Researchers Test Drive Bus With Automated Steering 180
An anonymous reader tips us to news that researchers at University of California, Berkeley, have successfully test driven a 60-foot bus that controlled its own steering. Sensors on the bus detected magnets that had been embedded in a San Leandro road, and it was able to reach stops within one centimeter of its desired position. Acceleration and braking during the test were controlled by a human operator, but the system is capable of handling those as well, and has done so on test courses.
"... sensors mounted under the bus measured the magnetic fields created from the roadway magnets, which were placed beneath the pavement surface 1 meter apart along the center of the lane. The information was translated into the bus's lateral and longitudinal position by an on-board computer, which then directed the vehicle to move accordingly. For a vehicle traveling 60 miles per hour, data from 27 meters (88 feet) of roadway can be read and processed in 1 second. Zhang added that the system is robust enough to withstand a wide range of operating conditions, including rain or snow, a significant improvement to other vehicle guidance systems based upon optics."
If "auto-steering" becomes popular... (Score:3, Insightful)
trams! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Whatever... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Sabotage? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Sabotage? (Score:5, Insightful)
what about other sources of mangentic interference (say the motor of an electric vehicle, etc.)?
This is no different than the head of a hard drive traveling over the disk surface. The magnets can be in a coded pattern that is encrypted a certain way that would be robust enough to overcome possible interference, whether accidental or intentional.
Yes, there are always risks of sabotage or an accident but this is no different than the risks of our current roadways. What's to stop someone from spreading caltrops across the road and causing a massive accident? How about the accidental interference of an oil spill or a bridge support giving way?
As with everything, you try to build redundancy and robustness into the system and limit the risks. Just because a system has the possibility of failing doesn't mean the idea is worthless.
Re:If "auto-steering" becomes popular... (Score:3, Insightful)
1995 Called... San Diego Anyone? (Score:5, Insightful)
1995 Called... San Diego Anyone?
The Carpool lanes in San Diego I15 had magnets put in them over 10 years ago and fully autonomous GM cars navigated the roads effortlessly.
This was almost 15 freaking yeats ago...
Anyone so NOT impressed by this?
Re:Sabotage? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Real questions defeat stupid ideas .... sometim (Score:3, Insightful)
Why would we automate the driving of vehicles when there is a serious unemployment problem?
The economy will see no lost jobs. Saving the cost of "busdriver" jobs will allow for the creation of other jobs elsewhere. The money normally spent on drivers will go toward increasing demand for other goods or services. That increased demand will create more jobs, and because inefficiency was removed the jobs that replace "busdriver" jobs will be more numerous and better paying. So, if unemployment is a problem, making bus drivers obsolete is a good choice.
What does putting hundreds of thousands of expensive magnets in the road systems do to solve the problem of oil depletion?
For one, making buses cheaper (no driver) will allow more public transport, and by that, less people will have to rely on public vehicles. If normal suburban roads can double as LRT 'tracks' suburbs just became screamingly efficient.
What we need is a system of advanced high speed railways
Well, this system will allow normal roads to double as light rail, which is not quite 'crisscrossing North America', but making city transportation more efficient is a good first step.
Re:Robustness? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's interesting that new technology is always held to a higher standard than established technology.
We trust trains even though someone could put some rubble on the tracks. We trust human drivers even though someone could shine a laser pointer into their eyes. We trust bikes even though someone could string up a tripwire. We trust buffet restaurants even though someone could put crushed glass into the food.
Newsflash: if someone wants to sabotage a piece of infrastructure, they'll find a way! Obviously autonomous driving vehicles need to be able to continue functioning despite normal interference (weather, traffic accidents, etc.), and even some forms of sabotage. But ultimately it will be possible for someone to mess with the system. Just as it is with everything else.
Tossing a bag of magnetic marbles in front of robo-busses is no different than dropping bricks on cars from an overpass: the main deterrent is that most people are not sadistic assholes trying to kill other people.
Dunno. Who gets sued today when... (Score:5, Insightful)
...a car with anti-lock brakes still rear-ends someone?
"Cars that drive themselves" won't arrive as a new option in model year 20XX. They'll encroach bit by bit, following in the footsteps of automatic spark advance, electric starters, power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, cruise control, electronic fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, traction control, collision avoidance, self-parking...
When you finally do get a car that can "drive itself", you'll probably be too busy talking on your cell phone and using your extended navigation/information center to notice.
Re:trams! (Score:2, Insightful)
Not for me...I need my independent private form of transportation. I need it to carry stuff, get to exactly where I need to be at the time of my choosing...not to mention not wanting to sit on a smelly bus with the types of people that usually are on public transportation (bums, street people, etc).
Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
The human driver performs many critical tasks other than steering. Braking for vehicles or pedestrians moving into its path, making judgments about pulling over to the curb among illegally parked vehicles, arguing with fare cheats, crackheads and the homeless, etc.
Its not likely that these other requirements for a driver's presence will be eliminated any time soon. Meanwhile, keeping the driver in charge of steering keeps him paying attention to road conditions. Note how many pilots take naps while on autopilot (both at the same time, sadly).
The systems in which an automated steering system could work safely are essentially identical to elevated railways, monorails, or subways. In other words, grade separated transit systems.
Re:Sabotage? (Score:2, Insightful)
An automated system may in fact be more vulnerable to sabotage than what we have now, though I suspect you overestimate the difficulty in committing sabotage in the current system. But that isn't really the point.
Right now cars are ridiculously dangerous, accounting for about 2 percent of deaths [wikipedia.org], and most of these accidents are due to human error [wikipedia.org]. I suspect that the number of deaths due to sabotage are much, much lower than those due to human caused car accidents, and besides, a potential saboteur can always look elsewhere for targets if the road system is hard to attack.
If automated systems can reduce the accident rate by any significant amount at all, the increased risk of sabotage is a pretty ridiculous thing to worry about.
Re:Sabotage? (Score:3, Insightful)
Use redundant sensor systems:
* magnets in road
* GPS
* inertial guidance
* collision detection sensors
* inspection vehicles
* encoded/encrypted magnets as per Graff's suggestion
* combinations of the above: if magnet #1234 isn't at GPS coordinates X,Y,Z then shutdown. If the inertial guidance, GPS and magnets do not agree then shutdown.
* tamper resistant magnets: every Nth magnet is too big to easily move
* lots of magnets: there are too many small magnets to easily move or sabotage
* video image analysis: if the road doesn't match the baseline video then stop. (Similar to the Tomahawk cruise missile's terrain contour matching guidance.)
No one system is foolproof, so use layered redundant systems. Systems that human lives depend on already exist (nuclear reactors, 911 services, medical devices, airplanes, etc.) so strategies and processes for coping with sabotage, human interference, safety, reliability, and so on already exist.
The real difficulties are how to make the system cost effective, and how to handle the PR when the first accident happens.
Re:trams! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:trams! (Score:1, Insightful)
> I need ... I need ... I need ....
Fine ... but please make sure that you are also willing to pay for what you think you need. Right now, damn socialists (like you) insist that my tax dollars pay for over-sized roads and highways when we could do it cheaper and better with trains and buses.
Re:If "auto-steering" becomes popular... (Score:3, Insightful)
But it will still be cheaper to kill people than to refit all affected cars.
The only way to ensure safety is to hold the operator accountable with serious Jail time. It should always be up to the Driver/Operator to keep a check on the mechanical condition of the vehicle.