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Ford CEO says the company 'overestimated' self-driving cars


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2 hours ago, rperez817 said:

The autonomous vehicle testing facility at FCA's Chelsea Proving Ground is $30 million+ investment. https://www.fcagroup.com/stories/nafta/en-us/Pages/chelsea_gets_30_million_investment_for_autonomous_driving.aspx

I couldn't find FCA's portion of the total investment involved for the work they are doing as a partner with Waymo, BMW, and Aptiv. Don't know how the accounting works for those arrangements. The total investment for research, development & testing among all of those participating companies together is in the billions of $.

So, you've identified $30 million (+!) in actual investment. I wonder if FCA's 'investment' as a partner with Waymo amounts to the value of the vehicles they are contributing for fitment by Waymo?

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I wonder about some simpler applications of AV like  easing frustration in gridlock  by users switching to say "Group" or "heard", have near by vehicles working together in very slow stop -go traffic, allowing drivers in that situation to relax a bit as the chances of a crash/injury/fatality are almost zero. When the vehicles are in that mode, the driver could be permitted to hands and feet off, we already see it in park assist which is getting more sophisticated.

Perhaps it's a case of focusing on what AV can do safely without too much risk as a way of getting people used to the tech at very slow speeds at first and then traveling as a pack down the freeway with intelligent cruise and lane-center (not lane keep)....stop trying to do the whole thing at once.

Edited by jpd80
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4 hours ago, Harley Lover said:

 I wonder if FCA's 'investment' as a partner with Waymo amounts to the value of the vehicles they are contributing for fitment by Waymo?

I was wondering the same thing. In May 2018, FCA and Waymo said this in a press release. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fca-us-llc-expands-partnership-with-waymo-300657479.html

"FCA US and Waymo also announced today that they are beginning discussions about the use of Waymo self-driving technology, including potentially through licensing, in a FCA-manufactured vehicle available to retail customers."

But no specifics on expected release dates, product pricing, or capital investments were mentioned. So pretty much all the public knows about FCA's approach to autonomous vehicle deployment is that they are working with partners. More so than the other big global automakers.

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11 hours ago, rperez817 said:

But no specifics on expected release dates, product pricing, or capital investments were mentioned. So pretty much all the public knows about FCA's approach to autonomous vehicle deployment is that they are working with partners. More so than the other big global automakers.

You could flip your statement around and say that FCA is linking with partners with no significant $ investment, save the value of the vehicles they are contributing, while other big global automakers are making significant investment in autonomy, to the tune of billions of $.

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I simply don't understand the concept of autonomous flying planes.
Pilots go through more training than people getting drivers license.

The first idea is for the airlines to eliminate one more position on the flight.

No, auto pilot is not the same as having the plane completely take-off and land.
Simply seen enough times when a computer is doing something 'it can't do that' situation.
Like all of a sudden the Caplock and unlock are running backwards.  Yea a simple reboot clear it, but it shouldn't do that.

 

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6 hours ago, jniffen said:

I simply don't understand the concept of autonomous flying planes.

The point was that level 4 or 5 autonomous operation would be a lot easier in aircraft, which already incorporate a great deal of automation and operate in much more controlled environments, yet it's nowhere close to implementation there--and largely for the reasons you state.

Aviation does, I think, have the prototype for the mid-term future of autonomy in cars, though: the autopilot. Basically, the boundary conditions are the hardest part (takeoffs and landings), so humans do that, while the autopilot handles the drudgery of cruising straight and level, following navigational beacons. In cars, that would have people driving the surface streets and the autonomous systems taking over on the highways.

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5 hours ago, SoonerLS said:

In cars, that would have people driving the surface streets and the autonomous systems taking over on the highways.

As much as I'm largely opposed to autonomous cars on a mass scale I would be ok with this in rural areas. There's still too much congestion in a lot of big cities for me to be ok with it on urban highways. 

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As I’ve said repeatedly the technology has good applications as a driver assist and in limited well defined areas as full AVs for the reasons SoonerLS mentioned.  It’s not that we’re against the technology at all but thinking we’ll have hundreds of thousands of AVs on public streets any time soon is wishful thinking.

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5 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

As much as I'm largely opposed to autonomous cars on a mass scale I would be ok with this in rural areas. There's still too much congestion in a lot of big cities for me to be ok with it on urban highways. 

I must admit, to put a vehicle in AV mode would be nice on our frequent trips to Sault Ste. Marie.  I-75, especially in the U.P. sees very little use.  I'd feel safe having the car drive me.  Of course I would take over the controls when crossing the Mackinac Bridge...........

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1 hour ago, mackinaw said:

I must admit, to put a vehicle in AV mode would be nice on our frequent trips to Sault Ste. Marie.  I-75, especially in the U.P. sees very little use.  I'd feel safe having the car drive me.  Of course I would take over the controls when crossing the Mackinac Bridge...........

The drive from here in southern Wayne County to Glen Arbor would be a lot less tedious as well, especially north of Saginaw. 

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