[xway]

I beg to differ here. Technology evolves and adapts. At this stage it is very nascent and just the hardware/software is being built. When it evolves there will be cultural and infrastructure change too though it takes some time. And in places like India a more evolved version will come up.

Lets take Metros for example, we used to think how will it run at such speeds. In trains people take hours to get up and down, how will they board in seconds, how will metro ply through congested areas and so many questions.

Today Metros are running successfully and have become necessity, imagine Delhis plight without a Metro today, it will crumble and we cannot live without it now, it has become so engrained in our lives today.

Self driving cars too will come surely and also in India - its a matter of time. It will not happen suddenly but in phases. I will list down on the possible scenarios :

Phase 1 - Some pockets will allow self driving e.g. expressways initially.
Phase 2 - Auto Pilot mode can be set in bumper to bumper traffic where the car only needs to crawl through
Phase 3 - New roads with appropriate infrastructure will come up to suit automated vehicles running parallel to Metro.
Phase 4 - Point to Point automation where some particular routes will be programmed and automated driver cars will support these.
Phase 5 - The most time consuming, People will adapt and know to behave and use self driving cars and that includes all sects of people.

One needs to understand today also we have people in India who cannot use or afraid to use escalators, but still these work. Same way once adaptation and evolution reaches a certain percentage it becomes a reality and everyday way of life, even if it is not 100%.

I am sure that we will have Self Driving vehicles everywhere and in India too, just wait and watch.

The first step is idea and that is half way done, the second half of implementation though difficult neither is impossible but instead a reality and everyone will get there.

I cannot wait to hear such thing one day :

"Man, today i am too tired as I had to run on manual mode driving due to xxxxx reason, the self driving mode could not be used due to xxxx and i was stuck badly"

[NTO]

Everyday I drive to work, seeing other idiots riding two wheelers on roads, I realize the innumerable idiocy I myself have committed on our roads. This definitely has made me ride my motorcycle in a much responsible way than before (at least one idiot less now). That said, I have very recently realized that any amount of policing cannot bring or make anyone follow rules on our roads. It is self realization which would render our roads safer and idiots free. Though a strong believer of technology, I feel I will not witness a self driving car (autonomous level 5) in my lifetime. There is a long way to go. This could possibly become a reality in an amusement park where kids and elders alike can take joy rides by paying money to experience self driving cars in a controlled environment.

Great read and amazingly well put together.

[bugatti]

Foreign Policy magazine makes some very interesting counter arguments about the hype in autonomous vehicle space.

First, truly automated technology—at least the kind that requires no human involvement—is a rarity in every sector of the economy, and there’s little reason to think driving will be any different..........In the case of driving, that means human drivers will still bear ultimate responsibility for the cars they’re allegedly merely riding in.

A related challenge—particularly for driverless cars—is the complexity of the systems involved. For example, some cars today require over 100 million lines of software code to keep them running. More code means more functions—like rear-facing cameras, anti-lock brakes, and live traffic updates.

Self-Driving Cars Are on the Road to Nowhere

[volkman10]

Minister decides not to allow driver-less Cars In India, links it to unemployment

India isn't ready for autonomous cars yet which could possibly hamper employment potential, at a time when creating jobs is necessary.

Link

[SenPai_GTi]

The report has perfectly compiled all the problems, but I do feel that people are a lot more sceptical about the technology use in our harsh conditions. If given some time, there will definitely be a way around all the problems. I have been studying and working on the autonomous technology for some time and the only way to advanced forward in this technology is by solving a case wherein a rule has been broken. India is a vast resource of autonomous problem set. So if looked at it from a positive point of view, India is the ultimate boss level in the game of autonomous technology that the engineers have to tackle.

Also as rightly stated, autonomous technology can be used as a convenience feature similar to cruise control. That said, the cost for the technology will decrease few years down the line, with processors as well as storage devices getting smaller and with cameras being installed in cars as cheap as the Magnite. With the electrification of vehicle drive trains, it will become much easier to implement as well.

Also one thing that is easily forgotten is that if the autonomous vehicle can make decisions, it can also collect the driving data in the manual mode and can do two things with it, train it's algorithm or detect the driving style of the driver (might be useful as a piece of evidence in case of accidents and challans). This might also be the solution that we needed to stop a drunk driver from driving.

Here is a demo of lane mapping (totally different concept to lane assist) I did a long time ago while driving on the Mumbai Pune Expressway in low lighting conditions.

Currently, only the marked roads (faded to be specific) are being used to test programs because the unmarked roads might require additional sensors and good processing power, which is costly as of today.

[mvadg]

We obviously need to impose autonomous vehicles on everyone. Problem solved. Rest will be denied fuel and their non autonomous vehicles seized.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

Originally Posted by SenPai_GTi

Also, one thing that is easily forgotten is that if the autonomous vehicle can make decisions, it can also collect the driving data in the manual mode and can do two things with it, train it's algorithm or detect the driving style of the driver (might be useful as a piece of evidence in case of accidents and challans). This might also be the solution that we needed to stop a drunk driver from driving.

I'm not sure how I feel about this though!

On one hand, having the driving data from all road users seems like a very good deterrent to the rule-breaking behaviour that Indians have accumulated for the last 7 decades. Especially truck drivers, auto drivers and even 2 wheelers.

But on the other hand, that driving data can be maliciously used against us by Government agencies, Insurance companies and the judicial system. There are already insurance companies that offer policies based on driving habits! My brother who's in America was recently telling me about a policy where, if you brake suddenly or aggressively over a certain duration of ownership, docks points and causes an increase in premiums! I couldn't digest the unfairness of that situation! Even in situations where aggressive braking may have been deemed necessary, the monitoring system would still dock points because it gives the insurance companies an excuse to extort higher premiums. They would simply argue that our "bad driving habits" have led us into a situation where aggressive braking was made necessary and not because the other road users were reckless.

Personally, I would never agree to allow any systems that constantly record our behaviour. There's just too many privacy concerns that need to be addressed first before such a system can be allowed.

[SenPai_GTi]

Originally Posted by vamsi.vadrevu

There's just too many privacy concerns that need to be addressed first before such a system can be allowed.

I agree with you here. Since the day connected tech has entered the cars, privacy has gone for a toss. Companies can easily sell this data without our knowledge (similar to the Facebook privacy scandal) and even use it against us as you stated. The only way to prevent this is if strict IT laws are placed for autonomous/connected car tech to prevent malicious use of our data.

But every technology has it's pros and cons. Autonomous technology might have more cons in general as of today. But given time, there will be a way to solve all the issues one by one.

[barefeetdriver]

Originally Posted by mvadg

We obviously need to impose autonomous vehicles on everyone. Problem solved. Rest will be denied fuel and their non autonomous vehicles seized.

Not sure if this is a tongue in cheek response, but I'm with you. If we could force an entire country to switch currency notes in a matter of months I'm pretty sure anything is possible. Any habits, ideas, etc could be changed in no time. It's all about do "they" want to do it.

[dsuman]

The current scenario is hot about Autonomous cars. Time and again we hear about 100% Autonomous cars being tested. Teslas already have auto pilot and are utilized in the West. I am not referring to ADAS since it is an assistance system and a part of Autonomous system.

The intention of my Topic is

Is 100% Automation possible in vehicles?

Let us imagine an ideal world where everyone follows traffic rules to the T which includes 2 wheelers, 4 wheelers, Trucks Buses and every vehicle that jostles for space on the Indian Roads. The main issue currently with 100% automation of vehicles is the roads are shared by human drivers as well which offcourse increases chances of accidents.

When 100% vehicles are driven by computers then the possibility of accidents is removed. But for a computer it is either 0 or 1. So it is either this decision or that decision.

Another scary thought.
Imagine a Autonomous vehicle is cruising at good speeds and its brakes fail and there are multiple obstacles say a car breaking down on right side of road and some people sipping tea on a roadside on the leftside. A human driver in case he cannot avoid both obstacles, may turn the vehicle towards bushes or may take a hit instead of hitting brokendown car or people on left side. But a computer will be configured to avoid a damage to itself and hit the softer targets (by logic lesser damage) which in case here, soft targets are people on left side since broken down car is a hard object.
What will such a car do? Will AI be able to think like a Human Driver?

Will a computer allow me to override and take control? If Yes then my Car is driven manually but others cars by Computers.

Also allowing Override removes advantages of Autonomous Driving. I can keep my car in override mode always. Its as good as not having automation.

Can 100% Autonomous Vehicles be achieved ever?