Driverless cars

[Dandock]

I don’t think that has ever been suggested. He actually said ‘hope’ and the main thrust of the effort so far has been aimed at commercial convoys - a lead vehicle driven by a human with a train of driverless, or autopiloted vehicles following on behind.

[SAC1]

I wonder how these driverless vehicles will cope with snow and ice conditions? Will they all pirouette in synchronisation

Still I suppose can't be worse than these guys www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1VtxVpVVuc

[Deleted User 1874]

I don’t think that has ever been suggested. He actually said ‘hope’ and the main thrust of the effort so far has been aimed at commercial convoys - a lead vehicle driven by a human with a train of driverless, or autopiloted vehicles following on behind.

I'm not even sure what Hammond actually said as much is lost and confused in media headline reporting. But if he was talking about lorry convoys, then that's equally nuts! In theory it can all work, but in practice there are just too many things to go wrong with catastrophic consequences. Maybe in 50 years time it will be feasible in controlled conditions with the right infrastructure in place, but I'll be dead or in the care home by then anyway!

[Dandock]

I don’t think that has ever been suggested. He actually said ‘hope’ and the main thrust of the effort so far has been aimed at commercial convoys - a lead vehicle driven by a human with a train of driverless, or autopiloted vehicles following on behind.

I'm not even sure what Hammond actually said as much is lost and confused in media headline reporting. But if he was talking about lorry convoys, then that's equally nuts! In theory it can all work, but in practice there are just too many things to go wrong with catastrophic consequences. Maybe in 50 years time it will be feasible in controlled conditions with the right infrastructure in place, but I'll be dead or in the care home by then anyway!

That is assumption on my part as there was a lot of coverage on an up-and-coming experiment just a couple of months ago.

[Semerka]

It will be a very boring world for drivers who enjoy driving, long may it not be implemented and, dare I say, compulsory! We will all be driving the same cars, the same way. Only difference will be the amount of watts in our batteries and what operating system your car runs. Makes me shudder.

Although, admittedly, already nowadays if you have to commute by car in a heavy, stop start traffic you might as well have a computer to do it for you, as it mind numbing.

[Dandock]

And the electronic world that controls it all will have to become a whole lot smarter to avoid being hijacked every ten minutes. But as with all such things the villains always appear to be a step or two ahead of the necessary security.

[Wing Commander]

It will be a very boring world for drivers who enjoy driving, long may it not be implemented and, dare I say, compulsory! We will all be driving the same cars, the same way. Only difference will be the amount of watts in our batteries and what operating system your car runs. Makes me shudder.

I agree, Semerka. Petrolheads' nightmare!

[Crazy diamond]

Is it me ?? ( probably)

Are driverless cars a solution in search of a problem ? Has the desire to prove something is possible overtaken anaylsis of the benefits and sound common sense? It has happened before, just google Iridium satellites.

[Deleted User 1874]

Is it me ?? ( probably)

Are driverless cars a solution in search of a problem ? Has the desire to prove something is possible overtaken anaylsis of the benefits and sound common sense? It has happened before, just google Iridium satellites.

That's a very good question. I think there is an increasing desire for driverless cars as the typical urban commute or long haul motorway slog becomes ever more tedious. Whether or not driverless cars are the answer to increasing road congestion is highly debatable! As the tech becomes feasible, I personally think driverless cars are inevitable. But the timescales being touted in the typical press headlines are away with the fairies, as usual. In 2021 nothing much will have changed. There will certainly be more widespread semi-autonomous driving aids, but fully driverless vehicles will still be very much "experimental" I expect.

[Semerka]

And people will really become like the humans in Wall.E film, even unable to walk or think for themselves.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/

"In a distant, but not so unrealistic, future where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash from products sold by the powerful multi-national Buy N Large corporation, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess." ....