Driverless Cars Begin 8,000-Mile Trek 151
apoc.famine writes "Driverless technology from the University of Parma's VisLab was deployed in a real-world test on Tuesday. Two driverless chase vehicles will attempt to follow two lead vehicles across multiple continents, from Italy to China, over the course of three months. The journey will cover over 8,000 miles, (~13,000 km) as the chase vehicles use lasers and cameras to navigate hazards along the way. The team expects to collect about 100 TB of data, which requires a hefty electronics and battery load — the scale is such that the cars can only run for about three hours before needing 8 hours to recharge the batteries. This journey is being billed as just a test, and far from a real-world application. The vehicles don't go more than about 35mph, and need a person behind the wheel to take over at a moment's notice. 'What we are trying to do is stress our systems and see if they can work in a real environment, with real weather, real traffic, and crazy people who cross the road in front of you and a vehicle that cuts you off,' said project leader Alberto Broggi. The goal is not to produce just road vehicles, but to improve the technology so it can be used in military and agricultural roles as well. The team hopes to have helped mature the technology within the next 10-20 years to the point that it can be used on the road."
Re:BIG WOW? (Score:4, Informative)
"Not only the vehicles are unmanned, but they run on electrical power and the whole electronic pilot is powered by solar energy, making this trip unique in history: goods packed in Italy will be brought to Shanghai on an intercontinental route with no human intervention and without using traditional fuel for the first time in history."
Official site (Score:1, Informative)
with blog and live streaming: VIAC: VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge [vislab.it]
Re:Careful what you wish for (Score:3, Informative)
Oddly enough, this is an issue I'm willing to hand the Feds a glove and say "go for it".
While I enjoy a good road trip, I consider commuting a complete waste of time and would much rather spend my drive sitting in the passenger seat doing something useful while Robo-Jeeves does the work for me.
I would feel slightly bad for the elimination of taxi drivers, but robot taxis would actually reduce the impact of car non-ownership on those that can't afford one.