[Blindtlk] Driverless Cars

Mon Jan 2 18:45:58 UTC 2017

Judy, the garage door issue is usually solvable by adding a sun guard to the sensors. I slide a half of a toilet paper core over each sensor. They are usually mounted on the door rails about 1 foot off the ground. In the winter the sensor on the west side needs the shade. In the summer the sensor on the east side of the door needs the shade.
I hope this is helpful.
Paul Weingartner

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Judy Jones via blindtlk
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2017 12:25 PM
To: gwunder at earthlink.net; 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Cc: Judy Jones
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Driverless Cars

Very good advice.  This brings up another question I was wrongly assuming.

I was thinking that there might also need to be some kind of interactivity with the roadways, but now, I believe my assumption was false.  That being the case, a driverless car could perform on any road, but I think these need to be tested on curvy mountain roads with switchbacks, as well as the wide, straight highway, dirt roads, etc.

Also, if the driverless capability is inserted in to off-road vehicles, that will be interesting testing as well.

This also may not be the greatest of comparisons, but makes me wonder.  Here it is.  On sunny days, if one opens our garage around 1:15 or 1:20 in the afternoon, because of the angle of the sun, our door will not close, as it think it is detecting an object.  What is happening is that the sun is hitting in such a way that a shadow is thrown across the sensor eye of the automatic opener.  The solution to the problem is waiting till around ten to two, then the door closes with no problem, as the angle of the sun is slightly changed.  Weird? Yes,  Had our house been built at a slightly different angle, this probably would not be an issue.  Even with all our garage activity, we only deal with this 2 or 3 times a year.

Having said all this, is the driverless technology capable of distinguishing a road shadow or a puddle from an object?  I would like to know how much testing is actually happening and how much more to go.

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gary Wunder via blindtlk
Sent: Monday, January 2, 2017 6:08 AM
To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Cc: Gary Wunder
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Driverless Cars

Hello, Jen. Let me offer a contrary point of view, one that is more in line with yours. I have no crystal ball, but the people from Google and other developers of self-driving cars believe they will be on the road by 2020.
Uber believes they will be on the road very soon. I see all kinds of scenarios in which it is judged that the computer will be less responsive than the human being, and I find myself surprised by this. Certainly there are plenty of scenarios to test for, but once you teach the computer, it will not forget, become distracted, or decide that driving is monotonous and that it should put its resources elsewhere. Why do we assume that a human being will be more perceptive about a child running out into the street than a computer which is constantly on watch for such things?

I am delighted to be a human being and thank God for the complexity of the brain He has given me. Still, I think it is traditional for human beings to question what makes us unique from other animals and now even unique from machines. We are perfectly willing to concede that a machine can do faster calculations than we can do and do them with more accuracy. We are willing to concede that they do not get bored. Still, we cling to the belief that it is we who can deal with more complex situations and that our innate reverence for human life will make us better drivers. I think we must wait for the future to determine this, for it is not our reverence for human life that is in question but our ability to pay attention to small details and have ways to react to the unexpected.

I do not know whether at sixty-one I will ever have the opportunity to own or operate a self-driving vehicle. What I do know is that having one will increase my independence. With a self-driving vehicle I will determine how early to start out for an appointment and when I want to leave it. With uber and other ride services, I have more control than I once did, but I can tell you that there have been far too many times in my life when I was made late by a family member who did not see the same urgency to get to a family reunion as I did or who wanted to leave earlier than I did.

Bryan Schulz is right when he says that we are going to have to have a number of laws changed in order to have this technology accepted. when an accident happens, we want somebody to blame. It is our nature to have to find fault. So, if it can be determined that a self-driving car caused an accident or could have reasonably avoided one that a human would have, who pays? I take Solis in the fact that insurance companies are one of the driving forces behind the development of autonomous vehicles; they believe that machines will eventually be safer drivers than humans. 

So, Jen, at the risk of giving you false hope, which I was given when I was sixteen years old, there may indeed be hope that one day you will be able to own your own vehicle, go when you want to go and where you want to go, and the presence of that very vehicle may allow you to get to and from employment that is physically impossible now. Don't hold your breath; don't forfeit other training available to you; don't pass up opportunities now on the chance that something big will change in the near future. The only thing I suggest is that you keep an open mind and that you follow the technological developments as they appear in the mainstream press. Like hawks we follow those things in the news that disturb us; let us at least be as diligent in following those things that may make our lives better. 

Warmly,

Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jen via blindtlk
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2017 3:22 PM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Jen
Subject: [Blindtlk] Driverless Cars

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year!

What is your opinion of driver-less cars? Personally, I can't wait for their arrival on the road! I'm totally blind from birth and would like the chance to drive, just to feel what it feels like. My best friend, who happens to be sighted, feels otherwise though.

How about you?

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