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Ford Touts Self-driving Car, Launches Global Mobility Experiments
An anonymous reader writes in with news about Ford's latest automobile technology unveiled at CES. "Ford showcased the semi-autonomous vehicles it has on the road at CES and gave attendees a glimpse into fully autonomous vehicles now in development. The carmaker also announced a series of experiments with drivers around the globe to test its vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, autonomous cars and the use of big data collected from vehicles. The company said a fully autonomous Ford Fusion Hybrid research vehicle is undergoing road testing now. The vehicle relies on the same semi-autonomous technology used in Ford vehicles today, while adding four LiDAR (light, radar) sensors to generate a real-time 3D map of the surrounding environment."
... do the programmers get the blame?
Sent from my ENIAC
Surely you are joking?
hmm... i don't know... perhaps:
1. Automate the entire long haul transport industry ... seriously do I need to keep going?:
2. Cars spend 95% of the time parked. Wouldn't you like the ability to be earning the income of a taxi for the 8 hours+ your car is currently parked at work each day
3. Eventually less accidents (take out the emotional / distracted / drug influenced drivers).
4. Will change entire transport industry, as companies can combine the public transport efficiencies of mass transit and the flexibility of taxis to get you the last mile, so not everyone feels the need to drive an empty car everywhere.
5
You sir are either a troll or an idiot.
Now bring me my autonomous car!
They cant handle traffic on 696 or 96 in Detroit. Ford, I'll be impressed if they can self drive in detroit from Southfield to Downriver at 5:00pm.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Why does anyone need a self-driving car?
1. They are likely to be far safer.
2. They use road space much more efficiently, increasing the carrying capacity by a factor of five.
3. Many people, due to age or disability, can't drive.
4. They decrease costs for companies that pay people to drive.
5. They make public transportation much more affordable and accessible, by replacing big fix-route buses with small flex-route vans
6. Some people just don't like to drive, and would rather snooze or catch up on email.
This is all about rich people creating playthings
The first generation will certainly be for evil "rich people", but with mass production the cost should fall so they are similar in price to other cars. Sensors and actuators are not particularly expensive. Once you factor in insurance premiums, SDCs are likely to be cheaper than HDCs.
What is the obvious technical or economic advantage of not having a human driver?
How about preventing some of the 43k deaths, $164.2B in damages caused by car accidents a year? Give a car enough sensors and the right programming and it shouldn't hit stuff. If it doesn't hit stuff, no damage. Note: I'm not even demanding NO accidents, just reduced. Half the rate or something. I'd expect the car to be excellent in preventing accidents via 'fast twitch' responses, but lousier in avoiding obvious but unusual events (something getting ready to fall onto the highway, for example).
Get it good enough, and now you're increasing the mobility of the disabled who can't currently drive themselves. Not to mention those who don't have a license due to DUI or just being a bad driver. Heck, now I can take a nap or read on the way to/from work. Or that long trip.
Package delivery/pickup doesn't need a dedicated driver. Reduces costs.
Taxis don't need a person anymore, reducing costs, and even your personal vehicle could pick you up at the door while parking in a remote(cheap) lot.
I don't read AC A human right
LIDAR stands for Laser Infrared Detection and Ranging. Why does the summary say "(light, radar)" after LIDAR? RADAR uses radio waves, not infrared laser.
(And yes, Mr. Pedantic, I realize radio waves and infrared light waves are both electromagnetic waves. But, our mechanisms for detecting things in the radar band vs. the infrared light band are quite different, so the distinction is meaningful.)
Program Intellivision!