mettech Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 "...The people who are changing the world aren't going to wait for you. It's your job to understand what they're doing and either approve of it or accept it. Most people, of course, can't be bothered to see where the world is going. They're too wrapped up in their daily needs and lacks. However, an interview given by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to VC Vinod Khosla offered a clear picture their company's destination. Page and Brin see a world in which much needs fixing. Theirs is a company that works on a broad number of fronts in the hope that just a few will be world-changing winners. One of these is self-driving cars. You might have thought that this was just an engineer's wheeze, something that faces vast obstacles in the real world. However, Brin would like you to know just how serious he is. "I hope that that could really transform transportation around the world, and reduce the need for individual car ownership, the need for parking, road congestion and so forth," said Brin. Ownership of cars is, in essence, inefficient. Brin described the future like this: "With self-driving cars, you don't really need much in the way of parking, because you don't need one car per person. They just come and get you when you need them. You can also make much more efficient road use, if you-- and this is not something we've developed yet, but it's certainly been simulated by many. They can form trains. They can go at high speed, perhaps much higher than our highway speeds here." Yes, the future is an uber-Uber world. It's also one in which Brin knows what is ideal for you: "It's also really nice to not have a steering wheel, not have pedals. Maybe the seats should face each other, things like that. I'm not sure that the traditional car designs are ideal for self-driving." Take that, you steering wheel fetishists, you pedal pushers..." Already the Taxi Cab industry is calling foul on E-Hailing Phone App and UberX . Looking forward to the next 15-20 years to see what the automotive industry will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Seems most of these futurists think people only live in densely populated urban areas, which is the only place many of their ideas would practically work. As for me, I'll own at least 2 cars as long as I'm able to drive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Don't taxis and buses provide the same service as far as having a vehicle pick you up and not owning one? I don't see a self-driving car being that much more efficient than a taxi. There are other potential benefits (and a plethora of potential problems) - I just don't see that one as legit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Great in theory. Impractical in real life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Autonomous Cars Like The Google May Be Viable In Less Than 10 Years BRUSSELS, Belgium – President Barack Obama’s motorcade, abetted by the limousine cavalcades of his G7 leader colleagues and non-stop rain, bought traffic to a standstill here this week, making those stranded in their cars or diving into the underground railroad system for relief wonder whether computer controlled cars might one day make this aggravation a thing of the past. News of Google GOOGL -0.18%’s autonomous car, which can transport two passengers around at speeds of up to 25 mph with the computer controlling the steering wheel and brakes, has set off speculation about just when this technology will be available. Could it be with us in less than 10 years? “Yes,” says Peter Fuss, Germany based automotive specialist from the EY consultancy. Fuss told the annual Automotive News Congress here that so-called autonomous driving will arrive in less than 10 years, spurred on by safety and comfort benefits. “No,” said other assorted experts at the conference, led by Volvo, who reckoned 10 to 15 years was more likely. Nobody thought the computer controlled car was pie in the sky. Peter Mertens, senior vice-president at Volvo Cars Corp, said many of the basic technologies have already been developed, including systems like radar cruise control, which keeps a constant speed on the highway and slows the car down when it approaches a slower car. The selected cruising speed is reinstated when the computer senses the coast is clear. Other techniques already in use include “city-brake”, now standard on many Volvos, which takes control of braking from the driver when the computer senses an imminent crash at speeds under 20 mph. Computerized parking, and “steer assist”, which senses that the car will go out of control unless curbed, are becoming commonplace. It’s really a question of developing and consolidating these systems, Mertens said. The new Mercedes S class sedan already incorporates many technologies on the path to computer control.. On its drive towards autonomous cars, Volvo will have 100 cars in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2017, which will be able to drive around known routes without input from the driver..." The biggest factors for transportation tech advances are safety and manpower overhead cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Thank God I'm not a kid because for me, cars have been everything. I don't want any of this. I do not like what is in store for the future. Why take all the fun out of cars and driving? I own numerous cars and no, I'm not car-pooling. Besides, are these autonomous cars going to dodge pot holes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Besides, are these autonomous cars going to dodge pot holes? I could see how technology could be developed so they do. All you really need is a sensitive radar that examines the road surface for imperfections. I believe Land Rover already uses a related system to automatically adjust the suspension for road conditions. That said, I don't see how you would ever be able to entirely eliminate the need for manual input in at least some situations, especially in rural areas. This sort of tech will only ever really fully work in high density, high traffic areas where the vehicles would be able to operate with each other in a network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 http://www.autoline.tv/show/1822 Autonomous cars will be significantly better drivers than we are. Period.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 http://www.autoline.tv/show/1822 Autonomous cars will be significantly better drivers than we are. Period.... Where they can practically be used. Period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Like here.. http://www.usatoday.com/videos/money/cars/2014/07/07/12293229/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Makes car ownership undesirable. Take the bus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papilgee4evaeva Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Makes car ownership undesirable. Take the bus. Where I live, the buses suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 http://www.autoline.tv/show/1822 Autonomous cars will be significantly better drivers than we are. Period.... I was originally going to post a thought out response to this. Then I realized that this utopia is being peddled by a company that can't even build an intuitive email client. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Where I live, the buses suck. What's a bus? ...a company that can't even build an intuitive email client. And I thought it was just me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 And I thought it was just me... It's everybody who has ever used another email client 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 What's a bus? Bed bug express. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Where I live, the buses suck. Exactly. Autonomous car. Bus. Plane. It's all public transport. Seems to me that what is being peddled here is a public (owned) fleet of cars that automatically run routes out of a central hub and passengers download an app to hail a...cab, essentially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 and Google will sell ads on said cars and make billions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papilgee4evaeva Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) So do we start calling Google socialist pigs now? Kidding, but yeah, this obviously won't work any time soon. Sometimes people in big cities don't realize that big-city solutions don't work outside big cities. Edited July 7, 2014 by papilgee4evaeva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Autonomous Cars Like The Google May Be Viable In Less Than 10 Years BRUSSELS, Belgium President Barack Obamas motorcade, abetted by the limousine cavalcades of his G7 leader colleagues and non-stop rain, bought traffic to a standstill here this week, making those stranded in their cars or diving into the underground railroad system for relief wonder whether computer controlled cars might one day make this aggravation a thing of the past. Not sure how having an autonomous car is supposed to save people from being stuck on a road that's blocked off by a presidential motorcade? The autonomous car is still on the same blocked road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Not sure how having an autonomous car is supposed to save people from being stuck on a road that's blocked off by a presidential motorcade? The autonomous car is still on the same blocked road. Liberal logic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 So do we start calling Google socialist pigs now? Kidding, but yeah, this obviously won't work any time soon. Sometimes people in big cities don't realize that big-city solutions don't work outside big cities. I can see it working on a small scale in our largest, most densely populated metropolitan areas, or maybe some college campuses. But that's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerM Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Ownership of cars is, in essence, inefficient. Brin described the future like this: "With self-driving cars, you don't really need much in the way of parking, because you don't need one car per person. They just come and get you when you need them. You can also make much more efficient road use, if you-- and this is not something we've developed yet, but it's certainly been simulated by many. They can form trains. They can go at high speed, perhaps much higher than our highway speeds here.". Demand for (the use of) cars is dependent on time of day. Unless you're going to have a large number of empty cars continuously moving all the time, then they'll have to "park" somewhere. I'd say personal ownership of cars is extremely efficient. They're used when they're needed, and not when they aren't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I'd say personal ownership of cars is extremely efficient. They're used when they're needed, and not when they aren't. Plus they are always in the right place. You need to go somewhere? You don't have to wait for a vehicle to arrive. You have one there all the time: yours. Another example of how this only works in the city. To reach rural areas in any reasonable amount of time there would need to be a ton of these automated vehicles sitting out in the middle of nowhere that hardly ever get used or are constantly in motion to be in the right place at the right time, which is horribly energy-inefficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerM Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Plus they are always in the right place. You need to go somewhere? You don't have to wait for a vehicle to arrive. You have one there all the time: yours. Another example of how this only works in the city. To reach rural areas in any reasonable amount of time there would need to be a ton of these automated vehicles sitting out in the middle of nowhere that hardly ever get used or are constantly in motion to be in the right place at the right time, which is horribly energy-inefficient. If you're familiar with the mass migration of the people of West Virginia, Ohio, VA and NC to Myrtle Beach every summer (esp Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day), you can imagine the hole it would leave in such a community property as shared cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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