Thread: Autonomous Vehicles

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I see the Virgin hyperloop has successfully runs trials using a 2 person pod, while the University of Munich is also running trials.
Virgin is even seeking investors.
Maybe this might not be completely crazy after all.

The 2 person test in the pod was in 2020 and it was in a 500 metre long tube - without a vacuum in it. Virgin Hyperloop axed half their staff early this year and announced it is abandoning the idea of carrying passengers and would be focusing on cargo only - since then, dead silence - even their website hasn't been updated since June 2020. The University Of Munich program also hasn't had any news for years either - they were basically pushing a battery powered sled down a tube - it has nothing to do with the actual building of the infrastructure needed - the pods are actually the easy bit as maglev tech isn't anything new.

It is completely crazy - not the idea itself - having something run in a vacuum would reduce the energy needed to move it - no argument there, but all the issues around safety and creating the vacuum required and the energy this would take puts it right into the 'bat**** crazy' zone.

If you think it will work - I've got some Solar freakin' roadways to sell you...

Interesting. I just find it all amusing.

Listening to the radio the other day and the ABC had an Automotive Automation Engineer on who is working on self driving tech. When asked about a timeframe and that every 5 years someone says 'It will be about 5 years away' - he said - 'not a chance, more like a generation away - at least' - He seems to be the only person working in the industry that isn't trying to bull**** the public with this.

Pity, I'm still looking forward to the day my car can drive me to the pub and back on its own but based on all the videos showing their self driving cars cleaning **** up regularly and not being able to do even simple things, I think it may be for the next generation to enjoy.

Ford Bluecruise is going to be available this year, on dedicated sections of motorway, in the UK.

https://www.ford.com/technology/bluecruise/

As I have pointed out before, probably in this thread, self flying aeroplanes are a lot simpler than cars. And these really exist, and work (called drones). But nobody has seriously proposed using them to carry passengers.

A generation is a realistic timeframe if you put your rose coloured glasses away.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Ford Bluecruise is going to be available this year, on dedicated sections of motorway, in the UK.

https://www.ford.com/technology/bluecruise/

That’s ‘assisted’ driving - same as Tesla etc - not autonomous. Big difference. Freeways are easy and there’s millions of KM done successfully under these conditions, but around town they are a different story.

I’m not anti them by the way, far from it - I love the lane detection and auto braking driver assistance that is in most cars now - when I can legally take my hands off the wheel when I’m a freeway it will be awesome - but the laws are a long way behind the tech and as per the current court case here in Melbourne against the woman who ran over a pedestrian and has claimed ‘the car did it’ - that defence isn’t working for her and she’ll likely end up in prison doing a stretch shows there’s a long way to go.

A couple of years ago there was a trial of autonomous vehicles in a hospital. They put the tech into the trolleys used to move patients around the hospital which would free up people to do more important work

Idea was this was a controlled environment with less going on than a road to test the tech being developed for cars. Now they never actually left the trollies to run themselves which was just as well. Did not work as it turned out there was a lot more going on than they had thought and the tech could not manage

No doubt they know more today than even a year ago. Although my 10k trip driving a car around Europe testing various autonomous car driving tech has just been canned

Tesla wins trial over crash while car using Autopilot system - ABC News

Well, it's official it is not autonomous or self-driving system but rather a driver aid.