[Leica] IMG: Google Self-Driving Cars

[kanner at acm.org (Herbert Kanner)]

Yes, I enjoy driving also. And, until I got the Prius, all my cars, starting 
with a 1936 Ford, have had stick shifts, and I?ve always avoided those 
sloppy abominations on the steering wheel. I even once had an old Porsche. 
But, when a freeway turns into a parking lot, I?d be happy reading a book or 
playing a game on my iPhone, while the buggy drives itself.

Herbert Kanner
kanner at acm.org
650-326-8204

Question authority and the authorities will question you.




On Jun 17, 2014, 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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