Gov. Brown gives green light to driverless cars in California

[Playinghardball]

MOUNTAIN VIEW (Reuters) - California took the fast lane to the future on Tuesday when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that lets self-driving cars onto public roads.

Brown rode to the signing ceremony at Google Inc headquarters in the passenger seat of a vehicle that steered itself, a Prius modified by Google. Google co-founder Sergey Brin and State Sen. Alex Padilla, who sponsored the bill, were along for the ride. An engineer for the technology company, Chris Urmson, sat in the driver's seat, but the car drove itself.

"We're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality," Brown said just before signing the bill.

Google has been working on self-driving technology since 2010, including testing a fleet of self-driving cars along California roadways.

Google's driverless cars rely on video cameras, radar sensors, lasers and a database of information collected from manually driven cars to help navigation, according to the company.

The new law goes into effect next year and establishes safety and performance regulations for testing driverless cars, provided an operator is ready to take control if necessary.

However, it will likely take years before a fully self-driving autonomous vehicle hits the road, industry official say.

"I think the self driving car can really dramatically improve the quality of life," said Brin, who pointed to uses ranging from aiding the blind, ferrying revelers who drank too much, to simply making better use of commuting time.

More at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gov-brown-gives-green-light-220303511.html

[Brickbat]

1. "Uses ranging from aiding the blind, ferrying revelers who drank too much, to simply making better

use of commuting time."

Seems to me we already have services that do all of that. Oh, my bad, they actually employ people.

[NYC Liberal]

4. So the blind should be forced to rely on others

even when they don't need to?

[Brickbat]

5. Yes, exactly. Why they feel the need to go anywhere is beyond me.

[librechik]

2. this reply is computer generated

ACK!!:

[former9thward]

3. Once this gets going millions of jobs will be lost.

Taxi drivers, Bus drivers, Truck drivers will be eliminated by the millions.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

7. Yes, we should inhibit advances in technology to protect jobs. WTF? nt

[former9thward]

11. Didn't say that now did I?

So you can WTF yourself. I am pointing out what will happen. Society needs to figure out these things before hand not just wait and then wonder why we have a structural unemployment problem. Instead of unemployment neve going below 8% we will have unemployment never going below 16-18%.

[FrodosPet]

16. It's also time to confiscate digital cameras

Kodak, Ritz Camera, and who knows how many others are hurting because people are not buying and developing film.

It is also time to make e-mail and online bill paying illegal to protect the Post Office.

Self dialing on phones needs to go too. Think of all the telephone operators who would have jobs if no one could dial their own phone.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

6. I'm looking forward to it. I don't like to drive. nt

[meow2u3]

8. Fundies will think the rapture has occured

With all those driverless cars, I'm sure their heads will explode, thinking they're all going to hell.

[slackmaster]

9. Will they be programmed to react to the sound of my horn?

I honk at every vehicle in which the driver doesn't appear to be paying attention to traffic.

[loli phabay]

13. hey dude stop honking im asleep as my car drives itself

Just imagine sleeping for long journeys. If they do it right no traffic jams and less accidents whats noy to love.

[slackmaster]

14. If your car starts to pull out into an intersection in front of me, or crosses over the center line,

Or fails to use its turn signal, it's going to get honked at.

[loli phabay]

17. yoyou need to update your software to slackmaster vista edition if your nearly hitting me

But seriously i love the idea of having automated cars and not having to rely on the skills of other drivers.

[slackmaster]

19. Given the number of REALLY TERRIBLE drivers I encounter every day out there...

...I can't imagine having some driverless cars would make life worse.

[XemaSab]

10. If they fuck up as often as existing computer programs fuck up

I'm never going on another road again.

[slackmaster]

12. There is consumer software, which is extremely unreliable, and there are embedded systems, which...

...are far more reliable.

There are millions of people walking around with implanted cardiac pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter/Defibrillators or ICDs. The failure rate for those devices is extremely low. ICDs make decisions and apply electric shocks to the heart in order to correct arrhythmias, based on rules that can be quite complex.

Driving a car really isn't very complicated. When a human driver fails it's usually a result of inattention. Machines don't have that problem.

[kestrel91316]

15. As a frequent pedestrian I find this TERRIFYING.

[loli phabay]

18. why the cars would stop automatically at the walk signal and crosswalks if your there

Only cyclists would be your hazard.

[kestrel91316]

20. Oh right, and they'd NEVER malfunction.

[loli phabay]

21. probuably a lot less than cars with drivers