[Samarth 619]

You know, its amazing to see such genuine responses of Tbhpians who care for human beings more than techno advancement. Very happy to see this.
I'm against automation. I know, there's a supervisor in the train, but tell me, how long before he too gets sent home at this rate of development? 5 years? You yourself know it won't take that long.


If we must go modern, it should be in direction of green living, reducing pollution & carbon footprint, lowering the human population and reducing harmful effects of electro-radiation.

Gandhi was not against machines, he was against automation. He was ok with cycle, he was ok with charkha that could provide employment to millions.
Let me tell you, if machines do everything, the industry will collapse too. Yes, its a paradox. Yes, it happened in the history. The USA's great depression of 1930's happened because rich were getting richer and unemployment reached a staggering 25%+, which meant that people stopped going to markets, and this even caused tensions among the rich, because whatever they sold in markets, just stopped selling.

If machines replace humans and income doesn't get distributed well, there won't exist a market. Period.
I know what I'm talking about, I teach this subject. So, as far as possible, always oppose anything that replaces humans.
As long as there's still a technician there, fine. Just be ready for the day there won't be any.

[IP_Man]

Originally Posted by Samarth 619

Gandhi was not against machines, he was against automation. He was ok with cycle, he was ok with charkha that could provide employment to millions.

India should learn one or two cents from China, how to utilise human manpower in productive way to boost GDP. Our wrong Human Resource policy has resulted in millions of jobless youths. China use heavy automation but at the same time provides job to everybody. That said, I'm against human right violations in China to boost production.

[bhardwhu]

This is a great move towards establishing a technological leap. It aids advancement and provides enough data to improve the systems with time. As far as jobs getting lost, I see that more would be created with newer tech entering a mass market mobility system. We need to train and retrain workforce to stay competitive though.

[TheCatalyst]

I like this concept, but only if its implemented in the true sense. Only then there is a benefit isn't it?

When I used to live in London a decade ago, I used to use the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) which is a driver-less train. It was initially fascinating to see how these trains operate and was also a tourist thing. But in my experience there was always a driver or a tech on standby somewhere on the platform or frequently on the train itself. Defeats the whole purpose right?

With much higher load to work with and also operate in harsher conditions, the Delhi driver-less train, I fear will be more of a thing which would exist only on paper. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

There is also another drawback of these driver-less trains. The ride experience. In the case of DLR, as time went by, the computer controlled algorithmic braking and accelerating at stations/junctions got a bit irritating (my wife used to complain of motion sickness). You slowly start missing the human touch.

[rascalangel]

While I admire the automation, that would lead to better synergy in scheduling thus better operational efficiencies, my problem with unmanned trains or any people mover is what happens if and when a bad actor manages to get remote access?
Atleast with a driver/supervisor inside there is a possibility of manual override. If the recent solarwinds episode is to go by, it's not that far fetched to say the neighbor's would be interested in the event of hostile future.

[Gansan]

I have read long back that all the newer metros such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi etc are capable of driverless operation by design, if they decide to operate that way, but it required an amendment in the Indian railway Act to permit such operation. Did they make any such recent amendment?

[SKC-auto]

Ultimately according to me there will be 3 classifications, low paying jobs(labourers), high paying jobs(those who create AI, researchers and scientists) and no jobs(those who receive governments payout to stay calm and not create law and order problems).

I don't think we should worry about automation taking away our jobs. If you say this particular automation causes job loss, what about using JCBs instead of 100 people digging trenches for a building foundation.

Regarding this train, I assume this would be the easiest automation with many safety measures incorporated.

Originally Posted by rascalangel

Atleast with a driver/supervisor inside there is a possibility of manual override. If the recent solarwinds episode is to go by, it's not that far fetched to say the neighbor's would be interested in the event of hostile future.

General Motors was experimenting cars in it's super cruise autonomous driving where a driver takes over the car remotely ( kind of call center) when the autonomous system does not know what to do. You can find YouTube videos.

I am sure they would have added few cameras and monitoring the trains autonomous system remotely, may be they can remotely control the train.

[sandeepmohan]

Wow.

DMRCL have gone all out right from the start. I've never seen a metro project (build up and operation) work at the speed of the one in Delhi. The network is close to operating 400km of track. That's more than the distance between Bangalore and Chennai!

[mvadg]

Happy to see these unnecessary jobs eliminated.
I see the following pros:

1. Smoother operation of the metro - less variation in acceleration and deceleration; speeds; and therefore time travelling between stations will be less variable. This will also lead to less stresses on the rolling stock and hopefully engineers can set the system to minimize wear and tear.
2. We've seen the metro shut down due to strikes by metro drivers without regard to the immense hardship caused to commuters, automation will put an end to this.
3. Reduced fares? Unlikely, but the public should demand to see the savings
4. We should expect 24/7 operation with automated systems - Bangalore Metro always claimed they had no staff for running more frequent services during peak hours and late night services
   

Cons:
I don't see any, but people say they would like to see a human in charge - I've seen humans in charge at toll stations - they've only slowed traffic, so they could pocket some money. Would you like someone to be in charge of escalators? Someone to hand you your money at ATMs?

Yes, some people will lose their jobs, this will be a miniscule number and they will likely be placed elsewhere given the kind of system we have in government organizations. We expect our soldiers and doctors to sacrifice their lives for us, so I think it is quite OK for a few metro drivers to find other jobs.

I hope we will do the same with city vehicles - a RORO system where people simply drive their vehicles on to an automated platform that would drop off at their destination
Overall, a great move, I don't know why it took so long.

[hdus001]

Driverless trains manufactured in India (Chennai) have been running on the Sydney North West line for more than a year now, I think they run at 4 minute intervals, and are extremely good at time keeping.

https://www.sbs.com.au/language/engl...-made-in-india

It had some minor glitches on the first day but seems like its been great once those were rectified:
https://www.theguardian.com/australi...r-test-remains

Details of the train here:
https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-trains

[pranavtengshe]

In evolution of mankind tasks which are purely mechanical will be replaced eventually. As a human resource developer we should be creating next level of jobs. Eg. People who can develop an autonomous car, People who can create, maintain, secure and hack machines and robots.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by kmasthan

Your are 100 %right. We are using whatever whites are inventing producing and marketing. Ultimately we become their market place for produce.

The term “whites” by which I assume you mean Europeans and North Americans is not quite correct. A lot of innovation and technology comes from places like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Singapore as well these days. So consider replacing it with developed countries.

Originally Posted by TheCatalyst

With much higher load to work with and also operate in harsher conditions, the Delhi driver-less train, I fear will be more of a thing which would exist only on paper. I would be happy to be proven wrong

You have already been proven wrong. These trains have been working in the driverless mode successfully for the past several years. There has been an attendant present but not actually operating them. Now they have removed the attendant.

Originally Posted by mvadg

Smoother operation of the metro - less variation in acceleration and deceleration; speeds; and therefore time travelling between stations will be less variable. This will also lead to less stresses on the rolling stock and hopefully engineers can set the system to minimize wear and tear

Agree with your overall point. However wanted to note that all trains on Delhi Metro run in an automated manner. Drivers don’t control acceleration, braking or speed during normal operations.