Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Self-Driving Shuttle Involved In Crash Two Hours After Debut (www.cbc.ca)

Posted by BeauHD on from the illegal-backing dept.

New submitter Northern Pike writes: Las Vegas roll out of new driver-less shuttle spoiled by human error. It sounds like the shuttle did what it was designed to do but the human semi driver wasn't as careful. "The shuttle did what it was supposed to do, in that it's (sic) sensors registered the truck and the shuttle stopped to avoid the accident," the city said in a statement. "Unfortunately the delivery truck did not stop and grazed the front fender of the shuttle. Had the truck had the same sensing equipment that the shuttle has the accident would have been avoided." The self-driving shuttle can transport up to 12 people and has a attendant and computer monitor, but no steering wheel and no brake pedals. It relies heavily on GPS, electronic curb sensors and other technology to make its way.

4 of 204 comments (clear)

  1. Human reaction vs machine reaction by Tulsa_Time · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wonder if the shuttle doing the right thing was what the human driver expected.... maybe their algorithms are incompatible.

    --
    5 out of 6 people enjoy Russian Roulette & 6 out of 7 Dwarfs are not Happy
    1. Re:Human reaction vs machine reaction by sexconker · · Score: 5, Funny

      From the story...

      NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and magic duo Penn and Teller were among the first passengers.

      Penn Jillette has a podcast where he said he wanted to be one the the first to ride on it, It's almost certain he'll be talking about it there on Sunday. It's called Penn's Sunday School.

      Conversely, I doubt Teller will have much to say on the matter.

    2. Re:Human reaction vs machine reaction by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Trouble is....I can see it coming....there will be movement to get human driving of cars made illegal and then ONLY AI vehicles will be able to run on the public roads.

      This will be a GOOD THING. Once we get the humans off the road, we can make lanes narrower, traffic will flow more smoothly, cars can be made lighter, and traffic lights can be eliminated.

      A sad day, as that I just bought a new FUN driving car yesterday.

      Why should my tax dollars subsidize your hobby? If you want to drive, do it on a private track.

  2. Not ready yet. by Fly+Swatter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Had the truck had the same sensing equipment that the shuttle has the accident would have been avoided.

    If the shuttle had the same sensing equipment as the truck has the accident would have been avoided (ftfy). A human would have laid into the horn as the truck got closer to alert him hes about to hit someone. A human would also have seen the truck backing in and yielded a larger room for error. An alert human may also see the situation that they could quickly back up a bit before the truck hit them. (per article trucker was cited for illegal backing (up?). This isn't ready in my opinion, but a nice alpha test though.