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Tesla Working On Autonomous Cars: Musk Wants Teslas With Auto-Pilot
cartechboy writes "Do you like driving? Well then, you're going to hate the future, because automakers are racing to beat each other to the starting line of the self-driving car race. By 2020, autonomous vehicles may arrive from Cadillac, Nissan, Volvo, Mercedes, Audi, and even Google. But now Tesla wants to jump into the ring. CEO Elon Musk told the Financial Times that the electric-car maker will build a self-driving car...within three years. You'll note that's much sooner than 2020, which means Tesla would beat other, larger automakers to the punch. For those who fear self-driving cars, Musk said the autonomous Tesla could drive 90 percent of the time, but that in his opinion, a vehicle without a human in the cockpit isn't feasible. Like it or not, our roads will probably be safer because you won't actually be driving — well, OK, that other guy who's texting or talking or drinking a huge coffee or ... you get the idea."
Please focus on making the Models and Model S 2.0 affordable. A vehicle with abase price greater than $50,000 is not affordable and is NOT what you promised when you first announced the Model S pre-order for $5000.
Get the price down! Let Google and MIT develop the self driving tech for you.
KTHNXBYE
With a self-driving car he won't need to worry about the New York Times test driving it incorrectly.
-Darkshadow (There was a thing called Heaven; but all the same they used to drink enormous quantities of alcohol.)
I think autonomous cars will be safer in general because they can avoid accidents caused by fatigue and lack of concentration during long trips or heavy traffic. However, I think that as long as autonomous cars are mixed in with other cars operated by human drivers, there will be the potential for worse accidents of the more extreme kind. For example, an oncoming car suddenly swerving into your lane head-on. I would assume the AI would apply maximum brakes and that's it. A human (especially an experienced driver) could take more extreme action, like going off the side of the road to avoid a head-on collision. That is an option I doubt would be built into an AI system (intentionally wrecking the vehicle to prevent a more extreme accident - what if the AI incorrectly identified a scenario that didn't actually exist and decided to drive off the side of the road?)
If autonomous cars do prove to be as successful and safe as they could potentially be, there will be a hard push to force humans out of the driver's seat. It would start by building or designating high speed roadways that only allow autonomous vehicles. It will continue spreading from there.
Better known as 318230.
You sir are wrong. I'll just direct your to this introduction of the 'Auto Pilot' feature on the new 1958 Imperials
Specifically, this section:
-Malakai
A Dragon Lives in my Garage
Wouldn't having a fun to drive car that you don't drive be a little bit pointless?
If I could drive it downtown manually and park it, go drinking and dancing till 4 in the morning, then crawl into the back seat with my new lady friend and have it take us back to my place, that would be the best car ever.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
Call me old fashioned but to me, cars are meant to be driven. If I want to "be driven" I'll take a taxi, a bus or some other public transportation.
On the contrary. Cars are "meant" to be used as their owners want to use them. There are lot of times I would prefer to be driven but:
1) Buses are slow, inconvenient, and often don't go where and when I want to go.
2) Taxis are expensive and can also be inconvenient depending on where your end points are.
3) Chauffeurs can be very convenient but not many can afford to keep one on staff. Think of self driving cars as chauffeurs for the rest of us. (or maybe the 5% since Teslas pretty expensive)
I think there will be lots of infrastructure required before we'll see autonomous cars.
Autonomous cars have driven hundreds of thousands of miles on existing roads. So why do you think additional infrastructure is needed? It seems to me that the opposite is true: less infrastructure will be needed. Parking spaces can be narrower (passengers will exit before the car is parked), parking lots/garages can be smaller and remotely located, lanes can be narrower, road construction can be reduced as road capacity increases, traffic lights can be phased out, etc. Public transportation will become more more popular as it shifts from big, infrequent, inconvenient buses to small, on-demand, direct-to-your-door vans. The result will be fewer cars on the road.
Wouldn't having a fun to drive car that you don't drive be a little bit pointless?
Only if you only drive for fun. Stop and go traffic is tedious and dull in every car that I have driven. I imagine it is pretty dull and even more tedious in a Ferrari or Lamborghini.
Might as well announce that you're going to lower gravity...
That's his other company.
Only if you only drive for fun. Stop and go traffic is tedious and dull in every car that I have driven. I imagine it is pretty dull and even more tedious in a Ferrari or Lamborghini.
An self-driving car will make it even more dull and tedious, unless the car allows the driver to simply sit back and read a book. But every announcement I've read so far seems to indicate that the driver needs to stay alert in case they need to take over the driving, which sort of defeats the purpose.
Either give me a totally self-driving car so I can tune out, or a car that has manual transmission so I have something to occupy my brain while I drive.
I live in northern climate, and I seriously doubt that kind of vehicle could handle the roads I drive, especially in winter. The hundreds of thousands of miles all have been driven mostly around California. I say this tech should not be ready for the public until it can handle the worst conditions (white wash, frost on camera lens, ambiguous terrain because of massive snow on the road, dirt roads with pot holes, etc...).
Tomorrow is another day...
Pilots don't use autopilot to land.
Your self driving car will prompt you to take the wheel if conditions are too averse. If you refuse, it will simply refuse to drive itself.
white wash, frost on camera lens, ambiguous terrain because of massive snow on the road
None of these are particularly difficult for current autonomous cars. They have multiple sensors, including GPS, radar, camera, inertial sensors, and rotation sensors. Snow may interfere with cameras, but have no effect on the others. An autonomous car also has access to far more information than you do, such as exactly where the road is, the location of other cars, and the exact location of signs and mileage markers (this data is collected and saved as the cars drive).
ambiguous terrain because of massive snow on the road,
Unlike humans, it will probably do the smart thing and stop.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
I agree, I love to drive. As a professional driver instructor for Semi Trucks, my favorite activity is to come home to "my baby," and drive for enjoyment and relaxation.
Plus a big downside as far as I can see would be the idea that as bad as many drivers are, imagine how bad they will be when the need arises to actually drive the car. After a very short time many will become used to playing games, sleeping, surfing the internet while the car drives, that they will lack the most basic real world experience to be spatially aware enough of situations outside the vehicle to competently (or even minimally) operate the vehicle.
Love the idea of being driven home intoxicated, fatigued, medicated. But over reliance on self driving technology will result in drivers who are trained on GTA X instead of reality.
Donald Trump, on a crusade to make Nixon look respectable
Perhaps it's just because I'm old enough to know that I'm not, never have been and never will be the great driver that I once thought I was. I also know that driving is the most dangerous thing that I do on a regular basis, it being so easy to make a fatal mistake. In addition, most commutes are pretty boring; I usually wish I could spend the time reading something instead. The idea of having my own personal chauffeur is also appealing for other reasons, such as if I drink too much, or perhaps it would eventually even be possible for the vehicle to drop me off in one place and then park itself somewhere else (although society would then have to develop laws for dealing with driverless vehicles). Another major advantage is that filling the roads with autonomous vehicles may also prove to be the ultimate solution to the problem of traffic jams.
The challenges involved in the creation of auto-pilots that we can all trust involve safety, security and privacy. First, no one is going to entrust their life to such a system unless it proves to be safe. Moreover, human psychology will undoubtedly require that the auto-pilot be much safer and more efficient driver than the owner of the vehicle can ever hope to be, or else they probably won't want to use it.
Second: security. For example, back-door access and remote control. It's one thing for a malevolent third party to take advantage of your computer, but the idea that anyone might be able to take advantage of your vehicle while you're in it seems completely unacceptable to me. One theory about the recent death of investigative journalist Michael Hastings is that someone gained remote control over his car (at least the accelerator and breaks), which according to eyewitnesses seemed completely out of control just before he crashed. I can imagine even more sinister things involving a car with a real auto-pilot, for instance a remote control kidnapping where the victims are locked into their own vehicles and then driven to an unknown destination.
Third: privacy. I would just hate the idea that my vehicle's manufacturer was also working happily with, for example, intelligence agencies to use my car to spy on me, or marketing companies to more effectively target me with advertising. Just because you own a vehicle with an auto-pilot does not mean that you should expect to have your rights trampled upon.
The beginning of a solution for all of this would be for the vehicle manufacturers to collaborate on as open source project for the auto-pilot and vehicle communications software. In my view that approach would certainly lead to better safety, security and privacy, but somehow I don't think it will work out like that.
The frustration in your eyes is OUR sport.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Self driving cars do something that people are incapable of doing. they signal and then SLOW DOWN to merge behind traffic. I know, I know, Completely and utterly Insane to SLOW DOWN and go behind someone instead of flooring it and then jerking the wheel hard to cut in front of that car so you can slam on the brakes and make your exit.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Also, if we go to war and GPS gets compromised, we would be SO vulnerable, its not even funny thinking about it.
If we go to war with an adversary capable of disrupting GPS then we will likely have others problems, like the roadway disappearing in a mushroom cloud.
Actually, there's no reason why a self driving car could not continue onward in the absence of GPS. Inaccuracy in the maps means that is already has to recognize intersections visually. Traveling to a new destination might be tricky without an Internet connection or a manual mode of operation.
"why do you think additional infrastructure is needed?"
There's a huge amount of legal infrastructure which isn't present. Who's responsible when an autonomous vehicle is involved in a deadly situation? If the human, then what's the point, since they would always need to be attentive and able to gain very quick override? If the computer, how long will manufacturers assume that liability? They have disclaimers? Good luck with getting insurance.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Many of the conditions that you claim (white wash, frost) would probably be much more trivial for electronics to work under than a human. Poor visibility conditions occur because humans can only use a narrow range of the electromagnetic spectrum, whereas the instruments can use sensors which operate at frequencies where these conditions wouldn't occur, or even better, at much broader frequencies, to mitigate this danger... plus they probably have much better sensitivity and signal processing than the human eye.
As for changes in the terrain due to obfuscation of the road, an autonomous vehicle would probably have much more information about where g-forces exist in the car, and therefore would also be able to react much more quickly to dangerous situations such as slippage and the like.
I do agree that testing should be done in a widely diverse range of environments, but technology will do a far better job than humans, once it has been developed. Short of situations where the operation of an autonomous vehicle is being deliberately interefered with, I can't really think of any possible situation where a human would do a better job.
I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
Self driving car could be better than humans on bad roads. System could easily note environmental data (temp, RH) as well as differences between its control inputs and what the car actually does (slipping due to snow, rain, ice), and modify its control laws. Unlike humans, it won't get tired, impatient, worried, sleepy, drunk, etc.
Vehicle response vs. control input systems are in use on several modern combat aircraft - battle damage alters the aircraft flight characteristics, the flight system modifies its control laws to compensate. Can allow a human pilot to continue flight under conditions that would otherwise be impossible. Don't see why a similar capability couldn't be in self driving cars.
Lately it seems to me that though inclusion of turn signals on cars is mandatory, both the use and recognition of them is optional.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
What happens now when a vehicle is involved in a deadly situation? Manufacturers are responsible in some cases. Drivers in others. Is it because it's 'on a computer' that it's different than say Firestone tires failing?
In Denmark, the law requires you to walk around the vehicle and inspect it for damages and that e.g. lights work, each and every time you get in the vehicle to drive. Also, to check if an animal or small child should be under the vehicle.
I have never even heard about anyone doing this.
My current vehicle has parking sensors, front and back. The manual states that you should never rely on these solely, but always use your own judgement. They are only a help, not to be relied on. In the approx 3 years I have had them, they have not only worked flawlessly (and, they beeep, if they are covered in snow, such that I know to clean them), they have worked *way better* than my own judgement. I have come to rely on them to the extent that I "fear" driving cars without them, because I forget they are not there.
Sometimes there is a big difference between what the law requires, what the manifactor has to put in the manual, and the real world.
My bet is, that when we get the selfdriving cars, most people will take a good long nap in stop-and-go traffic. Or perhaps read a book. Or check email. And, we will all know this "public secret".
NO, for crying out loud, you don't slow down to merge behind traffic. That disrupts traffic flow behind you and may even create traffic jams. You plan ahead, identify a gap, adjust your speed (either slightly higher or lower, depending on traffic ahead of you, but preferably higher), and move into the gap well before the exit.
It's quite infuriating to see people braking, and making all the cars behind them brake as well, to squeeze into a short gap behind the car next to them while there's a huge gap in front of that car that they can effortlessly get into without hindering anybody, just by increasing their speed a little bit. Slower is not always better!
Of course that doesn't mean you should floor it, pass as many cars as you can before the exit, then throw yourself into the last possible gap while slamming the brakes. Like I said, plan ahead. Just don't default to slowing down as the only viable option. Be flexible and reasonable.
First, make sure it is safe to change lanes and there are no pedestrians, vehicles, or other obstacles in your planned path of travel. Use your mirrors to see your adjacent and rear surroundings. By using the BGE mirror setting you do not have to turn your head in order to see your surroundings. The BGE mirror setting also reduces the two typical blindspots into four mini blindspots. The four mini blindspots are not large enough to completely hide a vehicle.
Next, turn on your turn signal. You want other vehicles around you to be aware that you plan on changing lanes. Do not simply flick your turn signal so that it flashes once. Two flickers isn’t enough either. Leave your turn signal on throughout the entire lane change process. If you must let off the accelerator and let the traffic in the other lane pass you slowly to get in the gap behind them, never floor it to get ahead of other traffic. Re-check your surroundings by using your side and rearview mirrors. Determine the gap you will move into and ensure nothing is in the way. The gap should be large enough to allow you to enter the lane without disrupting the flow of traffic. Other vehicles should not have to slow down, speed up, or change lanes because you entered their lane.
Once you have determined there is ample room and time for you to enter a new lane, you can smoothly move into the new lane. Do not turn the wheel abruptly or sharply, causing the car to jerk into the new lane. All it takes is a slight turn of the wheel to smoothly move into a new lane. Either maintain your current speed or accelerate slightly just before and during the lane change. Do not slow down, as this will cause vehicles behind you to get closer and possibly cause a collision.
After you are in your new lane, turn off your turn signal. Readjust your speed to keep with the flow of traffic in your new lane. Check your mirrors to reacquaint yourself with the new conditions behind you and to ensure the vehicle behind you is not too close to you after you entered the lane.
This is from the DOT drivers education handbook. and yes you DO slow down and get behind other cars in the other lane, you do NOT pull the gun it, dart in and hit your brakes dooshbag maneuver.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.