Hi All,Here's some "ancient" history on the self driving car thread. I drove a car on the GM test grounds in the 60s that was able to "drive itself". This was before GPS and was controlled by implanted cables in and around the roadway. It was very basic but I believe it was the first vehicle capable of driving without any input from the driver. Some time after that I was in a vehicle, again GM, that was capable of driving on regular highways without driver input. Most recently I was involved in a project that used a GPS based system to assist in keeping me "between the lines".
We're all looking forward, including our sighted partners, to a high degree of automation in vehicle travel. The goal is for much greater safety and convenience.
Keep tuned. Gil At 07:27 PM 3/31/2008, you wrote:
Well, there is the DARPA project which pays one million or maybe it is 10 million for the autonomous vehicle which can complete a 200 mile course without a driver. They used to do it in the dessert but they did it this year including city traffic. A couple vehicles made the entire trip.Mike At 04:01 PM 3/31/2008, you wrote:Here's something I got from another list that I thought was interesting. Bethnfb-talk@xxxxxxxxxx ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Granados" <gsgranados@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 4:13 PM Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: self driving car released in 2008True in the US, not true in other countries to such a degree although for the most part you're absolutely right. These are problems of a layer 8 nature though, not technical. Things, especially auto related, tend to be pretty far behind here in the states compared to Europe for example for pretty much the reasons you list. There's a lot of reasons not to get excited though on the technical side. Any sort of self driving cars, attended or otherwise, that navigate the intire end to end process are a long long way off! It is an interesting incrimental step though.----- Original Message ----- From: "Baracco, Andrew W" <Andrew.Baracco@xxxxxx>To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 12:01 PM Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: self driving car released in 2008Before we get too excited, a reality check. Even if there were a car that could actually drive itself, respond to traffic and road conditions, etc., both governmental entities and insurance companies would require the presence of a licensed driver in the vehicle, in case of equipment failure. The BART trains in the San Francisco Bay area are completely computer controlled, but an operator must still be present on each train to take over control if the system fails. Andy -----Original Message----- From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 10:42 AM To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gps-talkusers] self driving car released in 2008 Tangential to the topics on this list I know but GM is releasing "traffic assist" which allows the car to drive itself, even and especially in heavy traffic. Using GPS, lasers, cameras and some interesting artificial vision logic GM has a car that now can literally drive itself. Sure there's still need for a sited human operator but not as much and the trend is an interesting one. If you look at some of the projections, some folks feel in 20 - 30 years there will be whole lanes of most highways designated for automated / computer controled driving. One article I just read projected that there would be dedicated lanes where humans would not be allowed to drive the car but the top end speeds would exceed 150 to 200. Since public transit is impracticle, especially in the US, using micro vehicles that are self driving has a lot of advantages and if the logic is beefed up enough clearly we could be helped as well. Not any time soon though. Of course, the way things are going, blindness could be a non starter of an issue by the turn of this century anyway. (wonder if we'll have self navigating cars or artificial vision first?) Here's an interesting article dealing with GM's offering. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=107011#Michael G. May CEO Sendero Group"The GPS company:" Sendero Featuring GPS on the mPower, PK and Voice Sense. Also distributing Trekker, Victor Stream, KNFB Mobile Reader, Talks,, Tiger embossers, Miniguide and ID MateCrashing Through by Robert Kurson available at http://www.CrashingThrough.com MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.SenderoGroup.com 1-888-757-6810, Fax (530) 757-6830, Mobile (530) 304-0007 Sendero Group, LLC 1118 Maple Lane, Davis, CA 95616-1723, USA
