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Forum Index : EV's : autonomous cars fantasy or wait...what?
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yahoo2 Guru  Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
I was putting a few bits and pieces together to write an article about using old electric car cells for off grid storage and I remembered a video that showed heat buildup in a Nissan leaf pack using the leafspy app that showed an interesting effect. I found it in a few minutes but you know what its like, something in the side column of "videos that may waste the rest of your life" attracted my attention. Oh why didn't I leave my scripting turned off! After watching a few crappy videos done by car salesmen that clearly have no clue about EV's, like pointing out the cars aerodynamics in the only spot where it isn't and then looking at the bits that are the super slippery aero design and commenting "I have no idea why they do this, it looks ugly" shouting MORON! at the screen seems to help my sanity a little. It's no accident that all the features salesmen love to sell on regular cars dont exist on EV's. Anyway, I keep a bit of an eye on what is being released in the EV market and after seeing Robs review of the Hyundai IONIQ electric | Fully Charged it got me wondering why there was a staggered release of the three variants with the next version of the EV lagging well behind the hybrid and plug in hybrid. then I spotted this pic  photo by Hyundai that lead me to this article Hyundai's next Ioniq is a fully autonomous concept So it looks like they are fitting a bit of extra kit to the cars that will be released after 2016/17. and that jogged my memory about something I had seen about the direction Tesla was heading. Autopilot 2.0 is artificial intelligence and Tesla HUD! So if you dont have the time to watch the longish videos, the short version is this. EV's that are going to have autonomous driving features in the future are being fitted with the sensors and the MASSIVE graphics processing units now so that they can learn "on the job" and see the road and start to identify whats around it and on it in real time while you are doing the driving. its a cross between training robots to paint cars on an assembly line by copying a human painter and maybe face recognition software sitting down with granny and her photo album pointing out all the relatives that were at your 18th birthday bash! this real world experience builds a model that is combined with every other cars model and this "trains" a computer in a data centre somewhere that will upgrade the cars skills in the future. when I think about it it makes sense but it is so far from the existing auto industry model it boggles the brain. It seems like the future car will have two less dipsticks. the one on the engine and the one behind the wheel, who knew! I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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Clockmanfr Guru Joined: 23/10/2015 Location: FrancePosts: 427 |
I await with bated breath,........ to here one of those fully autonomous cars make it through the centre of Paris, ...... on a normal working day. Do let me know, and I will watch it at the 'Arc de Triomphe' now that will be funny... Our crowded European city's,our damp cold environment, yea yea, it aint goner happen here very fast.....ha ha And when it does happen here, the French will all go on strike complaining about loss of Jobs. And the Italians will not have it as it takes the Passion and adventure out of driving. he he Everything is possible, just give me time. 3 HughP's 3.7m Wind T's (14 years). 5kW PV on 3 Trackers, (10 yrs). 21kW PV AC coupled SH GTI's. OzInverter created Grid. 1300ah 48v. |
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| isochronic Guru Joined: 21/01/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 689 |
I guess cities will become driver-free zones..eg unless your car can be driven/managed by an external traffic control system it will not be allowed into the inner city. I am wondering what is more cost-effective, a few billions on a new light rail/train/tram/bus network..or to contract out a mass driverless car system and make it available. Then, of course, your car will have to be compatible, and you pay more fees..it is a pity Detroit/Ford/GM/Toyota can't get a system going and make it the de facto standard though. That would sell a few units ! Probably built by robots though  "One Continuous Loop"...oh no..  |
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| yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
I personally dont think the fight will be about self driving cars, I have been driving tractors that steer themselves for 10+ years, in fact, when I watch the tour de france I can pick the fields that have been sown, sprayed and harvested with autosteer and I can tell you the percentage is very high. The reduction in mental fatigue from not having to peer through the darkness, dust and fog to see your marks is just amazing. The real fight is happening where local government is having to choose between access for cars and car free zones. It's all about congestion. there has been talk of making city centres completely car free, not just a couple of streets here and there but say 25 city blocks. That would set a cat amongst the pigeons! the long term future of the car for urban transport is looking very uncertain. I guess there will still be a place for cars in sub-urban, peri-urban and semi rural zones. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Some people actually enjoy driving, especially in a vehicle with a bit of performance. Not necessarily in slow bumper to bumper traffic at peak hour, but out on the open road, maybe a twisty scenic ocean drive without any other vehicles in sight. Somehow I feel that there are many drivers out there that would have a great natural aversion to owning a self drive vehicle for many reasons. It will be really interesting to see how insurance companies react to serious accidents with self drive vehicles. These have already happened, and are still happening. Cheers, Tony. |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5012 |
Self driving cars is certainly a legal minefield, but it will sort itself out in time. Sitting in the drivers seat without my hands on the steering wheel would take some getting used to. I would be happier to see self flying domestic jet aircraft. A aircraft where the pilots only job is to enter the final destination, ideal time to depart and land, and information about weather, observations of the aircraft before and during flight, weights, etc. The aircraft does the rest. The pilot is not able to fly the aircraft, no stick. I say this because these days aircraft are becoming very safe, and the biggest cause of a fatal crash is pilot error or pilot action. If you have a autonomous aircraft, its not going to fly to a destination it hasn't the fuel to reach. It wont fly into a mountain or building, its going to react better to other aircraft in its airspace, and better react to a emergency mechanical situation. Personally I would have no issues flying on such a aircraft, in fact I would feel more comfortable, and I hate to fly. Mind you, I would wait a few years to make sure the bugs are ironed out. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Autopilots and instrument landing systems have been around for a very long time, its a very mature technology. But the big difference is that you have air traffic control watching over you in controlled airspace. Mid air collisions are extremely rare in civil flying. The problem on the roads are the very close proximity of other vehicles (idiots?) that can suddenly do some very unexpected things, something that never happens in the air. You might be less comfortable in the air if you had other aircraft wing tip to wing tip either side, and other aircraft in front and behind, and above and below so close you can see the expressions on the faces of the other pilots'  'Cheers, Tony. |
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