Ready? Google's Self-Driving Cars Going Public This Summer

[Mark Spoonauer]

A small fleet of Google prototype vehicles is leaving the test track and hitting the public streets of Mountain View, Calif. this summer.

Ready? Google's Self-Driving Cars Going Public This Summer : Read more

 

[dave_trimble]

I, for one, welcome our new robotic car overlords

 

[surphninja]

If they're worried about a PR nightmare, they should think about the ugly as hell cars slowing down traffic by going 25 mph.

I've read the whole deal about how they wanted to make the cars look cute so people would drive carefully around them, blah blah blah blah. I get it. But it's still ugly. It draws a lot of attention to itself and stands out in a negative, self-important way.

This is the same exact thing that caused problems for Glass. The techs at google are so insulated in the company's culture and the silicon valley culture, that they have no idea how design tech that will blend in and seem at home in the real world. It's caused a ton of PR backlash before, and it'll happen again.

 

[wiyosaya]

I am not trying to take anything away from driver-less cars since I would love to sit back and enjoy the ride, however, the main reason there are blind spots is that people are not educated about how to correctly adjust side-view mirrors. This is not the greatest explanation, however, for those astute enough, it will get the point across. http/www.caranddriver.com/features/how-to-adjust-your-mirrors-to-avoid-blind-spots I am one who also swears by this method. There is no blind spot if you adjust the side-view mirrors similarly to what is elucidated at the link.

I don't particularly care for the looks of the car, either; I do, however, welcome the technology.

 

[surphninja]

I am not trying to take anything away from driver-less cars since I would love to sit back and enjoy the ride, however, the main reason there are blind spots is that people are not educated about how to correctly adjust side-view mirrors. This is not the greatest explanation, however, for those astute enough, it will get the point across. http/www.caranddriver.com/features/how-to-adjust-your-mirrors-to-avoid-blind-spots I am one who also swears by this method. There is no blind spot if you adjust the side-view mirrors similarly to what is elucidated at the link.

I don't particularly care for the looks of the car, either; I do, however, welcome the technology.

Yeah, I think the tech is great and other car companies will probably have a lot of success rolling it out either on their own or in cooperation with google. On their own, though, google's in-house tech design is falling flat yet again.

Google techs need to get out into the real world more and see how the rest of us mortals live and think.

 

[Josh Mahurin]

"...cutting down on traffic...." More cars = less traffic?

 

[none12345]

""...cutting down on traffic...." More cars = less traffic? "

Counter intuitive yes. This first step will likely not cut down on traffic at all. However, if the road is full of self driving cars, you can fit quite a few more of them on the same roads and not have traffic. If all cars follow the same rules exactly, you can safely pack them tighter, and have them travel faster safely.

Its the all follow the same rules exactly thing. Which humans do NOT due. Sure we have a set of rules, but as a collective we break them all the time, and dont apply them in the same manner all the time. This causes accidents, it causes traffic.


That said, my word is this car ugly as dog crap, no thanks! These idiots are shooting themselves in the foot. You need to make cars that look the same as everyone else. They need to blend in. Once you get the thing up and running you can try the wierd looking stuff, and let it succeeede/fail on that merit without taking your entire platform down because you wanted to be cutesie/different.

 

[SteelCity1981]

i'm all for driverless cars. people driving home falling asleep or drunk will be a big reason for driver less cars right there. that and people that are too old to drive or have disabilities that can't drive will be able to get around. the future is def bright for driver less cars. my main concern is not how safe they will be but how secure they will be from hackers hacking into them.

 

[TechyInAZ]

I like the idea. However I will reject this if I cannot choose whether to drive the car myself or not.

 

[kdw75]

I can't wait for self driving cars, but only if I can still drive it manually when I choose. One thing that worries me a little though, is what if your in a bad situation, say a carjacking, and you want to run into someone, or push another car out of the way? This car looks like it would just sit there and let you be drug out and murdered.

 

[Breppic]

I can't wait for self driving cars, but only if I can still drive it manually when I choose. One thing that worries me a little though, is what if your in a bad situation, say a carjacking, and you want to run into someone, or push another car out of the way? This car looks like it would just sit there and let you be drug out and murdered.

What's more likely dude? Dying in a car crash or the situation that you decribe?

 

[deftonian]

Not gonna lie, I like the idea of the technology but I will be nervous as hell while riding in one... at least until I get used to it.

One thing these cars (technology) cannot predict is human behavior. Sure, the car is calculating and responding based on what it sees/senses, but if the guy next to me decides to jolt in front of me to make his exit, how quickly can the car react?

What if trash flies up off the road? Will the sensor be able to differentiate whether to avoid or hit it based on size/type of object? I'd hate for my car to slam its brakes or swerve to miss a plastic bag, which would probably cause the accident with all the manual drivers around me.

I think when the whole world moves to self driving cars, this is definitely a much more viable and efficient system as ALL of the cars will communicate and follow the same logic/traffic rules. Until then, I think I'd prefer to stick with manual driving. But I really want this tech to continue development.

 

[jdlobb]

Not gonna lie, I like the idea of the technology but I will be nervous as hell while riding in one... at least until I get used to it.

One thing these cars (technology) cannot predict is human behavior. Sure, the car is calculating and responding based on what it sees/senses, but if the guy next to me decides to jolt in front of me to make his exit, how quickly can the car react?

What if trash flies up off the road? Will the sensor be able to differentiate whether to avoid or hit it based on size/type of object? I'd hate for my car to slam its brakes or swerve to miss a plastic bag, which would probably cause the accident with all the manual drivers around me.

you really think that your reaction speed and decision making is faster than a computer? Because it's not. Maybe years ago, but a computer sufficiently powerful for driving a car will process information like that and react to it faster than a human being by orders of magnitude. And a computer's reaction speed can't be slowed down by alcohol, stress, wondering thoughts, or looking at a cell phone. A computer can also access a 360 degree view of the surroundings, in multiple spectrum of light, use radar, and any number of resources that human being are biologically incapable of.

 

[hoofhearted]

I'd rather a big honkin H2 looking car than this "cute" smart car looking metrosexual POS.