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California DMV Told Google Cars Still Need Steering Wheels
cartechboy writes Google showed us what it feels is the car of the future. It drives itself, it doesn't have a gas or brake pedal, and there's no steering wheel. But that last one might be an issue. Back in May California's Department of Motor Vehicles published safety guidelines aimed at manufacturers of self-driving vehicles. After seeing Google's self-driving car vision, the California DMV has told the company it needs to add all those things back to their traditional locations so that occupants can take "immediate physical control" of the vehicle if necessary. Don't for a second think this is a major setback for Google, as the prototypes unveiled weren't even close to production ready. While the DMV may loosen some of these restrictions in the future as well all become more comfortable with the idea of self-driving vehicles, there's no question when it comes down to the safety of those on the road.
Most "driverless car" situations involve a human with controls sitting on the other side of a radio signal connection...
Uh... no, no they most certainly do not. Where are you getting this?
No, it wasn't, at least in all cases. There were definite computer control problems that led to the computer getting stuck in a mode where it had the throttle applied, and ignored the brake, shut-off, and gear-selector inputs because since logically the throttle was applied, those other inputs must be erroneous.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
That's complete and utter bullshit. I drive a '95 Impala. I can hold the brakes at a stop and floor the throttle, and cut the back tires loose. That car is completely bone-stock with factory-sized extra wide tires to give it as much traction as possible and I have enough power to overcome the hydraulic brakes at a dead stop. Hydraulic brakes don't have a chance if the car is actively under wide open throttle at speed, the brakes will heat up and effectively lose friction, causing them to fail.
By contrast, the e-brake on a car is not hydraulic, it's a physical steel cable that pulls on the rear brake's shoes to pull them into physical contact with the drums, or in the case of rear-disc cars, to have special auxiliary shoes make contact with the central hub of the rear rotor. Those brakes are designed to hold the vehicle still when parked on a slope so that if the parking pawl doesn't seat properly in the output shaft of the transmission, the car doesn't immediately roll down the hill.
As those e-brake cables are generally made of mild steel, they're prone to rust and fail, and it's very common to have to replace them in rustbelt climates. I've even seen them fail in desert, dry climates after enough years.
Stop spreading this crap that's completely false. Brakes on cars only really work right when there are no other forces acting at the same time. Throttle on? Brake will be ineffective. Going downhill at a high rate of speed? Brake will be less effective. Being pushed? Brake will be ineffective.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I remember reading through that analysis a few months back. It was showed that a single flipped bit could cause the unintended acceleration. What was not shown was how this bit could possibly be flipped. So, it is far from proven that it was a software error.
It's even more extreme than that. Google's cars have driven a combined 700,000 miles with only two incidents. One involved a crash while under human control, and the other was the Google car being rear-ended while stopped at a light. That's a phenomenal record. Source
or at least allow for an emergency override that interrupts the computer entirely if the main 'stop the car now' brake fails to work properly.
That's called an "emergency brake".
Incorrect - it is called a "parking brake." It is not designed for use in emergencies, but rather to prevent damage to the transmission caused by tension between the parking pawl and planetary assembly.
You do NOT want to use the parking brake as an emergency stopping measure - for starters, that wussy little handle/cable assembly does not apply nearly as much force on the pads/shoes as you seem to think they do. Also, locking wheels while in motion is a great way to start an uncontrolled skid, as well as creating flat spots on your tires and overheating your brake fluid to the point of failure.
The More You Know...
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
No. Google cars don't drive on a "virtual track".
They reference map data for general route planning, and then defer to onboard cameras and other sensors which feed into image-recognition systems to drive in the same way as a human (by paying attention to the environment, and not blindly following GPS).
These cars use cameras, lasers and radar to look for lines on the road (or other markings), road signs, cyclists, pedestrians, other vehicles, etc., and use this to build a live 3-dimensional map of the surrounding area. The software builds a stack of triggers, sorts them according to priority, and then reacts, by turning, braking or accelerating.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
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