[nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?

[Sherri]

I have people in my life who drive. I know how much they have to concentrate 
on to get from point A to point B. I just don't understand how tactile and 
auditory feedback is going to help us focus on maybe 15 different things at 
once. A car that is programmed and takes you from point A to point B makes a 
lot more sense to me. It is a car that could appeal to all! Again, I think 
working with Google would be a real plus for NFB. But what do I know and if 
being first is really the most important thing then ....
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bryan Schulz" <b.schulz at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 5:24 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?


> because the nfb wants to be first and wants the credit
> Bryan Schulz
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 3:56 PM
> Subject: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>
>
>>I really think this is more what we are looking for. This is a car 
>>"anyone" could "drive". Google has lots of resources. Why don't we jump on 
>>their bandwagon?
>>
>> Sherri
>>
>> Google is testing cars that drive themselves  Google announced Sunday
>>   that it has developed cars that drive themselves
>> automatically in traffic, and that it has been testing them on the
>> streets of California for months. It might seem like an unusual project
>> for Google, but it  could actually have big benefits.
>> We're not just talking about cars running Google Android.
>> This is the stuff of science fiction. The only accident that has
>> occurred so far: One of the cars was rear-ended by a driver at a stop
>> light. Human error!
>>
>> The vehicles have been tested on 140,000 miles of California road, from
>> Silicon Valley to Santa Monica.
>>
>> Each car is manned during the tests. One person sits in the driver's
>> seat, ready to take control of the vehicle instantly by grabbing the
>> wheel or touch the brake should something go wrong with the system. The 
>> person in the
>> passenger's seat is an engineer who monitors the software operations on a
>> computer.
>>
>> Google (Google) hired engineers who previously participated in
>> competitions and races involving automated cars -- important turning
>> points in the development of the technology, which has been coming into 
>> its own since around 2005 according to The New York Times.
>>
>> If your first concern is one of safety, Google would argue that you're
>> going about it all wrong.
>>
>> Safety is one of the the project's purposes. Google believes that the
>> technology could nearly half the number of automobile-related deaths
>> because computers are supposedly
>> better  at driving than humans in the right circumstances.
>>
>> There are other hypothetical pluses, too. The vehicles' instant reaction
>> time and 360-degree awareness would allow them to drive closer together
>> on the highway than humans can, reducing traffic congestion. They could 
>> be more
>> careful when operating the gas, reducing fuel consumption.
>>
>> But the biggest benefit for Google would be the hour or so of daily
>> commute time the car owner would save. Instead of driving, he or she
>> could either be productive or entertained in the vehicle, doing work on a 
>> wireless
>> Internet (Internet) connection or watching television.
>>
>> Google doesn't say it explicitly, but TechCrunch was
>> quick to note that this time could be spent using Google products and 
>> absorbing
>> Google-run advertising.
>>
>> The most optimistic projections put this technology at least eight years
>> away from market, though. Legal hassles are among the myriad problems;
>> all of the current traffic laws assume that a human driver is present in 
>> the vehicle
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