Re:The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car
by munificent on Monday May 11, 2015 @03:56PM
(#9527444)
> Do self-driving cars have emergency stop procedures?
Yes, of course! Just staying on a road is a piece of cake. Most of the research for self-driving cars is dealing with unexpected cars and pedestrians.
> And how safe are they?
According to the article, 1.7m miles driven without at at-fault accident. Self-driving cars drive very conservatively.
> What if the car sees a tumbleweed that it mistakes for a boulder and puts it into emergency stop mode?
Probably the same thing that happens when humans make visual mistakes: it would slow down and stop.
Of course, the self-driving car is looking at the tumbleweed in the visible spectrum, using LIDAR, maybe IR and probably some other sensors. We just have our squishy eyeballs.
Re:The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car
by vlunkr on Tuesday May 12, 2015 @06:19PM
(#9535367)
I guess what I'm asking is are the emergency stop procedures safe? If you're going 75mph, how much distance does it need to stop without rolling or harming the passengers?
Yes, of course! Just staying on a road is a piece of cake. Most of the research for self-driving cars is dealing with unexpected cars and pedestrians.
> And how safe are they?
According to the article, 1.7m miles driven without at at-fault accident. Self-driving cars drive very conservatively.
> What if the car sees a tumbleweed that it mistakes for a boulder and puts it into emergency stop mode?
Probably the same thing that happens when humans make visual mistakes: it would slow down and stop.
Of course, the self-driving car is looking at the tumbleweed in the visible spectrum, using LIDAR, maybe IR and probably some other sensors. We just have our squishy eyeballs.