DailyDirt: Autonomous Vehicles

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Mon, Feb 13th 2012 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Autonomous vehicles are getting better and better all the time as their software learns to navigate all kinds of terrain. Commercial airlines have been using autopilot systems for years, but nowadays more autonomous cars could be driving next to humans. It's either a really scary idea or a brilliant new way to commute. Here are just a few more links on robot vehicles that are being set loose.

The 24 Hours of LeMons is an endurance race for clunker cars (no cars worth more than $500), but this year, they've added a prize for autonomous vehicles. The X Ceedingly Bad Idea Prize will award $50,000 to a driverless junker that can cross the finish line without hurting anyone. [url]
Wired has interviewed several autonomous vehicle experts, which means a lot of hedged predictions on the future of self-driving cars on public roads. But automated airplane pilots seem to have gained more acceptance than replacing human drivers on the roads. [url]
NATO troops in Afghanistan have successfully received resupply cargo from an unmanned helicopter. Kaman Aerospace's K-MAX can carry 3.5 tons of cargo about 250 miles, and it may help reduce human casualties (for one side of battle, at least). [url]
To discover more interesting robotics-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]

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Filed Under: 24 hours of lemons, autonomous, cars, k-max, self-driving, unmanned helicopters, vehicles, x ceedingly bad idea prize
Companies: kaman aerospace

7 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2012 @ 10:10pm

But with added parts to sense and control the car's movement, would $500 still be enough? If the parts are crude the sensors can't reliably deliver information required to control the car.
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Kiersten Gurry, 13 Feb 2012 @ 10:56pm

Can't wait!
Just imagine - checking the kids' homework as you drive to school together - in an autonomous car!! Next, let's work on developing "Rosie" from the Jetsons!
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Pixelation, 13 Feb 2012 @ 11:08pm

In Afghanistan helicopter drives you!
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Michael Ho (profile), 13 Feb 2012 @ 11:14pm

Re:
I don't think they're counting the automation software/hardware against the cost of the lemon racer... but that said, drivable lemons exist for ~$200 so the automation hardware shouldn't push the cost of the car over the $500 limit..?
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Mekhong Kurt (profile), 21 Feb 2012 @ 12:10am

Driverless vehicles
Though I'm very much for this kind of vehicle in principle, I'm not convinced of their safety, at least in heavy traffic.Comparing a driverless ground vehicle to an airplane on autopilot isn't really a valid comparison, since the flight safety regulations are far more stringent than traffic laws are. For example, aircraft are required minimal lateral and vertical distances from the nearest other aircraft, substantial distances, particularly horizontally (three miles, as I recall a commercial pilot telling me, I think). I suppose if a driverless vehicle was programmed to maintain a safe distance between itself and the car in front of it (in any lane, where more than one lane flows in the same direction) I might feel better, but I haven't read about any such feature. (It may be there and I simply don't know about it, true.) Bettering the rule of thumb, I'd say a minimum of 1.5 average car lengths for each 10mph speed, with a vehicle moving ever slightly back as its speed picked up, rather than a sudden increase after 10 more mph have been added. 2X's would be even better, IMO, a not entirely uninformed opinion, as I drove an 18-wheeler after taking a three-week training course, one driving on a converted airstrip, another week devoted to over-the-road driving with an instructor, plus I took high-speed driving training when I was in police-security work years ago. Stopping a fully-loaded 18-wheeler from 60mph with just six 18-wheeler lengths between me and a vehicle in front of me is a very iffy matter, if it's even possible. In that case, we're talking in the range of 100 yards.

I have read of potentially using driverless engines to pull elevated trains and subways at the city level, and that makes considerable sense. Especially if such a system includes constant human monitoring by someone with the ability to shut down the train immediately should the "autopilot" fail in any way. That might help us gradually increase our comfort level with the idea.

Good article, Mr. Ho -- thanks.
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Mekhong Kurt (profile), 21 Feb 2012 @ 12:15am

Re: Driverless vehicles
I forgot to add that at 60mph, you're traveling at about 88 feet *per second.* Which means you have 3.4 seconds to stop before impact. And part of that will be lost to varying reaction times.
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Michael Ho (profile), 22 Feb 2012 @ 4:08pm

Re: Driverless vehicles
you're very welcome... I think we're all wise to question the safety of autonomous vehicles on the roads when they could be easily turned into "road missiles" w/o suicide drivers.
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