Rise of the Machines

[F5 Dave]

I don't take a taxi to work or the shops because it's expensive. That's the main reason. The biggest expense would be the drivers wages. How many hours a day does your car, if you own one, sit idle? If you parked it up and knew you weren't going to need it overnight you could send it out to "work" for you. If you arrive at work and you don't need it for 8 hours you can send it out to take someone else to work or take your kids to school.

So when its found, someone has taken a dump in it and stolen the expensive batteries.

Cars wear out, energy costs. Driverless cabs are still going to have to earn a profit for their owners on top of that base cost well in excess of a std car. . , at least for a while. When they come down in price I'd buy one to park up 22hrs but use it whenever I please, leave stuff in it while I go dirtbike riding, or do more than one trip to the shops and not have to return home.

Virtual chocolate fish for the 3 reasons the picture is relevant and borderline comic genius.

[F5 Dave]

I think the issue is (in town) 100% demand 0730 - 0930, 1430-1800, and <30% the rest of the time. unless shit radically changes (how and when people work) the bottle necking is the issue.

tradies vans n utes too.

Not just trades, but those of us who spurn car ownership in favour of a practicable vehicle that we can move race and dirtbikes around in to further our motorcycle addiction and even get large shit from M10 home.

[F5 Dave]

I can foresee a future where small bands of retro rebels unearth or liberate bikes and corollas from museums. Steal a dinosaur from the zoo (they'll have cloned a bunch by then, l saw a documentary about it some while back with Sam Neill I think) and start grinding them up for fossil fuel (turns out that wasn't a myth) so they can go hooning. . . and get to work on time.

The death toll will be horrific.

[jonbuoy]

There are issues for sure. Dave that's the beauty of it - if it's a single passenger you can get away with a single seater car with computer control you could fit two in a single lane. If your on a long journey with kids and luggage you order a bigger vehicle, if you want to pick up some 2.4 m lengths of wood you order a load carrier or a bike carrier. If your heading across Europe/America/Australia you order a "camper". Fall asleep in the UK and wake up deep in Europe - put the kettle on and watch the world fly by.

[jonbuoy]

I can foresee a future where small bands of retro rebels unearth or liberate bikes and corollas from museums. Steal a dinosaur from the zoo (they'll have cloned a bunch by then, l saw a documentary about it some while back with Sam Neill I think) and start grinding them up for fossil fuel (turns out that wasn't a myth) so they can go hooning. . . and get to work on time.

The death toll will be horrific.

In 50 years or so taking your "driven" car out will be like seeing someone in a Model T or a horse drawn carriage. I'm sure driven cars will be around much the same as vintage cars and horse and carts or sailboats are now. Purely for entertainment.

[Jeff Sichoe]

The average age of the NZ fleet is 14 years so you'll all have a decade or so to get used to the idea overseas before it hits home.

[F5 Dave]

Sweet I'll be able to tell the missus her car is newer than average. . . At least this year.
The Van however should be chugging a yard glass.

[nerrrd]

Still think all the hype is deliberately overly optimistic at this stage, probably to justify the ongoing (presumerably) massive investment.

It remains to be seen whether it can function reliably enough in the real world, and that the benefits for the population at large when it does will justify the cost.

I'm not saying the tech isn't there, I just think the application of it might have a few more real world logistical hurdles than we're being led to believe.

[Akzle]

The Van however should be chugging a yard glass.

... it's 16?

[pritch]

That's pretty impressive, I wonder how it would cope with a kid in a Halloween costume made from Cardboard boxes. Still must be a very smart system.

Or worse yet a little kid hiding in the cardboard box. Or miscreant teenagers who have put concrete blocks in a box? I was told early that you never run over a cardboard box.

[F5 Dave]

... it's 16?

At 16 you use a funnel and a hose. Sheesh where were you brought up?
Oh, right.

[spanner spinner]

Or worse yet a little kid hiding in the cardboard box. Or miscreant teenagers who have put concrete blocks in a box? I was told early that you never run over a cardboard box.

Q7 uses a combination of cameras, ultrasonic sensors (for close range) & microwave radar to discern what is in front of it. it can easily discern between a empty box and a full one. Radar echo will easily discern the mass of the object in front of it, if the kid is hiding in a box it will avoid it as the radar will easily see the kid inside the box. The bigger question is what is all that microwave energy doing to someone riding a bike? not a problem in a car as the steel reflects the energy, leathers aren't so good at blocking microwaves.

[MarkH]

The bigger question is what is all that microwave energy doing to someone riding a bike? not a problem in a car as the steel reflects the energy, leathers aren't so good at blocking microwaves.

Just as well the police don't use microwaves to detect the speed of vehicles then . . . oh, wait.

[Dave-]

The bigger question is what is all that microwave energy doing to someone riding a bike? not a problem in a car as the steel reflects the energy, leathers aren't so good at blocking microwaves.

I'm done. I'm out of this thread. RIP.

[R650R]

Just as well the police don't use microwaves to detect the speed of vehicles then . . . oh, wait.

Apparently these new famcy cars are pissing off people who own radar detectors......