Nissan to offer autonomous vehicles

m3chhawk

We are a long, long, long way from even having a majority of vehicles on the road as autonomous. While it definitely doesn't have its place with the sports car crowd, there is definitely a market for it. Just like any vehicle segment. I wouldn't even consider owning a mini van, but won't downplay that they are great at what they do.

Did anyone see the new commercial where the vehicle is constantly checking for wrecks two cars ahead? Or BMWs lights that autodim for upcoming traffic in both directions, but only dim the necessary lane?

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shadoquad

There is a market. But I'm allowed to state my opposition to it. A lot of people assume it will all be better than human drivers. My faith in software isn't as strong, and lives are at stake.
Yes, and the mercedes that stops automatically. Safety gimmicks in luxury cars are nothing new.

m3chhawk

I'm assuming by your comments and general attitude that you are a late adopter of most technologies.

The software won't be released untested. Google has had fully autonomous vehicles on the road for awhile now. Nissan is the first OEM to release a statement and they are targeting 2020. That's a substantial amount of time for testing.

I'm confused as to how you consider crash avoidance systems a gimmick? To be honest, the algorithm is pretty simple and tens of thousands people die in automotive accidents every year in the United States alone.

Out of curiosity, how would YOU make vehicles safer moving forward?

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KERMIT

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Steering wheel with Z emblem, keyless entry, 3.7L with dual overhead cams, am/fm radio, ABS brakes, windshield, air in tires

ElVee

This statement must mean something different to both of us. This does not mean Google has cars driving around to random places intermingled with varying levels of human traffic and other autonomous cars in a practical manner. As such, controls tests aren't enough for me.

m3chhawk

Seven cars logged over a quarter million miles in San Francisco in 2010 and the only accident was when one of them was rear ended at a stoplight by a human driver.

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ElVee

Source? I'd be fine reading up on it.

ElVee

There are problems with autonomous vehicles. I envision it a bit like a rail system, except our seats can break off to turn while the majority of the group continues on. Then my seat goes where I want.

In the US, we have a ridiculously litigious culture. We like yearn to blame someone/something else for any slight problem. This system won't be perfect, and as such makers of such vehicles are going to feed many a lawyer for life... Heaven forbid someone dies due to an accident or is late getting to a hospital. Or we have arguments about manual mode being engaged or not...

Road work/maintenance is going to have an additional challenge of needing to update car software/mapping. We start relying on software/connectivity/satellites for movement rather than our eyes, hands, and a mechanical vehicle under our control, and we're going to have annoying problems.

I suppose car headlights will sense green/red lights. I see money in selling green flashlights in the future. Or red ones, for that matter.

There are more, but I just think it's not a great idea without actual in place systems.


But no, really, I look forward to Google-powered cars that move on their own and deliver to me ads in my car based on where I am and the things in my vicinity. Kinda like a tour guide "driven" by ad sales.

m3chhawk

While there are definitely hurdles, it's not all that different than any other automotive technology. Drive by wire seemed ridiculous at one point too.

There was an entire discussion devoted to autonomous vehicles and hacking the vehicle networks at Black Hat this year.

Uber is looking to buy a few and it's an application where it makes perfect sense.
Dispatch From The Future: Uber To Purchase 2,500 Driverless Cars From Google | TechCrunch

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ElVee

Oh, yeah, I wasn't even going to get into the security aspects of it, which will be both interesting but also overhyped as well ( I need some CPEs anyway, so need to look these talks up). Kinda like in recent years with aviation systems and lack of firewall separation between in-plane guests and control systems. A facepalm moment, sure, but who the hell would attack that?

At least cars are more accessible and eventually more widespread.

Thanks for the info, though!

shadoquad

How do I consider safety systems a gimmick?

Lux vehicles have had a ton of them. Rotating headlamps, automatic parking, rearview cams, lane departure warning, the alarms detecting your head dipping for sleep, hell even the seatbelt off chimes. It all starts in mercs and lexii, because it costs more, and not all of those techs pass through to the common man, only ones that wind up making a difference for low cost. And some concepts are neat in theory but ineffective in practice.

Your personal assumptions and challenge aside, I know the software will be tested. All software is tested. But most of it has unpredicted bugs and flaws that manifest in unforeseen use cases.

I am not interested in making cars better. I think we should make drivers better. The American driving tests and penalties for dui aren't strong enough. And most drivers are lazily relying on safety mechanisms and aren't involved enough in the act of driving. These are my opinions, you are entitled to yours.