Ford ambitiously announces plan to have an entire fleet of driverless vehicles by 2021 - Polidicks

[quote]The race for who will come to the market with an auto-piloted car is heating up again. Ford has announced that it will have a fleet of autonomous cars on the road by 2021. The driverless vehicles will be available for ride sharing. It's an ambitious goal. [B]The company said it will more than double its team devoted to developing autonomous driving, and invest even more money in its Silicon Valley campus.[/B] Ford's CEO Mark Fields has said that the company will triple its investment in the technology which includes currently available help with parking and avoiding traffic jams. The program that Ford announced is not quite a self-driving car in every garage. [B]The announcement is for vehicles that have Society of Automotive Engineers Level-Four driving automation. SAE Level Four is when the car is self-controlled in all but a few environments such as severe weather. These Level-Four cars would likely be in closed systems or fixed routes.[/B] Karl Brauer with Kelly Blue Book says, "The time frame for privately owned, fully autonomous vehicles, capable of operating anywhere and anytime, remains at least seven to 10 years away." Fields says he's not closing the door on potential partnerships. Ford and Baidu Inc., the Chinese Internet behemoth, announced that both companies jointly invested $150 million in Velodyne, a Silicon Valley company that specializes in sensors.[B] Already Silicon Valley and the auto industry have been in a dating frenzy looking for long-term partners to help develop the technology behind a self-driving car. Volkswagen spent $300 million to get a piece of ride-hailing company Uber's European rival Gett. General Motors spent $1 billion to purchase Cruise Automation, as well as investing in ride-hire service Lyft. Meanwhile, Toyota invested in Uber.[/B][/quote] [url]http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/17/490406911/ford-looks-to-a-fleet-of-driverless-cars[/url] Note: As stated in the article, this is not for personal vehicles; most likely used for trucking and taxi services. Of all the jobs to be replaced by robots, did not expect it to be tractor-trailer drivers.

I'm not sure that I would consider having level 4 cars by 2021 ambitious. Several other manufacturers will probably have level 4 by 2018 or 19.

I can imagine in 10-15 years this is going to be a very hot topic, how truck driving as one of the most popular jobs in the US will completely disappear to automation.

[QUOTE=Kecske;50919530]I can imagine in 10-15 years this is going to be a very hot topic, how truck driving as one of the most popular jobs in the US will completely disappear to automation.[/QUOTE] I say we'll be having that discussion in 3-5 years.

What even is a 'fleet' of cars?

[QUOTE=RobL;50919579]What even is a 'fleet' of cars?[/QUOTE] A fleet that consists of cars instead of trucks, boats, or anything else?

[QUOTE=RobL;50919579]What even is a 'fleet' of cars?[/QUOTE] Driverless Taxis.

[QUOTE=Kecske;50919530]I can imagine in 10-15 years this is going to be a very hot topic, how truck driving as one of the most popular jobs in the US will completely disappear to automation.[/QUOTE] The unions wont allow anything fast. Dont hold your breath on it.

[QUOTE=Kecske;50919530]I can imagine in 10-15 years this is going to be a very hot topic, how truck driving as one of the most popular jobs in the US will completely disappear to automation.[/QUOTE] theres always gonna be a need for a local manual override when it comes to 20 ton trucks

[QUOTE=Wii60;50920597]theres always gonna be a need for a local manual override when it comes to 20 ton trucks[/QUOTE] Not really. They are big enough that you could cover them with a metric fuck ton of sensors. You could also take the route that Mercedes has been going and have convoys of self driving trucks that have just one person overseeing the whole convoy.

[QUOTE=Morgen;50920618]Not really. They are big enough that you could cover them with a metric fuck ton of sensors. You could also take the route that Mercedes has been going and have convoys of self driving trucks that have just one person overseeing the whole convoy.[/QUOTE] if a automatic truck can survive everything ice truckers do, then ill feel safe. Otherwise we need a manual override. [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B01MP5Kbu38[/url] [video=youtube;OUEVle_yw2Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUEVle_yw2Y[/video] [video=youtube;jczSEpaGEtA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jczSEpaGEtA[/video] i trust auto-cars though, i dont mind those. European auto-trucks dont compare to what america has to go through with tons of varying enviroments from deserts/swamps/cities/etc. so.

Nice reference bro. A reality show from the History channel.

[QUOTE=Kecske;50919530]I can imagine in 10-15 years this is going to be a very hot topic, how truck driving as one of the most popular jobs in the US will completely disappear to automation.[/QUOTE] Being a trucker is more than just driving. Someone still has to be with the truck and put chains on it when the conditions demand it, take them off. Someone has to make sure the cargo is properly secured and everything is fine. Maybe the driving aspect can be handled by a machine but someone has to be with the truck to handle everything else

[QUOTE=Wii60;50920840]if a automatic truck can survive everything ice truckers do, then ill feel safe. Otherwise we need a manual override. i trust auto-cars though, i dont mind those. European auto-trucks dont compare to what america has to go through with tons of varying enviroments from deserts/swamps/cities/etc. so.[/QUOTE] Humans aren't good drivers; they have poor vision and situational awareness, can be easily distracted, get fatigued or angry or rushed, have poor reaction times, can't--or aren't--be tested for consistency or the ability to deal with situations, and generally don't learn or improve based on experiences of others. A driverless car, truck, bus, tram, or whatever else can learn from the experience of every single other vehicle on the road; if an accident happens the system can easily be taught how to deal with the situation going forward so that every single vehicle can avoid that situation in the future. The ability for such a vast collection of knowledge that continues to improve solves so many issues. Instead of having to train every single person from the start how to drive safely and effectively, needing to know how to drive won't even be a consideration in the future.

[QUOTE=Dr.C;50921236]Being a trucker is more than just driving. Someone still has to be with the truck and put chains on it when the conditions demand it, take them off. Someone has to make sure the cargo is properly secured and everything is fine. Maybe the driving aspect can be handled by a machine but someone has to be with the truck to handle everything else[/QUOTE] I'd be fine with this. For both safety reasons and protecting jobs.

[QUOTE=proboardslol;50921320]I'd be fine with this. For both safety reasons and protecting jobs.[/QUOTE] Yeah, until we have literally robots that can do full visual inspections, someone still needs to supervise the physical vehicle. Shit does happen. A strap comes loose or a somewhat minor mechanical issue. While you could possibly have someone drive out there to fix the problem if the computer detects an issue, that's still a massive amount of downtime when it could be fixed in 10 minutes by an actual driver.

I work in a warehouse that loads trailers every day: Inspecting and making sure the load is secure is the responsibility of the loader, not the driver. If something goes awry en route, my company is responsible for the damages, not the drivers.

[QUOTE=OvB;50919539]I say we'll be having that discussion in 3-5 years.[/QUOTE] Is this how republicans win 2020

[QUOTE=64fanatic;50921138]Nice reference bro. A reality show from the History channel.[/QUOTE] first link that isnt embedded is a 40 minute documentary

[QUOTE=Wii60;50927220]first link that isnt embedded is a 40 minute documentary[/QUOTE] Level 5 autonomy is the capability of handling extreme stuff like that.

[QUOTE=RobL;50919579]What even is a 'fleet' of cars?[/QUOTE] A "fleet", in this context, is a large group under ownership of one entity. This is not to be confused with the "fleet" vehicle model trims. Businesses usually don't buy the regular base model vehicle from car manufacturers. They usually buy their "fleet" models, which is a much cheaper version that's stripped down to the bare minimums. For example, the "Fleet" model F-150 pickups my old employer used to get had manual locks, windows, etc. The radios just had am/fm, and there was no cruise control or anything else luxury. It was just a truck with the bare essentials.

[QUOTE=Dr.C;50921236]Being a trucker is more than just driving. Someone still has to be with the truck and put chains on it when the conditions demand it, take them off. Someone has to make sure the cargo is properly secured and everything is fine. Maybe the driving aspect can be handled by a machine but someone has to be with the truck to handle everything else[/QUOTE] some level of computing skill will also be required with these jobs if they have to do maintenance on the self driving trucks

I have a Ford car and fuck that shit. Knowing Ford they use shitty ass cheap parts for their cars. If I wanted the luxury of a driverless car I'll trust myself with Tesla sorry.

[QUOTE=meatwad253;50928466]I have a Ford car and fuck that shit. Knowing Ford they use shitty ass cheap parts for their cars. If I wanted the luxury of a driverless car I'll trust myself with Tesla sorry.[/QUOTE] Well good thing these things aren't for you. If you read any of the thread at all you'd know these aren't for personal use.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;50918785][url]http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/17/490406911/ford-looks-to-a-fleet-of-driverless-cars[/url] Note: As stated in the article, this is not for personal vehicles; most likely used for trucking and taxi services. [b]Of all the jobs to be replaced by robots, did not expect it to be tractor-trailer drivers.[/b][/QUOTE] Are you kidding? It's the perfect market to target with these. "Hey, you know those guys that you pay out the nose per-load who have to sleep and stuff (lest they become a liability), which ultimately cuts into your bottom line? What if we gave you a truck that just goes where you tell it to go and doesn't need to do anything other than refuel/preventative maintenance?"