Re:Economics in One Lesson: "The Curse of Machinery"
by cubix on Monday February 15, 2010 @05:21PM
(#1127704)
Also, I would imagine docking would be the hard part. You could have a local human crew take over that part, perhaps.
Re:Economics in One Lesson: "The Curse of Machinery"
by nradov on Monday February 15, 2010 @07:25PM
(#1127950)
That's already done. Most large ports require a licensed local pilot to board each ship and guide it in and out.
Re:Economics in One Lesson: "The Curse of Machinery"
by alex_stoddard on Monday February 15, 2010 @05:34PM
(#1127736)
But there are also vulnerable to piracy.
Re:Economics in One Lesson: "The Curse of Machinery"
by philk on Monday February 15, 2010 @06:01PM
(#1127798)
Big cargo ships are already vulnerable to piracy and the handful of crew on board does little more than give the pirates some hostages.
If the ships were fully automated, and remote controlled, you could simply refuse to comply with the pirates and just keep sailing wherever you planned.
Re:Economics in One Lesson: "The Curse of Machinery"
by gridspy on Monday February 15, 2010 @07:22PM
(#1127943)
Under the assumption that the pirates could not compromise the command and control system, or simply cut the rudder and steer the ship manually.
But yes, it was these points that led me to suggest robot ships.
Re:Economics in One Lesson: "The Curse of Machinery"
by noblethrasher on Monday February 15, 2010 @07:00PM
(#1127900)
Why not robosubs?
* The ships are larger and more expensive and hence the add on expense is smaller, comparatively
* There's less traffic around and the traffic that is around is likely to have on board beacons, etc
* The ships already have more sophisticated instrumentation than trucks (radar, etc)