I would enjoy a low tech, less integrated and connected experience.

I like interacting with nature, people more than swiping in an app.

I like old tramways in Lisbon more than flying taxis. I like small Greek buildings and even baroque and neoclassical architecture more than glass and metal buildings and skyscrapers.

Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#55
I heard that the entire country is in a state of panic after two Xiaomi SU7 autopilot crashes. Motorways have put up signs warning drivers not to use autopilot or assisted driving. Authorities and manufacturers are now trying to explain the previous false advertising.

Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you tell me more? I visited Shenzhen few months ago and wasn't that astonished. Pretty normal city. Well, I was surprised about few things, like overall lack of traffic jams in the 17-million city, roads seems to be well planned, but I could just be lucky. And that's me coming from Kazakhstan, which is not exactly first-world country. Life seems kind of the same, taxi apps, map with reviews, delivery guys, etc. A…

The problem is the many cities in the West are objectively terrible compared to cities elsewhere in the world, so many people who don't have that global perspective come to China and think "it's so futuristic" or so, when in reality it's something that has been achieved elsewhere decades ago and China is just one in the line of a common trend. Even when others in this thread say cities like Singapore or Hong Kong are…

I have not been to either for 20+ years, but Singapore or Hong Kong did not feel futuristic to me. Singapore is certainly efficiently run and clean, but at the time I definitely would have preferred living in London (or multiple smaller British cities), or Paris, or Sydney (culturally, if not geographically, western)

Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#57
post #11

It is both amazing and sad to see China is literally in the future compared to the US in terms of infrastructure and social development. A trip to one of the major cities in China made it clear to me that they are ahead of the world right now. The amount of tech and the level of integration are unbelievable. In comparasion, the streets of SF, one of the crown jewels of the US technosphere, are just so "normal" I find…

> A trip to one of the major cities in China made it clear to me that they are ahead of the world right now

Is that a fair sample. Foreigners tend to visit the best bits of anywhere and China is a very big and varied country.

> The amount of tech and the level of integration are unbelievable.

Also dystopian as it enables government control and monitoring. In many ways China is ahead in things I do not want to happen.

Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#58

I heard that the entire country is in a state of panic after two Xiaomi SU7 autopilot crashes. Motorways have put up signs warning drivers not to use autopilot or assisted driving. Authorities and manufacturers are now trying to explain the previous false advertising.

Tesla: "First time?"

Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#59
post #8

I definitely don't want to belittle the achievement, but I would imagine that creating safe self-driving helicopters is much easier than creating safe self-driving cars. (At least as long as the skies are just as empty as they are today. Once it's full of things like the roads, that will be a different topic)

1 word: birds. Anyway, detecting and avoiding obstacles should be in the menu. Maybe not as complex as at street level with people and cars doing unexpected things, but maybe with some added complexity that need to have into account like weather, inertia and things near landing sites.

I'm not sure you can avoid birds like a skateboad running onto the street. If anything I expect dynamic avoid areas or timed "no fly" zones depending on bird mass. Maneuvering to avoid birds seems like a recipe for disaster.

Re: China just approved flying taxis – no pilot needed

#60
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Self-driving car senses objects and must make difficult decisions: Is this radar reflection from stationary light pole or from a moving object? Is this a parked car or a moving car? Will this pedestrain/biker jump on the roadway? What if the car next to me going to turn left sharply? No such thing exists in the air. The air is mostly empty, there are no stationary objects next to the route. If there is a building, ai…

Airplanes already broadcast their position! It's called ADS-B.

Not every airplane does that. Commercial planes mostly do, but its not mandated under all circumstances as far as I know. (Speaking for my region only)
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