Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[sevenlayermuddle]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/14/apple-self-driving-car-project-titan-sooner-than-expected

Personally I remain sceptical of such a rumour, and rumour is all it is.   

Still, if Apple were to build a car then unlike my own expectations of other tech companies' more highly publicised efforts, the chances are, it would actually work and prove useful.  No matter what Apple may face from their critics, their products generally do achieve that goal - they work, and prove useful.   

A rumour worth following then, if not worth propagating.   Even if I just did.   

[GigabitEthernet]

Can't see it happening anytime soon.

[kitz]

I dunno.  Google have had self driving cars on public roads for a couple of years now.

I'm not sure if I'd trust one though as I believe one of the major problems though is the unexpected such a being flagged down or temporary traffic lights.  So although the driver-less car is kind of doable I think it will be further into the future before it becomes practical for it to serve a real purpose.

If they can ever work out technology to cope with the unexpected then yes it has a place particularly for those with disabilities...   but as to purchasing one in the near future I think it will be more of a novelty because afaik they still require a 'driver' even though there is no steering wheel etc.   

Ive no idea how much they will retail at, but Ive no doubt there will be some Apple fans starting to save up now.

I cant deny what your saying 7LM about their products because they do generally do things well,  but you'd probably have to take it miles to one of only about 20 places in the UK to get it serviced and call out an apple engineer to replace a punctured tyre, who will mark up the price about 6 times 

[roseway]

I wonder whether Microsoft are developing one as well.

Personally, I'm waiting for the Linux model.

[broadstairs]

I think all their efforts would be better spent trying to solve the internal combustion engine replacement which is both cost effective AND truly useful with good speeds and range.

Stuart

[sevenlayermuddle]

I cant deny what your saying 7LM about their products because they do generally do things well,  but you'd probably have to take it miles to one of only about 20 places in the UK to get it serviced and call out an apple engineer to replace a punctured tyre, who will mark up the price about 6 times 

.   

He he, I hadn't thought of that, but I'm sure you are right.

Thinking on that aspect, I wonder...

The Google car, when aimed at a supermarket, may take you to some other supermarket with a higher ranking?

The Microsoft car will soon require a series of updates and new OS's to stop it driving over cliffs.  And every so often, despite the fact you still have a perfectly good car, one of these OS updates will require a new car?

The Linux car will allow you to maintain it yourself, but you'll have to rebuild the engine every time you change a tyre or fit an accessory?

 

[Weaver]

If Apple designed the car, you'd probably have no doors unless you swipe upwards twice. To make it go, you'd have to double-click on your partner's head (but on the back of their head only, not the  front). And there would be no help.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Deliberately resurrecting an old thread, the car is no longer a rumour....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38199880

Even as a big fan of Apple, I remain unconvinced.   What do they know about cars, after all?  And is the car industry really of interest, won't BMW, Nissan, Volvo etc just eliminate them with a snap of the fingers?

Then again, when they entered the mobile phone market, all of above applied, and we know how that unfolded.

[Ronski]

I wonder how all the Apple fans boys are going to afford Apple cars, they will be three four times the price of the average self driving car and of course they must have one 

All jokes aside it will be interesting.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I wonder how all the Apple fans boys are going to afford Apple cars

Not sure if I'm typical Fan boy, but I'd been one for several years before I bought my first and only Mac, a Mac Mini from 2009.   Quite economic really, circa £500 considering it is still in service and fully supported. My first iPhone was the 5C, now two years old, running latest iOS and I'm still proud as punch.   

Admittedly, the watch probably sets me aside.   When I first started using it to pay for shopping, it always drew favourable attention from checkout staff.   I still do, but I've yet to see another one and I harbour the suspicion I may be referred the in staff room to as 'that old git with the Apple watch'.

All jokes aside it will be interesting.

Quite so.

[licquorice]

Be interesting to see how it copes with avoiding the rest of the traffic when it insists on driving on the right hand side of the road. 

[phi2008]

Won't car sales drop significantly when self-driving cars arrive? Why own a car when you can just book one each time you need to make a journey?

[Chunkers]

Won't car sales drop significantly when self-driving cars arrive? Why own a car when you can just book one each time you need to make a journey?

I think so, my personal view is that in general people have not thought about how big an impact truly autonomous transport will have on society.  In reality, given the amount of time most cars spend stationary / parked most small towns like mine could probably manage 90% of everyones travel needs with a car pool of a tenth the number of cars currently here - probably much less.

I imagine a future in which the streets and town centres are not cluttered with peoples vehicles (they discreetly autonomously park somewhere else).  It could give us so much time and space back, imagine not having to do the school run, watching TV on the way to work.  I also think it obviously spells the end for all driving professions taxis, buses, deliveries.  I also like the idea of sending your car to pick things up e.g. shopping, people, deliveries, take-aways.

It's going to be cool, and much safer, I think quickly it will become considered irrespponsible to drive your vehicle as it will be considered an "unsafe" thing to do....

I am lucky enough to own a Tesla Model S a fully electric car with their much maligned AutoPilot functionality, from my perspective its easy to see how close we are to realising fully autonomous vehicles, bring it on .....

There are some aspects of the whole development which I think Apple would be fantastic at, software, HMI's, design but others I think they will struggle.  Mind you, with less resources Tesla went from nothing to producing pretty nice cars in a very short space of time, so why not Apple?

Chunks

[d2d4j]

Hi

It is probably worth noting that the tesla has already been involved in a number of fatal accidents, while on autopilot, with the passengers been asleep I believe

Also, I seem to remember watching on tv, that insurance companies are looking at having data available in the event of an accident, to determine if the car was driving or a human

I personally would not trust driverless cars, even though the car I drive has electronic accelerator, brakes, steering etc.

Many thanks

John

[Chunkers]

Hi

It is probably worth noting that the tesla has already been involved in a number of fatal accidents, while on autopilot, with the passengers been asleep I believe

There has been at least one fatal accident as far as I know, Tesla have taken huge liberties using the name "AutoPilot" for this feature, it is nothing of the sort and is more a very advanced cruise control.  It is definitely not capable of driving autonomously and nor is it suggested by Tesla, apart from the name, that it is .....
The car does have systems built in to try and ensure that drivers keep their hands on the wheel and monitoring the traffic, but people .......... <face-palm>

Personally I don't think they should call it an Autopilot at all but the accounts I have read of the fatal accident in the USA and the behaviour of some people on Youtube (recording themselves playing cards, watching movies whilst the car drives etc ...) suggest to me that a large amount of "stupid" was involved.  There is also no record of how many accidents and lives have been prevented by the auto-braking and collision avoidance technologies in the car unfortunately.

Personally I would trust a driverless vehicle, properly designed and tested, over a human any day.  A computer would not :

• fly an aeroplane until it runs out of fuel
• suicide a plane full of passengers into a building
• get drunk and crash or kill other people
• drive a train/tram at excessive speed around corners for no reason or run through a red light whilst distracted

But I get why people lack the confidence at the moment, we are just not quite there yet, but I don't think it will be long

Chunks