re: Google Unveils Self-Driving Cars

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use radar and data collection to react to it.

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Will Google collect real-time data on individual workers and/or police directing traffic? Will the radar's back-end (software) be "smart" enough to accurately read hand signals 100% of the time?

What if it encounters a ball popping out between two parked cars... Will it be able to deduce that there might be a child nearby running after it?... Or will it just "stop and wait" every friggin time it encounters something that doesn't figure into its logic routines?

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The car would probably make the correct decision to not drive at all

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Yeah, that's a realistic approach.

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but I think they can probably make that trip already. Just very slowly.

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And what is "very slowly" relative to 25 mph? Walking speed?

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Is it not impressive that they already drive better than 99% of the people on the road?

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But that's not anywhere near the case.

These things only perform "well" within sterile/controlled parameters and testing environments... and as long as those myriad "sensors" remain functioning and unobstructed (which is why I brought up the winter storm scenario).

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In what world is reducing or eliminating traffic accidents and fatalities, while also improving both time and fuel efficiency a "horrible" idea?

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Another thing, people seem to forget that ALL automated systems are ultimately programmed by humans. Aside from sensor failures/damage (or obstructions due to snow, rain, mud...), there are bound to be software bugs and crashes. I mean, how many Windoze crashes have there been over the years? I've yet to encounter a piece of software, no matter how well written and stable, that doesn't have some kind of bug that makes it do something it shouldn't do, or do it in an incorrect manner. All that is inconsequential on a PC (from a safety's standpoint), but in a driverless car?? I'm not sure I'd want to imagine a scenario where one of these cars bugs out while driving though a school zone.

Like another said, I'm not a luddite. I'm not anti-progress and I'm all for driver aids that help in emergency situations. It's driver replacements that I have a huge problem with. No matter how "smart" computers get, they can never be programmed for adaptive reasoning and creative problem solving, things that an averagely smart human can manage without much fuss.