Driverless cars on public roads by next year

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Come back, Herbie!

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

I'm betting it won't work.

 

There will probably be zones in major cities where these things are used and they will be electric.

 

I was thinking that, probably restricted to about 10mph too. I can imagine there'll be problems while the technology is new, don't think many people would trust a driverless car bombing along doing 70mph plus (70mph tops)

[Merging Cultures]

True dat. Future generations will be amazed that in our day we could just get in a car and drive however we wanted where ever we wanted. Such freedoms, they will lament.

I am not sure what freedoms you think we will lose. It will be like now, except the mushy piece of flesh inside won't be driving, the car will be there when we want it to take us wherever we want to go.

It will be much safer, quicker and more efficient. I can't wait.

[Merging Cultures]

It'll put thousands of taxi drivers and independent garages out of business. That's progress I suppose.

Exactly, there seems to be a skills lag when technology and progress is involved which means that people in jobs with lower barriers to entry may lose out.

Ideally, we'd all be computer scientists able to programme and develop new technologies. But we are not and so some people lose out as other ones gain. It's a shame education is often focused on the current skills gap rather than looking ahead. If education is actually about creating employable people at all.

[Merging Cultures]

I was thinking that, probably restricted to about 10mph too. I can imagine there'll be problems while the technology is new, don't think many people would trust a driverless car bombing along doing 70mph plus (70mph tops)

Initially, sure. But a motorway environment should be easier, less stop start, less pedestrians and other unpredictable hazards, more straight line driving.

[Trav Le Bleu]

The integration will be the difficult thing. If every car was auto-driver-less, then fine, but a mixture of emotions and cold logic.... erm... I'm not keen.

 

Also cars breakdown, more often than not, in minor ways that can still be driven and we compensate until we get it fixed. I'm guessing 1st generation driverless cars won't be able to compensate and that any minor fault will result in the car pulling over for recovery and repair, which would prove to be highly annoying!

[MooseBreath]

I am not sure what freedoms you think we will lose. It will be like now, except the mushy piece of flesh inside won't be driving, the car will be there when we want it to take us wherever we want to go.

It will be much safer, quicker and more efficient. I can't wait.

No freedoms in terms of where we can go or when, but when most transport is automated, future generations will struggle to comprehend that we once had full control over the vehicles we use to get around. Not saying it's a bad thing, just I suspect the concept of manually driven vehicles in common use will be looked back upon as a symbol of times when people had more control over their lives.

[MooseBreath]

I was thinking that, probably restricted to about 10mph too. I can imagine there'll be problems while the technology is new, don't think many people would trust a driverless car bombing along doing 70mph plus (70mph tops)

I think motorway driving would be the easiest. All you've got to have are sensors which keep you inside the lane and a sufficient distance from the vehicle in front. Urban areas are much more complicated so would be more difficult.

[Dr The Singh]

I think motorway driving would be the easiest. All you've got to have are sensors which keep you inside the lane and a sufficient distance from the vehicle in front. Urban areas are much more complicated so would be more difficult.

Pay the man, bitch!

[Strokes]

How will you let a robot out at junctions? Will it see your polite hand jesture or flash of lights?

[Strokes]

I think I may be being really thick here.

Why will there be cars driving around with nobody in them? I can see the case for driver-less cars, but demand for passenger-less cars probably won't be great

why would a family have 2 cars, if the car can drive itself? I would assume I can go to work and send the car back home to the dorris for the school run etc.

[Buce]

why would a family have 2 cars, if the car can drive itself? I would assume I can go to work and send the car back home to the dorris for the school run etc.

As long as she can still connect to facebook, she'll be fine..

[Merging Cultures]

How will you let a robot out at junctions? Will it see your polite hand jesture or flash of lights?

Perhaps if you don't have a fully driverless car there will be an add on sensor that monitors all inputs in the car and sends that information to surrounding cars. So while it might not know you are waving the driverless car through, it will know when you are breaking, touched the accelerator, gears engaged etc. So the cars can decide if it needs to stay where it is or if it is safe to go.

[Strokes]

As long as she can still connect to facebook, she'll be fine..

[Merging Cultures]

As long as she can still connect to tinder, she'll be fine..

Start worrying now.

[Strokes]

Perhaps if you don't have a fully driverless car there will be an add on sensor that monitors all inputs in the car and sends that information to surrounding cars. So while it might not know you are waving the driverless car through, it will know when you are breaking, touched the accelerator, gears engaged etc. So the cars can decide if it needs to stay where it is or if it is safe to go.

Ah don't worry I was joking, as if id ever let anyone through.

[davieG]

Driverless cars could be tested in Leicester

By I_Griffin  |  Posted: July 31, 2014

Business Secretary Vince Cable inside a driverless car at Mira research centre near Hinckley

 Comments (9)

Robotic cars designed never to crash or exceed the speed limit could be tested on the streets of Leicester.

The driverless vehicles may be seen on the city’s roads as early as January next year as part of Government-backed trials.

Ministers want the UK to be at the forefront of the new technology, which some experts believe could be commonplace within a decade.

They are looking to select up to three cities where the vehicles can be tested in a normal urban setting.

 

Leicester City Council is considering bidding to become one of the cities.

Business Secretary Vince Cable announced the trials at the motor vehicle research specialists Mira, of Higham-on-the-Hill, near Hinckley on Wednesday.

Dr Cable was given a demonstration of a Ford Mondeo which had been converted into a driverless car on one of its test tracks.

Chris Reeves, an expert on driverless cars at Mira, predicted robotic cars could become a regular feature on the roads within 10 years.

“If we can get these vehicles to coordinate with each other and with traffic lights we can see real safety benefits and efficiency improvements,” he said. “Potentially, the technology could stop speeding.

“To have a driverless car which you could go and purchase and use on the public highway, I would forecast that will be a decade away.”

Mr Reeves said Mira had been developing driverless technology for the past 10 years. He said such technology was already being used on passenger vehicles at Heathrow Airport.

The trials are expected to last between 18 and 36 months and start in January 2015.

Ministers have also launched a review of current road regulations to see how they could be adapted to accommodate the technology.

They want to research two areas of driverless technology: cars with a qualified driver who can take over control of the driverless car and fully autonomous vehicles where there is no driver.

Dr Cable said: “This announcement will see driverless cars take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the forefront of this transformational technology and opening up new opportunities for our economy and society.

“Through the Government’s industrial strategy we are backing the automotive sector as it goes from strength to strength. We are providing the right environment to give businesses the confidence to invest and create high skilled jobs.”

A city council spokeswoman said: “We have not yet made a decision about whether to make a bid for this, but we will be looking into it in due course.”

Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Driverless-cars-tested-Leicester/story-22018716-detail/story.html#ixzz393i5HKho

Read more at http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Driverless-cars-tested-Leicester/story-22018716-detail/story.html#GgddHO9Z3s7gyZV7.99

[Trav Le Bleu]

Chris Reeves, an expert on driverless cars at Mira, predicted robotic cars could become a regular feature on the roads within 10 years.

“If we can get these vehicles to coordinate with each other and with traffic lights we can see real safety benefits and efficiency improvements,” he said. “Potentially, the technology could stop speeding.

“To have a driverless car which you could go and purchase and use on the public highway, I would forecast that will be a decade away.”

Dr Cable said: “This announcement will see driverless cars take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the forefront of this transformational technology and opening up new opportunities for our economy and society.

 

MAKE YOUR MIND UP!

 

I might be wrong, but don't these driverless cars utilise the same system as sat-navs? You, know, the same sat-navs that sometimes tell people to turn into a field or off a cliff?

[Wycombe Fox]

Will this mean I can go to the pub in my car, get pissed and then let the car take me home?

[Trav Le Bleu]

That is EXACTLY what it means.