Sheldon wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Nov 2015 14:32:20 +0200, Opinicus
> > wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 13 Nov 2015 11:14:18 -0000, "Ophelia" >
> >wrote:
> >
> >>That raises interesting questions (or would do if it happened here).
> >>Is a driverless car obliged to stop if asked to do so by a police
> >>officer in uniform; and, who can be prosecuted if it doesn't?"
> >
> >The interesting questions that driverless cars raise are legion. For
> >example imagine, in order to take evasive action in an emergency, a
> >driverless car has to choose between plowing into a lampost, an
> >oncoming car, a store front, a little old lady crossing the street,
> >two minority group kids standing by the curb, one non-minority group
> >kid standing by the curb, etc etc etc. Which does it go for? Or does
> >it just stop dead in its tracks and get crushed by the out-of-control
> >dump track immediately behind it?
> >
> >Driverless cars are Stupid Technology.
>
> They'd work fine if all vehicles are driverless but not when in mixed
> traffic and among pedestrians.
"Driverless" cars have been touted as "the next BIG THING" since the late '50's, when General Motors starting tinkering with the concept by installing automatic driving units in 1958 Chevrolets. Some background:
http://www.velocetoday.com/self-driv...han-you-think/
"A 1958 Chevrolet like this one was probably the first self-driving car in the US. It participated in an experiment carried out that year on a specially prepared new intersection on the outskirts of Lincoln, Neb. Two of these Chevrolet passenger cars were equipped with special RCA (radio Corporation of America) radio receivers and audible and visual warning devices that could activate the steering mechanism, acceleration and braking. Detector circuits buried in the road surface by the Nebraska Department of Roads. A series of lights along the edge of the road determined the place and speed of the vehicles on the pavement and transmitted radio impulses to guide the cars. It was proven that the system worked well..."
http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...n-1958/255823/
http://paleofuture.com/blog/2007/5/1...-usa-1958.html
http://www.techinsider.io/gm-1956-se...-video-2015-10
--
Best
Greg