Way OT: Herbie is alive, for real!

[genphreak]

Just when you thought robotic US Marines (bionic men) were cool.

The world's first self driving car is a reality (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=393401&in_page_id=1770). Why they didn't use a Beetle and paint it white I don't know.

Tho the 150mph Golf is kinda cool... :) Nick

"According to the UK Daily Mail, VW has produced a prototype Golf (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=393401&in_page_id=1770) (code-named "53 plus 1" in a reference to Herbie the Love Bug (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0064603/)) that successfully steers and accelerates itself at speeds up to 150 MPH on tracks designed on the spot without pre-programming. It sounds almost too good to be true given some of the problems CMU's prototype has had (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/stanley.html?pg=2&topic=stanley&topic_set=) over the years, but perhaps VW has learned from and extended CMU's research (and within-an-inch GPS positioning probably helps too)."

[genphreak]

Does anyone seriously think this will ever be a reality for people to buy?

[Morgenster]

Will you ever want to buy one?
I don't like machines being too much in control.

[genphreak]

Will you ever want to buy one?
I don't like machines being too much in control.It would be weird being a passneger.

Being inside it would make for a hell of a drive- seeing the wheel spinning away driverless and the car pushed to its theoretical limits on every corner as you hang on for dear life...

An article on Slashdot laments an experience in 1991 where the US military had a computer driving a HumVee:
Everything worked perfectly until Pomerleau got to a bridge. The Humvee swerved dangerously, and he was forced to grab the wheel. It took him weeks of analyzing the data to figure out what had gone wrong: When he was "teaching" the car to drive, he had been on roads with grass alongside them. The computer had determined that this was among the most important factors in staying on the road: Keep the grass at a certain distance and all will be well. When the grass suddenly disappeared, the computer panicked.

And that bug is probably fixed by now, but the problem is, how do we determine we worked out all the bugs? We can't even do that with Linux/Windows/Anything...

[Morgenster]

Well I gues it could work out well if the roads ou travel on are somehow standardised with special markers or beacons.
But no car will ever drive itself commercially off those. There's way too many variables.

It's like AI: do you really want a computer that can tell you to go stuff it just because it's having a bad day?

[HDhandyman]

Well I gues it could work out well if the roads ou travel on are somehow standardised with special markers or beacons.
But no car will ever drive itself commercially off those. There's way too many variables.

It's like AI: do you really want a computer that can tell you to go stuff it just because it's having a bad day?
Hmmm, maybe you should do a little more reading on the subject of A.I.:

http://www.singinst.org/

&

http://www.singinst.org/action/readinglist.html

Just a thought :)

[Morgenster]

Hmmm, maybe you should do a little more reading on the subject of A.I.:

http://www.singinst.org/

&

http://www.singinst.org/action/readinglist.html

Just a thought :)

AI and intelligence were standard material throughout my studies in psychology :p , but thanks for the links. They are interesting.

I would like to point out however, that their welcoming page already makes very clear that this organisation works on a few beliefs that can be challenged in a number of ways.

Anyway, never say never, but AI to the human level of intelligence will never work without emotion or other messy little phenomena. You'll probably get something 'smart' in a way, but the definition of that 'smart' will always be up to us to define. :(

Think about this little tale:

John and Matthew are friends and go out camping in a national park. When they wake up they spot a grislybear looking at them hungrily. John is a genious in biology and maths (and has a high IQ, etc.) and quickly figures out how far they could run before the bear eventually catches up. Meanwhile, Matthew who isn't that smart and always had to work hard to get good grades, is tying his shoelaces and gets ready to sprint.
John looks at Matthew and says: "Matthew, it's pointless to run. We can't stay ahead of the bear and hiding in a tree won't work cause he'll climb right after us."
So Matthew says just before he runs: "Who says I need to stay ahead of the bear?"

[HDhandyman]

To: Morgenster

true, true, the site I directed you to does focus more exclusively on the Singularity, which can be a radical point of contention. Really it's the reading list that I wanted you to see. I dislike it when people give me a link that drops me in the middle of a website.---Glad to know that you've got a handle on all this stuff:)---Your previous post just seemed a bit "absolute" in terms of A.I. generalization, so I thought I'd drop you a link!;)

[Morgenster]

To: Morgenster

true, true, the site I directed you to does focus more exclusively on the Singularity, which can be a radical point of contention. Really it's the reading list that I wanted you to see. I dislike it when people give me a link that drops me in the middle of a website.---Glad to know that you've got a handle on all this stuff:)---Your previous post just seemed a bit "absolute" in terms of A.I. generalization, so I thought I'd drop you a link!;)

It's cool dude. Even if I'm generally suspicious of AI it is still an interesting reading topic for me. So I am going to take a look at the readings.

[rob101]

It's like AI: do you really want a computer that can tell you to go stuff it just because it's having a bad day?
http://www.sorgonet.com/tordera/computer/hal9000/hal.jpg
I'm sorry dave I can't do that.

[Chris'91'525i]

Might be more impressive if VW could apply the technology to their Touareg and complete the 2007 Darpa Grand Challenge....
Which is a much harder urban driving course.
The desert cross country challenge in a AI vehicle was cracked last year...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_Grand_Challenge

[Nick.Hay]

Great for alcoholics!!