In my mind structured road conditions are a prerequisite for driverless cars.
I've been in many situations where conservative driving according to the rules of the road is not possible. In the West this is more limited to dense cities and exceptional situations. In India, though, this is the rule.
If you waited for pedestrians to finish crossing or for cars to clear intersections, maintained a safe following distance, signaled before turning, waited for other parties to yield, etc, you would never leave your driveway.
It's difficult for me to imagine a computer deciding to gently nudge pedestrians with its bumper in order to proceed through a green light, which I've had to do several times while driving there.
@zimbatm (because there isn't a reply option at this level)
I'm also sure there are screenwriters already working on incorporating such scenes into movies. Likely we'll see it on the big screen before we see it in real life.
Which is why Self Driving Cars™ will never be legal without strong AI.
There's no such thing as "Structured Road Conditions" anywhere in the world. Whether it's the ice storms of the Northeast US, radar interference, one lane two-way roads, potholes that can devour a wheel or roads that turn into mud -- the analog world is a harsh and unrealistic place for a technology that has never made its way out of cherry-picked municipalities in ideal conditions.
The last chapter is not city driving. It's the first chapter. So far Google has tackled only the lowest hanging fruit.
I've been in many situations where conservative driving according to the rules of the road is not possible. In the West this is more limited to dense cities and exceptional situations. In India, though, this is the rule.
If you waited for pedestrians to finish crossing or for cars to clear intersections, maintained a safe following distance, signaled before turning, waited for other parties to yield, etc, you would never leave your driveway.
It's difficult for me to imagine a computer deciding to gently nudge pedestrians with its bumper in order to proceed through a green light, which I've had to do several times while driving there.