[nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets

Fri Apr 12 04:36:16 UTC 2013

Carly,
I respectfully have to disagree with you here. Let me go through and
explain why. First and foremost, a Google autonomous car would be
advantageous to sighted people as well. How many accidents would be
prevented if we gave things over to a computer? Many people these days
feel that "they know best," and will do, frankly, stupid things while
driving. These things are the cause of many accidents daily. So, if we
put a computer in charge and programmed it to follow the rules of the
road, I believe we would see the statistics for auto accidents drop
off at least to a certain extent. Secondly, buses/friends are all fine
and good, but what if you live in a rural area with little to no
public transport at your disposal? Do you really want to wait around
for someone to pick you up like you're a little kid again? Somehow I
don't see many blind people going for that option. (It would seem that
waiting to be dependent on a friend/driver would run exactly counter
to everything championed by many federationists.) Thirdly, autonomous
vehicles are more prevalent than you may realize. Let's start at the
beginning, with elevators. There was a time when each and every
elevator in a building had an operator to push the button for the
floor. Now we do that ourselves. Now, to a more current example:
Airplanes. Do you really think that commercial airline pilots are
doing all that much nowadays? I have it on good authority that in many
cases, the pilot of an airplane is just there for the takeoff and
landing. Once the plane is airborne, autopilot handles the rest quite
nicely. Finally, you mention communal experience. Well, the long-term
goal of autonomous cars would be that Car #1 would be driving down the
road, see a road closed sign and communicate said closure to cars #2
#3 and #4. So, autonomous cars would actually wind up benefitting a
number of people. To touch on your comment about price, it's a valid
point. But also realize that all new technology was expensive when it
first came out. How much did the personal computer cost when it came
out? And how much does the thing cost now? As the saying goes,
patience is a virtue. Understand that I do see the flaws in
technology. No system is perfect. But, we're on the verge of something
incredible here and I think it would be foolish to discount it before
we even have a chance to test it out. Personally, if I decided not to
buy one of these cars, it would be after I'd been in the thing and
realized it wasn't for me. Now, I could be totally off base here and
the system could turn out to be the biggest flop. But, when a number
of experts, from Google and other places, are all excited about this,
I think it deserves the time of day. It would be jumping the shark to
immediately say that this thing wouldn't work. Yes it has its flaws,
but human drivers are pretty flawed too! Let's give the good folks at
Google credit first and foremost for what they've done and are still
doing. And let's give them time and see what they come up with.
Patrick

On 4/11/13, Carly Mihalakis <carlymih at comcast.net> wrote:
> Hi, List,
>
> On the other hand, for my whole life I have watched sighted folk seem
> to agonize over so much turmoil, and hostility towrd their fellow
> man, as they drive. I have always been grateful not having that crap
> to contend with. Besides, I am not confident about chances of ever
> affording such a car. And, I don't care about the principles personal
> cars supposedly afford. Where can they take you that a bus, train, or
> friend/driver cannot?
>   Ultimately, i believe traveling from point A to point B, oughta be
> a communal affair. Leave the driving to ol' Sighty!
> So no, on the car!
> Car At 06:23 PM 4/11/2013, Sophie Trist wrote:
>>I can't wait to see these google cars come out. It will be a major
>>milestone in the independence and assimulation of blind people in
>>sighted society. My only worry is that the sighties won't trust us
>>to drive, even (maybe especially) if the car was
>>computer-controlled. Even my boyfriend, who is blind, says he will
>>never trust a self-propelled car. Our trouble will be convincing
>>them that it's safe for us and for others on the road.
>>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Brandon Keith Biggs" <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com
>>To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>Date sent: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:02:08 -0700
>>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets
>>
>>Hello,
>>The reason why the Google Car is Superior is because it is already going
>>mainstream, it has a major company behind it and there is nothing wrong
>> with
>>backing both cars.
>>The big debate will be if people want to drive under their own control or
>> a
>>computers. It is not unlike reading Braille or using a screen reader to
>> read
>>a book. Braille is all fine and dandy, but a screen reader is very
>>important. The difference is the Google car is going mainstream and will
>>have mainstreem support. It would be the same if Jaws went mainstreem and
>>companies like Google started making units that used Jaws and no screen.
>>Braille would be useful, but not particularly necessary for most common
>>tasks.
>>If one used a car on city roads and highways, there would be very little
>> or
>>no need to manually drive. If one wanted to map a long driveway or country
>>road, one would need to manually drive it till the road could be
>> completely
>>entered into the database.
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Brandon Keith Biggs
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Sophie Trist
>>Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 1:37 PM
>>To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets
>>
>>Brandon, I totally 100% agree!!! However, didn't the NFB invent a
>>self-propelled car of sorts? If so, it might be hard to convince
>>them to back the google car unless we can prove theirs is
>>superior.
>>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Brandon Keith Biggs" <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com
>>To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>><nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>Date sent: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:05:01 -0700
>>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets
>>
>>Hello,
>>Yes in a way, the logistics of liability still need to be taken
>>into account
>>I'm sure and licensing probably still needs to be worked out, but
>>if the
>>government officials are pushed, it will happen very soon.
>>I think the NFB should push for these quite hard. Perhaps they
>>could even
>>ask that a car come to the convention, I think Google would take
>>the
>>challenge.
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Brandon Keith Biggs
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Justin Young
>>Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 9:13 AM
>>To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets
>>
>>So does this mean these vehicles will soon be on the market for
>>individuals to purchase in Nevada?  Sounds like a very
>>interesting
>>project.
>>
>>On 4/11/13, Robert William Kingett <kingettr at gmail.com> wrote:
>>Google's self-driven cars will soon be appearing on Nevada roads
>>after
>>the state's Department of Motor Vehicles approved on Monday the
>>nation's
>>first autonomous vehicle license.
>>
>>The move came after officials rode along on drives on highways,
>>in
>>Carson City neighborhoods and along the famous Las Vegas Strip,
>>the
>>Nevada DMV said in a statement.
>>
>>The Nevada legislature last year authorized self-driven cars for
>>the
>>state's roads, the first such law in the United States. That law
>>went
>>into effect on March 1, 2012.
>>
>>Google's self-driven cars rely on video cameras, radar sensors,
>>lasers,
>>and a database of information collected from manually driven
>>cars to
>>help navigate, according to the company.
>>
>>The DMV licensed a Toyota Prius that Google modified with its
>>experimental driver-less technology, developed by Stanford
>>professor and
>>Google Vice President Sebastian Thrun.
>>
>>Google's self-driving cars have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge
>>and
>>driven along the picturesque Pacific Coast Highway, according to
>>the
>>company.
>>
>>Autonomous vehicles are the "car of the future," Nevada DMV
>>director
>>Bruce Breslow said in a statement. The state also has plans to
>>eventually license autonomous vehicles owned by the members of
>>the
>>public, the DMV said.
>>
>>Legislation to regulate autonomous cars is being considered in
>>other
>>states, including Google's home state of California.
>>
>>"The vast majority of vehicle accidents are due to human error.
>>Through
>>the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous
>>vehicle
>>is capable of analyzing the driving environment more quickly and
>>operating the vehicle more safely," California state Senator
>>Alex
>>Padilla said in March when he introduced that state's autonomous
>>car
>>legislation.
>>
>>Other car companies are also seeking self-driven car licenses in
>>Nevada,
>>the DMV said.
>>
>>
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