Comments | jonathankaplan: the roads must roll

jonathankaplan

the roads must roll

Aug 29, 2006 12:08

One of the wonders of the modern age is our highway system. Multi-ton vehicles hurtling along at great speed, often in very close proximity, cramped together in space yet still moving quickly, each of those heavy physical forces controlled independently by random humans. You're driving at a speed unimaginable to our ancestors, and then Joe Smith in ( Read more... )

infrastructure, traffic, technology

Comments 25

deathbytamarind August 29 2006, 16:55:19 UTC

That would be fantastic and it would motivate me to get a car. Driving scares me and I refuse to do it. If the process was automated and made safe, I'd totally go for it.

jonathankaplan August 29 2006, 18:16:38 UTC

I drive less and less now, in part because I can see myself aging and can sense that I am not as good a driver as I once was. But I am sure I will never give up driving completely, not willingly, so how am I to reconcile my weakening skills with my desire to maintain the freedom to travel?
Y'all better watch out, out there!....smile....

deathbytamarind August 29 2006, 19:44:35 UTC

I'll be content to stay on BART, away from you crazy drivers. :p

stainsteelrat August 29 2006, 17:03:06 UTC

I've seen various prototypes, and nearly ended up on a project for Jaguar or someone that was designing one. The problem is creating something foolproof, particularly as most of these were working off the environment as opposed to GPS.

jonathankaplan August 29 2006, 18:13:29 UTC

Maybe GPS isn't reliable enough yet, but can't we build little sensors into the roadway mapping the lane(s) and different traffic flows, then program the computers onboard and in the roadway to keep the autos within the correct areas at all times? It really doesn't sound more difficult than some computer games I have seen, at least, within each region. The physics is almost completely knowable, the computers (would seem to) have more than enough power, the sensor tech is capable?
The physical forces involved are large in size and number, but that should be resolvable....

stainsteelrat August 29 2006, 18:24:21 UTC

Yep, GPS resolution is too low. There have been demonstrators of the type you're describing, a decade or two ago if memory serves. Again though it might be the aspect of making it completely safe, and just getting people to use it. Also it would require a huge investment and motivation for it to happen.

scarybaldguy August 29 2006, 17:16:15 UTC

Considering the relative reliability of humans vs computers... I'll take my chances with Joe Minivan.

jonathankaplan August 29 2006, 18:05:26 UTC

Passengers in airplanes would have said the same not so very long ago.
But now, airplane control is very much automated and everyone involved is much safer as a result. Would you want pilots and ground control to be more human hands-on, less computerized, now that we have developed such safe automated systems?
The time is coming when the same will be true for automobiles, I think.

scarybaldguy August 29 2006, 18:12:24 UTC

Totally different environments. Automated FCSes are fairly simple, and aircraft operate in a far less congested and complex environment than ground vehicles, with vastly fewer variables. Even in commercial aircraft equipped with Autoland (which is still simple in execution), most departures and final approaches are flown manually.

herooftheage August 29 2006, 17:26:30 UTC

A kid could scream and Joe's hands could twitch in the wrong direction, his vehicle could swerve, and before you knew it, you could be dead.And in this example is the reason I think it'll be away - as a general rule, this scenario doesn't come to pass. Joe and I have a big advantage in this scenario - neither of us wants to die. Joe is at least aware that his kids scream every now and then, and so even if it causes his hand to twitch, he gets a roll at recovery. If it fails, and he comes careening my way, the game isn't over yet - I get a reaction, and even if I fail it, I will have a shot at controlling some features of the resulting accident: we may be hurtling down the road at high speeds, but the Δv compared to each other is pretty small ( ... )

markgritter August 29 2006, 17:29:39 UTC

I think completely automated systems would be doable today if we were willing to put in the infrastructure. The problem is that as long as there are humans using the same roads the problem is a lot more challenging--- even the basics of keeping a safe distance away from the car in front is nontrivial. (Not to mention the occasional large hunk of debris in the road.)