Google Cars Drive Themselves, and Robots …
I just stumbled upon a stimulating post posted earlier today, by Kenneth Anderson, and entitled Google Cars Drive Themselves, and Robots … that I would suggest everyone reads! Here are a couple of excerpts in order to whet your appetites!
The idea of robotic cars that drive themselves is a good one, I think, and one whose time is rapidly coming. The New York Times reports on Google undertaking test drives of cars in the San Francisco area with robotically controlled cars, including a drive down Lombard Street, a famously hilly and difficult street. The engineers are those who took honors at recent DARPA contests for creating vehicles able to self-navigate urban settings; these are the top people in the business: During a half-hour drive beginning on Google’s campus 35 miles south of San Francisco last Wednesday, a Prius equipped with a variety of sensors and following a route programmed into the GPS navigation system nimbly accelerated in the entrance lane and merged into fast-moving traffic on Highway 101, the freeway through Silicon Valley. It drove at the speed limit, which it knew because the limit for every road is included in its database, and left the freeway several exits later. The device atop the car produced a detailed map of the environment.
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The car then drove in city traffic through Mountain View, stopping for lights and stop signs, as well as making announcements like “approaching a crosswalk” (to warn the human at the wheel) or “turn ahead” in a pleasant female voice. This same pleasant voice would, engineers said, alert the driver if a master control system detected anything amiss with the various sensors. The test drives have a human navigator in the car as well as an expert human driver at the wheel to take control if something went wrong; the Times article says that assuming human control is no more difficult than ending cruise control. None of which I doubt at all. The article added, however, that Google had carefully examined the California vehicle code to determine that the experimental cars were legal to drive on the road: But the advent of autonomous vehicles poses thorny legal issues, the Google researchers acknowledged. Under current law, a human must be in control of a car at all times, but what does that mean if the human is not really paying attention as the car crosses through, say, a school zone, figuring that the robot is driving more safely than he would? And in the event of an accident, who would be liable — the person behind the wheel or the maker of the software? “The technology is ahead of the law in many areas,” said Bernard Lu, senior staff counsel for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. “If you look at the vehicle code, there are dozens of laws pertaining to the driver of a vehicle, and they all presume to have a human being operating the vehicle.” The Google researchers said they had carefully examined California’s motor vehicle regulations and determined that because a human driver can override any error, the experimental cars are legal. Mr.
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Lu agreed. I am particularly curious whether Google had, or perhaps ought to have in the future, an obligation to let appropriate California authorities know that it was test-driving experimental cars with at least some question as to whether the configuration of a human poised to take over is safe and effective. In fact, I wonder if it did so in advance — the article gives a California Department of Motor Vehicles counsel’s view, but I wonder whether that came before or after the fact? Is there some obligation to warn the local law enforcement before undertaking something like this? And to be perfectly blunt, suppose that it were Toyota that had been doing this? Would the reaction have been quite so agreeable? I am delighted to see this kind of technology moving forward, and definitely agree that the technology is ahead of the law in some of these areas. As a lawyer interested in robotics and the law, I do have some questions as to the appropriate protocols in place for testing new technologies, and whether there are obligations to let the public know in advance, or authorities know in advance, what one is doing. I have no doubt that Google carefully checked its legal position beforehand.
Now then, reading this post started me thinking so I had a quick search around for some other articles on the subject and found some more greats! e.g. Pioneer Smart Gps Navigation Avics2 Reviews.Navigation System … posted earlier today, by Garant, on Poker Forum:
Pioneer Navigation And 8 8-Inch. Pioneer Portable Smart Navigation System. Pioneer Navigation. Pioneer Navigation Work With On Star. Pioneer Satellite Navigation. Pioneer Replacement Navigation Disc. Pioneer Navigation Dvd.
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Pioneer Portable Smart Gps Navigation. Pioneer Navigation System Avic-S1. Pioneer Avic-D1 In Dash Navigation. Pioneer Navigation Unit Repair.
Yet another fine article came from admin over on Hand Held GPS Radio posted earlier today, entitled Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS Navigation System Not Just a Navigator! | Hand … which is also definitely worth a look.
Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS Navigation System Nοt JυÑt a Navigator! Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS Navigation System Nοt JυÑt a Navigator Hοw many times hаνе Ñου taken a wrοng turn аnd еndеd up late tο a meeting οr a party? Very οftеn? Thеn, thе Garmin nüvi 200 ÑÑ whаt Ñου Ñhουld bе relying οn! Thе Garmin nüvi 200 GPS system ÑÑ a vehicle GPS navigator thаt wÑll hеlÑ Ñου reach Ñουr destination Ñn thе shortest time possible. Yου won’t hаνе thе slightest trουblе carrying thÑÑ pocket vehicle GPS system around; thе Garmin nüvi 200 GPS System ÑÑ Ð°Ñ portable Ð°Ñ Ñt Ñаn gеt!. If Ñου аrе someone whο travels extensively аÑrοÑÑ thе US, thеn thеÑе GPS navigation systems Ñhουld hаνе nο problem taking Ñου through Ñουr course wÑth ease. ThеÑе GPS navigation systems аrе pre-loaded wÑth City Navigator NT map data fοr thе continental U.S., Hawaii, аnd Puerto Rico.
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Navigating wÑth thе hеlÑ οf thе Garmin nüvi 200 GPS System ÑÑ easier thаn Ñου Ñаn imagine. JυÑt select Ñουr destination bÑ touching thе screen, аnd thÑÑ vehicle GPS navigator wÑll guide Ñου wÑth 2-D οr 3-D maps аnd turn-bÑ-turn voice directions. Another ÑntеrеÑtÑng feature οf thеÑе GPS navigation systems ÑÑ thаt thÐµÑ wÑll alert Ñου whеn Ñου аrе near custom points οf interest (POIs) lÑkе school zones аnd safety cameras. ThÑÑ compact vehicle GPS navigator ÑÑ nοt ÑυÑt a navigator, bυt a lot more.