Got a car job as far from Pro-Touring as you can get

[ErikLS2]

After being a tech for Lexus for way too long, recently got a new job working for GM and a small company they just bought developing self driving cars. Wondering what this community has to say about it. This video is from one of our cars navigating it's way around downtown San Francisco. This entire drive is fully autonomous, no input from a human driver.

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[LS7 Z/28]

I really hate everything about it and I wish someone had the power to kill the entire concept, along with A.I. and advanced robotics as well. I wish both would go the way of the VHS tape, but it sure seems like that's not going to happen.

[Oleyellar]

Self driving cars have to be better than the idiots that pay no attention to driving at all. Let the car drive, so they can talk on their phones, put on their makeup, watch movies, swat at kids, and not be bothered by all this driving nonsense. I'll bet an electrical sensor or software malfunction, is less frequent than distracted driver.....

[214Chevy]

They way I see it is, it's a job. It'll pay the bills. There are millions of people who may not necessarily love there job, but they might not hate it either. A job is essential to life and is a must have. Besides, I think it'll be cool to be part of the future, because the future is coming. No if's, and's, but's or maybe's to it...it's coming. Whether we like it or not. LOL!!

[Che70velle]

Too many variables. There is no computer, nor will there ever be a computer, that can function as fast as the human brain. I don't like the idea one bit.
And what about an accident? Let's say that two "computer driven cars" get in an accident? How do you determine who is at fault, for insurance reasons?

[Vegas69]

There are variables that it can't anticipate. For instance, you come up on a green light and look to the left and see someone that will clearly run the red light. As the real driver, you have the awareness to slam on the brakes vs. the alternative.

[214Chevy]

Too many variables. There is no computer, nor will there ever be a computer, that can function as fast as the human brain. I don't like the idea one bit.
And what about an accident? Let's say that two "computer driven cars" get in an accident? How do you determine who is at fault, for insurance reasons?

Scott, you are right...there are too many variables. But, there still coming. LOL!! The car companies aren't putting all this money into R&D for nothing.

[Solid LT1]

Driving around city hall and Van Ness....piece of cake! Try going down Grant Street in Chinatown or better yet cross the Bay Bridge during commute hours. They just announced they are eliminating the "Bots Dots" on our freeways....what they didn't tell everyone is AI driven cars have great difficulty dealing with them so they are going away....I predict more vehicle crashes as a result of losing those fantastic driver feedback dots. Didn't see many Psycho Cyclists either.....run that "beta test" on a Friday evening when all the IDIOTS do their "Critical Mass" ride and get back to me on how well things are progressing....if you take a few cyclists out....the world will be a much better place. Glad I no longer have to suffer working in that screwed up city!

[groovyjay]

I really hate everything about it and I wish someone had the power to kill the entire concept, along with A.I. and advanced robotics as well. I wish both would go the way of the VHS tape, but it sure seems like that's not going to happen.

I agree. 100%.

[rushca01]

Too many variables. There is no computer, nor will there ever be a computer, that can function as fast as the human brain. I don't like the idea one bit.
And what about an accident? Let's say that two "computer driven cars" get in an accident? How do you determine who is at fault, for insurance reasons?

Computers can perform billions of operations in a second. The fastest computer is now performing tasks 4 times faster and stores 10 times more information than he human brain. As soon as quantum computing or "light" computing game over.

[rustomatic]

Having spent far too much time driving around in San Francisco in cars, 18-wheelers, 10-wheelers, and other contraptions, I think the self-driving car is the perfect thing. This way, when some naked dude in a cowboy hat comes walking toward you in the middle of the street at five in the morning, you can just close your eyes and imagine you were somewhere else. There will still of course be the problem of liability for when the computer system burps . . . you can't sue a computer.:rules:

[raustinss]

You are forgetting a lot of people like driving... really like driving ...I don't see this being a "thing" for at least 20 yrs if not more ....it would maybe start with taxi cabs....transport trucks ...etc before it moves to everyday cars

[Che70velle]

Computers can perform billions of operations in a second. The fastest computer is now performing tasks 4 times faster and stores 10 times more information than he human brain. As soon as quantum computing or "light" computing game over.

The "computer" that you are referring to is a super computer, the K.
I guess technically your correct in you findings, but that beast won't fit in a car. It takes about the same electricity to power that monster, as 10,000 average sized homes in America, or almost 10 million watts of power. That would be tough on an alternator. It was built specifically to see if it was possible to have a processor work faster than our brain. They won.
In retrospect, a cats brain has 1000 times more data storage, and processes data one million times faster than the latest iPad. True.

Not trying to argue about this, but let's face it...which of us would like to be first test dummy in our neighborhoods. Shoot...I don't even like to ride shotgun. I get carsick not being in control.
This is a bad idea from the word go, and will waste billions of dollars in development...more than enough money to end world hunger.

[BMR Sales]

I hate it. I LOVE to drive so everything about an Autonomous car is dumb!

The Terminator & A.I. are coming to get you

[Zoomin]

You are forgetting a lot of people like driving... really like driving ...I don't see this being a "thing" for at least 20 yrs if not more ....it would maybe start with taxi cabs....transport trucks ...etc before it moves to everyday cars

Has the potential to put a lot of people out of work, for sure. I'll never buy one, but know a lot of people that should.

[LateralJeaz]

I wouldn't want to be the first test dummy. but serious autonomous personal transport is coming one way or the other, and it will save millions of lives. Will they still rarely malfunction and kill people? Sure. But deaths from car accidents will go to nill. Let's just be honest about it, although obviously driving for many folks can be a visceral experience that is enjoyed, x10 for everyone here....Lol....who wouldn't want to ride mindlessly home from work sometimes? Or go across the country on vaca with the fam without having to drive yourself or fly? I envision a world where the hot rod sits in the garage waiting for me to have time off and the automated ride does the daily duties.

[MtotheIKEo]

Since no one else has said it, congrats! That's an awesome opportunity to have working on the cutting edge of automotive technology. An auto enthusiast site is going to be biased towards autonomous driving, but I think many of us would gladly switch on an autopilot if we could in some situations. Driving the length of I-5 through California, yeah, I would gladly put the car on autopilot and take a nap until I arrived.

[SBDave]

Yeah congrats! It'll be interesting and you'll no doubt learn a lot! The ethics and liability intrigue me with this industry. If an accident is unavoidable, how is the value of life decided? If a pedestrian is looking down at their phone and walks into traffic (very plausible) does the car hit the pedestrian or veer into oncoming traffic? Who is responsible when accidents do occur, the programmer?

I definitely understand uses for it but it brings up a lot of questions.

Dave

[ErikLS2]

Thanks for the congrats, I got to say it is pretty cool and I can't share most of what I've seen. I'm not surprised at the responses, expected them even. This won't replace driving our own cars, at least not unless we want them to. But, there are a lot of scenarios where this tech applies that some people, not necessarily here, haven't considered yet. One is, what about all the people that can't drive for one reason or another? I'll say this, they'll never replace my CTS-V!

[preston]

Of course many of us hot rodders have a viscerally negative reaction to these things along with a healthy dose of skepticism. I may be biased living in Seattle where everyone is a gadget freak but I suspect the population at large will fall in love with self driving cars. They are no talking about selling fully (level 3? ) autonomous cars to the public as early as 2020. There is a lot of optimism around these things right now but I think the timeline is greatly exaggerated. We've had viable hybrid and electric cars now for several years and what are they 1% of the fleet ? And those are fairly affordable as well.

What blows me away and is not mentioned much is the interaction of human drivers and auto cars. Auto cars work great together or as a single unit in , but how will they react to me driving very aggressively around them ? I should be able to easily shove inside of them in packed up traffic lanes, intimidate them while making left turns or whatever other scenario you can imagine. I can't wait to see the frown on the rich, smugly self satsfied google employee pantywaist riding around in his auto tesla when my hoopty '92 Cadillac cuts him off.

[ErikLS2]

Latest one, proving no hands, just have to trust me no feet too.

In case you missed it and wanna join the team:
https://jobs.lever.co/cruise

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[preston]

I truly can't believe it. I'm not using that as an idiom. I truly can't believe we can make a self driving car negotiate through a city or whatever else.

Makes me think about the old cliche "if we can land a man on the moon..."

If we truly have the technology to build a self driving car then why can't we
(fill in the blank).
Mine would be
- have a real world budget after market ABS system ?

[mdprovee]

The funny thing is it actually comes to a stop at a stop sign, even when no cross traffic. It doesn't roll thru them aka California Stop. They we are suppose to do it. Pretty Cool.

[WILWAXU]

We saw an autonomous Volvo SUV running around Scottsdale while we out at Barrett-Jackson. It was interesting watching the guy in the drivers seat not touch the wheel :D

[SBDave]

I just started thinking about scenarios like detours, construction zones and narrow streets where two cars can't physically pass each other and how a self driving car would negotiate those. I noticed the self driving car got kinda stuck behind a moving truck in the video and two other cars went around it. Also I'd assume they would be programmed to drive the speed limit on the highway when lots of times traffic is moving around 75mph.

I heard something recently about how so many inventions seem ridiculous to an able bodied person because we don't think about the people they are intended for and they don't show people with disabilities in the advertisements.

This all reminds me of the autonomous off road driving challenge from DARPA over 10 years ago:
http://vision.ucla.edu/papers/jonesFFKWRM06.pdf

[68Cuda]

Most people should not drive.

I can see a not so distant future where most people do not have a driver's license and do not need one to be a passenger in a car that drives itself.

A majority of the Millennials where I work would prefer not to drive. Some of them probably consider car ownership a burden.

[TheJDMan]

Apparently a lot of these Millennials don't have any interest in driving. My neighbors son is 19 or 20 and does not have a DL yet. I just don't understand that mindset. I learned to drive setting on my dads lap when I was 10 or 11 because I was too short to reach the pedals. I personally have no use for a self-driving car but I do agree that is has to be better than some drivers currently out there.

[ErikLS2]

Anyone notice it slowing for the J-walking pedestrian right after the left turn at 0:32?

The video is a cool example of the technology, but sitting in the driver seat when it's trying to decide when to make a left turn really gives you a sense of it.

[CarlC]

Apparently a lot of these Millennials don't have any interest in driving. My neighbors son is 19 or 20 and does not have a DL yet. I just don't understand that mindset.

It's the Internet. With on-line gaming many younglings don't have to leave the comfort of their sofa to play with their buds. It's a drawback to go to a friends house since it may mean someone can't game at the same time.

AI driving is coming. Frankly, for work I would not mind a bit on the long trips through Arizona, New Mexico, etc. to hand the reins over if the system was safe. But, like first model year of a new car, I'll wait to let someone else work the bugs out.

[out2kayak]

I can't say that I would ever want one, but I suppose that there will be legislation that makes purchasing one compulsory.

I look at my 2011 4Runner. The map DVD is out of date, but Toyota does not have an update because the vehicle is too old (really -- for a 2011?!).

As well, there are many off camber situations on the road I drive where the stability control (yea, another mandatory government bit of tech) has forced me to go straight though I was in a turn on dry pavement. One time there was a vehicle directly in front of me and I'm still surprised we did not impact.

The sad part is even when I disable stability control, at 15 MPH is automatically is enabled.

Mind you that I've been driving over 30 years and have (knock on wood) never had an accident that I have caused (when I was 16 I was rear ended by a guy driving a '76 Chrysler Cordoba at about 50MPH when he hit me -- I was standing still making a left turn, waiting for traffic to clear).

Hopefully I'll be able to pay for the vehicle and simply remove the crap.

:cheers:

[gnx7]

My friend is an engineer and worked on the Otto self driving truck project. That company was acquired rather quickly already!
https://www.wired.com/2016/10/ubers-self-driving-truck-makes-first-delivery-50000-beers/

I feel for some industries it will be good. For others it will put a lot of people out of work. The future of automation/robots will be the biggest game changer for people getting laid off from very basic jobs. It's already happening in fast food and that will expand very quickly.

[syborg tt]

And that is the problem. It's happening in factories, fast food, schools and now cars. Heck Uber, lift and the others are killing cab drivers. It all comes down to companies saving money by getting rid of employees. So in my opinion this sucks and people that need jobs that require driving will be gone.

Automation is great and unfortunately we are slowly seeing the end of the blue collar worker.

I'll try to dig up the article that talks about this and how it predicts our unemployment numbers in the not so distant future.

And and lastly congratulations on the new job.


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