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from the don't-forget-the-kill-switch dept.
Self-driving cars on Michigan's roads may not need human chaperones much longer. Or at least, there will be (tele)operators instead of drivers:
Michigan's Senate is considering a bill that would allow self-driving cars to be tested on public roads without a human driver inside the vehicle. However, a human would still be required to "promptly" take control of the vehicles movements.
Michigan is already a driving force when it comes to driver-less car technology and now the senate may green light a law taking it a step further. The state senate is expected act quickly on a package of bills to loosen rules governing autonomous vehicles. One would no longer require someone actually be inside a self-driving car while testing it on public roads. Right now, Michigan is home to 375 automotive research centers and houses the world's first controlled environment specifically designed to test the potential of the vehicles.
From Senate Bill 0995 (2016):
(4) Subsections (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to an individual who is using a device described in subsection (1) or (3) to do any of the following:
[...] (e) Operate or program the operation of an automated motor vehicle while testing OR OPERATING the automated motor vehicle
in compliance with section 665, if that automated motor vehicle displays a special plate issued under section 224(3) in the manner required under section 225.WITHOUT A HUMAN OPERATOR.[...] (b) An individual
is present in the vehicle while it is being operated on a highway or street of this state and that individualDESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION (A) has the ability to monitor the vehicle's performance WHILE IT IS BEING OPERATED ON A HIGHWAY OR STREET IN THIS STATE and, if necessary, immediately take control of the vehicle's movements. IF THE INDIVIDUAL DOES NOT, OR IS UNABLE TO, TAKE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE SHALL BE CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING A MINIMAL RISK CONDITION.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday September 08 2016, @01:24PM
I've seen how Michigan people drive. I'd rather have potentially buggy self-driving software without anyone at the controls!
But seriously, this is exactly what we should be trying out, because it's safe to assume that once cars are smart enough that they can drive themselves, any person in a position to do the driving will stop paying attention and instead take a nap or text with their friend or try to recover from the 10 shots of whiskey they had before getting in the car.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday September 08 2016, @02:15PM
takyon
may not need human chaperones much longer
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 08 2016, @02:33PM
Michiganders drive like stoners weaving back and forth in their lanes, driving in two lanes at once, too cheap to fill up their blinker fluid! Everybody is a stoner who just sits at home on disability getting high all day long. Then they vote for Republicans that cock block voter initiatives to legalize weed because "I've got mine, fuck you!" and "Anybody who wants it already has it!" Bullshit.
(Score: 1) by LVDOVICVS on Thursday September 08 2016, @02:35PM
As a Michigan driver, I've been looking forward with excited anticipation to the day of self-driving cars. I'm hoping several future coronary incidents I could have had will be averted by their arrival.
Also, if they can come up with systems that withstand being bounced off the road by the terrible condition of ours, they'll work anywhere.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 08 2016, @02:38PM
They should take these things to the Upper Peninsula. If they do that, they'll only need to deal with:
- Deer. I think they would be further ahead just redesigning the front of the car so that it deflects fleshy obstacles or by giving it autoturrets (the car AI probably has enough spare power to run these). If that's not allowed, that's still OK - hitting deer is a foregone conclusion when driving in the region. As long as the car still drives it doesn't really matter how it looks.
- Orange barrels. Fortunately these don't actually mean anything - they're just native flora - so you could deflect these too.
- Snow, I guess, unless you drive during the three months of summer.
- The occasional Cheese Head, FIB (Fucking Illinois Bastard), and Troll going up to their camps. These guys are even worse drivers than people from the U.P., but they're rare enough if you avoid certain holidays and deer season.
The rest is easy. It's not like there's traffic (a yooper will give you about 7 or 8 car lengths), pedestrians, traffic lights, or intersections. If your car can't go straight for 100 miles it's probably not ready anyway.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday September 09 2016, @01:32PM
I'm actually more familiar with Da UP, eh, than the Giant Mitten, because I dated a girl born and raised in Ishpeming for a couple of years, y'know.
As for the deer, shouldn't there be an automated mechanism for picking up the carcass so you don't waste perfectly good venison? I mean, it's just hunting with your car instead of a rifle, right?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.