The electric age is afoot. Bmw and Schrem put the first 40 ton truck into action.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Along with electric is self drive. It's not far off

Being heavily involved in the Ev community I wholeheartedly disagree. We are talking about 2 very different things in tht statement. Ther is A.I. vehicles out there but thwy are at least 25 years away before introduction to the public consumer market at a reasonable purchase price. We are only just making leaps in battery chemistry to power the electronics let alone program them to auto run. The himan element in these machines will be essential for at least 2 decades.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by combustiblefuel

Being heavily involved in the Ev community I wholeheartedly disagree. We are talking about 2 very different things in tht statement. Ther is A.I. vehicles out there but thwy are at least 25 years away before introduction to the public consumer market at a reasonable purchase price. We are only just making leaps in battery chemistry to power the electronics let alone program them to auto run. The himan element in these machines will be essential for at least 2 decades.

25 years away? They're coming in at similar times as far as serious penetration. I'm very aware they're two different concepts. But they're arriving relatively simultaneously.

Even if Tesla can hold true to it's word with the model 3, then 500,000+ new EV's on the road still doesn't represent much. It would take about 10 years to hit 50% penetration of there were no more combustion engines to purchase. All the technology exists now to make EV's equally or more functional compared to the combustion engine as proven by Tesla. However, for costs to be comparable, batteries and manufacturing has to get to a similar scale. That's happening as we speak. This is a much larger hurdle though than creating a program to drive a car.

All the technology to have self drive cars currently exists. Everything. Mapping technology is already there and high definition GPS maps are already being made. All of the hardware/sensors required currently exist. Proof of concept has already shown it can be done. Google says 3 more years until the technology is ready, Nissan's CEO says they will have a self drive car available by 2020. Heck, by next summer, most Tesla model S's will be largely autonomous.

The only serious roadblock (pun not intended), is regulatory. All it takes is a few jurisdictions to pass laws and it will spread quickly. I don't foresee this as a hurdle.

[Krovikan]

[QUOTE=Street Pharmacist;5406746
The only serious roadblock (pun not intended), is regulatory. All it takes is a few jurisdictions to pass laws and it will spread quickly. I don't foresee this as a hurdle.[/QUOTE]

I don't think this will be a serious roadblock for long, once the insurance companies are confident in the impact automated cars will have on their bottom line and risk they will lobby for regulations that support and encourage pro-vehicle automation.

[Fuzz]

Hilariously relevant

Oxtox says the Googlemobile “apparently detected my presence … and stayed stationary for several seconds.” He then started his track stand, thinking the car would go through the intersection. “It finally began to proceed, but as it did, I rolled forward an inch while still standing. The car immediately stopped.”
“I continued to stand, it continued to stay stopped. Then as it began to move again, I had to rock the bike to maintain balance. It stopped abruptly.”

This sequence of events continued “for about two full minutes and the car never made it past the middle of the intersection,” Oxtox wrote, adding that “The two guys inside were laughing and punching stuff into a laptop, I guess trying to modify some code to 'teach' the car something about how to deal with the situation.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08...pster_cyclist/

I would imagine there are going to be lots of "glitches" that will take years to work through in the self driving car world...

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Hilariously relevant


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08...pster_cyclist/

I would imagine there are going to be lots of "glitches" that will take years to work through in the self driving car world...

Perhaps.
But the 12 accidents that have occurred with autonomous Google cars in 1.8 million miles of travel, all have been the fault of other cars with drivers (mostly being rear ended while stopped).

The 12 accidents are documented here
http://static.googleusercontent.com/...eport-0515.pdf

[Fuzz]

I'm not doubting that a computer can be trained to drive better than most people. Hell, a TI-84 probably could. Just that there are going to be unforeseen situations where cars interact with humans to unforeseen results. The safest time will probably come when all vehicles are autonomous.

[polak]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Lol so if it can't drive 12 hours then it's a gimmick? How many cars can drive that far without refuelling? Is pretty much every gas car on the road a gimmick? Or did the board not discuss how there might be EV recharging stations on highways?

If you can recharge it as fast as you can fill up a gas tank then problem solved.

If you have to schedule half hour to an hour long detours then it's a major flaw.

[burn_this_city]

I hope the google engineers were programming the car to run over anyone riding a fixie.

[polak]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Perhaps.
But the 12 accidents that have occurred with autonomous Google cars in 1.8 million miles of travel, all have been the fault of other cars with drivers (mostly being rear ended while stopped).

The 12 accidents are documented here
http://static.googleusercontent.com/...eport-0515.pdf

Thats cause the car probably stops whenever it's presented with a situation it can't resolve. Like this example.

Sure, google likes to repeat how little accidents it has had in these self driven cars but how many full stops has it had due to glitches like the one mentioned here? Can't have that happening when it goes to market.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by cdutka

I don't think this will be a serious roadblock for long, once the insurance companies are confident in the impact automated cars will have on their bottom line and risk they will lobby for regulations that support and encourage pro-vehicle automation.

On the contrary. Risk is the demand for the insurance company's product. Remove the risk and there's no product

[para transit fellow]

So if we get automated vehicles, how long before people start modifying the program to drive faster?

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by para transit fellow

So if we get automated vehicles, how long before people start modifying the program to drive faster?

Doubt you can easily "hack" the car due to liability. A fully automated car would keep a fair amount of liability most likely on the manufacturer. Tampering with it would be a serious issue.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by polak

Thats cause the car probably stops whenever it's presented with a situation it can't resolve. Like this example.

Sure, google likes to repeat how little accidents it has had in these self driven cars but how many full stops has it had due to glitches like the one mentioned here? Can't have that happening when it goes to market.

Not an issue really. All the major players are certain it's available on the next 5 years

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by polak

If you can recharge it as fast as you can fill up a gas tank then problem solved.

If you have to schedule half hour to an hour long detours then it's a major flaw.

For day to day traveling, it's a zero issue as you plug it in at night and puts good to go in the morning. How many people taking a 7 hour car ride don't stop for half an hour?

It's a tiny issue for long distance travelers.

Plus, battery and charging technology is changing and its likely that time decreases. It's actually worse now with gas as you have to stop at some point and fuel up even if all you do is short trips

[polak]

How much of the population can afford two cars? One for long trips and one for short trips? Especially if one is a $30K+ EV.

I might be in the minority but I definitely wouldn't by a car where a fill up on the highway is a 30-60 minute ordeal. If mileage was the concern I'd prefer to buy a super efficient normal gasoline powered car where there is zero concern about refueling.

I'm sure the technology will get there. No doubts. Until it does though, I think it's gimmicky.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by polak

I'm sure the technology will get there. No doubts. Until it does though, I think it's gimmicky.

The vast majority of people who buy an EV disagree

Ford found that 92 percent of battery-electric drivers, and 94 percent of plug-in hybrid drivers, plan to purchase another plug-in car as their next vehicle.

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Heck, by next summer, most Tesla model S's will be largely autonomous.

You've been suckered by the propaganda; owners who've paid for Auto Pilot since the beginning of the year still haven't gotten something as basic as lane keeping. A fully equipped Model S has nowhere near the sensors to drive itself.

[Dan02]

lol zamler so the study says people predisposed to buying electric vehicles are more likely to buy electric vehicles?

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by polak

How much of the population can afford two cars? One for long trips and one for short trips? Especially if one is a $30K+ EV.

I might be in the minority but I definitely wouldn't by a car where a fill up on the highway is a 30-60 minute ordeal. If mileage was the concern I'd prefer to buy a super efficient normal gasoline powered car where there is zero concern about refueling.

I'm sure the technology will get there. No doubts. Until it does though, I think it's gimmicky.

I've heard Tesla are rolling out a program where you swap your battery out instead of charging, then either pick up your original battery on your return or have it sent to you. Still some inconvenience but until charging times decrease or ranges increase it will allow for you to get to your destination just as fast as with a gasoline car.

As an individual I wouldn't have 2 cars, but as a family we already have 2 vehicles and I could see replacing one of them with an EV and just using that for commuting. Right now I figure I'm 3 to 5 years out from replacing one of your vehicles, at which time I hope to replace it with an EV.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

I've heard Tesla are rolling out a program where you swap your battery out instead of charging, then either pick up your original battery on your return or have it sent to you. Still some inconvenience but until charging times decrease or ranges increase it will allow for you to get to your destination just as fast as with a gasoline car.

As an individual I wouldn't have 2 cars, but as a family we already have 2 vehicles and I could see replacing one of them with an EV and just using that for commuting. Right now I figure I'm 3 to 5 years out from replacing one of your vehicles, at which time I hope to replace it with an EV.

They've scrapped the battery swap. The trouble is the whole base of the car is batteries. The procedure was difficult and uptake was very low.