Driverless will replace between 5 and 25 million pro drivers within a few yrs.

[CK_John]

The first phase will require driver pretend people to placate local officials they are safe. These of course will be min wage jobs. Another causality of the Cyber-era.

Would you ride in a NY Taxi without a driver?

[Laelth]

1. I have serious doubts that the claims made in the OP will come to fruition any time soon. n/t

-Laelth

[CK_John]

7. Check out pbs article on California law to allow driveless cars.

pbs link

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/09/driverless-car-to-hit-california-roads.html

[krispos42]

14. "Popular Mechanics" has an article on this very issue, in this month's issue

I think it's called "When Can I Let Go of the Wheel?"


Cadillac is planning on introducing SuperCruise Control in 2017 or 2018; in the story the author test-drives it. The system keeps the car in the lane entirely automatically by using cameras to identify the lines on the road. It also maintains separation between vehicles. I think in a test it was able to brake sharply and swerve to avoid hitting an object.

With cheap radar, sonar, and cameras, cheap computing power to process the information, and very accurate GPS units, I can see this becoming an option on luxury cars within a decade. The driver would simply monitor the car as it drives itself.

A decade after that, the first completely self-driving cars will be available.



What remains to be solved it the legalities of what happens when a computer-controlled car crashes, and how ethical choices will be made during emergencies.


For example, a little kid darts out into traffic, too close for the computer-controlled car to stop even with lightening-fast reflexes. The car swerves sharply and crashes into a car in the adjoining lane. Who's at fault for the injuries and damages incurred?

What happened when a deer or other four-footed animal jumps in front of a car? What is the flowchart of decisions?

[KamaAina]

21. "by using cameras to identify the lines on the road"

Of course, it is a Cadillac, so it presumably will be driven only in areas where such lines are actually maintained.

[krispos42]

39. And it never snows...

:-D

[KamaAina]

40. Snow? What's that?

I'm in San Jose.

[PoliticAverse]

16. As discussed the following article what is likely to happen first (and can happen soon in the US)

is single driver truck convoys...

http://www.techhive.com/article/2046262/the-first-driverless-cars-will-actually-be-a-bunch-of-trucks.html

Suppose Walmart has 3 trucks that need to go to a certain store. They only need a driver in the lead truck,
the other 2 trucks can automatically follow the first.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Tesla Is Working To Build A Driverless Car Running On 'Auto-Pilot' Within The Next 3 Years

Reuters) - Electric car company Tesla Motors is working to produce a car capable of running on "auto-pilot" within the next three years, CEO Elon Musk said, joining tech giant Google and rival carmakers in the race to roll a driverless car into the market.

The California-based company's autonomous car would allow the driver to hand 90 percent of the control of the car over to the vehicle's computer system, Musk said in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper.

Fully autonomous cars would take longer to develop, he said.

http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-driverless-cars-elon-musk-2013-9

[KamaAina]

24. Google Taxi

would make it possible to live without owning a car. Without the driver, it'd be a lot cheaper than taxis are today.

And if enough people shed their cars, parking lots get converted into parkland. Or affordable housing. And think of all the garages waiting to become in-law units (as is already happening, illegally, in SF).

[BKH70041]

2. I see it as a benefit

Currently, the only time I'm able to take a nap in the car while driving is when the road is straight and I have the car pointed straight.

[Bay Boy]

31. Oh.MY.Gawd.

That's not how you do it. I let one eye sleep at a time. Much safer.

[MineralMan]

3. No, it won't. Until dedicated highways are built, it's not happening.

And there's no money to fix the current highways, so you're not going to see this for a very long time.

[Bay Boy]

33. I don't think that will be necessary...

...it's not like they are imbedding anything into the pavement.

[MineralMan]

36. That is not why.

Accidents are why.

[jberryhill]

4. I hope the automatic taxi driving systems are imported from a wide range of countries

...and not just China.

One of the upsides of taking taxis is that you can learn a lot about so many different countries.

[Ron Green]

5. I'd like to see lots of the amateur drivers of SUV's, pickups and cars replaced

with professional drivers of trains and buses.

[Koko Ware]

6. Here's this..

[Tom_Foolery]

8. Will there be driverless cars in NASCAR?

[Buns_of_Fire]

9. That might be fun -- change Bristol Motor Speedway to a half-mile oval slot car track.

Your admittance ticket allows you to control your favorite car for, say, ten minutes. But if you jump the track, you (and your pit crew) are the ones who have to run out there and put it back in the slot.

Less gas (but probably a lot more electricity), fewer injuries (if you're nimble), and a true sense of involvement. What's not to love?

It could be as big as full-contact baseball!

[PoliticAverse]

10. Having ridden in some NYC taxis with drivers I'm amenable to a driverless replacement. n/t

[1-Old-Man]

11. And how much will this sensing and control system add to the price of the vehicle?

In a country were we won't repave the roads its hard to immagine the work being done to prepare for the automated vehicles and then its even harder to immagine commercial users being willing to spend the money for the vehicle systems that will of necessity be required. Oh, and what about insurance costs - who would assume the liability for machinery failure?

[CK_John]

34. About 5 or 6 smart Phones worth of electronics, plus markup of course.

[PoliticAverse]

12. Article on driverless trucks...

http://www.techhive.com/article/2046262/the-first-driverless-cars-will-actually-be-a-bunch-of-trucks.html

[Jesus Malverde]

13. Really interesting, thanks...nt

[hfojvt]

15. I cannot wait for the time

when I can print one out on my 3-D printer.

[NightWatcher]

17. What happens when a the car gets a "network error" or "blue screen of death"?

Oh, everyone inside dies when it crashes into another driverless car

[1-Old-Man]

22. 14 Lawyers get to buy new beach-houses.

[HappyMe]

23. Probably.

Dead passengers and dead pedestrians everywhere.

[Sgent]

18. See airplanes

modern jets are essentially fully automated, from just after takeoff to flaring the plane and decelerating after touchdown.

The highest paid people outside of executives in the airline industry are the pilots.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. Big downside to that revealed, tho

Remember the jet that landed short of runway and tail broke off, recently?

Turns out, one of the problems turned out to be that because there ARE computer/auto pilot systems, the pilots were being trained more as computer operators than actually being able to fly a plane.
The FAA quickly announced 2 things few days after the crash:
1. Pilots and co-pilots training hours had to increase from 250 to 1500 ( I may be off on the exact numbers, but the ratio is accurate)
2. Auto pilot landings were now a no-no. Gotta do it manually.

So, let's think a moment about how we train people to drive
and then think about what happens in a second or 2 on any freeway........
add 1/2 inch of snow

Watch insurance premiums climb.
Followed by lawsuits.

[KamaAina]

26. Only at that one airport

2. Auto pilot landings were now a no-no. Gotta do it manually.

SFO is notoriously tricky to land in, seeing as how its runways jut out into the Bay, where winds are high enough that yesterday's sailing races were canceled.

[Starry Messenger]

25. No.

People who think this is going to happen don't really understand that drivers do more than make a vehicle go places.

[Enrique]

27. where did those numbers come from?

[CK_John]

28. How many trucks do you think there are per state? Check with your state dmv

and get actual numbers.

[Enrique]

29. no thanks

[Politicalboi]

30. We've had them for planes for years

<a href="http://imgur.com/LWZAa7f"><img src="" title="Hosted by imgur.com"/></a>

LOL!

[Posteritatis]

32. (citation needed) (nt)

[lordsummerisle]

35. Folks who don't

Like to fly often say they don't like the loss of control they experience while flying. I can't imagine them ceding control in a car...

[CK_John]

38. Over the road truck drivers will be affected the most then when texting is cut off

unless the auto is on auto the hoards will join in.

[Rex]

37. No. It will only be a matter of time before Skynet goes active.

nt.