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My car belongs to a gang — Parallax Forums

My car belongs to a gang

MikeDYurMikeDYur Posts: 2,176
in General Discussion
Cruising down the road in a pack is nothing new, but it was my choice not the cars.

There are big plans to deal with our congested highways, everyone on board with this?


If Elon Musk Can't Solve Our Traffic Woes, These Technologies Just Might
http://nbcnews.to/2sTlZvk

The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking to require all new cars to have vehicle-to-vehicle communication starting around 2020 (only a handful of cars today have such technology built-in, none of which are autonomous).

Comments

  • DavidZemonDavidZemon Posts: 2,973
    I've been thinking about this exact idea for quite a while. If our cars could all (and this is obviously a pipe dream, because I mean all of them - every single last one without any exception) communicate, the range of sensors necessary for autonomous driving would drop drastically. It'd be easy to implement autonomous driving probably. And safer! I'm thrilled to see that this idea is gaining traction and I really hope it goes well. Software can be written later, but let's get the hardware built into the cars now.

    I don't have kids yet, but I'm imagining a world where, when I do, I don't have to leave work 2 or 3 hours early just to drive my kid(s) to soccer practice or pick them up from wherever.
  • MicksterMickster Posts: 2,682
    Pet peeve of mine, here; color me conspiracy theorist but it seems to me that there is a lot of emphasis on protecting car occupants (seat-belts, air-bags, etc.) but less on preventing collisions. Heck, back in 2005, I was the proud owner of a new Jaguar XJR. The built-in radar system was absolutey THE most amazing feature. Get too close to the car in front and it would automatically apply the brakes or decelerate accordingly. One day I was cruising the Indiana turnpike in a torrential downpour and the car took a sudden nose-drive. Turned out that there was a truck in front with no rear lights...I would've never seen this!

    I have to believe that this technology exists in other vehicles today but I would prefer this over seatbelts and airbags as a mandatory feature, any day.
  • MikeDYurMikeDYur Posts: 2,176
    Mickster wrote: »
    I have to believe that this technology exists in other vehicles today but I would prefer this over seatbelts and airbags as a mandatory feature, any day.



    I am for anything that will avoid an accident in the first place. We have a lot of kids killed every year do to inexperience or plain not paying attention. I'm for automatic braking technology, as long as it doesn't interfere with my driving. And as long as it doesn't make people complacent, and be distracted even more.

    How does this work for an animal crossing?

    I have hit a deer before, and my wife hit a turkey vulture and knocked all the antenna's off of the car. I admit things happen too quickly for that technology to be very effective.

    But say there is a deer in the middle of the road on a dark night. You can be up on it to fast to avoid it. If it works in that scenario, and doesn't have a false alarm for a sparrow flying in front of the car. I would buy an aftermarket universal unit for my grocery getter.
  • KeithEKeithE Posts: 957
    They are still working on securing the communications within a car, so I'm a bit skeptical about how quickly this vehicle-vehicle communications will develop. Maybe some security researchers will get free cars out of it. #pwn2own
  • MikeDYurMikeDYur Posts: 2,176
    edited 2017-06-07 22:17
    Something funny about my wife hitting the turkey buzzard, it knocked the magnetic mount CB antenna from the roof off the driver side just in front of the back wheel, and she drug it three miles home. She thought it was one of the three birds she went through. She was too scared to look back.
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    edited 2017-06-07 20:51
    Car-to-car is needed when a pack that normally would constitute tailgating, goes on a long stretch haul in the fast lane.
    If first car is no longer is the leader it needs to tell the chain of cars behind.
    So I think the information it sends to other cars is limited to basic navigation and no personal info.

    And if a car notice one car is about to hit it but the that cars radar did not detect it for some reason, direct communication could tell the other car.
    e.g two radars is better than one.
  • MicksterMickster Posts: 2,682
    MikeDYur wrote: »

    How does this work for an animal crossing?

    I remember driving down a main street in some town and a "distraction" on the side-walk had me rubbernecking when a pedestrian decided to walk out in front of the vechicle and the radar took over once again. I don't remember any nuisance behaviour and I had it enabled at all times.

  • MicksterMickster Posts: 2,682
    I just re-read the article and found the "ripple effect" theory interesting. It always baffled me how one can be stuck in traffic for a while and then it suddenly takes off and there is no sign of any obstruction to account for the delay.

    The radar system can be set to track the vehicle in front as it speeds up and slows down. Makes sense all around. There are all kinds of potential distractions when driving, not just cell-phones; dropping a hot drink/cigarette in your lap, fiddling with the GPS/radio, kids in the back. I wonder, while I have been typing this; how many cars, equipped with seat belts and air-bags have, just now, been rear-ended.
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,764
    Mickster wrote: »

    The radar system can be set to track the vehicle in front as it speeds up and slows down. Makes sense all around. There are all kinds of potential distractions when driving, not just cell-phones; dropping a hot drink/cigarette in your lap, fiddling with the GPS/radio, kids in the back. I wonder, while I have been typing this; how many cars, equipped with seat belts and air-bags have, just now, been rear-ended.
    Funny in 48 years of driving, I have been rear ended 4 times. All of which could have been avoided with forward looking radar systems. In each case something unexpected happened to traffic. Now if I just had a rear looking system that somehow could land the first punch! Of course communication to the car behind me would also (probably) solve the problem.

    Jim

  • MikeDYurMikeDYur Posts: 2,176
    RS_Jim wrote: »
    Of course communication to the car behind me would also (probably) solve the problem.

    Jim

    I'm all for for that.

    I worry at highway speeds what is behind me at all times, if it's close and bigger than me, go man go, I will let you pass intentionally,

    Thing is traffic jams in general aggravate my claustrophobia. Boxed in by semi's = x 10.
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,764
    Thing is traffic jams in general aggravate my claustrophobia. Boxed in by semi's = x 10.
    You sound like my other half!
    Jim
  • MikeDYurMikeDYur Posts: 2,176
    edited 2017-06-09 14:55
    This is one thing that scares me, fog.

    https://weather.com/news/news/california-foggy-travel-pileup

    It's not a good feeling when you can't see anything around you, even the road.

    There are at least one or two of these around here every year. Your traveling along at 70 to 80mph on a clear day, then all of a sudden you run into a patch of heavy fog. Your first reaction is to slow down, but will that be the cause of the accident? Because the guy behind you just keeps plugging along, with no regard to the situation.
    Sensors on vehicles communicating with other vehicles would seem to be the answer.

    EDIT: One thing that would stop a lot of accidents is, understanding what "Assured Clear Distance" means.
  • MicksterMickster Posts: 2,682
    Communication only solves the problem with other vehicles, though. Radar even picks up on chunks of re-treads, etc.
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,764
    In AZ fog is not much of an issue but we have a scary Condition called "Huboob" that is a dust storm that leads to a total visibility blackout.
    Jim
  • MikeDYurMikeDYur Posts: 2,176
    RS_Jim wrote: »
    In AZ fog is not much of an issue but we have a scary Condition called "Huboob" that is a dust storm that leads to a total visibility blackout.
    Jim

    A traveling nightmare.

    Never knew the name, has an Arabian sound to it. But have seen that on the news a number of times. What goes on during one of these storms? Head indoors and lay low till it's over. And when it's over rush to the stores for new filters for everything that takes one. Plus grab an extra broom and dust pan while your at it.

    My grand parents moved there for the dry air. That is a little too dry.
  • Jeff HaasJeff Haas Posts: 421
    Haboob is Arabic, but here's a really impressive time-lapse video of one at Phoenix:
  • KeithEKeithE Posts: 957
    Some v2v information is here https://icsw.nhtsa.gov/safercar/v2v/ notice that the security is PKI-based, but they tried to address some vulnerabilities.
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