Nissan to sell multiple affordable self-driving cars by 2020

[Kaido]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/27/nissan-self-driving-cars/

Wow...that's only in like, 7 years

Google's not the only one trying to build self-driving cars, despite the fact that it gets a ton of attention for all those autonomous autos roaming Bay Area streets. Many manufacturers are interested in taking human error out of the driving equation, and now Nissan aims to do so by 2020. That's right, folks, Nissan Executive VP Andy Palmer stated today that the plan is to sell multiple affordable models of fully autonomous cars by 2020. And, to meet that goal, the company is constructing a facility to test self-driving systems that'll be up and running in 2014. Nissan's development timetable falls right in line with some of its competitors, but talk is cheap -- time will tell if Nissan can deliver on both its autonomous and affordability promises.

My current daily commute ranges anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on traffic. I'd love push the Autopilot button and take a nap, watch a movie, or eat a meal and not have to deal with traffic :thumbsup:

 

[nehalem256]

I wonder how this would affect car sharing. I mean you could have your car drive you to work. Then the car drives itself home and takes your wife to work:thumbsup:

Or zipcar. The car could drive itself to another location to pick up its next passenger.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I don't and will never trust self driving cars. People are too unpredictable and looking at their gestures and where they are looking has helped me avoid many accidents because I can anticipate their next move. A sensor can only react and cannot think like a person, especially the idiots I see driving today.

 

[Kaido]

I wonder how this would affect car sharing. I mean you could have your car drive you to work. Then the car drives itself home and takes your wife to work:thumbsup:

Or zipcar. The car could drive itself to another location to pick up its next passenger.

Yeah, it will pretty much kill taxis. And semi-trucks. And trains. A lot of jobs could potentially be eliminated, but then again, you wouldn't have guys working 80-hour weeks driving 18-wheelers popping stay-awake pills. Maybe this could be the first American road train, Australian style? :awe:

 

[Kaido]

I don't and will never trust self driving cars. People are too unpredictable and looking at their gestures and where they are looking has helped me avoid many accidents because I can anticipate their next move. A sensor can only react and cannot think like a person, especially the idiots I see driving today.

Yeah, I'd be concerned about. And don't forget iRobot with Will Smith. Everything's peachy until the robots turn on you

 

[Kaido]

Actually...a self-driving car in-town along with Elon Musk's hyperloop system would actually be pretty cool. LA to NYC in 45 minutes, then hop in a Zipcar with autopilot and show up to your destination effortlessly:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/12/tech/innovation/elon-musk-tube-hyperloop

 

[mmntech]

Self driving cars take out the element of human error. Computers don't get distracted, aggressive, inebriated, or tired. They can constantly monitor the road conditions in a 360 degree arc and can make decisions faster than any human's reaction time.

I think people will be leery of them at first, but they are safer. Though I will lament the loss of control of my vehicle, I have to admit that there's far too many who shouldn't have that privilege. It will drastically reduce accidents especially as more people adopt them. It should help traffic too as cars can communicate with each other.

 

[tweakmonkey]

Great topic - I heard a Freakanomics podcast about this (worth a listen!): http://freakonomics.com/2013/05/29/baby-you-can-program-my-car-a-new-marketplace-podcast/

Really really really looking forward to this. I drive 60 miles round trip from my girlfriend's house in traffic both ways, several times a week. I'm a car enthusiast and modify cars for a career, but even so, the benefits are so great for self driving cars. I'd much rather have my car drive itself on this annoying commute, which wastes 30 hours of my free time a month.

I've driven next to the self driving Google cars on local highways, they are clearly better at some things than a human driver: they know the exact speed of all the cars around it, they slow down intelligently and don't do any texting while driving, apply make up or read the newspaper like most drivers around here

Some unseen side benefits of self driving cars:
Parking would no longer be such a problem in a city, as the cars can drive and park themselves (also in much tighter spots), then pick you up when you're ready by telling them via text etc.

People can live further from work and use their time productively instead of being angry in traffic. Senior citizens could make better safer use of their lives. Your kids could be taken to school or the mall without you having to drive them. Electric cars could go charge themselves while you shop, without you even looking for a parking spot.

Traffic would be greatly reduced, as the cars could draft each other at closer speeds, there would be zero rubbernecking, or silly unnecessary lane changes. Algorithms could be written to re-route around accidents and emergencies. Even stoplights could be eliminated (each car would approach an intersection and know if the others were going or not, they could be staggered and slowdown instead of stopping).

I've never had an accident in 15 years of driving, but know I couldn't react as fast as a self driving car if someone cut in front of me and slammed on the brakes for example. Also self driving cars could relay traffic information to and from each-other to network the slowdowns/hazards well ahead of time.

The main downside (other than above, the "giving up all control" thing ) is that we wouldn't have that joyous driving experience we all cherish. But I think you'd find roads that are always "manual" allowed (vs. the special auto driving lanes which might eventually expand), you can still go to the race track and so-on.

 

[yottabit]

Wow 2020 seems extremely optimistic to me. I think it's honestly going to be more of a political battle than anything else. We certainly have the sensory tech but the decision making process is something else (and convincing millions of moms that the decision making process is sound is a whole different thing)

That being said I guess considering the average driver in the US today we'd probably all be better off with 99.99% effective robot cars

 

[vi edit]

Self driving cars would virtually eliminate the needless clogging at the lane consolidation points of construction zones. It completely removes the emotional asshattery that trumps any and all logic in these situations. Everyone merges in a logical, smooth and planned manner. No more jackass trying to ride the shoulder and trying to force their way in at the last second. And the person trying to counter that behavior by riding bumpers with the car ahead and not letting others in.

 

[foghorn67]

I think GM or some university did a demo of about six Buick Regals driving really close at 70mph. They pretty much proved traffic will greatly improve because they can cram more cars in since the cars synchronize with each other.

The issue is, the Google and Nissan self driving cars don't seem to benefit from this directly.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I'd be down for this.

 

[vi edit]

I think GM or some university did a demo of about six Buick Regals driving really close at 70mph. They pretty much proved traffic will greatly improve because they can cram more cars in since the cars synchronize with each other.

Yeah, in order for it to *really* work all cars within a specific distance would need to be synced up to a central "traffic controller" that prioritized queues and could adjust the timings and speed of several cars at once to allow for merging and lane changes.

 

[Howard]

I wonder what the landscape would look like for automobile insurance then.

 

[smackababy]

If my car was self driving, could I be drunk in the passenger seat? Deaths from drunk driving would certainly minimized if that was the case.

 

[Midwayman]

I can't wait. If you're afraid of them, look at it this way. Even if they're only as good as the average driver in terms of accident, that means you can remove the bottom 50% of drivers from the road. More realistically they'll perform at much higher percentile than that. Sure they may miss a few things in prediction, but they'll smoke a human in so many other categories that it won't matter.

 

[Midwayman]

Wow 2020 seems extremely optimistic to me.

Many auto makers have been quoting number around then. Cadillac 2018 IIRC, Volvo 2020. Technically they'll be ready. Who know what the legal landscape will look like though. Wouldn't be surprised if their abilities far exceed what they are allowed to do initially.

 

[tweakmonkey]

The auto insurance (especially auto body/collision industry) would probably mostly disappear if there were so few accidents. "But all those lost jobs!!!"

Has anyone here driven a car with dynamic cruise control, that adapts to traffic and speeds/up slows down? Seems awesome. I haven't even tried a self parking car

 

[yhelothar]

You might possibly still need to override the system if it makes a mistake to prevent an accident. How would the liability would work out without a system like that.

 

[smackababy]

You might possibly still need to override the system if it makes a mistake to prevent an accident. How would the liability would work out without a system like that.

You'd assume liability if it was determined your car was at fault. It would be more of an accident in the general sense (because most 'accidents' are the result of driver error, not really accidental). I think a lot of minor collision stuff would be avoided. You would still have freak accidents (boulder falls into a highway type stuff).

I would just hope one could turn if completely off and drive the ol' fashioned way once in awhile. I probably wouldn't, but I bet quite a few people here would hate to give up that freedom.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Would be nice not to have to worry about the idiot human element behind the wheel when I'm on my motorcycle.

 

[Franz316]

Take a look at this awesome traffic simulation if all cars were automated. No more stop lights! https://vimeo.com/37751380#

 

[EagleKeeper]

Yeah, it will pretty much kill taxis. And semi-trucks. And trains. A lot of jobs could potentially be eliminated, but then again, you wouldn't have guys working 80-hour weeks driving 18-wheelers popping stay-awake pills. Maybe this could be the first American road train, Australian style? :awe:

Trains will not go away. They are already semi automated and their volume/efficiency would be picked up how?

 

[Howard]

The auto insurance (especially auto body/collision industry) would probably mostly disappear if there were so few accidents. "But all those lost jobs!!!"

Has anyone here driven a car with dynamic cruise control, that adapts to traffic and speeds/up slows down? Seems awesome. I haven't even tried a self parking car

Though we may have "affordable" self-driving cars by 2020, we will certain not be rid of manually-controlled vehicles for a long while yet. Vehicles like trucks will require a high degree of flexibility to accommodate industrial facilities (all of which have different security policies), backing into dock doors, weigh-ins, etc.

 

[yhelothar]

You'd assume liability if it was determined your car was at fault. It would be more of an accident in the general sense (because most 'accidents' are the result of driver error, not really accidental). I think a lot of minor collision stuff would be avoided. You would still have freak accidents (boulder falls into a highway type stuff).

I would just hope one could turn if completely off and drive the ol' fashioned way once in awhile. I probably wouldn't, but I bet quite a few people here would hate to give up that freedom.

I can't see why anyone would be willing to accept fault for a manufacturer's defect.
Hmm perhaps the manufacturer would then assume liability? What if someone died?