[ACM]

We should protest to the US Government - since software that removes the need for driving also takes away the jobs of Drivers - Lakhs of them would loose employment, (Including truck, bus and taxi drivers an even bigger figure) a much bigger harm than the software outsourcing is doing to them.

It would be fun to send Google a notice for this?

On a serious note, even though Trains are 99% automated, we still do need a Driver and a Guard even in the most advance nations, automation in cars is a long, long, long way off.

[AdityaLN]

An article in NYtimes, Google is in fact testing a car that drives itself in traffic. No wonder the CEO ridiculous that humans drive cars.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/sc...e.html?_r=1&hp

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by AdityaLN

An article in NYtimes, Google is in fact testing a car that drives itself in traffic. No wonder the CEO ridiculous that humans drive cars.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/sc...e.html?_r=1&hp

Let google try testing these systems in Indian city traffic conditions. The system will get overloaded and crash within minutes. If it performs flawlessly without any problems, I will give up driving forever.

Never the less a commendable achievement but still I do not approve of robots driving cars.

[sandeepmdas]

Here's a video:

Google Computer-Driven Prius on Vimeo

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Let google try testing these systems in Indian city traffic conditions. The system will get overloaded and crash within minutes.

If they really want to stress-test and fool-proof the system, they should move the testing to India.

[subhashnm]

Read on the net that the Google self-driven cars have already crossed 140,000 miles.

All that miles, and only one accident. And the accident? Someome rear-ended the poor self-driven car That is quite a neat record for such a 'long' driving history!

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by subhashnm

Read on the net that the Google self-driven cars have already crossed 140,000 miles.

All that miles, and only one accident. And the accident? Someome rear-ended the poor self-driven car That is quite a neat record for such a 'long' driving history!

Here is a link to the article from Autoblog - Report: Google quietly logs over 140k on autonomous cars in U.S. city traffic — Autoblog

I like their ending quote

One day the threat of car crashes could be virtually eliminated, if only we could get computers that didn't crash

[Rehaan]

The state of Nevada has just passed a law allowing Google to use driver-less cars on their public roads!

This is great for google since Nevada is bordering California, and its got a ton of good "test roads" too.

Google's Driverless Cars Are Legal In Nevada

cya
R

[jinojohnt]

I know I am going to get bashed for this - All the protests remind me of my friend who used to hand-wash his clothes, because he would miss the joy and pleasure of washing if he uses a washing machine

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

I think the original poster is being idiotic. If planes can fly auto-pilot; if we can send space ships controlled by earth stations rather than a pilot; if fighter pilots are becoming redundant (drones etc); if trains are driverless, how in the blazes is this an inconceivable idea let alone idiotic.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

I think the original poster is being idiotic. If planes can fly auto-pilot; if we can send space ships controlled by earth stations rather than a pilot; if fighter pilots are becoming redundant (drones etc); if trains are driverless, how in the blazes is this an inconceivable idea let alone idiotic.

Not Inconceivable, but definitely very challenging, perhaps more so than all the other scenarios that you have mentioned. For example:

Planes - Auto-pilots used mostly for high altitude cruising where the number of variables are minimal.
Spaceships - Follow mathematically representable models (trajectories, speeds, sequences etc.), with most variables foreseen and accounted for.
Drones - Follow established mission styles (models) and deal with specified and properly programmed targets. Have limitations in terms of how many and how much course and target changes can be made when a mission has already commenced. Plus, drones are mostly considered expendable. Our cars and our lives are not!
Trains - Run on dedicated tracks on specified schedules, with few variables because of the inherent design of rail based transportation.

As far as I can imagine, when it comes to Road Based Vehicles, the number of scenarios that can be encountered are potentially limitless, and programming a system to have human-like intelligence (or dumbness) to handle the same is a daunting proposition. While it may work well in the highly disciplined and regulated road conditions in the West, I can well imagine what the challenges can be in a country like India.

After all, a program is only as good as the human who programmed the same, and then some worse!

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

I know I am going to get bashed for this - All the protests remind me of my friend who used to hand-wash his clothes, because he would miss the joy and pleasure of washing if he uses a washing machine

No, seriously? Comparing cloth washing to driving a car? Oh My God!!

And as roy_libran said, there are endless possibilities which makes driving on a road a much more complex equation than a flight following a pre-designated path. Once we can come to the level that every car will follow a certain path and rules then probably it'll become a reality. But mix and match of automated driving with manual driving will surely a disaster unless the car's computing is programmed to think like human. This might become a reality sometime but till then we can enjoy driving ourselves.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

Not Inconceivable, but definitely very challenging, perhaps more so than all the other scenarios that you have mentioned. For example:

But definitely not ridiculous, or idiotic. What may seem an unsurmountable challenge today, will seem simple once done. If you asked someone even 20 years ago, if you could connect with people, do video conferencing, check email, do shopping, banking, book airline tickets etc on your telephone, and take your telephone whereever you go, maybe their answer would be same as yours. And they would perhaps also say, it is possible in the west but not in India. But see where we are now.

[speedmiester]

The sheer number of variables that the automated system needs to consider when driving on public roads is far greater than flying a plane or a train.
The auto pilot systems have been in use in planes for over half a century and still we have "2" human pilots in the planes. Why?
Because the human brain is far superior than any modern computer. Human can react far better to adverse changes that might occur.

Driving an automated car on public road, where there are many obstacles and frequent changes in the immediate environment requires far superior computing power.
What if there is a sudden change in weather and one of the tyre hits a patch of ice, how will the system respond to that?
If there is a power outage and there are no traffic lights, how will the system respond in a traffic intersection?

The system can work if all the cars in the world are automated. Not while there are some drunken lunatics who drive on the road when you are busy checking emails or chatting with your friend over internet in your automated car.

Unlike automated cars the mobile phones, laptops, tablets, internet shopping, video conferencing are some of the things that will not affect human life if the system fails.
Would anyone put their lives of the loved ones in the hands of an automated car?
I for one will never do that.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Driving an automated car on public road, where there are many obstacles and frequent changes in the immediate environment requires far superior computing power.
What if there is a sudden change in weather and one of the tyre hits a patch of ice, how will the system respond to that?
If there is a power outage and there are no traffic lights, how will the system respond in a traffic intersection?

Driving on ice conditions / driving in bumper-to-bumper / driving among pedestrians has all been part of 1,40,000 mile testing on these cars.

And cars did that with Zero accidents. Much better safety rate than "average" human driver.

Look at 2:00 minutes in this video:

Test Driving Google's Driverless Car

[dot]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

And cars did that with Zero accidents. Much better safety rate than "average" human driver.

I am sure that the driver-less cars are all fine, hitech and accident free.

But I would still like to drive.