Sharing the Road with Robots

Robots don't get angry, explode and engage in road rage.

They are not likely to tailgate, engage in text messaging, fall asleep at the wheel, drive at 45 in the high-speed lane on the Interstate or change lanes without signaling.

They also aren't likely to speed.

They will make driving boring, unless they wear a badge and issue summonses, electronically of course!

L.J.

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Can't wait until the robots take over driving. Im in CA and there are way too many idiots on the road. granted things can go haywire, but I would bet statistically that once perfected the robots would make fewer mistakes.

Robots MUST know and intelligently follow ALL the rules, both legal and of physics. In my experience, the farther south you go in CA, the fewer rules the average driver knows and/or follows. There is clearly a lack of understanding of the laws of physics everywhere.

I too believe that robotic control will be an improvement, at least on well-marked and well-maintained roads. I'm a little concerned about how robots would do on one-lane gravel roads, and even in residential areas with children playing.

dkwarner,

you are correct in your opinion about driving in so. cal, IT'S AS IF a few million people came here illegally. My opinion can be disputed, but if you have ever driven south of the border...

People affect societies in small percentages that have big long term consequences.

If a robotic system could be reasonable "perfected" I would welcome it it could save a lot of lives and solve a lot of congestion problems, but it would also disenfranchise the poor from this benefit. Things like this tech cost a lot of money. And like the diamond lane hare in CA it's discriminatory. The lanes set aside for these cars would be only for those who could afford them. Im not agaist people with money, I hope to be one someday, but like any tech its not just the ability of the tech to do it, its how the tech is managed and implemented.

For instance, how does the robot find and follow the steering line? If a painted line is obscured by snow or degraded by age or interrupted at an intersection.... A buried wire might fix this, but what about multi-lane roads? What happens if an elk leaps out in front? Or a soccer ball?

This ain't ready for prime time, and may never be, though it might be an ever alert add-on.

Until corrected, I believe that safe = slow and boring. Therefore, I predict that having many robots on the road will result in slow, boring travel.

On the contrary, If all the vehicles were robotic, then there would be very little likelihood of slow cars in the faster lanes, and little likelihood of cars making sudden unpredictable changes of any kind. This would allow closer spacing and higher speeds in the fast lanes, while maintaining safety.

Boring, probably! No exciting close calls. But on long trips, you could get something done while driving.

Seeing that humans behind the wheel now do almost everything BUT drive I definately think robots can do a better job. After all don't robots (computers) do most of the flying today, even in the most advanced jet fighters?

How would it find the steering lane? It would look for it..... depending on how it is marked using a multitute of RF sensors, preprogrammed visual clues, GPS etc. If an elk or soccer ball makes an apperance it will depend on the distance in front of the car and what kind of periferial sensing the vehicle has. But no matter what system is installed the odds are better that the robot will stop/avoid the collision than todays texting, email reading, lipstick applying, sleeping, drinking, eating, cigarette lighting driver will.

As far as speed goes I think studies have shown that if you also network all the vehicles we can avoid traffic tie-ups and most congestion. Eliminate the accidents and you eliminate most trafiic delays. And even in the case of a rare accident the network would immediately begin rerouting traffic away from the scene. Robots will also better avoid the rubber-necking at acident scenes that cause so many slow downs. Faster reaction time and better advance notice = closer spacing of cars and higher allowable speeds.

Be interested to know what safeties are installed to keep the thing from killing someone if something fails. A broken driveline could send it hurtling down hill into innocent spectators. A human driver could avoid large numbers of casualties by aiming for less populated areas. Can their computer guage things beyond terrain changes?

Provided they do not fit the robots with articulated middle digits that can be displayed in a vertical orientation as a display, I am OK with it.