[kri$hna]

This will never work in India !

Assuming it works and is already in place, lets say there was a traffic violation, who will foot the bills/bribe? the owner didnt drive, the driver isnt there.. LOL, traffic police wont agree to this at all

One solution, google will pay for fines due to all violations probably, its a filthy rich company anyway!

[SASproject]

Its surprising to see the amount of inertia people have shown towards self driven cars here. The basic fact is no matter how much anyone hates it, all this automation is just a question of 'when' rather than 'if'. Let me explain a bit more:

1) People hated industrial robots. There were god knows how many fights over them. See the scenario today. Majority of the work is done by automated machines. But that does not mean the end of craftsmanship. We have the assembly line driven VW's on one hand, and the handmade rolls royce's on the other. Its called co-existence people.

2) Most commercial planes engage auto pilots. People do still fly planes on their own. So the possibility that cars can be automated to manage commutes, while simultaneously having dedicated places to enjoy driving needs to be accounted for.

And the thing about Indian Conditions. Its ridiculous how people assume india is mars or something. Mobile phones once seemed an impractical concept in India. Now my maid and her 13 year old daughter both have one.

We need to adapt to change. Its all for the good. The reduced number of accidents on the road is sure to make a very positive impact in todays conditions where you cant be sure if you might just end up dead on the road.

[mayuresh]

Why don't they try automated systems for much more controlled environment than
roads i.e. railways.

There have been anti collision devices, automated signals and perhaps other
technological measures to avoid railway accidents. But the accidents remain a
concern - attributable to human as well as machine errors at different times.

Let technology succeed in bringing accident rate to 0 on rails and then worry
about driverless vehicles.

For road safety, too, let us first see assistive technology than the one that
replaces the driver. Something that helps avoid accidents by alerting the
driver or in extreme cases, taking control and driving to safety automatically.

These seem essential steps, with tangible benefits, also reassuring at every
stage that the technology is trustable and maturing, much before one talks
about replacing the drivers altogether.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

Why don't they try automated systems for much more controlled environment than
roads i.e. railways.
.

A lot of metros in the world are already automated. Trains are rather easy to automate as they run on rails and there are less variables. Cars on streets are a problem on altogether another level, in fact several levels.

[johnjacob]

Originally Posted by SASproject

The basic fact is no matter how much anyone hates it, all this automation is just a question of 'when' rather than 'if'.

Absolutely right. Although my personal prediction would be that the "when" will take another 20 years in the US and Europe, and probably 40+ years to happen here in India. And even then I'm sure the automated cars will have a "manual mode" button for drivers who want to have a bit of fun.

OT: Google's CEO should realize that one day people will also say that it's ridiculous that humans manage corporations. And that day could come sooner than he thinks!

[mempheS.D]

Whoever is the foo' who said this, hasn't seen the roads in Chandni Chowk (Delhi) or Sivaji Nagar (Blore)

Another instance, how would the robotic idiot driving the car know that Civic needs to negotiate an unconventional hump at 45degrees owing to its GC. Some may argue that it can be programmed so. But, what if the Civic had to that BANG in the middle of Mysore road.. KABOOOOOM!

[Pancham]

Keeping the Indian mob in mind, another thing that bothers me is whom will they attack and beat up in case a humanless car runs over any pedestrian?

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

Why don't they try automated systems for much more controlled environment than
roads i.e. railways.

There have been anti collision devices, automated signals and perhaps other
technological measures to avoid railway accidents. But the accidents remain a
concern - attributable to human as well as machine errors at different times.

Let technology succeed in bringing accident rate to 0 on rails and then worry
about driverless vehicles.

For road safety, too, let us first see assistive technology than the one that
replaces the driver. Something that helps avoid accidents by alerting the
driver or in extreme cases, taking control and driving to safety automatically.

These seem essential steps, with tangible benefits, also reassuring at every
stage that the technology is trustable and maturing, much before one talks
about replacing the drivers altogether.

Automation will never work. Too many probables and variables which involve complex thinking, spur of the moment decisions, practiced actions, muscle memory, rapid reflexes etc cannot be pre programmed. Unless we develop a programing technique which mimics human thinking (neural logic) we cannot program ourselves a driverless car.

Regarding airplanes autopilot is used merely to reduce redundant pilot workload. In level cruise autopilot is used. Any emergency the pilot can continue to use the autopilot as long as necessary, but all failures, takeoff and landings are still a manual affair. Remember the pilot still controls the airplane. Any autopilot mistake is blamed on the pilot, not the system.

Likewise even railways for example, delhi metro in theory can drive automated. However drivers are placed, because In India we just cannot get people off the tracks.

Technology for driverless car/plane/ship/train is already there. Technology to think and peform is not there. Hence we see no automation in any driver area.

Once robots learn to think, remember and act, we humans will be quickly replaced everywhere.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Automation will never work. Too many probables and variables which involve complex thinking, spur of the moment decisions, practiced actions, muscle memory, rapid reflexes etc cannot be pre programmed. Unless we develop a programing technique which mimics human thinking (neural logic) we cannot program ourselves a driverless car.

True. Most important thing about driving in India is 'anticipating' what other drivers/vehicles are up to. You read their body language, intent and probable moves (pretty much like playing chess ). So much communications happens between drivers with eye to eye contact, especially near unmanned junctions without signals. There is so much psychological game that happens (like drivers giving way if it is certain SUV, cabs trying to scare and force their way etc). It is impossible for a machine to replicate all these.

[msdivy]

By 2014, cars can decide when to brake - Euro NCAP to mandate auto-braking in new-car test ? Reg Hardware

So the day isn't far when cars can drive themselves. The question is how the transition is going to happen.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by kri$hna

This will never work in India !

Assuming it works and is already in place, lets say there was a traffic violation, who will foot the bills/bribe? the owner didnt drive, the driver isnt there.. LOL, traffic police wont agree to this at all

One solution, google will pay for fines due to all violations probably, its a filthy rich company anyway!

Looking at their Android offering, they wont take the responsibility. Companies manufacturing the cars will have to take care

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by Guna

...There is so much psychological game that happens (like drivers giving way if it is certain SUV, cabs trying to scare and force their way etc). It is impossible for a machine to replicate all these.

What if all the vehicles are on auto-pilot and manually driven vehicles are banned in city roads, like how bullock carts and horse driven carriages are illegal now.

Most of the skeptical posts here are because of the company involved in the project, maybe if it was a Ford or MB or Volvo or any vehicle maker with a long tradition, guess there would have been many 'ayes'.

[Trapezio]

Whether it works or not... I still prefer to drive my car. Each to his own...

If this thing comes, and cars become electric as some predict are they cars anymore? Is it not more like a skybus that runs on roads and can navigate itseld? What is of interest in such a 'thing' for a car nut?

[speedmiester]

By 2014, cars can decide when to brake - Euro NCAP to mandate auto-braking in new-car test ? Reg Hardware

So the day isn't far when cars can drive themselves. The question is how the transition is going to happen.

If the driver is lazy enough to rely on technology for a simple thing like braking and stopping his car. Then he has no place in the driver's seat. He is a threat to both himself and others on the road.

The same goes with other unnecessary gadgets like auto wipers and auto headlights installed in many cars which makes drivers lazy and distracted.
If you are driving a car, it is taken for granted that the person is not blind. Can't you not judge whether you would need to use wipers to clear the water on the windshield or switch on headlamps when the visibility is low.

Originally Posted by Daewood

What if all the vehicles are on auto-pilot and manually driven vehicles are banned in city roads, like how bullock carts and horse driven carriages are illegal now.

Most of the skeptical posts here are because of the company involved in the project, maybe if it was a Ford or MB or Volvo or any vehicle maker with a long tradition, guess there would have been many 'ayes'.

Autonomous cars is not a new idea, many auto manufacturers have ventured into this idea many years ago. So this has nothing to do with one particular company.

[apachelongbow]

Autonomous cars will only work if: every car on the road is on auto-driver. If the road itself contains only cars an no pedistrians, animals of 2/4/multi legged kinds, and if the road is access controlled like an airport runway or a metro rail tunnel. Initially maybe we will have auto driver cars running on say mumbai pune expressway and driver takes over once outside expressway limits... interesting