David McCormick

Taking Control Away From The Driver

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of robot driving. Humans are terrible drivers. And why should we be good at it? Controlling a vehicle on four wheels moving at 100 km/h among other similar vehicles, each of which can easily kill occupants or pedestrians due to their mass alone… why does anyone think the human nervous system is equipped for that?

Most people are not ready to allow robots to pilot their car because they think they’re safer. But there was a small milestone in taking away driver control in which the driver was unauthorized and clearly a danger. From ABC news:

The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe roared away with officers in pursuit, but shortly after the suspect made a right turn, operators at General Motors Co.’s OnStar service sent a command that electronically disabled the gas pedal and the SUV gradually came to a halt.

The flustered thief got out and ran, but was quickly nabbed after he climbed several fences and fell into a backyard swimming pool, police said.
High-Speed Chase Ends When OnStar Halts Stolen SUV – ABC News

This reminds me of the scene in Minority Report (2002) when Tom Cruise’s character makes his first escape from his employer in a car. Very quickly, he gets an audio warning: “Vehicle destination reset to police headquarters.” This is exactly the behaviour we want when capturing a fleeing fugitive.

Thanks to BloggingTheSingularity.com for bringing this to my attention.

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