[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by PetaWatt

My point is, presence of steering wheel indicates technology is yet not enough fool proof to be used in day to day life without involving a human.

In this case, there is a steering wheel but no Human on driving seat. So car has to drive on its own without any inputs from Human.

https://www.fastcompany.com/40492768...sts-in-arizona

[Fillmore]

The Tesla auto pilot is actually in use in the US. However due to federal regulations it needs the driver to be in the driver seat and you have to place your hand on the steering once every 15 seconds (not 100% sure on the interval). Besides that the car pretty much drives itself.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by PetaWatt

I believe Google got enough money to develop the car from scratch. Then why there is steering wheel in the car? Lack of confidence?

It will take a while for the final product to hit the market. Automated cars will have to perform better than the humans and will have to show clear advantages. On top of that, evolution will be gradual, so these cars will have to live with the cars driven by smarter humans for some time. Hence, they will have to understand a few things when humans are on the driving seat of the other cars on road:

• Speed depends on the mood
• Indicators are given depending on the mood
• Car can be parked even in the no parking area
• Lanes are only for self conscious cars

This list is longer than this, but I think I indicated what I mean to say.

So, driving along with humans will not only need few sensors, controllers and rule based algorithms but will also need artificial intelligence to understand human and hence their driving. I am not sure at what stage Google is now with this development, but steering wheel in an autonomous car is not a good indication.

Oh...They did that. They built a 100 or so cars without steering wheel and did extensive testing on that. Just do a Google image search on "Google cars" . It was a weird looking vehicle but suited them to do extensive testing of their technology. Those cars ran 3 million or so miles of testing.

Then strategically they decided not to go for manufacturing their own cars and decided to partner with Fiat-Chrysler.

This is a 2014 article.
https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...w-does-it-work

[PetaWatt]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

In this case, there is a steering wheel but no Human on driving seat. So car has to drive on its own without any inputs from Human.

If this is a prototype, it should have steering wheel, that can be used by the testers to manual override the car if something goes wrong.

If it is a production version, then why there is steering wheel? Wouldn't be seat more comfortable to sit in and get out without a steering wheel. If there is no steering wheel, there is no chances of accidental touching of steering wheel causing accident.

Whatever is the case from above to have the steering wheel, it indicates manual override might be needed(might be only in very extreme cases). Can that car be called autonomous or just a car with driving assistance functionality?

[NetfreakBombay]

A different model does not have a steering wheel at all.

Look at 37 seconds in this video (comment from rider : "there is no steering wheel")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqSDWoAhvLU

Originally Posted by PetaWatt

Whatever is the case from above to have the steering wheel, it indicates manual override might be needed(might be only in very extreme cases). Can that car be called autonomous or just a car with driving assistance functionality?

In this car, there is no driver in the front seat. Riders can only sit on back seat.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by PetaWatt

And there is a trained pilot behind the Yoke. In a similar way, if a driver is needed in an autonomous car, can it be really called autonomous car? I think it will be more accurate to call it car with assistive driving functionality.

My point is, presence of steering wheel indicates technology is yet not enough fool proof to be used in day to day life without involving a human.

The trained Pilot is needed as a fallback in most cases and same will apply to these autonomous vehicles. As made clear in previous posts, for any good system, its always considered a good design to have a fallback option.

I can point out many such cases in day to day life where technology has advanced significantly yet we see old devices.

- Why are touch pads offered in laptops with touchscreen? Is it because of lack of confidence in touch screen capabilities?

- Why is apple & other phones manufacturers providing cable for charging when these devices can charge wirelessly, is it because of lack of faith in their wireless charging capabilities?

- Why are landline phones still in existence, is it because of limitations in Cellular technology?

I can go on, but hope you get the picture. I for one wouldn't want an autonomous vehicle with no manual override option atleast not until every car on the road is autonomous and is able to communicate with each other(Something the manufacturers are working on)

[PetaWatt]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

I can go on, but hope you get the picture. I for one wouldn't want an autonomous vehicle with no manual override option atleast not until every car on the road is autonomous and is able to communicate with each other(Something the manufacturers are working on)

Yup, got your point of view. I think, transition phase might be a bit difficult(Autonomous car running along with human driven car). I hope car manufacturer will provide a trusted way to find out who was actually driving at the time of accident.

[Technocrat]

They are already there, Tesla has in the past provided such information after checking vehicle logs.

[DigitalOne]

Waymo has posted a new video with a passenger experience

Link

[DigitalOne]

Now Waymo partners with Jaguar to build and deploy autonomous SUVs

https://www.theverge.com/platform/am...auto-show-2018

[blackwasp]

Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Alphabet Inc., has received a permit to test their autonomous cars on public streets without a driver. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has granted the tech company a permit to test cars in California within defined limits.

The cars will be tested in parts of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Palo Alto. Waymo will be allowed to test cars during day and night, on city, rural and highway roads with speeds up to 105 km/h. The vehicles will be capable of handling fog and light rain situations. Initially, only a small area will be used for testing which is expected to expand once sufficient experience and confidence are gained.

At first, only Waymo staff will sit in the vehicles and public will eventually be allowed to get rides under the early rider program. All Waymo vehicles are tested before they get on the roads. They have accumulated a total of around 10 million miles of testing on public roads and around 7 billion simulated miles. In November 2017, the company started on-road trials in Phoenix, Arizona.



Link to Team-BHP News

[mobike008]

I'm currently in San Francisco on a work trip.

Last evening, I was driving around in SFO downtown late in the night.

What I see in front of me? Google's WAYMO- Driverless car. There was absolutely nobody inside the car.

It's bit uncanny to share the road with a driverless car.

I followed it for little while to see how to drives. It was driving perfectly except when it had to make a left. It turned on signal and moved to left lane just a "wee bit" earlier (She crossed the solid line).

Well, here 7/10 humans also do it regularly and possibly deliberately. So, it's absolutely fine.

Looks like they have come a long way.

A few pictures from a video that I took.

[crazybiker46]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I'm currently in San Francisco on a work trip.

Last evening, I was driving around in SFO downtown late in the night.

What I see in front of me? Google's WAYMO- Driverless car. There was absolutely nobody inside the car.

It's bit uncanny to share the road with a driverless car.

I followed it for little while to see how to drives. It was driving perfectly except when it had to make a left. It turned on signal and moved to left lane just a "wee bit" earlier (She crossed the solid line).

Well, here 7/10 humans also do it regularly and possibly deliberately. So, it's absolutely fine.

Looks like they have come a long way.

I was also in SFO at the same time and saw Waymo cars roaming around. It was eerliy for me seeing a car without driver going around. When are they going to let passengers in? Don't remember seeing passengers anytime I spotted the car.





Where you near Pier39 area on 12th & 13th, saw a X3 M40i parked there and first thing that came to my mind is your car. Didn't check the number plate though

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by crazybiker46

I was also in SFO at the same time and saw Waymo cars roaming around. It was eerliy for me seeing a car without driver going around.

When are they going to let passengers in? Don't remember seeing passengers anytime I spotted the car.

Where you near Pier39 area on 12th & 13th, saw a X3 M40i parked there and first thing that came to my mind is your car. Didn't check the number plate though

Talk about coincidences.

This video grab taken by me were from Jan 11th night around 10:30pm.

I was in the Bay Area from Jan 8th-12th evening when I headed back home.

Was driving a rental during my time in the area.

[RM Motorsports]

Waymo Taxis Honk Endlessly Past Midnight in San Francisco.

In a San Francisco neighbourhood, the arrival of self-driving cars promised innovation and convenience. However, these robotaxis quickly became a source of frustration as their incessant honking began disrupting the peace, especially during the night. The autonomous vehicles, parked in a local lot, seemed to communicate through relentless beeps, shattering the quiet that residents once enjoyed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t2kgl6BnPI