Driverless car tested in public in UK

[Becky]

The first public test of a driverless car has taken place in the UK, although they did not venture on to roads. BBC News reports:

A driverless car has been tested among members of the public for the first time in the UK, in Milton Keynes.

The two-seater electric vehicle travelled in a 1km (0.6-mile) loop on the pavements around the town's railway station.

The team behind it hopes a fleet of 40 of the pods will be available to the public next year.

It called the test "a landmark step" towards bringing self-driving vehicles to the roads of the UK.

The software powering the vehicle was developed by Oxford University, and it uses both lidar (radar powered by lasers) plus cameras to navigate its way around obstacles. The UK government has made changes to the law to allow driverless cars to be used on the roads as early as 2020, and further tests will be carried out in Bristol and London, so watch this space.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-37618574

 

[nivrip]

I'm sure that they will come. But I' still concerned about what happens if there is some glitch in the software and someone gets seriously injured or serious damage is done. Difficult to blame a driverless car or take one to court. I suppose the software manufacturers will have to come up with some sort of insurance system to cover all eventualities.

 

[Urmas]

 

[Urmas]

... what happens if there is some glitch in the software and someone gets seriously injured or serious damage is done.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/mit-moral-machine/

Moral Machine has gathered answers on more than 11 million scenarios so far. Although the team has yet to perform a deep analysis, they are noticing regional trends that hint at the rocky road ahead. “On average, respondents from western countries place a relatively higher value on minimizing the number of overall casualties — that is, they approve more utilitarian choices — compared to respondents from eastern countries,” Dsouza said.

Revealing these cultural discrepancies fosters debate and dialogue, which is essential to making progress. “We believe we have already made an impact,” Dsouza said. “This dialogue will eventually help the stakeholders in this scene reach an equilibrium of legislation, liability assessment, moral comfort, and public safety.”

http://moralmachine.mit.edu/