Cars that keep your speed within the limit may seem like a good idea, but the prospect of introducing the technology raises some tricky questions.
Cities have a choice of autonomous vehicle futures: cars or mass transit vehicles. Which one we adopt is likely to determine how people-friendly our cities are.
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Autonomous mass transit vehicles like ‘trackless trams’ are a better bet than autonomous cars to give us people-friendly cities that capture the value created by infrastructure for the common good.
We’re on the road to developing artificial intelligence systems that will be able to do tasks beyond those they were designed for. But will we be able to control them?
CRRC’s version of the optically guided bus, now operating in Zhuzhou, is more like light rail than its predecessors.
CRRC
The autonomous rail rapid transit (ART) system developed in China might make buses sexy, but the technology alone won’t resolve the issues of road space and right of way in Australia.
Charging six cars at once is fine. Charging 60 million might be a bit tougher.
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The arrival of autonomous vehicles would ideally reduce the number of cars on our roads. But this is a pipe dream without a robust public transport system and willingness to share.
Urgent and radical change in urban transport policies and practices will benefit the planet and future generations.
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To cut emissions within the 12 years or so we have left to avoid disastrous global warming, we will need to change our old transport habits, using a combination of strategies to achieve this.
One-third of roads in the U.S. are unpaved; plenty more have faded or obscured road markings. Today’s self-driving vehicles can’t go on them, and will need new algorithms to handle those conditions.
A cleaner future with autonomous vehicles is not a sure thing.
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The spread of ride-hailing services and autonomous vehicles will lead to higher energy demand, a study finds. Electric vehicles and a much cleaner grid are the only way to avoid more emissions.
When cyclists take over road lanes, self-driving cars will operate less efficiently.
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Autonomous cars and people-centered communities are mutually exclusive, writes a cyclist and transportation scholar.
CRRC Zhuzhou Institute developed the rubber-tyred autonomous rail transit (ART) system, or trackless tram, which has already been trialled in Zhuzhou, China.
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For 40 years the author has argued that trains and trams are better than buses. New ‘trackless trams’, which take innovations from high speed rail and put them in a bus, have changed his mind.
Driving conditions that don’t require frequent use of vehicle controls, but do require constant vigilance for hazards, can reduce driver alertness.
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Humans are poor at remaining vigilant over time. That’s bad news for the safety of partially automated cars, which sometimes need the person behind the wheel to quickly take over control.
Autonomous cars need to learn how to drive just like people do: with real-world practice on public roads. It’s key to safety, and to public confidence in the new technologies.