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Google's Self-Driving Cars Now Know When To Honk (engadget.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: Google's self-driving cars are not only getting smarter by the day, but they're also getting a little bit more polite. According to the project's latest monthly report, the self-driving car team has recently been teaching the car's AI when and how to honk the horn and give the human drivers on the road a helpful heads up. In order to train its honking algorithm, the team tested a variety of honk-worthy situations, like a car backing out of a blind driveway or a car headed the wrong way down a one-way street. At first, the car would play a little honk sound inside the vehicle so engineers could record whether there was a legitimate need for a honk and provide teaching feedback. Once they felt the AI was ready, they let it blare its horn to the world. The report goes on to say Google has "sound-designed the self-driving car's 'hum' so pedestrians and cyclists around the car can hear it coming." The sound increases when the car speeds up, and decreases when the car slows down.
Will the cars honk at texting Meanderthal idioticus fools who walk out into traffic?
Or do us all the favor, not honk, and squash them?
Only honking is not enough
Since Google's self driving car are running on computers and computer can differentiate different dangerous situations Google should make their cars 'talk' --- like "Watch out, I'm on your left lane!" or 'get the fuck out of my lane, asshole!', or something like that!
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
if (location - evilcorpHQ < 100) {
horn.honk(5000);
}
if (location - tinderuser.closest < 50) {
horn.honk(50);
horn.honk(50);
}
Because his priority is texting instead of driving.
You could always move, I don't think it would change the way you are though.
Here in Portland Oregon, you could drive for years without ever hearing someone honk their horn.
Hum? All the time? Come on, what we don't need is more noise. More than any other vehicles, Google cars are aware of potentially intruding objects. Make the sounds when they might help. Do not make sounds when unnecessary. What is it about current society that wants noise all the time?
FWIW, in most locales cyclists are entitled to the full lane.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
That usually come shortly after the horn honk...but had to be timed just right....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
And in most of these locations, bicycling on the sidewalk is also illegal.
This reminds of a completely irrelevant joke: A man comes into a pub carrying a goose. The publican asks "Does it honk?" - "No", says the man, "- he can hold his drink".
Another US-centric algorithm! Absolutely wrong for some of the world's major cities, Rome, Mexico City, Manila, etc.
while(location == Boston)
horn.honk;
end
You'd think everyone was in a rush going to save someone's life that's critical at the hospital.
All it takes is one wrong honk toward one wrong recipient and it's lights-out for the nerd inside the Google car.
What about not moving at green lights? I some times have to due that to people.
How do they know if a girl is worth honking at? Can they detect pretty girls?
This is a cool advancement, because it shows that the cars are getting good at sending a message. But do they LISTEN to honks?
You appear to referencing a study with the small sample size of 50 self-driving cars that were involved in 11 accidents. You should also say that all 11 accidents were the fault of the other party involved (the human-driven car), and the damage was very minor in each case.
I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say they "ignore the rules of the road", but apparently you don't like self-driving cars very much, despite evidence that the roads would probably be safer if all cars were self-driving.
I've learned that they're worthless, so I don't read AC comments anymore.
They need a speaker near the front grille that screams "THE LIGHT IS GREEN, ASSHOLE!"