[Leica] IMG: Google Self-Driving Cars

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

I'm with you Bill, but I can also see that when this technology actually 
works on real and average roads the insurance companies could well take an 
interest and insist that under certain situations you have to let the car 
drive. I'm sure there'll still be a lot of byways left where you can drive 
yourself, but major highways won't be one of them. Those are the boring ones 
anyway.

At the moment my wife and I have 5 cars which range from practical (but 
still fun to drive, like Golf GTI) to not as practical but very fun to drive.

Henning



On 2014-06-17, at 12:37 AM, Bill Pearce <billcpearce at cox.net> wrote:

> Ugh! I hate this. I recognize that most people only want to get from one 
> point to another and this would be yet another way for the American public 
> to get even fatter and lazier, and based on what I see as I drive around 
> the streets here and in other cities it might all in all be better. But 
> then again, I'm a car guy. I don't think any car guy would be anything but 
> frustrated with this. And Tina, don't get your feathers ruffled I've seen 
> some women on the streets behind the wheel that would put most guys in the 
> shade, so I do know that there are car gals too. We enjoy the act of 
> driving, we enjoy the act of driving on serpentine roads in Colorado and 
> straight ones in the flat land. We don't want this foolishness.
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Herbert Kanner
> Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 2:28 AM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: [Leica] IMG: Google Self-Driving Cars
> 
> A new exhibit on Google?s self-driving cars has been installed at the 
> Computer History Museum. This is the third of temporary exhibits in an 
> area of the Museum they call the gallery. T
> 
> The first such exhibit, which lasted several years, was on the subject of 
> computer chess.
> 
> The second, provided by Google, was on Street View, and included both a 
> car and a tricycle equipped with the Street View camera.
> 
> The third, installed about a few weeks ago, was on Google?s self-driving 
> cars, and included some history on self-driving vehicles, although I think 
> they played a little loose with language and were really also including 
> remote-controlled vehicles, because their is a submersible about the size 
> of a torpedo and a small quadricopter hanging from the ceiling.
> 
> In conjunction with this exhibit opening, there were two evening events at 
> the Museum to introduce the exhibit, one for staff and volunteers and 
> another with fancier food and drinks for trustees and donors. I fit into 
> both categories and hence attended both. At the one for donors, etc., the 
> Futurama exhibit from General Motors at the 1939-1940 Worlds Fair in New 
> York was mentioned as an instance of the prediction of self-driving cars. 
> There was a lot of excitement when I mentioned that I HAD BEEN THERE.
> 
> In the course of one of these gatherings, there was some brief mention of 
> Google giving rides in these cars, but I wasn?t paying attention. Then one 
> Saturday, when I was working at the Museum for an hour in the afternoon, I 
> discovered a lineup of four such cars in the driveway and inquired about 
> rides. They claimed the the next day was the last and that if I got there 
> in the morning, I might get a ride.
> 
> I did indeed. They restricted the ride to a stretch of a freeway, and the 
> driver hand drove the car until he was on the freeway and the computer was 
> happy. I got to sit in the front seat next to the driver, with a lap-top 
> computer on my lap. This showed in stylized form what the car?s computer 
> was seeing.
> 
> The program controlling the car was an older version which just knew how 
> to stay in its lane and not hit the car in front. I guess they were 
> willing to give public rides in this version which they claim had gone 
> 600,000 miles without incident. Nevertheless, I had to sign a two-page 
> waiver.
> 
> This shot is of the stand where one signed the waiver
> 
> This shot shows three of the cars lined up. A fourth car has just departed 
> with its passengers.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1003694.jpg.html
> 
> 
> This is a closer view of a car. That cylinder on the roof is called a 
> Lidar. It rotates ten times per second, sending out a light beam from a 
> laser. It is simply an optical radar. Has higher resolution but less range 
> than radar. There is also a radar behind the grill. Behind the right-hand 
> sun visor are two cameras. When the car is programmed for street driving, 
> they can identify all sorts of things, such as bikes, pedestrians, traffic 
> lights and their color, stop signs, etc.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1003698.jpg.html
> 
> These people are being photographed before embarking on their ride.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1003701.jpg.html
> 
> There was general laughter when I shot this guy as he was shooting me.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1003702.jpg.html
> 
> After the ride, I had to fill out a survey form, and was given this 
> sticker to put on my shirt. It aroused much interest later that day in two 
> restaurants.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/P1010548.jpg.html
> 
> 
> Herbert Kanner
> kanner at acm.org
> 650-326-8204
> 
> 
> 
> Question authority and the authorities will question you.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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Henning Wulff
henningw at archiphoto.com