Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)
  • Self-driving cars, I’m now convinced
  • P-Jay
    Free Member

    I’m sure Elon Musk will rest easy tonight knowing that a middle-aged mountain Bikers from wales is sure it’ll all work now after however many billions he’s sunk into it and however many thousands of hours of testing but still sometimes you need to experience these things for yourself.

    It wasn’t even a self-driving car, mine was having a £800 “service” so I borrowed my Boss’s Ford Vigale which is an S-Max with so many toys it gets its own name.

    Set off, the computer told me the speed limit and stopped me going over it, the computer kept me in lane, the computer braked and majntained a safe distance between the car in front and warned me if I got to close to stuff, I’m told it’ll steer away and brake if you don’t heed the warnings – I’m fairly confident that if I were about to do that massive 6 hour motorway bit on the run to the Alps I could set the cruise control and hop in the back for a nap.

    If didn’t take me long to consider that rather than trying to help the driver, this car was actually driving for me and it felt like an illusion of control for me – the only thing missing was the steering input to actually navigate the thing, you don’t steer to control, just navigate.

    Bonkers.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    Yep, in 30 or so years time when all vehicles on the road are self-drive we’ll look back on the days when humans were actually in control of vehicles in absolute horror and amazement. Much in the same way when I tell my kids I used to have to get up and walk over to the telly to change channel.

    Not sure what those angry people are going to do to vent their anger in the absence of road rage though.

    SaxonRider
    Full Member

    Electric gears. Electric motors. How long before cycling becomes an illusion as well? 😛

    jimdubleyou
    Full Member

    Electric gears. Electric motors. How long before cycling becomes an illusion as well?

    You’ve heard of ZWIFT right?

    Soon, I’ll be getting up, going to the garage to do my commute on ZWIFT, having a shower then working 8 hours in my home office before I do another commute on ZWIFT to get home.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    It’s not all good news:

    http://road.cc/content/news/230853-semi-autonomous-bmw-will-%E2%80%98fight-driver%E2%80%99-deliver-close-passes-cyclists

    “If the road ahead is clear apart from a solitary cyclist, you do need to signal to overtake him, otherwise the steering wheel will fight you and you could pass him uncomfortably close.”

    Rubber_Buccaneer
    Full Member

    Not sure what those angry people are going to do to vent their anger in the absence of road rage though.

    Have you never read the comments sections of websites? Virtual anger venting is the future

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    It wasn’t even a self-driving car, mine was having a £800 “service” so I borrowed my Boss’s Ford Vigale which is an S-Max with so many toys it gets its own name.

    Do you mean Titanium x spec rather than s-max? I’ve just ordered a titanium x focus does all of the above and parks itself too.

    tonyg2003
    Full Member

    I’m obviously too much of a control freak since I don’t do it but the new car can drive itself up to a minute in the motorway without having to touch any of the controls. MrsG uses this all the time on the M-way. Maybe I need to get into the 21st century

    molgrips
    Free Member

    How long before cycling becomes an illusion as well?

    The motorbike was developed in the late 19th century, you ‘re 150 years too late…

    (as usual 😉 )

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Re the self driving cars – I am currently working in Swindon and the commute is just too stressful and long to do daily when I have an alternative. However, if I could get into the car and shut my eyes for 15 or 30 mins, that would make all the difference. It’s almost all motorway, so it’s almost possible now.

    uselesshippy
    Free Member

    I love the idea of autonomous cars, but there aren’t any yet. At the moment ws have driver aids, which, imo, lead to some people paying even less attention to driving.

    zippykona
    Full Member

    We have such a fancy car that it has parking sensors.
    I really have to remind myself to look behind when reversing.
    All these aids will make people lazy, unaware drivers.

    sargey
    Full Member

    So what happens in 30 years time when you come to take your driving test, do you just send the car to take it for you?

    aracer
    Free Member

    Which isn’t an autonomous car in the sense we’re meaning. Concerning that such cars are being sold for use on our roads, but it’s actually an argument for proper autonomous cars rather than those with just driver assistance.

    kayla1
    Free Member

    See, in theory they’re a great idea- take the bit that’s most likely to go wrong out of the system and everything should flow along nicely.

    But, and this a big but, it’d need to be done in one go, ie take all of the non-autonomous vehicles off the road at the same time so that the auto-gubbins can get on and leave gaps, keep traffic flowing, not crash etc. In theory there should be no delays, no crashes, no accidents, just a stress-free way to get from A to B which’d surely put private car ownership into question- just dial up when you need a car/van/whatever and one’ll turn up, do its thing, and potter off again when you’re done with it. I’m all for it, me.

    edit- steady on, I just realised I’ve possibly stumbled into Socialist Paradise here… It’ll never catch on, how will people know how much I earn if I can’t show it by driving a twatmobile?

    zilog6128
    Full Member

    At the moment ws have driver aids, which, imo, lead to some people paying even less attention to driving.

    only the type of driver who doesn’t pay enough attention anyway! These driving aids (especially collision avoidance) are a Very Good Thing IMO

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    an argument for proper autonomous cars

    I’m not sure it is:

    https://blog.caranddriver.com/self-driving-mercedes-will-prioritize-occupant-safety-over-pedestrians/

    There’s *huge* moral questions over how automakers program their cars and the decisions built into the software.

    Also

    https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/the-selfdriving-cars-bicycle-problem

    bikes pose a complex detection problem because they are relatively small, fast and heterogenous. “A car is basically a big block of stuff. A bicycle has much less mass and also there can be more variation in appearance — there are more shapes and colors and people hang stuff on them.”

    DezB
    Free Member

    semi-autonomous-bmw-will-fight-driver-deliver-close-passes-cyclists

    They don’t do that tech in 1 Series do they? One passed me yesterday on a straight, wide, empty road yesterday, so **** close. Made me realise I need a new camera cos my Shimano one’s quality doesn’t even allow you to see number plates!

    P-Jay
    Free Member

    Do you mean Titanium x spec rather than s-max? I’ve just ordered a titanium x focus does all of the above and parks itself too.

    Oh yes, it parks itself too.

    As a car it wasn’t exactly to my taste – I prefer more Germanic dashboards, two ‘clocks’ and the time ideally, but they usually tell you the name of the song you’re playing (in case you forget) and the temp outside.

    This one though, total sensory over-load, a million buttons, a million displays for everything, the rev counter seemed pointless in an auto.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    Are we doing this again, how enlightening.

    Malvern Rider
    Free Member

    Virtual anger venting has yet to peak, the short term profitability of virtual anger-creation is still the future

    FTFY

    IOW – Clicks make cash today. Same old, same old.

    jimjam
    Free Member

    bikebouy – Member

    Are we doing this again, how enlightening.

    Yeah I was wondering why this thread couldn’t have simply been a post in the autonomous car thread from earlier this week but hey….ho.

    P-Jay
    Free Member

    Yeah I was wondering why this thread couldn’t have simply been a post in the autonomous car thread from earlier this week but hey….ho.

    A million apologies, didn’t see it.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    A million apologies, didn’t see it.

    not paying attention, eh? 😈

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