Impressions from a trip to the Google driverless car

People - awful drivers

People drink. People fall asleep. People are writing SMS while driving. Every year on US roads killed 30,000 people (27,000 in Russian). Accident - the main cause of death among people aged 15 to 24 years around the world. In 40% of accidents the driver, for whatever reasons, does not slow down. The person is easily distracted and loses control of the situation. Google idea - remove the human factor from the sphere of life in which we humans are ruled by all the last hundred years.

Unmanned vehicles are very neat

The car in which we were traveling, did not seem to me to be dangerous. I was struck care with which he was riding. We moved slowly, slowly. Most likely, such a style of driving would be more annoyed drivers, rather than have them harm caused.

Google may change the level of driving aggression. Prototypes, which are now experiencing in Mountain View, go as if driving novices cadets.

The early versions, which were tested for closed landfills, have been programmed to a very aggressive driving. Sudden obstacles appearing on the road, screeching brakes, the roar of the engines - it was all there. And while such regimes are irrelevant to the usual way, a part of me, be honest, I wanted to experience and the versions of cars.

These cars are very nice

Google cars are specifically designed so as to look charming. Our brain responds to wonder inanimate objects based on their appearance. If the object resembles a living being, we treat it with great caution and trepidation. Subjects who in the course of research suggests harm inanimate objects, with much less willing to do so if the facility were recognized on the outlines of the face. Participants in the experiment with joy turned to mush potatoes with a hammer, but it was necessary to add to the tuber hair and eyes, the behavior immediately changed.

Creating unmanned vehicles as such here zefirok, the Google expects to reduce the level of aggression of other drivers, especially when they are forced to trudge for a robot-controlled machines. It should be understood that the unmanned vehicle - this is not the road warrior, and courier delivery person. Its maximum speed is 40 kilometers per hour.

The technology is not perfect and is not finished

In some scenarios, unmanned vehicles begin to experience problems. As a rule, these are the same situations that cause the most difficulties and in living drivers. For example, the reaction to the yellow light, when you're actually you pass the crossroads. Brake or accelerate? At some point, we wanted to turn right at a busy crossroads. Naturally, our attention has been directed to the left. We are waiting for the road free. When the way was clear, and we can safely turn the unmanned vehicle is not moved. I thought it was a mistake, but then he saw a pedestrian on the right, located very close to the edge of the road. Awkward gestures as if he offered to drive us, we missed. This is an example only live communication, but the car continued to wait for the situation would be safe to turn, and the pedestrian, according to the algorithm, performed body movements and could start cross the road. As a result, we are waiting for a pedestrian, and the pedestrian is waiting for us. When a pedestrian stopped moving, the car took the initiative and gently turned.

The latest versions of cars powered solely by batteries and can travel 160 kilometers on a single charge. To analyze the Google car environment using a combination of 3D-modeling environment with the help of lasers, GPS and radar. Radar is interesting because it sees through the surrounding objects, analyzes the situation outside the line of sight. At some point our car passed suddenly appeared cyclist, who had been hidden by a hedge.

Although such a system and superior human performance, these cars are still not ready for the real world. Snow or heavy rain did not allow them to work. Work on the road are also for them an insurmountable obstacle. In Google hopes to solve the problem, when it accumulated more data about the roads, and then the unmanned vehicles will be no worse and maybe even better live drivers.

I would like to see this technology earned yesterday ...

Because of failing health suddenly fully functional, independent, socially active person with a good career turning into tied to the home, helpless, helpless.

When discussing unmanned cars people are normally given superficial issues. How much will it cost? Whether it should replace my existing car? Replace if such taxis? What if I need to call in some drive-thru?

These people ignore the much more clever and important questions. They ignore the fact that 45% of Americans with disabilities are still working. Ignoring the fact that 95% of the time a normal car is idle. Ignore the capabilities that this technology will change the lives of older people and will make you forget about the parking lots and garages. These people are missing the point, because I only think about whether your computer to go on the road better than they can.

The trip seemed normal, and it's good

A trip to the controlled robot vehicle is not plunged me in horror, did not cause a panic attack. The car rides as if it manages people and you forget a few minutes later that the transport is driven by a computer. Forget that the computer calculates and makes decisions based on near you cars, pedestrians, mopeds and raccoons.

You forget that instead of the organic brain, in which the ability to select the correct trajectory movement evolved over millions of years depending on the instantaneous changing environment, all this now makes the electronic brain, since the creation of which less than a decade.

Unfortunately, something in this technological development is inevitable. This is nonsense, which will begin to erupt from the mouth of the public. Even if in a few years, unmanned vehicles will prove its safety in comparison with live drivers, a single incident will drive people crazy and destroy everything. Then break out a wave of indignation. Do not miss your chance policy. Technology hung labels. It will be very bad.

Tell me, how do you feel about the transport, control the robot? What are the advantages you see? What can make you perceive a negative driver who never sit behind the wheel drunk, do not fall asleep, do not create an emergency situation because of nerves and haste?