Autonomous vehicles.

[richardfrost]

The Russian car with no driver at the wheel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51003224

And in the snow!

Looking at some of the Russian dashcam footage, it's bound to be safer than your average Russian driver!

 

[culzean]

The Russian car with no driver at the wheel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51003224

And in the snow!

Looking at some of the Russian dashcam footage, it's bound to be safer than your average Russian driver!

A blind man who has just drunk a bottle of vodka and snorted cocaine while smoking pot would be safer than most of those Russian drivers, horrendous the way they gaily speed into situations that are deteriorating rapidly and a five year old could see what is gonna happen.... They could make a movie length compilation of Russian dashcam footage and call it 'Death Wish 6' or whatever..

[culzean]

I think all the hype over AV has quietly been shut down as engineers realise the limitations of what they can actually do, which turns out to be 'not much' -

https://www.ctvnews.ca/autos/self-driving-cars-a-decade-of-hype-but-what-s-the-reality-1.4735578

[ColinB]

Maybe the emphasis is shifting to “driver assistance” rather than “driver replacement”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51015921

Meanwhile there are many aerospace companies, both established and start-ups, looking cautiously towards autonomous aerial taxis as a solution for those who simply want to get from A to B, eg:
https://www.flightglobal.com/helicopters/bells-evtol-vision-changes-as-it-eliminates-two-rotors-and-goes-all-electric/136000.article
&
https://www.flightglobal.com/business-aviation/volocopter-launches-singapore-test-flights/134956.article
The airborne environment is probably easier for an AI to deal with ... tightly controlled and regulated, with no pedestrians, cyclists, or red lights!j

[Jocko]

I think all the hype over AV has quietly been shut down as engineers realise the limitations of what they can actually do, which turns out to be 'not much'

We will see how the autonomous buses get on driving into Edinburgh, from Fife. One of the busiest routes into the capitol. I hate driving it.

[richardfrost]

Maybe the emphasis is shifting to “driver assistance” rather than “driver replacement”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51015921

My concern is that creates "driver complacency" which is the cause of all those Tesla Autopilot accidents.

[culzean]

Maybe the emphasis is shifting to “driver assistance” rather than “driver replacement”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51015921

My concern is that creates "driver complacency" which is the cause of all those Tesla Autopilot accidents.

Spot on - we have seen in the last few years that the more 'driver aids' makers fit the less attention people pay to driving... they start to expect for the car to do everything for them ( who is going to be the first car make to fit a toilet roll holder  ) and save their sorry 4r5e when they get into a situation through brain dead driving..

[sparky Paul]

Maybe the emphasis is shifting to “driver assistance” rather than “driver replacement”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51015921

It's not fair, I was looking forward to getting my feet up and having a snooze.

[Jocko]

A company has been given a licence to start testing an autonomous delivery van with no human controls what so ever. It will start testing in Houston, Texas. The relaxation in the rules is because it has a top speed of 25 mph.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51409031

And Uber is to restart testing of autonomous cars in Californian again.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/05/uber-california-self-driving-vehicles

[richardfrost]

Wasn't sure if this belonged in Electric Vehicles or Autonomous Vehicles. but since it didn't say anything about doing the trip on one charge, I went for this thread. Most of the article is behind the Times paywall but you can get the gist from what you can see here for free.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/record-british-road-trip-in-a-driverless-car-j6vn9bh7k

There's not much room for you in the car though if you have to have all that equipment and three Nissan techies in the car at the same time! 

[Jocko]

The Guardian doesn't have a paywall.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/05/nissan-self-driving-car-leaf-longest-journey

There were two engineers in the car and a human driver took over when they stopped four times for checks and charging.

[richardfrost]

The Guardian doesn't have a paywall.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/05/nissan-self-driving-car-leaf-longest-journey

There were two engineers in the car and a human driver took over when they stopped four times for checks and charging.

Yeah I voluntarily pay for the Guardian and went to look for the story there but got distracted by a review of a Google smart speaker! In the Times story the text says two techies but the picture shows three people, lol.

[Jocko]

In the Times story the text says two techies but the picture shows three people, lol.

Two techies and a driver?

[Jocko]

Will coronavirus tip the balance? May do in China. And like Covid-19, first China then the world.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52392366

[Jocko]

The government is looking at making "Hands-free driving" legal, here in the UK from next spring.
The like of Tesla Autopilot, which features automated lane-keeping systems will be permitted.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders claims it could cut accidents. ALKS technology has been approved by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), of which the UK is a member. It set rules to allow the system in motorway traffic jams, at speeds of up to 37mph. The technology, however, could be given the go-ahead for speeds of up to 70mph in the UK, according to the DfT, potentially making long stretches of tedious motorway driving a thing of the past.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53830947