Google Unveils Fully Functional Self-Driving Car Prototype

[Islandman]

BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO DECEMBER 22, 2014 03:28PM

Self-driving cars are now a reality.

Google on Monday revealed the first complete build of the fully autonomous vehicle it has been working on, a huge milestone in the company's self-driving car project. Google's first real prototype for fully autonomous driving looks similar to the early mock-up it showed off back in May, with the addition of working headlights and a slick, shiny body that looks something like a tiny Volkswagen Bug.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2474069,00.asp

[Karl]

Can be hacked!

Can be hacked! Can be hacked! Can be hacked!

[Islandman]

So can your favorite airline. Have you stopped flying?

[Islandman]

Is it possible? Yes. Probable? Maybe not.

Since I will be flying this week I say definitely not!

http://www.businessweek.com/articles...-android-phone

[Don1]

BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO DECEMBER 22, 2014 03:28PM

Self-driving cars are now a reality.

Google on Monday revealed the first complete build of the fully autonomous vehicle it has been working on, a huge milestone in the company's self-driving car project. Google's first real prototype for fully autonomous driving looks similar to the early mock-up it showed off back in May, with the addition of working headlights and a slick, shiny body that looks something like a tiny Volkswagen Bug.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2474069,00.asp

Of course as you know this is essentially a robot

When we seek to teach kids the Gospel of Robotics many fail to overstand the HUGE significance of the issue.

Observing everyday robots like these perhaps will soon begin to educate the slow-witted Luddites

[Assasin]

"The California Department of Motor Vehicles in May approved new rules for autonomous vehicle testing in the state. Companies can now test self-driving vehicles on the open road, provided they have a trained driver behind the wheel, ready to take over in the event of a malfunction, and at least $5 million worth of liability insurance."


That is what I have been saying. Would love to actually see one and take a ride.

[Mosiah]

That is what I have been saying. Would love to actually see one and take a ride.

What was that?

[Tilla]

I laughed when I saw that too as I can remember the long discussion in which Sass was opposed to the new technology. But give him credit, maybe he thinks we would forget. Bout

That is what I have been saying.

[Assasin]

unnu memory bad till it look bad. Go back and read what I was saying. I said there will need to be a driver in case of malfunction and doing basic thing that the technology will not do. I said it will need human assistance. I will not drive trust a car to do everything. You still have to be alert especially in busy cities.

I said cars are not ready right now for no human assistance especially in very busy cities. Go back and read the archives.

[Historian]

Boss, You Are Making Sense!

unnu memory bad till it look bad. Go back and read what I was saying. I said there will need to be a driver in case of malfunction and doing basic thing that the technology will not do. I said it will need human assistance. I will not drive trust a car to do everything. You still have to be alert especially in busy cities.

I said cars are not ready right now for no human assistance especially in very busy cities. Go back and read the archives.

It’s difficult to argue with Assasin‘s statements here. They make complete sense!!

[Islandman]

Assasin nobody ever suggested that we would go from fully manned vehicles to fully autonomous vehicles in one step. In fact i can remember Tilla saying that the likely process would be vehicles becoming more and more automated over time. It is more of a perception and liability issue than it is a technical issue, as drivers seeing an unmanned vehicle coming towards or passing them will be thrown off by it.

Personally I thought there would take much longer before we got to this stage. Great vision by the State of California. I have no doubt that autonomous vehicles will be much safer than manned vehicles within the next 10 years. Eventually no human driver will be required, although many will continue to drive. I think there will first probably be separate highway lanes for unmanned vehicles. I surely would not want any error-prone human driving in my super safe , super fast autonomous lane!

Humans will likely handle be involved in driving on minor roads for the foreseeable future , although the vehicle will be equipped with the necessary technological features to save them from accidents when parking, reversing , etc.

[Assasin]

So why was so many people taking me on when I said at this stage I the car will still need someone to assist? When I talk about the possibility of software flaws and other problems that come with this kind of technology? and I was Anti-technology. LOL

People were acting like the technology is ready and not over time.

[Islandman]

We took you on because your primary argument was that they would not be as safe as human drivers because of possible software flaws. The reality is that they are probably already just as safe or safer than humans for major highway driving. However if an autonomous vehicle causes one accident it will be judged more harshly than 1000 similar human accidents because that is just human nature, to think things are safer when they are in control of a situation when in fact they are not really.

Every technology has flaws, for example airplanes, ATMS and electrical wiring in homes, but we use them daily anyway. It just takes a while before human laws , practices and comfort levels catches up with the technology.

[Assasin]

"We took you on because your primary argument was that they would not be as safe as human drivers because of possible software flaws"

Never said that I-man. I said there is a potential for major problem with possible software flaws, just like the current airbag flaws. Image that in the a driverless car and that is why I say it will would need an alert driver to help out especially in cities and other busy places. That was my argument. Never said a human driver was safer and I stated there is a possibility that the technology go bad as a chip etc. fails.

[Islandman]

Again, there is ALWAYS potential for flaws, that is a given. What is important is if the benefits considerably outweigh the flaws. Do you see anybody refusing to use airbags or calling for human intervention in their use because of the flaws they have had? No, because we all know they have saved countless more lives than they have caused.

Personally I doubt that a driver would be of much help in preventing an accident in the case of a software flaw. The best use of a human driver would be in situations where the autonomous car is simply not a good or possible option , like a road it is not yet aware of or it computes it is not safe enough to pilot autonomously.

Let's re-visit what was discussed less than a year ago. You sound very nervous about the technology to me!

http://www.reggaeboyzsc.com/forum1/s...car#post463634