Self-driving cars - a thing of the future?

is_that_so

Any takers for any of these cars? Might be handy on the M50. Of particular amusement is "a falling leaf being seen as an infinitely high concrete pillar sticking out of the ground" and the car hitting the brakes.

RobAMerc

I for one can't wait for these it will take a lot of the idiots who think they can drive off the roads.

Imagine the ovetaking lane used for overtaking - fog lights only used in the fog and drivers knowing what lane to be in on the roundabouts!

wow !

Let the utopia begin

Mc-BigE

is_that_so wrote:

Any takers for any of these cars? Might be handy on the M50. Of particular amusement is "a falling leaf being seen as an infinitely high concrete pillar sticking out of the ground" and the car hitting the brakes.

Its the future alright!, but probably a couple of car generations away.

No need for Taxi's anymore from a night out!

and also very handy for speeding tickets! "is wasn't me officer, it was the car"

Owen

It's not that far away. The DARPA challenge has fully automated cars each year competing on a course, and each year they get better and better and recognising, and anticipating hazards. Opel I believe have a car that drives itself, it's just not ready for the mainstream public to accept it yet.

Most major manufacturers have automation of some sort, BMW for example have a lane departure warning system, as do Citroen, and BMW have a radar based cruise control that can limit your distance from a car in front, and bring the car to a halt if you're approaching a fixed object. Auto parallel parking is something you'll see a lot of in the near future too.

RobAMerc

ned78 wrote:

BMW have a radar based cruise control that can limit your distance from a car in front, and bring the car to a halt if you're approaching a fixed object.

I think thats Mercedes and if you do a search on the web for it your find a video of it working err really well ! Ouch!!

Mitch Connor

RobAMerc wrote:

I think thats Mercedes and if you do a search on the web for it your find a video of it working err really well ! Ouch!!

ah thats mean - the reason the car crashed was cause the muppet forgot to switch it on!

prospect

AFAIK, Citroen developed the LDWS (Lane Departure Warning System) and Mercedes developed the Radar system.

But, sure we'll give BMW the credit for both anyway. Didn't BMW invent cars in the first place?

Mc-BigE

the main thing is how reliable is any system going to be, it will have to be tested in big city interchanges in rush hour and roundabouts. Also on high speed motorways.

It has to be proven to be Safe, there would have to be redundancy built into it, after all, how many times do you here of peoples rear parking sensors failing.

a sensor failing or blocked by leafs /dirt etc would be lethal.

Also i suppose theres the hole "trusting a computer" thing in people.

Would you actually go to sleep while your car drives you from Dublin to Cork for example? or would you have one eye open:)

rowanh

prospect wrote:

But, sure we'll give BMW the credit for both anyway. Didn't BMW invent cars in the first place?

As far as i know mercedes were the first to sell cars to the public, i dont think a car manufacturer existed before cars were invented though .

Seth Brundle

rowanh wrote:

As far as i know mercedes were the first to sell cars to the public, i dont think a car manufacturer existed before cars were invented though .

They made planes before cars!

Tabnabs

AFAIK BMW's founders early engines (early 20th century) were so bad that he went over to making daimler engine under licence. They didn't make cars as a complete package until the 30's. Mercedes have been at it since the 1860's. Even Opel have been at it longer than BMW.

rowanh

kbannon wrote:

They made planes before cars!

Yea didnt think of that, i can be a bit of a dumbass at times

There are many different types of automobiles - steam, electric, and gasoline - as well as countless styles. Exactly who invented the automobile is a matter of opinion. If we had to give credit to one inventor, it would probably be Karl Benz from Germany. Many suggest that he created the first true automobile in 1885/1886.

but im still right well i assume that is mr benz from mercedes-benz

Owen

RobAMerc wrote:

I think thats Mercedes and if you do a search on the web for it your find a video of it working err really well ! Ouch!!

I think it's BMW, as I'm looking at one with it fitted at the moment - perhaps Mercedes have it too? I mentioned a few systems BMW use, I didn't say BMW pioneered them.