Google's Self-Driving Cars Drive Better Than You Can

[chaozbandit]

 

After last night's WAN Show and the discussion about Google's iron-grasp on the Android ecosystem, the market's opinions about Google may have fluctuated a bit. Obviously a mobile OS isn't the only thing Google is focusing on at the moment, but when they're not adding Easter Eggs to Google StreetView (http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/63962-google-adds-lamborghini-museum-to-google-street-view/#entry877610) they're improving on their autonomous vehicles research.

 

Chris Urmson, the lead on Google's autonomous vehicles division, stated that through the analysis of hundreds of thousands of data points, it is evident that their autonomous vehicles (a mix of Toyota and Lexus vehicles) outperform their human-operated counterparts in areas such as acceleration, deceleration (negative acceleration if you will), and general handling.

 

“We’re spending less time in near-collision states,” said Urmson. “Our car is driving more smoothly and more safely than our trained professional drivers.”

“We’re thinking about different ways of bringing it to market,” he said. “I can’t tell you any more right now.”

 

It's a well known fact that there are already manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz are dabbling in self-driving S-class vehicles but the system is far from perfect. Brands such as BMW have also come out with their own implementations, only from a GPS programmable path methedology. No word on how these systems will perform in adverse weather conditions (ex. rain, snow, fog, ice, surprise pot holes that come out of nowhere, etc), but it's a step in the right direction.

 

One of the benefits of automated operation is that in the event of a collision, there are data points to back up the facts.

“We don’t have to rely on eyewitnesses that can’t act be trusted as to what happened—we actually have the data,” he said. “The guy around us wasn’t paying enough attention. The data will set you free.”

 

Source: MIT Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/news/520746/data-shows-googles-robot-cars-are-smoother-safer-drivers-than-you-or-i/)

Photo credit: Google Images

[Ryan Leech]

But it's a Prius......ewww

[brownninja97]

why use a prius and why use a prius from 2004 makes no sense.

[dyent10]

finally i dont have to call a cab and leave my car behind whenever i get drunk.

[Linus_torvalds]

nice.

most advanced companies come in front of others.

Google, SAMSUNG, intel, nvidia and they make future for us. it is very good. technology grows up even faster than 10 yers ago.

[Wulfgar]

You know, I just thought of something. Insurance companies are NOT going to like it when self-driving cars take over on a mass scale (which they eventually will). Anyone else see "special interest lobbying" happening to keep "them damn machines our of our dangnabit cars"?

[LAwLz]

I think self driving cars which can communicate with the other cars will be extremely scary for the first generation of drivers because we are used to being in control. Hell I don't even like sitting in the passenger seat when someone else is driving.

Just imagine when everyone has "smart vehicles" or whatever you want to call them. If everyone has them then you could for example have your car drive in a 4-way intersection at 60 miles per hour, while the other cars goes at that speed as well. Since your car will be able to talk to the other cars and calculate exactly how fast it needs to drive to dodge the other cars by like 1 meter. That would be terrifying, and awesome at the same time.

 

I am really excited for self-driving cars. It will probably cut down on crimes, the traffic might be smoother (because a ton of people are terrible at driving and don't give signals, change their mind mid turn and so on) and people who are not fit to drive (drunk, blind, etc) can now drive as well.

[mr moose]

I'd like to see it navigate a dirt road or access trail  in outback Australia before I accept it's a better driver than me.

[Derangel]

As someone that hates driving I would love self-driving cars to be a mass consumer thing. Beyond that, the tech behind all this stuff really fascinates me. I love all this crazy new innovative stuff that could have a great impact on the future of humanity.

[chaozbandit]

I think it's important at this point in time to remind everyone that the sensors placed in these autonomous vehicles that are intended to "guide it" may also be used for other purposes such as, oh I dont know, collecting user information on demographics, geographics, travel logs, etc. Now, it probably won't go as far as Telcos collecting user data and selling it off (cough Bell cough), or become something that is always on (cough Microsoft cough) and scanning, but it's something to consider when around these driverless beasts. It all depends on to what extent these "autonomous cars" are really "autonomous" and how they're programmed and what not. Will it be like those futuristic Jetsons cars with no cockpit controls whatsoever? Or maybe like the modern Lexus / Ford cars that can park themselves but you can still drive them like a regular car? In the end, the prospect of making the roads safer and more fuel efficient is something we can all (as commuters at least) benefit from. As long as they aren't programmed to hog the passing lanes, impede the flow of traffic, make turns when turns can't be made (cough Apple maps cough), I think we can reach a world where driver-equipped and driver-less cars can co-exist happily (assuming hackers don't wreak havoc on these cars).

 

Personally, I wouldn't own one. Not so much because I don't have the money or don't like the tech (I like where it's going, and think it's fascinating don't get me wrong) but I drive because I enjoy the sensation of piloting my own motor vehicle. To be honest, I may even be one of those hooligans that place cones / obstacles around these cars to force them to go through makeshift obstacle courses that pop up randomly (in a safe environment of course).

[techswede]

I don't like anything that takes control away while driving. And that can be overridden remotely..

And in order for the controls to be operated by a computer they need to be "drive by wire" systems.. wich i hate.

If a bad drive by wire system fails (brakes, steering or throttle) you may lose all control

I'll stick with my cars that were built in the 90s. where the steering wheel is actually connected to the front wheels.

 

ps.

People that dont like to/ can't drive can just take the bus. That would free up the roads for the rest of us and make the roads safer. + keeps the bus drivers employed

 

To quote the great jeremy clarkson:
If you buy a rubbish car, what you are saying is: “I have no interest in cars.” If you have no interest in cars, you have no interest in driving. And if you have no interest in something, it means you are no good at it, which means you must have your driver’s license taken away.
 

[chaozbandit]

I don't like anything that takes control away while driving. And that can be overridden remotely..

And in order for the controls to be operated by a computer they need to be "drive by wire" systems.. wich i hate.

If a bad drive by wire system fails (brakes, steering or throttle) you may lose all control

I'll stick with my cars that were built in the 90s. where the steering wheel is actually connected to the front wheels.

 

ps.

People that dont like to/ can't drive can just take the bus. That would free up the roads for the rest of us and make the roads safer. + keeps the bus drivers employed

 

To quote the great jeremy clarkson:

If you buy a rubbish car, what you are saying is: “I have no interest in cars.” If you have no interest in cars, you have no interest in driving. And if you have no interest in something, it means you are no good at it, which means you must have your driver’s license taken away.

 

 

Gotta love Clarkson and his crazy antics. I'm with you on owning older cars. Most of my realistic want-to-own cars are leaning more so towards the analog era than the digital era, though I'm still mindblown by the achievements of the latter in terms of performance (whoo gas-electric hybrids!)

 

For those who are wondering, Topgear showcased a whileback a BMW 330i with a GPS based system, dubbed the "Track Trainer"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsnKzK6dX8Q

[AndThenThereWas1]

Imagine getting hit by one of these cars. That lawsuit would pay out big time.

[techswede]

Imagine getting hit by one of these cars. That lawsuit would pay out big time.

It's a prius.. the occupants would die when it hit a f**ing fly... and the fly would be perfectly fine!

(i will add that i've been hit by one once.. they just ran away when i had rolled off the hood)

[Guest]

I'd like to see it navigate a dirt road or access trail  in outback Australia before I accept it's a better driver than me.

It won't ever be able to pickup the roo hiding amongst the bushes on the highways.. 

[mr moose]

It won't ever be able to pickup the roo hiding amongst the bushes on the highways.. 

I can just see a whole lot of mangled priuses on the side of the road to mallacoota or bombala

[TopWargamer]

>Google right now

[ForsakenLive]

So we can make self-driving cars but we are still bond to combustion engines... I think we need to change priorities here.

[Fetzie]

I can believe that it drives better than a lot of people. Because a lot of people drive like they're a gibbon on crack.

[Imaginaerum]

ps.

People that dont like to/ can't drive can just take the bus. That would free up the roads for the rest of us and make the roads safer. + keeps the bus drivers employed

 

Completely impractical for anywhere outside a city

[Derangel]

I don't like anything that takes control away while driving. And that can be overridden remotely..

And in order for the controls to be operated by a computer they need to be "drive by wire" systems.. wich i hate.

If a bad drive by wire system fails (brakes, steering or throttle) you may lose all control

I'll stick with my cars that were built in the 90s. where the steering wheel is actually connected to the front wheels.

 

ps.

People that dont like to/ can't drive can just take the bus. That would free up the roads for the rest of us and make the roads safer. + keeps the bus drivers employed

 

To quote the great jeremy clarkson:

If you buy a rubbish car, what you are saying is: “I have no interest in cars.” If you have no interest in cars, you have no interest in driving. And if you have no interest in something, it means you are no good at it, which means you must have your driver’s license taken away.

 

 

I live in a city with a pretty good public transit system but, that really is not practical. I could never get to work on time using the public transit system in town, it doesn't start early enough. I wouldn't be able to get home from work using it either. I have to car pool with co-workers. Trying to get anywhere on the weekend means asking for a ride or calling for a cab, the buses don't run over the weekend.

[techswede]

Completely impractical for anywhere outside a city

I live on a farm so i know what you mean. (5 km walk to the nearest bus stop)

But most people around here don't mind driving.

Im talking about the kind of people with zero interest in driving and no regard for their fellow motorists.

[techswede]

I live in a city with a pretty good public transit system but, that really is not practical. I could never get to work on time using the public transit system in town, it doesn't start early enough. I wouldn't be able to get home from work using it either. I have to car pool with co-workers. Trying to get anywhere on the weekend means asking for a ride or calling for a cab, the buses don't run over the weekend.

I love people like you! The car pool lane is an awesome Place to be

I know that public transport is completely useless most of the time.. But if you "hate driving" or just don't care you should not be driving.

If you are driving on a road with other people then you need to be a safe driver. Otherwise you are possibly putting other peoples lives at risk.

Still.. i wouldn't trust a google powered self driving car.. the google maps app on my phone is completely useless and rural areas are rarely updated.

[ionbasa]

 

Still.. i wouldn't trust a google powered self driving car.. the google maps app on my phone is completely useless and rural areas are rarely updated.

Think of it this way: The more autonomous cars on the street the more accurate maps are going to be along with navigation, because the car is scanning the road all the time this data can be relayed to other cars. 

 

but you do have a point about one thing, navigatoin sucks(for now), before we see mass adoption of self driving cars we need a better GPS system that can tell your distance down to a few mms, not ~1-2 meters.

[techswede]

but you do have a point about one thing, navigatoin sucks(for now), before we see mass adoption of self driving cars we need a better GPS system that can tell your distance down to a few mms, not ~1-2 meters.

i predict Priuses mowing down people on sidewalks everywhere..