Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Self driving cars: Tesla promises autopilot by 2016

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Very interesting video. The last part brings up something that I hadn't considered before. Autonomous delivery of everything from groceries to truckloads of cargo.

How much of a modern car or truck is devoted to driver/passenger room, safety and comfort? How small, light and efficient could a purpose-built delivery vehicle be if people were the only thing it couldn't carry? No crumple zones, no HVAC, no seats, etc. It would be the ground-based 4 wheeled version of a drone aircraft that can do amazing things because the pilot is no longer part of the equation. It could be small and light, but still have the speed to keep up with traffic.

Perhaps Elon/Tesla should devote a small group to begin design studies of a small (at first) totally autonomous cargo-only delivery vehicle to be ready if/when the systems have moved from the lab to the streets and proven to work without human backup.
 
Last edited:
He (Musk) did mention interest in making trucks electric one time and with this autopilot team that hes making now theres a logical progression in that direction, were just witnessing history unfold, will be able to tell my grandkids when im old and grey - i was there when it was happening :tongue::cool:
 
I think main things are parking assist, obstacle and pedestrian detection, and ACC. Complete self-driven cars IMO would too much because total auto-pilot would eliminate the taste of driving. IMO electronics has to help the driver in emergency situation and to improve comfort. The rest has to be left to the driver.
 
I think main things are parking assist, obstacle and pedestrian detection, and ACC. Complete self-driven cars IMO would too much because total auto-pilot would eliminate the taste of driving. IMO electronics has to help the driver in emergency situation and to improve comfort. The rest has to be left to the driver.

I'm thinking long-term, not short term. The totally autonomous vehicles I'm speaking of would come after the driver assist step, after the self driving door to door step, after the legal and insurance problems have been ironed out, and after the system is shown to be totally reliable. I'm thinking maybe 20 years down the road at a minimum. We're only at the first step now.
 
I'm thinking maybe 20 years down the road at a minimum. We're only at the first step now.

Agree. In fact complete auto pilot in three years would be impossible IMO. There are several steps to be done in advance. And in 20 years I wouldn't choice full autopilot for a car because I would lose the taste to drive. But I hope that in three years we will have parking assist, obstacle and pedestrian detection, blind spot detection and ACC for the Model S.
Then I saw a movie of a car going to park to the garage alone (without driver inside). :scared: I wouldn't leave the responsability of my car to the electronics. What if an IC gets broken and somebody gets hurt? Electronics is good but always under control of the driver IMO.
 
Self-driving cars will be a great boon to the elderly and disabled. They will be great for getting drunk drivers off the road. Unfortunately once they become safer than human drivers there will be people pushing to eliminate the dangerous human factors. Driving might become a thing of the past, or possibly restricted to special closed roads. I'm sure that day will eventually come.
 
I've always prefered the Skytran system myself. Much lighter footprint and much lower cost.

1328637_orig.jpg



(Skip ahead about 3 minutes)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The last part brings up something that I hadn't considered before. Autonomous delivery of everything from groceries to truckloads of cargo... No crumple zones, no HVAC, no seats, etc. It would be the ground-based 4 wheeled version of a drone aircraft that can do amazing things because the pilot is no longer part of the equation. It could be small and light, but still have the speed to keep up with traffic.

To take that idea one step further, imagine certain times of day (say between 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM) where some of the lanes of an interstate highway become dedicated to autonomous traffic only, no humans allowed. With increased speed limits and decreased spacing between machines, a true road train zipping goods to market.
 
How much of a modern car or truck is devoted to driver/passenger room, safety and comfort? How small, light and efficient could a purpose-built delivery vehicle be if people were the only thing it couldn't carry? No crumple zones, no HVAC, no seats, etc. It would be the ground-based 4 wheeled version of a drone aircraft that can do amazing things because the pilot is no longer part of the equation. It could be small and light, but still have the speed to keep up with traffic.


Yes.....but you must consider societal norms. HOW does one flip off a driverless vehicle?
 
Then I saw a movie of a car going to park to the garage alone (without driver inside). :scared: I wouldn't leave the responsability of my car to the electronics. What if an IC gets broken and somebody gets hurt? Electronics is good but always under control of the driver IMO.

:biggrin: Ha funny, so you're either driving a real old-timer now or won't be driving any car anymore. Today's cars are already full of electronics, and most mistakes are made by the driver, not the electronics. If a fully electronic car brakes down (Model S?) even the driver can do little, except perhaps brake and/or steer. I'm sure like in airplanes, full autonomous cars will have backup systems that will avoid major incidents. Also take for example consumer electronics, when was the last time a device broke down - on its own. Usually these devices break because of the battery lifespan or improper usage. The IC's hardly ever give out.
 
The IC's hardly ever give out.

You said it right. But ICs, even with a very little percentage of probability, can get broken. There are criteria concerning the reliability of ICs. They are designed and produced according to reliability criteria. But also if you design an IC with the requirement that it has to last 50 years you can never be sure that it will perform according to the reliability criteria of its design.
So IMO obstacle and pedestrian detection, blind spot detection and ACC (even ACC able to action brakes) are very welcome, but complete autopilot (expecially without driver inside :scared:) is not for me.