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Will Robot Cars Need Windows?
An anonymous reader writes: The Atlantic has an article asking whether autonomous cars need windows. If there's no driver, will the passengers want to look outside? In the summer, will anyone want to endure the relentless heat from the sun? The robot cars offer us a great opportunity to rethink the platform which is largely devoted to supporting the driver. But if a computer is in charge and it sees with dozens of cameras ringing the car, what else can we change? What else don't we need? What can improve?
People who get car sick need windows. Nuff said.
I don't need windows - just gun ports.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
I would say that linux would be a superior choice to windows for a car. Less re-starting.
The passengers in a plane do not need windows but clearly because planes have windows at considerable cost to design properly (remember the Dehavilland Comet?) there's clearly a want for them to be there.
Passengers in cars will want the option of looking out. One can even argue that scenic drives with an autonomous car would be much safer because there's no driver to split his attention between the view and the act of operating the vehicle.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Do you drive your house? Why do you have windows there? Do you drive the plane? Why are there windows there? And carsickness. I mean sure, it's great to ask questions, but the windows on a car aren't just for the driver to know where they are going.
There are plenty of reasons (beyond merely operating the vehicle) to need windows:
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Technically, the driver of a car never uses the windows in the door of the back seats.
I really don't want to be on the same road as you when you change lanes on the non-driving side...
...when we are not ready to mitigate every single scenario in which a human driver would need to take over and drive in an emergency?
I mean seriously, we're not even close to answering that. Therefore, humans will still need things like windows and mirrors.
Airliners only need one set of windows at the front, for the pilots. But there's a row of windows on either side, and the seats next to those windows are the second-most-popular (after those on the aisle) despite the fact that they're the most difficult to get in and out of, have no access to the overhead bins, and offer less head/foot room. See also: trains, buses, passenger ferries. So I think the answer is yes: robot cars will still have windows.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Captain Scarlet had it right .. not only did the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle not have any windows, the occupants had rearward facing seats to better protect them in the case of a crash, and they used video monitors to view where they were driving.
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In an ideal system, robotic cars will not break traffic laws and fewer traffic stops will be needed. And if falsely accused, the vehicle's logs should provide a staunch defense.
No, no, the purpose of advancing technology is total isolation from the natural world. The natural world is icky and uncomfortable. Glass just isn't enough of a barrier.
Yes. Next question.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I like the seats on the cross-country trains (VIA up here in Canada). They have pairs of seats that can swivel, to make them face another pair of seats. A fold out table creates a nice surface for a nice game of cards, or whatever you fancy. You could even have meetings while driving to a destination. So many possibilities when you don't have to stare at the back of someone's head!
AirSpeak - http://itunes.com/apps/AirSpeak
Because dogs love it, and because there is nothing funnier than a dog with its face and ears flapping in the wind, drool splashing on the windshield of the car behind.
Honestly, picture Dug from Up ... in full gloriously happy tongue wagging happiness.
A dog with his head out the car windows is such an unbridled expression of glee+goofy it makes me smile just thinking of it.
Let's see a damned cat do that. You can't, because cats are stupid pets.
Of course at the time I had an onion on my belt, because that was the style back then ... wait? What?
Get off my damned lawn you darned cat lover!!
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
A self-driving car will still need windows in case the human driver ever needs to take over. But the windows could certainly have privacy shades. Other things we'd no longer need for robot cars are street signs, stop lights, and lane markers. You might argue that we'd need to keep those things for the people choosing to drive themselves but my question would be how long should the rest of us finance billions in infrastructure for a diminishing number of holdouts?
Either the infrastructure will need to allow for fallback to human control or not, but it can't be both ways -- you can't expect a human who has let his car drive him around for years to find his way home without street signs, or drive safely without traffic control devices. So if you want to allow for human control, you'll need to provide street signs and traffic signals.
Yes, they do.
An early example of getting it wrong was the City & South London Railway, the first deep-level underground rail line in London. The designers of the rolling stock didn't bother with windows because there was, supposedly, nothing to see. Passengers hated the "padded cells". Even if all you see is tunnel walls rushing by, people need to see outside.
I could see the utility of an airliner with no windows but cameras and viewing screens - it would solve some engineering problems - but for a car, the simplest is still the best. Windows.
...laura
The Atlantic has an article asking whether autonomous cars need windows....
There are windows on space capsules.
There are windows on railroad passenger cars.
There are windows in houses.
.
My guess is that people, in general, like to look outside.
Nose candy. Dogs smell things we don't. When I visit friends and drive through the forest, the dogs damn near hang out the windows.
Oh, and it's fun.
So is not going anywhere at all. Bet you don't let your kid make an airfoil with their hand on the hiway either. Curmudgeon.
On the one hand, you could black out the windows for privacy. On the other hand, many police departments have a hard time with blacked out windows.
If your sense of smell was strong enough to let you smell something at the bottom of a lake, and if as a beloved pet your entire life was spent mostly in the same restricted area - a particular home, yard and neighborhood, you would also jump at the chance to get as much new, fresh and undiscovered air drift past your nostrils as you could. If ever you observe a dog with its head out the window in a car, it will have the "smiling" pose known by dog owners (relaxed jaw, ears back, tongue out) but also those nostrils will be working furiously the entire time. The dog is smelling everything it can, as much as it can.
Dogs are curious creatures (which is why wolves were first drawn to human habitations). Wild dogs and wolves in packs usually roam over large territories. Modern dogs have adapted to living a human lifestyle more or less, provided they get plenty of exercise and toys and social stimulation to keep them from being bored. But when they get the chance to add new smells to their experience, they love that most of all.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Your dog is deprived of a simple pleasure. Hooray for you.
My dog arrives safely at his destination and won't become a 50lb projectile that could kill both of us in an accident. He also won't get any debris in his eyes that I'll have to have a vet remove later. My dog has plenty of joy in his life and I promise you will not know he missed anything by keeping his head inside the window.
Does anyone here on the list still remember when as a kid, you didn't also have to be *bolted* into a seat? I remember crawling up in the space under the rear windshield on top of the seats and watching the world go by or even going to sleep.
I also was free to lay around and read or play toys in the whole back seat area.
I kinda feel sad for all the freedom to enjoy life a bit more has been lost in the era of fear and forced safety.
As for my dogs, they've already been trained to sit in their seats, front or back and act reasonably well. I rarely would drive with the window down with them in the car, as they seems to prefer the AC since it is hot so much of the year down here, but on nice days, I'd crack the passenger window so they could smell the world outside, but usually not enough for them to crawl out of...
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
It is safest practice for all concerned.
Never take your dog out. That's safest of all! Just lock it in a cage and it won't ever come to harm, although it will probably die of desperation.
Seriously while I don't agree with the labrador bouncing around in the back of the pickup truck, and while I do realize that the airbag can easily kill my 5lb poodle if it deploys, I don't spend my entire life worrying about every possible little thing that can go wrong. She's in my wife's lap with her leash on, and she loves to smell outside the window. I'd rather let her enjoy the ride with a small chance of serious injury if the worst should happen, than make sure she was miserable every trip getting car sick in a "safe" crate somewhere in the back of my car.
Life has risks. It's up to everyone to figure out the trade off they are willing to accept for themselves.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Actually, yes I do... And doing so has even saved my life twice.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
this is why the best option is to strap the safety crate to the roof of the vehicle, and let the dog fear-poop itself while getting its fill of the 60mph scent-hurricane of highway travel.
If your side view mirrors are adjusted correctly, you don't have blind spots.
this is why the best option is to strap the safety crate to the roof of the vehicle, and let the dog fear-poop itself while getting its fill of the 60mph scent-hurricane of highway travel.
Mitt, is that you?