Volvo's automated convoy system, daddy lets go of the steering wheel behind a truck - General

[QUOTE=ThePuska;37798356]What makes you think that a human would be more dependable to operate a speeding tin can? Which one has better reflexes, has more accurate control over the vehicle, is unaffected by tiredness and stress and has to be tested thoroughly in simulations and in practice before being allowed on the road: a machine or a human?[/QUOTE] You're correct about a few things - computers are not affected by stress or tiredness and are less prone to error. But humans have more senses and are better at analyzing situations and making accurate decisions. Google has been working on an autonomous vehicle, but in order for it to function safely, they've absolutely filled it high tech radars and sensors and gauges. Each one of those cars costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to manufacture. Therefore, when Volvo makes claims that an affordable vehicle will be able to autonomously navigate on roads, I'm skeptical.

[QUOTE=ThePuska;37798356]What makes you think that a human would be more dependable to operate a speeding tin can? Which one has better reflexes, has more accurate control over the vehicle, is unaffected by tiredness and stress and has to be tested thoroughly in simulations and in practice before being allowed on the road: a machine or a human?[/QUOTE] What makes me think that a human is more capable than a computer? Well, years of experience for one. We don't have computerized vehicles yet because of all the variables. The only thing this does is keep you lined up behind a vehicle. Someone still needs to be driving (the truck). Yes there are absolutely godawful drivers on the road, but a computer still has no idea how to drive a car completely autonomously (at least commercially available).

Now I can beat my kids while I drive :v:

Looks like a multi-car pileup to me.

I would imagine volvo would have planned in case of a crash, maybe it would make all the cars stop?

**CONNECTION LOST** **EMERGENCY APPLY BRAKES**

this whole system is dumb and obsolete in 2-4 years Cadillac will sell cars with "super cruse mode," a system that uses a radar to track the car ahead of you and cameras to watch the lines between the lanes. a super cruse enabled car will drive itself on the highway. [video=youtube;ksl-Fbmvxj4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksl-Fbmvxj4[/video]

[QUOTE=legolover122;37797800]So what happens when they don't let you leave the convoy? I'll start up a leader thing and hold all the people hostage :v:[/QUOTE] [url=http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/299/709/a6b.jpg]Reminds me of.[/url] Take them onto the autobahn.

[QUOTE=McMissile;37798286]As amazing as this could potentially be, I'm not sure I'm ready to sit in a speeding tin can and let a computer tailgate for me. There are too many unknowns. What if the car in front crashes or has to swerve out of the way of some unforeseen danger? What if a tire pops or there is a mechanical malfunction? What if you get cut off by another vehicle or you get left behind at a traffic stop. Under ideal conditions I'm sure something like this could potentially work, but otherwise I think there are a lot of problems that need to be ironed out first.[/QUOTE] We let computers fly several thousand ton barrels full of explosive fuel into fucking orbit and back, why not let them drive our cars too?

[QUOTE=meppers;37799280]this whole system is dumb and obsolete in 2-4 years Cadillac will sell cars with "super cruse mode," a system that uses a radar to track the car ahead of you and cameras to watch the lines between the lanes. a super cruse enabled car will drive itself on the highway. [video=youtube;ksl-Fbmvxj4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksl-Fbmvxj4[/video][/QUOTE] the advantage of getting close to a cargo truck is the reduction in air resistance saving fuel for the trailing cars. The problem is combining all the different AI on one road with humans who like to panic before thinking. Not to mention one of the vehicles locking up the breaks through malfunctioning. It'll take time but it's becoming closer to where you'll see this on the road commonly. Also volvo has in mind to give automation to the truck as well. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvM39WCpfM&feature=relmfu[/media]

[QUOTE=Rastadogg5;37799505]We let computers fly several thousand ton barrels full of explosive fuel into fucking orbit and back, why not let them drive our cars too?[/QUOTE] To be fair, there's nothing in front of a rocket. It's flying a strictly regimented pre-calculated flight path overseen by scores of engineers and planned for months in advance. That's where computers excel, keeping a rocket on course using gyroscopes, telemetry equipment, and the like as input devices. A car has to "see" the road in a variety of conditions and a variety of road surfaces. A driverless car that can spot highway lines and drive within the lane there will more than likely require a driver on narrow dirt roads like those where I live, or un-painted paved roads. Rain and water on the road surface could also impede accurate data being fed to the computer. I can also imagine, with the safety tolerances that would be built into such vehicles, unexpected road-work would cause the car to come to a halt at a set of orange cones and require driver input again. Even general driving requires either intelligent image processing at a rapid rate comparable to that of a human eye and brain, something I don't believe current computers are very good at, or things like radar and specifically placed cameras working in concert. I don't think I can even afford a car with those lane-change warning radars, let alone one that can drive itself. But if any tech hurtles (I'm by no means an industry expert) like that can be overcome and a computer can be developed to drive on the wide variety and conditions of current roadways while making instantaneous decisions based on current road conditions and what the issue is (Am I about to run over a dead porcupine or a child? Should I swerve around it or apply the brakes? Do I have time to engine brake too? Anything I can do to avoid getting rear-ended by the guy behind me? Which way is more clear/less dangerous should I have to swerve?) Computers are pretty good at selecting from a list of preset scenarios. Driving can often require more than that when the shit hits the fan. Also, a lot of people would just rather drive, or are outright distrustful of computers taking over such "human" tasks. So whether the tech is brilliant or not, there's always the possibility it would take a lot of effort to convince people to utilize it and even more severe resistance would be met trying to mandate it.

I thought it was a joke, the name of it is SARTRE (satire) for gods sake

Volvo already has the smart cruise control that uses radars in its newer cars, and I would guess the need to join the convoy is so that if one car has an issue the information will be relayed to the other cars as well. The computer will all around be a better driver than a person as long as complete idiots aren't braking and weaving in front of you. The system is just a way for truckers that follow set routes in their volvo trucks can have cars follow them and maybe make a little extra cash or a discount on repairs/truck cost. They are already cruise controlling anyway and have systems in place to regulate and make sure they don't drive like idiots.

A BMW in a Volvo convoy? (2:20)

[QUOTE=peepin;37800869]A BMW in a Volvo convoy? (2:20)[/QUOTE] There were also a couple Audis as well.

I'd so be up for using this. I'd put one of those little TV's in my car, and whenever I join the platoon, I'd just crawl to the back seats and sit down with a bunch of junk food and watch a movie. 5 hour journey would be so easy with a couple of 2 and a half hour movies to pass the time.

[QUOTE=legolover122;37797800]So what happens when they don't let you leave the convoy? I'll start up a leader thing and hold all the people hostage :v:[/QUOTE] aint no breaks on the rape train

[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;37798004]Where was the mom?[/QUOTE] Testing the first version of the convoy system.

This is cool. I wonder why they included Audi's in their video? I guess it's just going to be the next car that has that. Also, what if the truck turns off and you don't want to and then you suddenly need to shut it off?

[QUOTE=Hell-met;37797670]would never trust this one second even if it worked perfectly I'd still shit my pants[/QUOTE] Dirty camera cover = lead car cant see

What if you get kicked from the convoy? Also what if the lead truck crashes?

[QUOTE=ThePuska;37798356]What makes you think that a human would be more dependable to operate a speeding tin can? Which one has better reflexes, has more accurate control over the vehicle, is unaffected by tiredness and stress and has to be tested thoroughly in simulations and in practice before being allowed on the road: a machine or a human?[/QUOTE] There no way in hell the current computer system could handle all the possible problems that could arise. If that lead truck has to make a dramatic move to avoid an object is that computer going to make that same dramatic move or disengage? If it makes the same move it has the possibility of following into another crash. If it disengages you then have a driver who has no fucking idea what is going on.

[video=youtube;aNi17YLnZpg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNi17YLnZpg[/video] That car was supposed to stop on it's own. It sort of...didn't. It shows nicely why I don't trust autonomous cars, they don't always work. [QUOTE=Amiga OS;37798530]I trust a computer to drive a car far more than a human.[/QUOTE] I don't. There's soooooooooo many things that can go wrong that I don't want to share the road with autonomous cars that don't have standard controls and a human sitting at those controls ready to take over if the computers give up or glitch out. See the video above. These systems can and do fail. I don't want them the only thing keeping that car under control for that very reason. [QUOTE=ThePuska;37798356]What makes you think that a human would be more dependable to operate a speeding tin can? Which one has better reflexes, has more accurate control over the vehicle, is unaffected by tiredness and stress and has to be tested thoroughly in simulations and in practice before being allowed on the road: a machine or a human?[/QUOTE] The one that can realize it's out of control easier. Self-driving cars are nice but if the computer glitches or a sensor lets go the car's out of control and the computer won't have a single clue something's gone wrong. Airliners can make their entire flight on autopilot. But would you board one that didn't have a human pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit? Would you really, honestly, trust your life to a computer that was built as cheaply as possible in a chinese sweatshop with no backup on hand? [editline]25th September 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=BusterBluth;37802359]There no way in hell the current computer system could handle all the possible problems that could arise. If that lead truck has to make a dramatic move to avoid an object is that computer going to make that same dramatic move or disengage? If it makes the same move it has the possibility of following into another crash. If it disengages you then have a driver who has no fucking idea what is going on.[/QUOTE] And if the software's bugged out or the sensor's got a bit of road grime on it it may not react at all. These sorts of things are really neat but they are anything but reliable. They must be paired with the old fashioned squishy bit behind the wheel that can take over when the computers fail.

So all the cars in this convoy need to be running the same software?

And the whole first 15 seconds of the movie established that the truck is running the shit as well, and damned if you don't believe that motherfucker is certified as fuck.

What happens if they get separated by a traffic light?

[QUOTE=TestECull;37802469][video=youtube;aNi17YLnZpg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNi17YLnZpg[/video] [/QUOTE] If i remember correctly the driver forgot to turn the breaking system on.

[QUOTE=diddy500;37803032]If i remember correctly the driver forgot to turn the breaking system on.[/QUOTE] Imagine having that option and forgetting to turn it back on, then thinking your car will stop for a crowd.

[QUOTE=TheSporeGA;37802948]What happens if they get separated by a traffic light?[/QUOTE] I'm sure the use of this wouldn't be on a street with traffic lights, like a highway since it's where the efficiency of this would be.

As far as I can tell, it would be a inter-manufacturer agreement where your car is registered to a account where you register for a train, then when you pull up the train knows whether you are signed up for the train or not