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Driverless cars work great in sunny California. But how about in a blizzard?
Washington Post ^ | January 28, 2016 | Brian Fung

Posted on 01/28/2016 12:26:21 PM PST by C19fan

As cities along the east coast finally finish digging their way out of last weekend's historic snowstorm, drivers braving the streets have to contend with icy conditions, snowbanks along the curb and other hazards they would probably rather avoid if they could help it.

Enter the self-driving car, which someday may alleviate that anxiety. But although the technology appears to work well in dry, sunny weather, those are just the best-case scenarios. The real test for autonomous vehicles will be when the roads are wet or even icy and invisible to the computerized eye. What then?

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: automation; cars; driving
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1 posted on 01/28/2016 12:26:21 PM PST by C19fan
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To: C19fan

what we need are driverless snowblowers

let them keep the streets clear.

Get them moving every time 6 inches falls, so you dont have to do 2 feet at a time


2 posted on 01/28/2016 12:28:17 PM PST by Mr. K
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To: C19fan

People can’t drive in a blizzard too.


3 posted on 01/28/2016 12:28:22 PM PST by ThomasThomas (Veritaphobia The true sign of a liberal.)
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To: C19fan

What happens when HACKERS take over the car’s computer, and take control of the car from the driver??? They could crash them at high speed into any targets they choose!


4 posted on 01/28/2016 12:29:17 PM PST by 2harddrive
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To: C19fan

Driverless cars will be a big target for feral urban youth looking to destroy or “tag” something. They will make a sport of it.


5 posted on 01/28/2016 12:32:05 PM PST by PGR88
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To: C19fan

Well, Potted up drivers have survived, maybe due in part to accomodation by other drivers in SoCal.

I suggest that introduces a ‘bias’.


6 posted on 01/28/2016 12:32:18 PM PST by Scrambler Bob (/s implied, usless explicitly stated as not applying.)
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To: C19fan

Every driverless car has a driver in it. We called it driver training.


7 posted on 01/28/2016 12:35:15 PM PST by Sacajaweau
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To: C19fan

How can the car tell the difference between a worker by the side of the road on a construction crew telling me go ignore the stop light and a crazy homeless guy waving his hands asking for money?


8 posted on 01/28/2016 12:36:13 PM PST by ThomasThomas (Veritaphobia The true sign of a liberal.)
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To: C19fan

“driverless cars are working great, eh?”

http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/09/dont-blame-the-robot-drivers/

and

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-18/humans-are-slamming-into-driverless-cars-and-exposing-a-key-flaw

(i am confident they will work fine ...someday)


9 posted on 01/28/2016 12:37:13 PM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 -- 43 BCE))
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To: C19fan

I really think a large, self propelled inanimate object on streets and highways is a bad idea in any weather...


10 posted on 01/28/2016 12:44:09 PM PST by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: C19fan

there is no difference between a Driver less Car and a Californian driving in a blizzard


11 posted on 01/28/2016 12:45:11 PM PST by butlerweave
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To: C19fan

Muslims have orders to attach claymores to them and to reroute them to schools and churches.


12 posted on 01/28/2016 12:45:39 PM PST by Daniel Ramsey
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To: ThomasThomas
People can't drive in a blizzard too.

Hold my beer while I show you how it's done.

13 posted on 01/28/2016 12:46:33 PM PST by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
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To: Texan5

How will a computerized car know when to stray from its lane? When to blow through a neighborhood stop sign when no one’s around and you don’t want to risk a slide?


14 posted on 01/28/2016 1:00:15 PM PST by SoothingDave
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To: C19fan

Brave New World.


15 posted on 01/28/2016 1:00:25 PM PST by YHAOS
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To: C19fan

Mapping companies like Google have gathered insane amounts of data detailing exactly where the road is. If need be, the car can “fly blind” knowing better where the road is than you do. Only thing it might have a problem with is obstacles, like other cars stopped/crashed in the road - and that’s why every self-driving car should have manual driving capability: when the computer can’t discern what’s ahead, park until the driver takes over.


16 posted on 01/28/2016 1:16:40 PM PST by ctdonath2 (History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the week or the timid. - Ike)
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To: SoothingDave

It won’t-that is a big reason it is dangerous-it isn’t able to reason and react like a human does, allowing for split second changes and varying actions/reactions to each situation-you could put wheels on a PC, iphone or laptop, program it, set it on the street and start it up and probably have it perform just as well as a driverless car...


17 posted on 01/28/2016 1:19:21 PM PST by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: C19fan

lol - I suppose this is why it’s a good idea for a car company to be based in DETROIT!!!

You don’t have to believe me but all the car makers have autonomous vehicle programs. You might be surprised at how advanced they are and how they handle bad weather better than people. ...that said, there’s a *huge* difference between having something like this working (R&D) and being able to ship it.

In a country where 40,000 die a year on roads due to drunk driving, texting, watching PORN (http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/82584838-story), fatigue, etc...this capability will drop that number like a stone. I know that it is unnatural, I think it’ll take time for people to get used to the idea. My guess is drunks will be early adopters.

...and it *might* be a flop feature. Although I doubt it.


18 posted on 01/28/2016 1:39:04 PM PST by fuzzylogic (welfare state = sharing consequences of poor moral choices among everybody)
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To: SoothingDave

They’re developing self-learning computers that learn from humans faster than other humans. No need to program. They simply watch you drive, optimize as they drive themselves and eventually can handle every new situation on their own. Just like a human driver learning.

Then network them and imagine combining the knowledge from thousands or even millions of humans in one system. Eventually from multiple human lifetimes. Not just for driving but for anything.

I’ve seen it in action and it’s truly powerful and terrifying stuff.


19 posted on 01/28/2016 1:45:54 PM PST by varyouga
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To: SoothingDave

How will a computerized car get unstuck? How will it handle black ice? How will it go up a slushy hill?

Actually, it’s probably programmed to shut down in bad weather. You don’t need to go out anyway, it’s not safe.


20 posted on 01/28/2016 3:01:12 PM PST by cyclotic (Liberalism is what smart looks like to stupid people.)
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