Register lecture: Teaching self-driving cars how to be more human

Autonomous vehicles have been given the green light – according to HM Government – which confidently expects they'll be pounding Britain's potholed highways by 2021. But before AVs take off, they must be extensively tested – and therein lies the rub: those who are building smart-car systems require highly realistic simulations …

[John Robson]

The barrier is much higher...

After all killing someone with a vehicle normally results is nothing more than a minor slap on the wrist and permission to do the same again...

[tiggity]

I welcome cautious "AI" cars

Given some of the poor quality human driving I see.

But I do not expect to see fully "AI" cars in the near future as it is just too hard a task when a mix of AI and non AI road users...

How they will manage the many situations where face and hand gestures between driver and other road users (i.e. may include pedestrians, cyclists, bikers, horse riders, framers crossing road with livestock etc. - not just "drivers")? Some small Airplane style pop up "Otto" to do the gesture negotiations ? Or just fall back to light flashing? Have a voice synthesis system and external speakers to "shout" communications to other road users.

Its those irritating edge cases that will be the issue

A shame, as I would like a fully automated car (But I'm not one of those people who rates their driving above average and so drive cautiously to ensure decent gaps in case of sharp braking needed, sensible slowing near "blind" bends etc. and find driving a tedious chore, after all the open roads & scenic vistas of car ads do not reflect the mundane reality of UK commuting (main car use for many of us) with its many "traffic jams")