KirkAugustin
Considering it is illegal and unsafe, the high price does not really matter. It is insane to think anyone could actually use a self driving system, when so far they are unable to see turn signals, rely on GPS that does not work if there is solar activity, and can't be used at night, in rain or snow.
KirkAugustin
Nor should any autonomous system ever be allowed or sold, since there is no way to prevent it from being used illegally, for things like a terrorist bomb delivery system. Human drivers will resent them and force them off the road. Juries will award huge settlements against the makers whenever there is an accident.
Jeff Kilgore
How soon will it be that a product such as Otto's will be made to retrofit automobiles?
habakak
More reason to go drive-by-wire, throttle-by-wire and brake-by-wire. It will be so much easier to convert to an autonomous vehicle with those features already in place. Cars are moving towards a fully electronic model so this will only be a matter of time.
tangential
Hmm. Robotics... Wasn't Otto the auto-pilot in "Airplane"?.
Bob Flint
Yeah right, great for hy-jackers as well, park yourself safely in front of one of these rigs, and get busy unloading...what's it going to do blow it's air horn, and send out a distress call after 5 minutes, not likely it will think it's stuck in traffic...
Besides most rigs are in such poor technical condition stuff would never move, takes drivers to get through rain, snow, ice, traffic, etc....
Gizmowiz
Many truck drivers are polite and willing to work with heavy traffic of cars and allow them to pass. Will these autonomous trucks just sit bumper to bumper and take up passing lanes and refuse to allow cars to pass safely? Or will people have to get out their guns and shoot them off the road?
Daniel Gregory
This is going to kill a lot of jobs.
Nelson
Technology gives one man the abilties of a thousand men, then burdens the Earth with those thousand men it just made obsolete.
physics314
Autonomous vehicles would be a qualitative leap, much like that from horses and carriages to cars. A century ago, cars had naysayers, citing cost, reliability, risk, utility... The thing is, cars got much better over a century, and horses did not.