Google’s Autonomous Car Gets a ‘B’ in DriveTest..

[Tech_Dreamer]

MEh.. Well, Not bad..

 

According to newly released documents* , Road tests which was conducted on Googles autonomous cars on 2012 was released earlier his week, The Cars have been tested only once by a government body on open roads by Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) officials in May 2012 & the test was under the controlled enviorment of google officials & NDMV(Nevada department of motor Vehicles) agreed to the terms

 

 

* IEEE Spectrum obtained the driving log of this test and e-mails referring to it under Freedom of Information legislation

 

 

Nevada officials shared that the Google’s autonomous Toyota Prius passed the test almost immediately. What has not been revealed until now, however, is that Google chose the test route and set limits on the road and weather conditions that the vehicle could encounter, & that its engineers had to take control of the car twice during the drive.

 

 

 

Drive Test:

 

      The test took place on may 1 2012 in Las Vegas , Chris Urmson head of the Google's self driving card project was behind the driver seat in an event  if anything ever went wrong, next to him Anthony Levandowski  the engenieer & on the backseat was the Nevada's examiners (One was Bruce Breslow ,a sportscaster and politician who was then head of the DMV.The other, Nancy Wojcik, is in charge of testing and licensing for the state)

 

The examiners would grade Google’s car in every scenario, determining whether it operated fully autonomously, needed some assistance from Urmson, or completely handed control over to Urmson. The final check box would show which situations the car had faced

 

 

In smooth, everyday traffic, the Prius worked perfectly. Breslow noted that the car detected and stopped for pedestrians and merged smoothly onto a freeway up to the local speed limit. At crosswalks, he called it “extra cautious—designed for safety.”

 

 

   During the 22-km test drive. At one point, a bicycle weaved in front of the car. The car backed off before passing the cyclist safely. The Prius also correctly anticipated a pedestrian running across the street. Construction work, however, proved trickier When faced with a partially blocked-off road, the car switched between autonomous and manual modes and then braked to a halt, requiring Urmson, the safety driver, to take control.

 

 

Test Drive Conditions:

 

Before the test, Google had written: “It will be hard to anticipate if the proposed demonstration will encounter several important environmental conditions: rain, snow/ice, fog, and heavy crosswinds. Additionally, the vehicles currently do not operate in snow, ice, or dense fog.” Luckily, Google’s driving software proved better than its weather forecasting. Temperatures in Las Vegas in May average a scorching 31 °C (88 °F), with almost zero chance of rain or fog. Google provided Nevada with written assurances that its vehicles had coped well with rain in California and that they could also operate safely at roundabouts and other road features that did not figure in the Nevada test.

 

 

Here's some of the Key highlights from the report :

 

Examiners notes:

 

• Perhaps overly cautious approaching some lights
• Google’s car was not tested on roundabouts.
• There were similar checks for railroad crossings, unpaved roads, school zones, and shopping centers.
• Google said its policy was to prohibit autonomous operation at railroad crossings that lack signals and for human drivers to take over.
• Roundabouts are particularly challenging & needed assistance
• We can’t fail an applicant for not being able to navigate a traffic circle if they say that their vehicle can’t yet do it
• When Confronted by Unexpected event the vehicle tend to be needing human assistance
• The car needed assistance sometimes when approaching the turn or in turn.

 

   Following the Las Vegas test, the Prius was put through its paces again in the state capital, Carson City. A DMV committee then met and approved the country’s first self-driving vehicle testing license. On 4 May 2012, the Prius was issued special gold-on-red autonomous license plates, number AU- 001.. The Nevada license expired in May 2013, Google failed to renew it for at least eight months.

 

 

Aleast it can drive better than some of us Leave your thoughts & comments down below...

 

 

Source: http://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/advanced-cars/how-googles-autonomous-car-passed-the-first-us-state-selfdriving-test

[Unhelpful]

Aleast it can drive better than some of us Leave your thoughts & comments down below...

I resent that statement!

 

I don't deny it. 

 

I resent that statement!

[AlwaysFSX]

Yeah, it drivers better than 99% of the people out there...

[Jerakl]

Probably drives better then me, considering I'm almost 16 and don't have my learners yet....

[DeViLzzz]

.. and the world gets an F for not adopting slower driving speeds everywhere and slowing the **** down

[AlwaysFSX]

.. and the world gets an F for not adopting slower driving speeds everywhere and slowing the **** down

Going fast doesn't cause accidents. Not paying attention, using common sense, and being nice is what causes accidents.

[Dudenstein]

I would love to have an autonomous vehicle. After a night out drinking these would and could literally be a lifesaver. Let me drink and not drive. Let me not be dependent on a designated driver. Let me get a a little bit of extra sleep on the way to work because I'm having another 36 hour work day between jobs. To me this would be definitely worth the money. When it comes to autonomous I would be willing to wake up a little earlier to go to work because it is overly cautious if I can get a little extra sleep on the way to work. Take my money now

[AlwaysFSX]

I would love to have an autonomous vehicle. After a night out drinking these would and could literally be a lifesaver. Let me drink and not drive. Let me not be dependent on a designated driver. Let me get a a little bit of extra sleep on the way to work because I'm having another 36 hour work day between jobs. To me this would be definitely worth the money. When it comes to autonomous I would be willing to wake up a little earlier to go to work because it is overly cautious if I can get a little extra sleep on the way to work. Take my money now

You're the first person to come up with more than one legitimate reason to buy one of these. Kudos to you.

 

I still want to be able to have full control over the vehicle when I want to however.

[DeViLzzz]

Going fast doesn't cause accidents. Not paying attention, using common sense, and being nice is what causes accidents.

If you think speed doesn't play a factor you are fooling yourself.  Also again the world needs to slow down in many other ways for a better quality of life.  People are rushing to get nowhere for reasons that many times are just not good enough and are not needed.

[ddbtkd456]

Yeah, it drivers better than 99% of the people out there...

 

Sad...but true....still not sure I feel how about these.....I like driving...and am not really fond of people sleeping while a car drives itself...seems like it would cause alot of accidents.

[Dudenstein]

Going fast doesn't cause accidents. Not paying attention, using common sense, and being nice is what causes accidents.

Going fast has a direct correlation among those things you mentioned. The faster your speed the less time you have to to conditions up ahead and also increases the distance in which your vehicle will take to slow down/stop in case of emergency. There are cases when a lack of a speed limit creates a safer drive mile per mile such as the autobahn but the accidents on those are of a, hopw should i say it, an explosive experience. 

[Tech_Dreamer]

I would love to have an autonomous vehicle. After a night out drinking these would and could literally be a lifesaver. Let me drink and not drive. Let me not be dependent on a designated driver. Let me get a a little bit of extra sleep on the way to work because I'm having another 36 hour work day between jobs. To me this would be definitely worth the money. When it comes to autonomous I would be willing to wake up a little earlier to go to work because it is overly cautious if I can get a little extra sleep on the way to work. Take my money now

 

Trademarked & patended !!!

[ddbtkd456]

If you think speed doesn't play a factor you are fooling yourself.  Also again the world needs to slow down in many other ways for a better quality of life.  People are rushing to get nowhere for reasons that many times are just not good enough and are not needed.

 

@BonBon Scott would have a saying for this.

[AlwaysFSX]

If you think speed doesn't play a factor you are fooling yourself.  Also again the world needs to slow down in many other ways for a better quality of life.  People are rushing to get nowhere for reasons that many times are just not good enough and are not needed.

Wiping out because your vehicle looses control, yeah. Predictive driving and not being a douche doesn't get you in to accidents when you drive fast.

 

Speed =/= unsafe driving.

 

Going fast has a direct correlation among those things you mentioned. The faster your speed the less time you have to to conditions up ahead and also increases the distance in which your vehicle will take to slow down/stop in case of emergency. There are cases when a lack of a speed limit creates a safer drive mile per mile such as the autobahn but the accidents on those are of a, hopw should i say it, an explosive experience. 

Above statement applies here.

[Dudenstein]

You're the first person to come up with more than one legitimate reason to buy one of these. Kudos to you.

 

I still want to be able to have full control over the vehicle when I want to however.

Oh I would definitely want to take control in everyday life. I love to drive. But there are times when I, as a human driver, can be more of a hindrance behind the wheel than an computer. As I have said those cases are when I have been drinking or after a 3 hour work day and I am dead tired and at the risk of making mistakes due to sleep deprivation.  

[Dudenstein]

Wiping out because your vehicle looses control, yeah. Predictive driving and not being a douche doesn't get you in to accidents when you drive fast.

 

Speed =/= unsafe driving.

 

Above statement applies here.

Just because you drive well doesn't mean everyone else does. You can't guarantee a safe driving experience. That is determined by the drivers around you.

[AlwaysFSX]

Just because you drive well doesn't mean everyone else does. You can't guarantee a safe driving experience. That is determined by the drivers around you.

Congratulations on receiving my 10,000th post.

 

Obviously, but that doesn't mean my statement is untrue. Speed itself isn't bad. You can drive fast and still be a safe and practical driver (ie: not cutting everyone off at the last moment to hit an exit because you're a jackoff and didn't move in to the lane a mile or more back). If most everyone had common sense when driving there would be a lot less accidents, waaaaaaaaaay less traffic, and people would be able to go faster (just a little bit) to get to their destinations quicker.

[ddbtkd456]

Oh I would definitely want to take control in everyday life. I love to drive. But there are times when I, as a human driver, can be more of a hindrance behind the wheel than an computer. As I have said those cases are when I have been drinking or after a 3 hour work day and I am dead tired and at the risk of making mistakes due to sleep deprivation.  

 

Sigh....if this would happen I would have to pass more cars doing the speed limit...in my job there are things I do to the poor car and road that shouldn't be done...(hard turning at fast speeds) and some risky stuff not mentioning that I'm not really sure I would feel comfortable with a computer limiting me....then again I could sleep all day since I only get out once every 10 minutes or so...and constantly changing the destination would be too much of a pain with 40 stops a day and stops always adding in...yea nope not sure I would like it except for those long highway driving.

[ddbtkd456]

Congratulations on receiving my 10,000th post.

 

Obviously, but that doesn't mean my statement is untrue. Speed itself isn't bad. You can drive fast and still be a safe and practical driver (ie: not cutting everyone off at the last moment to hit an exit because you're a jackoff and didn't move in to the lane a mile or more back). If most everyone had common sense when driving there would be a lot less accidents, waaaaaaaaaay less traffic, and people would be able to go faster (just a little bit) to get to their destinations quicker.

 

quick dont post anything.

[Dudenstein]

Congratulations on receiving my 10,000th post.

 

Obviously, but that doesn't mean my statement is untrue. Speed itself isn't bad. You can drive fast and still be a safe and practical driver (ie: not cutting everyone off at the last moment to hit an exit because you're a jackoff and didn't move in to the lane a mile or more back). If most everyone had common sense when driving there would be a lot less accidents, waaaaaaaaaay less traffic, and people would be able to go faster (just a little bit) to get to their destinations quicker.

Speeding on average only saves you a couple minutes at most. I'm not trying to sound all high and mighty. I will admit, I do speed but the fact that the faster you go the farther your brake distance as well as the exponentially faster reaction time you must have to avoid potential incidents cannot be dismissed. 

 

In regards to traffic they are not caused by slow drivers but more from merging and a lack of buffer between vehicles. 

[AlwaysFSX]

Speeding on average only saves you a couple minutes at most. I'm not trying to sound all high and mighty. I will admit, I do speed but the fact that the faster you go the farther your brake distance as well as the exponentially faster reaction time you must have to avoid potential incidents cannot be dismissed. 

 

In regards to traffic they are not caused by slow drivers but more from merging and a lack of buffer between vehicles. 

If everyone had a safe braking distance (like they should) and nobody was cutting someone else off and people would let others in there's no reason for traffic to slow down. It would simply keep moving.

[ddbtkd456]

If everyone had a safe braking distance (like they should) and nobody was cutting someone else off and people would let others in there's no reason for traffic to slow down. It would simply keep moving.

 

This and I also think there should be a business only lane on main roads.

[AlwaysFSX]

This and I also think there should be a business only lane on main roads.

Seeing the roads around here, it wouldn't help. That'd just condense all the traffic to a single lane.

[Solkia]

I'm not so keen on autonomus vehicles.

 

I can see the benefits, but a lot of people have jobs centering around transportation and would have their livelihoods screwed over.

[Dudenstein]

If everyone had a safe braking distance (like they should) and nobody was cutting someone else off and people would let others in there's no reason for traffic to slow down. It would simply keep moving.

Exactly, the trick to limiting traffic isn't faster speed, it is efficient driving. Autonomous cars aren't the cure. They are just would be convenient on my life hahaha.