tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post4217318661680084873..comments2024-03-17T00:10:44.022+00:00Comments on From Arse To Elbow: Asleep at the WheelDavid Timoneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-63211720843019458432014-07-24T13:00:23.399+01:002014-07-24T13:00:23.399+01:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.sabina moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17181975310604054809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-87341530335534988832013-07-21T16:06:34.386+01:002013-07-21T16:06:34.386+01:00Driverless cars require a lot more than "cont...Driverless cars require a lot more than "control over acceleration, deceleration and direction of travel". The ROI for autonomous vehicles is not fewer road deaths but increased carrying capacity. This means that its about central control of traffic - i.e. more smart roads rather than smart cars. This isn't cheap, which is why I can't agree that we're over 90% of the way there and that the last step will be negligible in cost. The last big hurdle isn't software so much as telemetry.David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-43208947390591496102013-07-20T18:52:09.427+01:002013-07-20T18:52:09.427+01:00Hi,
I think you seriously overestimate the cost of...Hi,<br />I think you seriously overestimate the cost of making a modern car driverless. >90% of the hardware is already in midrange cars already on the road and in many cases has been for years. Diesel Transits lost any mechanical connection between the throttle pedal and the engine in the early 90's IIRC and petrol engines have all been electronic throttle for the last 5 years or so at least –(probably with the shift to Euro 5 emissions but I’d need to check). Similarly, ABS is now a legal requirement in Europe and Electric power steering is also very common now (for efficiency reasons). All this means that the hardware is already in nearly all the vehicles currently being sold to allow a computer complete control over acceleration, deceleration and direction of travel.<br /><br />The sensors required for driverless cars aren’t quite as universal, but aren’t far behind. Parking sensors are common and even a Ford Focus can now come with a road sign recognition camera. Radar controlled cruise control has been around for best part of a decade as well and is steadily making it into cheaper cars. <br /><br />So from a hardware point of view the cost delta of a driverless car versus a current production one is negligible. <br /><br />What is missing is the software to do it (a huge amount of effort goes into making sure the systems mentioned above don’t take on a mind of their own, so an even greater amount of work will need to be done to make sure the systems are still safe when they do) and the legal framework to allow it to happen. As an example the self parking systems now on the market (even in B-class cars) were held up for a couple of years while the car companies and the lawyers worked out who was liable if they went wrong, although this may set a precedent for future autonomous driving.<br /><br />Despite fully driverless driving being perfectly possible in the fairly near future, the manufacturers are still not planning on allowing you to fall asleep at the wheel or drive drunk anytime soon due to legal problems, (see above) – you will still be responsible for the driving, even if the car is doing all the work. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-62794925036016412292013-05-23T12:58:13.322+01:002013-05-23T12:58:13.322+01:00It's a pretty gloomy picture you paint Dave
B...It's a pretty gloomy picture you paint Dave<br /><br />But "The future looks like Mumford & Sons." Good godAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17694149142755685100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-23769998201883041312013-05-23T09:59:40.766+01:002013-05-23T09:59:40.766+01:00It's good to hear that one of the four pillars...It's good to hear that one of the four pillars of our economic future is effectively the arts and crafts movement.<br /><br />I can excuse John Ruskin for not being able to see that artisan produced goods will always be for an economic elite, but it seems absurd for an economist to not see it!Rob Bailliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06513796097645814224noreply@blogger.com