Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave
When will we get our driverless cars...or would you rather not have one?
Alex
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I recently misused a "semi driverless" car in the form of a 2018 Commodore, which we drove from Townsville to Cairns.
It featured lane edge avoidance, cruise control with obstacle awareness, and auto braking. Having set the cruise control at 100km/h, the vehicle automatically nudged the streering wheel left and right, based on marked lines, and barriers - even around corners. If someone slowed down in front, the cameras saw them, and slowed down to follow (with appropriate braking distance calculated). I literally drove to cairns half asleep, with 2 fingers on the wheel. Coupled with the 4 cylinder diesel, that with 8 gears never exceeded 1500 RPM - I was thoroughly anaesthetised.
These safety features for every day people combined to mentally knock me out. I did not feel involved. I ENJOY driving, and riding bikes. The fave activity on wheels for me would be a 2 stroke dirtbike. Anyone who's done similar would know the process of keeping the a 2 stroke at it's best RPM in order to get anywhere... It's "involving". This Commodore was the total opposite.
I wouldn't mind a totally autonomous car, as long as it has a manual mode, and that manual mode delivers an engaging experience. If money wasn't an issue, Something like the
turbine powered Jag CX-75, with the AI of KITT (
Knightrider) would be the ticket. Bonus points for having an
attitude like TARS. Especially if the car itself can endulge/assist me in some (verbal only) road rage.
In the meantime, we have a gulf between Alex's vision, and the "semi-auto" driving of current models. I put forth the idea that these "driver assists" may be counter-productive for safety amongst some poeple, as it actually promotes sleep driving, due to prolonged mental dis-engagement.