[LINK] itN: 'Third fatal Tesla Autopilot crash ...'

[Tom Worthington]

On 30/5/19 9:21 am, JLWhitaker wrote:

> ... Sounds like this is a transition stage ...

Yes, Tesla's "Autopilot" seems well named. An autopilot in an aircraft 
is not designed to avoid colliding with other aircraft, or solve complex 
problems, it just follows a preprogrammed path. Similarly, with current 
self-driving cars, you can travel on a highway hands-free, but not a 
crowded city street with intersections, and pedestrian crossings.

Decades after autopilots were introduced on commercial aircraft, 
"traffic collision avoidance systems" (TCAS) were added. That was a much 
harder problem, as avoiding one collision might create another. For 
motor vehicles on crowded city streets, it is a much, much, more complex 
problem.

To answer David L's question about the motivations of those 
proselytizing automated cars, I am sure there are many people who 
honestly believe this will make the world a better place. But car 
companies are in the business of selling dreams, and a car which will 
drive itself is a very appealing dream. In the past there have been cars 
with fins like a rocket ship, and many other appealing, but useless, 
features. Off-road four wheel drive vehicles now sell well to urban 
commuters, even though these are more expensive, less fuel efficient, 
and more dangerous than cars designed for urban conditions. What the 
commuter is buying is the dream of off-road adventure.

On their own, automated cars would not make an efficient, or effective, 
transport system. But it might be a way to get people out of their 
privatively owned, underused cars, into public transport. If your car 
can drive itself, do you need to "own" it, or have exclusive use? Then 
if you want to save money for some trips, would you be willing to share 
a ride with others? Welcome to a technology we call the "bus". ;-)


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Tom Worthington, MEd FHEA FACS CP http://www.tomw.net.au +61(0)419496150
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Honorary Lecturer, Computer Science, Australian National University 
https://cecs.anu.edu.au/research/profile/tom-worthington