Tesla's "AutoPilot" & Motorcycle

I generally agree with that sentiment, my eyes roll when a product is covered with warning stickers.

But in this case I do agree this device shouldn't be advertised as 'Auto-Pilot'...

Auto-pilot all you want in the open sky or on open waters but on roads? Not for a while methinks....

 

There is a real disconnect what these systems are capable of and what they're advertised as being capable of.

So yeah, the companies should be blamed as they are the ones pushing "self driving" when it's not self driving at all.

 

No.

 

sooner than later. As I said… the data is there. They just need to add a LiDAR and a little more processing power. You can put your personal feelings on the matter on display but the data says they are safer than humans already. maybe not you and I, but people in general are fucking horrible drivers. Because a few incidents due to non regulation happened, people want to act like it’s shit. When it’s not.

 

Indeed about LIDAR.

But as it stands, cost and the Oh So Important visuals aspect of a car (the system isn't discreet on the top of a car) make it a long term proposal IMHO.

Ryan in the video rightfully disputes the safety data, comparing highway mileage isn't representative (if that is the case - I honestly don't know).

 

They can call it "Jesus take the wheel" for all I care, I don't remember being asked to risk my life Beta testing for them.

 

pretty sure you have a habit/activity or two that will take your life faster than the statistical likelihood of getting killed by a Tesla.


You guys have a serious hard on for Elon musk. I don’t personally like his vehicles but it’s for aesthetic and fit n finish reasons not because I don’t trust them or think their cars are irrelevant.

 

Tell that to the lawyers going after gun manufacturers for crimes committed with guns. They know they can't win (it is unconstitutional), but winning the case isn't their end game.

The lawyer in CA going after Daniel Defense even stated so on camera. He said he isn't worried about winning or losing, his hope is to force DD to spend so much money fighting the case, that they are forced into bankruptcy.

 

Oh, and fuck Tesla.

 

There it is

 

You used a phone while driving

 

I worked for a large corporation which is committed to autonomous vehicles. In a meeting I asked about MCs in an autonomous environment, and he said they will have to go.

I used to ride around the Sunnyvale/Santa Clara alot and enjoyed fucking with the autonomous cars. On the early ones if you knock on the hood or side when they start moving they stop.

 

So you’re purposely creating a situation that may result in an accident and/or injury to prove a point? Or just get your rocks off?

 

Or possibly for a yuuuuuuge payday!

Might be worth it.

 

People get emotional about edge cases when technologies are new. Of course autonomous driving tech isn’t anywhere close to perfect yet. The rear ending issue with motorcycles happens every day with humans, and often in broad daylight.

LiDAR will definitely have to be incorporated eventually for edge cases, but for the majority of uses cases it may not be necessary. In an environment with a large number of autonomous vehicles, there’s a much simpler solution. Transponders. I would be surprised if they’re not mandatory within 10 years. I’m not concerned about privacy. Mass collecting short range transponder data is about the same level of difficulty as mass collecting license plate images. We also all carry devices on our persons that report everything back to the alphabet agencies, including location.

 

Why would motorcycles have to go? Transponders will be Federally mandated on all vehicles including motorcycles. If a motorcycle doesn’t behave erratically, autonomous vehicles will know location and vector of bikes at all times and avoid collisions. Problem solved.

 

yeah but mandating transponders for vehicles not built with them is going to bring out the people screaming about privacy and civil liberty. Which they wouldn’t be wrong about…

how are you going to tell a 65 year old that the government wants a transponder on his 1985 Buick le Sabre

 

New vehicles only is fine though. The adoption cycle of autonomous vehicles is going to be long anyway. In 2021 the average age of a vehicle on the road was 12.1 years. They also claim 25% of vehicles are >= 16 years. If that continues to hold and we assume that it’ll take 20 years for autonomous vehicles to become the majority, then 80%+ of passenger cars would have transponders if they were mandated today.

The minority who don’t will be persuaded through insurance discounts or penalties and various carrots and sticks administered by the DMV. There will be programs to offer free transponders and installation for older vehicles, and all sorts of other incentives and punishments.

It’s likely infrastructure will be adopted to take advantage of autonomous vehicles as well. I can imagine the current FastTrack lanes being converted to autonomous only with higher speeds allowed etc. Vehicles without transponders will be relegated to less desirable roadways, etc. Eventually the majority will conform as the social and economic pressure becomes irresistible.

I think a good comparison is clean air regs. There are still a few people driving around old ass cars that are highly polluting, but we still managed to make the air breathable again overall.

In urban areas the model of car ownership will switch to subscription based transportation as well. Autonomous and electric vehicles, and the adoption of widespread telecommuting will make it highly attractive.

Transponders will also be a safety benefit to non-car road users as well. I can see future iterations of iOS and Android auto detecting whether you’re walking or on a bike, bird scooter, whatever and communicating to nearby vehicles.