Wednesday, September 2, 2015

"Google’s Driverless Cars Run Into Problem: Cars With Drivers"

"Last month, as one of Google’s self-driving cars approached a crosswalk, it did what it was supposed to do when it slowed to allow a pedestrian to cross, prompting its “safety driver” to apply the brakes. The pedestrian was fine, but not so much Google’s car, which was hit from behind by a human-driven sedan."
Google’s fleet of autonomous test cars is programmed to follow the letter of the law. But it can be tough to get around if you are a stickler for the rules. One Google car, in a test in 2009, couldn’t get through a four-way stop because its sensors kept waiting for other (human) drivers to stop completely and let it go. The human drivers kept inching forward, looking for the advantage — paralyzing Google’s robot.
It is not just a Google issue. Researchers in the fledgling field of autonomous vehicles say that one of the biggest challenges facing automated cars is blending them into a world in which humans don’t behave by the book. “The real problem is that the car is too safe,” said Donald Norman, director of the Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego, who studies autonomous vehicles.
“They have to learn to be aggressive in the right amount, and the right amount depends on the culture.”

5 comments:

Methadras said...

Humans. Always the unknown quantity in everything.

ricpic said...

Where I live NO ONE comes to a complete total stop at a stop sign. Do I? Depends.

Amartel said...

Oh, the humanity!

At some point the robots are going to figure out that WE are the problem, WE are the bug in the system. I em nit a robot.

Good luck!

Jim in St Louis said...

Methadras- LOL Very true.

ampersand said...

In the future you will not be allowed to drive. You will have to strapped into an adult sized baby seat and will be required to wear a safety helmet with airbags. However they will not be the same helmet you will be required to wear while riding an escalator or elevator.

Some Russian or Chinese hacker will take over the controls and drive you into the nearest tree. He will post your death ride on You tube. If you are white it will get a lot of up votes.