Self-driving cars are here! Sort of. Mercedes will sell a car in 2024 that can drive on highways with no hands on the steering wheel. But there's a catch:
The 'DRIVE PILOT' system can only operate on highways during daylight at speeds not exceeding 40 miles per hour, the DMV said. Mercedes-Benz said in a statement it will make the automated driving system available in the U.S. market as an option for its model year 2024 S-Class and EQS Sedan vehicles.
....The permit grants Mercedes-Benz permission to offer its 'DRIVE PILOT' system on California highways in the Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego and on interstate highway connecting Southern California to Nevada.
There's only one interstate highway that connects Southern California and Nevada: I15. So for some reason this car is approved for most state highways but only one federal highway.
And the maximum speed is 40 mph, which practically sounds illegal it's so slow. It's hard to imagine anyone using this tech if it's limited to 40 mph. Plus you have to keep your eyes on the road—enforced by a camera that watches your face. No napping!
That's a lot of snags. Still, the very fact of its existence means that true autonomous driving on highways is almost here. Another year or two and it should be a real thing.
Interesting article over at WaPo:
"17 fatalities, 736 crashes: The shocking toll of Tesla’s Autopilot"
"Tesla’s driver-assistance system, known as Autopilot, has been involved in far more crashes than previously reported"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/06/10/tesla-autopilot-crashes-elon-musk/
In the comment section, the musky fanbois are hopping mad.
You beat me to it! It would be interesting to know if these accidents "just happened" when the driver was disengaged, or if the driver was willfully making the car do dangerous maneuvers, like hurtling full speed at a parked car. Perhaps I should actually read the article.
?US Dollar Rain Earns upto *****50 to *****50 per day by google fantastic job oppertunity provide for our community pepoles who,s already using facebook to earn money 85000$ every month and more through facebook and google new project to create money at home withen few hours.Everybody can get this job now and start earning online by just open this link and then go through instructions to get started………: https://iplogger.cn/125t
Yeah, because the article is bullshit.
You don't have to be a Tesla fan to point out the report *has no denominator* for miles or cars driven with the software. Or that while every Tesla dials home to report collisions, *nearly no other automaker does that*.
Living in a place that has real winters and gravel roads, I;m not sure if I will every see fully autonomus driving. Even driving on highways covered or partially covered in snow or ice seems a long way off.
I looked up SuperCruise on GM cars and it doesn't look like they have a 40mph limit. The video example showed a setting of 65 but I don't know if that is the upper limit. Their compatible roadways showed interstate highways so no way can you travel at only 40.
The interesting question is whether the software automatically turns off autopilot if you go above 40. (Or in other words, if you can violate the 40MPH limitation)
Remotely operated construction equipment,
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1667591615647559680
“Almost here” as it has been for over a decade now.
[insert “Sure Jan” side eye gif here]
I mean, were there autonomous taxis taking passengers in cities ten years ago? No. Are there today? Yes.
That's only two to four Friedman units away.
OTOH, this would b e just the thing for a traffic jam and stop-and-go crawl
Lol, ITS ALMOST HERE!!
The difference in lvl 2 and lvl 3 autonomous systems is small, (purposefully?) vague and confusing.
Lvl 2 - The car can drive itself in limited circumstances, the driver must be ready to take control when prompted, the driver must pay attention.
Lvl 3- The car can drive itself in limited circumstances, the driver must be ready to take control when prompted, the driver doesn't need to pay attention.
The last qualifier of Lvl 3 doesn't make any sense given the first two and literally nobody thinks the first two qualifiers are associated with actual autonomous driving.
There is no discernable difference in lvl 2 and 3. You don't have to pay attention unless the car tells you to take over is a steaming pile of trouble.
Applying the additional conditions (only freeways, only during the day, only under 40 mph) makes this a meaningless 'advancement'.
Level 3 cars should have more than a minute of warning before you have to take over. Basically, there are segments 'on rails' where the car knows what to do, how to get out of the way, and if you don't respond, pull over. Level 2 cars don't know how to pull over, and their warning may be at the point they're slamming n the brakes.
"Another year or two and it should be a real thing."
I sort of love the occasional low-intensity sniping between Kevin and Atrios, and sometimes I agree with one or the other. On no issue more than this one. Atrios is totally right and I have never understood Kevin's blithe, unquestioning belief in self-driving cars.
https://www.eschatonblog.com/2021/10/self-driving-nonsense.html
Atrios is wrong, spreads misinformation on the topic, and is an ass.
If you have to keep your eyes on the road, it's Level 2 like Autopilot or Blue Cruise or Super Cruise, not Level 3.
You BS detectors should be ringing very loud.
Re: Another year or two and it should be a real thing.
Which sounds like the perennial claim that practical fusion power is just a couple years away.