Autonomous beer transport is happening in Colorado

[AVGWarhawk]

While the 120-mile drive isn't quite Texarkana to Atlanta, that Otto's autonomous tractor trailer negotiated both Denver's traffic and the windy, mountainous Interstate 25 freeway sans driver is impressive.

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/25/b...port-colorado/

[Jimbuna]

Well it should certainly put a stop to any pilfering whilst on the job

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Well it should certainly put a stop to any pilfering whilst on the job

Where there is a will and a thirst, there is a way. Great technology though.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Well it should certainly put a stop to any pilfering whilst on the job

Yes it would but the driver is asleep on the job in the bunk. That can't be good.

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

Where there is a will and a thirst, there is a way. Great technology though.

It is almost scary!

[Aktungbby]

just kidding; having hauled Bud, Olympia and Miller and the Bay-Area's Huggies; it's amazing... but I still can't see getting into lower Manhattan with the strawberries on automatic...and I'd be sitting at the wheel the whole time...not in the sleeper as in the video! Looks like a useful tool from Reno to Omaha though, with a alarm dingy as you approach nasty Salt Lake City. I'm due to buy the last car I'll probably ever own, so I'm taking another look at an auto-nav Tesla!??? I'd imagine some new legal difficulties: who's at fault when the 80,000 lbs hits something? the driver or the computer programmer?

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

It is almost scary!

It really is scary and Aktung has a good point with regards to any legal ramifications relative to accidents or property damage.

I'm also wondering how good the sensors are that directs control of the rig in the event that the rig encounters bad weather or Snow-white out conditions.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Yes it would but the driver is asleep on the job in the bunk. That can't be good.



It is almost scary!

I should imagine there'll be quite a few 'ambulance chasers' following them everywhere they go

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

I'm also wondering how good the sensors are that directs control of the rig in the event that the rig encounters bad weather or Snow-white out conditions.

Those are very good question. In rapid transit (subway/metro) automation one of the biggest challenges has been snow. in many cases if you want to remove human from the loop then train should have ability to detect obstacles in track and that isn't too big trouble when weather is nice. However once you insert snowing into picture, computers are in trouble trying to differentiate snowflakes from real obstacles. No doubt they will eventually solve thos problems, but is this technology really ready for public roads?

There are many rapid transit lines employing automatic train operation (ATO), but not so many have completely unmanned trains and those tend to be in countries where inclement weather is not so much problem. For example although Central, Northern, Jubilee and Victoria lines of London Underground have ATO they still have human train operators onboard partly because system does not have obstacle detection capability.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

It really is scary and Aktung has a good point with regards to any legal ramifications relative to accidents or property damage.

I'm also wondering how good the sensors are that directs control of the rig in the event that the rig encounters bad weather or Snow-white out conditions.

I would think the electronics react much more quickly than a human. Concerning weather driving I would hope this was tested extensively so weather of any type do not cause issues with the sensors.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

I would think the electronics react much more quickly than a human. Concerning weather driving I would hope this was tested extensively so weather of any type do not cause issues with the sensors.

I would agree with you regarding reactions being faster regarding control. My concern was with how good the sensors are with regards to changing weather systems.

I think a lot of the systems in place like this are modeled after the nervous system in the body whereby In the peripheral nervous system, an efferent nerve fiber carries nerve impulses away from the central nervous system toward the peripheral effector like muscles.

an afferent nerve carries impulses to the brain. Substitute the brain for the computer and computer impulses being relayed to actuators or muscles in the body via an efferent division and you have very much the same thing, with obvious differences of course.

I'm sure this system has been tested as you said but I guess as with anything new, I'm just a bit leary on how well rapidly changing weather, traffic and road conditions can be detected an accounted for. If a sensor becomes damages or malfunctions, Is there a redundant back up system ? Hopefully the manufacturer of these systems can clarify that.


Even so, It's great technology that may have other applications as well.

[em2nought]

I must get out

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

It really is scary and Aktung has a good point with regards to any legal ramifications relative to accidents or property damage. [...] .

It will be like with the US railroads. It is all done by computers, only if an accident happens it is a human's fault. And never the programmer's, of course.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Catfish

It will be like with the US railroads. It is all done by computers, only if an accident happens it is a human's fault. And never the programmer's, of course.

Nuthin good goes outta style BBY! The leading cause in the old days was varying pocket watches (Waltham, Hamilton, Elgin etc-I collect them) between the engineer, fireman, and conductor...ie when to pull onto a siding to avoid:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_time I wasn't computers then, but just having a reliable watch and a uniform time-zone saved lives KISS:

August 1853. Two trains heading towards each other on the same track collided as the train guards had different times set on their watches, resulting in the death of 14 passengers. Railway schedules were co-ordinated in New England shortly after this incident Numerous other collisions led to the setting up of the General Time Convention, a committee of railway companies to agree on scheduling.