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GM and DoorDash Announce Self-Driving Cars Delivering Food In San Francisco (venturebeat.com)

"General Motors is partnering with DoorDash to enable on-demand food deliveries via driverless cars," reports VentureBeat.

An anonymous reader quotes their report: The duo announced that a pilot delivery program will kick off in San Francisco in "early 2019," and will involve both meals from restaurants and groceries.... Back in 2016, GM splashed out more than $1 billion to buy Cruise Automation, a startup that developed an autopilot system for existing cars. In the intervening months, the company has been doubling down on its autonomous car efforts, last year announcing a driverless car with no steering wheel or pedals, with plans to launch the vehicle sometime in 2019. Elsewhere, GM also revealed that it is investing $100 million into facilities for building self-driving cars, while Honda recently put $2 billion into GM's Cruise for a 5.7 percent stake....

GM and DoorDash haven't revealed the full extent of the pilot or what the next stage will be, but it did say that "select merchants" that are already using DoorDash in the San Francisco area are on board. The underlying purpose, it said, is to "test and improve" the efficiency of autonomous deliveries in the area. "We see autonomous vehicles playing a major role in the future of delivery as consumer behaviors continue to shift online, and we are confident Cruise's leading technology will help us scale to meet growing consumer demand," noted DoorDash CEO Tony Xu.

39 comments

  1. Hahahahahabaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How long is the pilot? Nine months?

    1. Re:Hahahahahabaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It'll last until creimer eats all the restaurants out of business.

    2. Re: Hahahahahabaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bye

    3. Re: Hahahahahabaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cool story, creimer.

    4. Re:Hahahahahabaha by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      This could be a lucrative opportunity for GM to partner with the makers of Grinder, that phone app for arranging illicit sandwich hookups.

      Dammit, now I'm craving a philly cheesesteak sub.

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      This space unintentionally left blank.
  2. Delivery by self-driving car? by dlleigh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So I'll have to walk out to the curb to get my delivered food?

    I thought technology was supposed to save me all that physical effort.

    1. Re:Delivery by self-driving car? by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Seems to be quite a show stopper doesn't it?

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    2. Re:Delivery by self-driving car? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Androids will ride in the self driving car and do the last few steps to your door.

      Too lazy to get off your butt? LOL.

    3. Re:Delivery by self-driving car? by wyattstorch516 · · Score: 1

      They're not saying you have to put your pants on or anything like that at least.

  3. No thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    GM still in business? Oh lawdy what a joke. Guess I'm not using Door Dash, which company supports a green economy? I can get on board if it was Tesla or maybe Honda and Toyota. But GM, no thanks. They havent innovated in 80+ years.

  4. Mm self driving dinner by fluffernutter · · Score: 2

    Are you allowed to eat the mangled deer in the grill?

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    1. Re:Mm self driving dinner by reboot246 · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's in San Francisco. It'll probably be a mangled homeless person in the grill.

    2. Re:Mm self driving dinner by mentil · · Score: 1

      Grill, yes. Grille, no.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    3. Re:Mm self driving dinner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I did, but I wonder why the deer was carrying a lunchbox...

  5. Hopefully they are insured. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because they'll inevitably kill people.

  6. Same company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That couldn't convince you to buy an EV. But you'll trust the food.

    1. Re:Same company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would I want to buy an EV when I have such a wonderful choice of better and cheaper ICE models?

  7. no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who?.

    and no an EULA can't move criminal Liability

  8. Automation Good? by mentil · · Score: 1

    Wait I thought automation was BAD for General Motors? Which is it, Slashdot?! Tell me what to think!

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Automation Good? by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      That article was saying that the automation was internally bad for them (which I think is a bad argument to begin with as well as wrong, but that's another issue) whereas this is them selling an automated solution to others, which if you follow the logic suggests that it would hurt the company that buys the product and not GM. Presumably, the company that sold the automation to GM profited from doing so.

  9. Re:no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    The only thing that makes sense is for the liability to go to the automaker. It doesn't really matter if they have people sitting behind remote steering wheels with a camera image, or their AI solution; they are saying they want to be your driver and they do not believe you need any local control of the vehicle. Therefore the responsibility rests with them.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  10. Fuck That Shit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody outside of the SF metrofags wants that shit.

    DoorDash is fail. GM better not hook their wagon to DoorTrash. Trump won't bail GM out this time.

    1. Re:Fuck That Shit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dont think any american supports fascist ideals of keeping big corporations afloat. Then again, its quite weird that you support Trump; as he is literally taking kick backs in a position of power.

  11. Re:no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually, what I wonder is - without a steering wheel, how do you manually get it off the road if it breaks down or is in an accident which disables the engine? I’ve been directly or indirectly involved in both situations (with “normal” cars, of course).

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  12. Confused by these companies by qzzpjs · · Score: 1

    Why are all these companies so obsessed with unemploying all their drivers? Self driving cars, drones, trucking, AI, etc. Governments are working hard to get people jobs and the corporations are trying harder to fire them all.

    They're also forgetting that some people that use food delivery services now could have some disability that prevents them from leaving their home in the first place. How are they supposed to get to this vehicle to get their stuff?

    1. Re: Confused by these companies by Type44Q · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why are all these companies so obsessed with unemploying all their drivers?

      There are incomes to pilfer.

    2. Re:Confused by these companies by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      You got that backwards. These corporations just want to beckon these people into the emerging industry of AI delivery vehicle repair, one of the many lucrative positions being created by the AI economy. AI will generate a need for all kinds of new skills, you know.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    3. Re:Confused by these companies by alvinrod · · Score: 0

      Why are all these companies so obsessed with unemploying all their drivers? Self driving cars, drones, trucking, AI, etc. Governments are working hard to get people jobs and the corporations are trying harder to fire them all.

      Because their customers always want the same goods and services for a lower price. It isn't that these companies want to do this, it's that if they don't, they'll go out of business. Companies which fail to adapt to the changing market are replaced by those that do.

      I also speculate that in the short term that automated vehicles will actually increase the number of human drivers necessary. That may seem paradoxical at first, but if you think about it, it makes a certain amount of sense. The best use for automated driving is in the places where it can be implemented most easily, which are interstate highways, which is largely a matter of staying in its lane. This will make it cheaper to transport goods over long distances (don't have to pay the human) as well as ensuring that they arrive sooner since a self-driving vehicle doesn't have to stop to rest as human truckers are required to do. Ultimately this means more goods shipped. However, there will still need to be people responsible for the short-haul jobs within cities and they'll have an easier time of driving those routes.

      They're also forgetting that some people that use food delivery services now could have some disability that prevents them from leaving their home in the first place. How are they supposed to get to this vehicle to get their stuff?

      Send a family member, friend, or neighbor down to get it for them? Eventually I wouldn't be surprised if there are delivery drones to carry the loads up the balconies or other things like that. If it's that big of a problem, that just means there's more incentive to solve it.

    4. Re:Confused by these companies by wyattstorch516 · · Score: 1

      What do they do if the house is on fire?

  13. Whats Wierd. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's really weird is the muffled sound of your voice with my cock in your mouth.

    I couldn't make any sense out of what you were trying to say. Swallow before you try to speak.

    1. Re:Whats Wierd. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just spit the diet coke on my keyboard I was laughing so hard at the image. You need to try harder to make this information more visible. Reply to the FP chains, PLEASE.

  14. Re:no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who by alvinrod · · Score: 1

    Seems to make more sense to place the liability on whatever business or person is ordering the vehicle around. Naturally they'll pay an insurance company to to handle that for them. I suspect that some government agency will also seek to exert some manner of control over self-driving vehicles and might occasionally require particular models to be "grounded" much like that FAA does with airplanes if they have cause to believe there's a flaw that makes additional accidents likely.

  15. Re:no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    Uh, no. If the car is advanced enough to drive itself, it can be expected to be fully capable of validating the directions that the user enters for safety and refuse to act on directions that are dangerous. If the person can't control the car, I don't see what commands they can give other than next stop point.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  16. GM and AssDash Announce Self-Driving Toilet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "General Motors is partnering with AssDash to enable on-demand crapping via driverless toilets," reports VentureBeat. "It's the perfect complement to our Self-Driving Taco delivery service."

  17. Re:no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As with all gray liability cases, this will fall under the rule of "biggest pockets get sued" doctrine. So, yes, GM.

  18. You can't arrest a corporation by DogDude · · Score: 1

    and no an EULA can't move criminal Liability

    Hahahahahahaha. You must not be American. In the US, people who run companies are more likely to get hit by lightning than get arrested. Corporations are free to break just about any law. They may get a financial penalty, but that's about it.

    124 dead people. Zero arrests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

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    I don't respond to AC's.
  19. Oh boy! by Chas · · Score: 1

    So now, instead of actually having it delivered, you STILL have to go out onto the streets, risk discarded drug needles and the statistical 2 piles of human excrement per block.

    JOY!

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  20. Re:no steering wheel or pedals = Liability for who by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know this is a bit of a radical suggestion, but, how about a tow truck?

  21. Nice by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    A self-driving car that dashes with my food to my apartment-door on the 7th floor?
    Cute!