Major Step for Driverless Cars


fjpikul

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jan 4, 2006
11,475
Belleville, IL
Cobrar, I can prescribe the drugs you need to get you through the transition.
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
I can always count on you Dr. Frank - thanks! Have anything in red? :biggrin
 

fjpikul

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jan 4, 2006
11,475
Belleville, IL
Yes, psychadelic red.
 

w.a.nelson

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Feb 29, 2008
1,096
Asbury, NJ and Bourne, MA
Looks like the point of diminishing return has been reached.

Is the goal of this new technology to reduce the deaths per billion even lower?

To what end, and at what cost?

There will always be deaths caused by alcohol; narcotics; Dr. Frank's prescriptions: surgery; viruses; automobiles: firearms; plane crashes; natural disasters; - ad infinitum. With, what?, 6 billion people in the world, why can't we spend the money on something else (or reduce taxes), and consider the ensuing consequences as collateral damage?
 

dbk

The Favor Factory™
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,187
Metro Detroit
Autonomous cars will be a matter of convenience for consumers. A small portion of the populace looks at cars and thinks "ooh, fun." A very large percentage of the populace looks at cars and thinks of them as a transport appliance. Even if road deaths weren't diminished very much, I'm quite sure you'd find a massive number of people who would gladly give up their steering wheel on the daily slog to work in their daily driver, and would pay for the privilege. I am perfectly happy for them to do so. Imagine how driverless cars will change productivity and drive time efficiency somewhere like Los Angeles. How would it change the trucking industry (which already struggles with massive shortages of people willing to endure that brutal lifestyle)?

It wasn't that long ago that power windows were an option. Now you can get a car that will parallel park better than you can, and will maintain distance at 80 mph all the way down to a stop. It's coming.
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
^^^ Yes. And as a lifelong late-adopter of most anything new, I can see how cool it would be to be able to kick back on soul-sucking I-95 trudges. The car does the work and I am in the back seat with good friends and an open bar. Wake me when we get there.
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
Assuming autonomous cars will be smart enough to keep right except to pass, tens of thousands of miles of roadway will become free.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Actually, the code in the algorithm calls for a priority where the car seeks open space vs. lead/follow. Therefore you should expect the cars to drive at exactly the same speed traveling on the same road with traffic. Also negates the need for traffic enforcement as cars will limit speeds and block traffic accordingly. ;-))
 

Sinovac

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 18, 2006
5,832
Largo, Florida
Actually, the code in the algorithm calls for a priority where the car seeks open space vs. lead/follow. Therefore you should expect the cars to drive at exactly the same speed traveling on the same road with traffic. Also negates the need for traffic enforcement as cars will limit speeds and block traffic accordingly. ;-))

Sounds like a truly joyous driving experience.
 

Empty Pockets

ex-GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Oct 18, 2006
1,361
Washington State
Sounds like a truly joyous driving experience.

Doesn't it though... :facepalm:
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
Actually, the code in the algorithm calls for a priority where the car seeks open space vs. lead/follow. Therefore you should expect the cars to drive at exactly the same speed traveling on the same road with traffic. Also negates the need for traffic enforcement as cars will limit speeds and block traffic accordingly. ;-))
Wonderful. No need for performance cars, just eco cars that are green and play follow the leader down roads, traffic being managed by computers. I can't wait until the hackers break in and cause havoc.
 

junior

GT Owner
Mar 9, 2007
1,151
So Cal
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California

That's can be done to almost any modern car. All running Canbus, just tap into the wiring and inject some messages. A lot of cars are vulnerable to canbus hacks without access to the interior of the car. If you know the wiring layout you can just crawl underneath and tap into a wiring harness. Give and unlock command and the doors will unlock. On a FGT you may have to lower a belly pan.
 
Last edited:

dbk

The Favor Factory™
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,187
Metro Detroit
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
I'd love to get a look at Tesla's strategic plan. Seems like Elon is an innovator, but not so much on implementation/scale/volume.

Edit: I think Elon would be a good candidate for Shark Tank. ;-))
 
Last edited:

dbk

The Favor Factory™
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,187
Metro Detroit
I'd love to get a look at Tesla's strategic plan. Seems like Elon is an innovator, but not so much on implementation/scale/volume.

Edit: I think Elon would be a good candidate for Shark Tank. ;-))

I'm a Tesla hater, but I just thought it was funny that while this thread was a couple days old there managed to be an OTA update to an existing vehicle that apparently serviceably manages lane changes in heavy traffic.

YOUR LIFETIME!
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
Existing vehicles that have the hardware (cameras and sensors), and owners who bought the assist option for a few $K.

Apparently, the hardware was ready but the software was not.

Elon Musk said (paraphrase) "The car won't hit people... we hope." lol.
 

Specracer

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 28, 2005
7,081
MA
+1 on the hater part.

And there are many drivers that this will help, as they shouldn't drive in the 1st place.

I'm a Tesla hater

YOUR LIFETIME!
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
They have a service for that : Uber
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
I'm a Tesla hater, but I just thought it was funny that while this thread was a couple days old there managed to be an OTA update to an existing vehicle that apparently serviceably manages lane changes in heavy traffic.

YOUR LIFETIME!

He has quite a PR machine for a boutique business. I really thought that either GM would buy them or destroy them by providing low cost alternatives.

NOT IN MY LIFETIME, The actuarial statistics indicate that I am safe. lol
 

RALPHIE

GT Owner
Mar 1, 2007
7,278
Seems like all the testing and driving is done in relatively ideal weather conditions.

I hesitate to think what it would do on a snow covered road!