NVIDIA's DRIVE Platform to Power Volvo's Driverless Trucks

#5682103 Posted on: 06/19/2019 09:13 AM

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... until they're going to be replaced.

#5682108 Posted on: 06/19/2019 09:55 AM

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Well, these trucks would still require a person to deliver the goods or collect that trash, so I don't really see that massive improvement that it is supposed to bring. Maybe areas such as e.g. agriculture, where a tractor can just go by itself on a predefined field is both much more useful and easier to implement.

Otherwise, I'd prefer to keep the self driving anything as much off the road as possible. The big issue I see is not really the AI, but the implementation. The computer requires a lot of sensor data, but a big problem is that the design of the car is on the first place, so e.g. an unseemly antenna will never pass to production, even if it perfectly fits the purpose. Instead, things that often barely, but look good, are produced.

#5682114 Posted on: 06/19/2019 10:30 AM

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Well even if they can just assist a tired driver, that would not be bad.

#5682145 Posted on: 06/19/2019 11:56 AM

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Well, these trucks would still require a person to deliver the goods or collect that trash, so I don't really see that massive improvement that it is supposed to bring. Maybe areas such as e.g. agriculture, where a tractor can just go by itself on a predefined field is both much more useful and easier to implement.

Otherwise, I'd prefer to keep the self driving anything as much off the road as possible. The big issue I see is not really the AI, but the implementation. The computer requires a lot of sensor data, but a big problem is that the design of the car is on the first place, so e.g. an unseemly antenna will never pass to production, even if it perfectly fits the purpose. Instead, things that often barely, but look good, are produced.

All new cars will be self drive in less than 10 years, in 20 years it will be illegal to drive a car that isn't self driving and there wont even be steering wheels. These are just facts. The latest Teslas are ready for full self driving and will be doing so by next year, they don't need 'unseemly antennas' they mostly work off cameras.

As for trucks they will also be self driving even things like trash collecting will be automatic, you'll just have to put your bin on specific space or pad. Basically there'll be no jobs for humans in about 20 years and we'll just be fat slobs living off robots.

#5682146 Posted on: 06/19/2019 11:58 AM

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The person is only needed to load/unload the truck, the drive in-between can be autonomous. It's a perfect fit in that way.


This is for trucks - no one buys them for their looks. In addition because they are so expensive then using expensive sensors/AI isn't going to increase the cost as much as it would with a car.

Note: It's not like Volvo have just started to think about this, they already have self driving trucks in use - e.g. .

#5682183 Posted on: 06/19/2019 01:59 PM

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Good job its Volvo there going to need their safety features.

#5682217 Posted on: 06/19/2019 03:13 PM

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I see it as a major improvement. Those trucks have MASSIVE blind spots, and the drivers can get easily distracted or impaired (by tiredness). A self-driving truck doesn't have any of those issues. Most of the time, these trucks have very simple routes, so it's not like the AI has to be as rigorously trained as a passenger vehicle.

I would trust modern semi-autonomous cars over a human any day. For argument's sake, let's say the sensors currently in use are inadequate for the AI to do a proper job: those sensors still tremendously outperform human capabilities. And like I mentioned before, a computer isn't going to get distracted, tired, or under any influences. Really the only existing problem I see is getting a computer to understand context. A computer can't tell the difference between a crumpled paper bag and a rock. A computer has a hard time understanding what to do when the lane markers disappear. A computer gets somewhat blinded by mild precipitation. A computer can't tell when it pissed off a human driver (or is about to). A computer doesn't know what to do if too much of its sensors get blinded.
But these are all things that can be fixed.


That seems a bit optimistic (in terms of time frame) but yeah, that will likely be an inevitability. Though, I think people are going to retaliate HARD if driving becomes illegal. I suspect that major cities will probably ban human drivers, but autonomy can't realistically work everywhere.

#5682359 Posted on: 06/19/2019 10:32 PM

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Better put some driver in dat track.

#5682493 Posted on: 06/20/2019 11:22 AM

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That seems a bit optimistic (in terms of time frame) but yeah, that will likely be an inevitability. Though, I think people are going to retaliate HARD if driving becomes illegal. I suspect that major cities will probably ban human drivers, but autonomy can't realistically work everywhere.

They won't need to make it illegal, the way it will happen will be through insurance. In any ecosystem where driver-less has achieved its vaunted safety margins, alongside the huge data set any car will gather, fault will be so easily provable; premiums for drivers skyrocket and number of drivers will fall.

#5683205 Posted on: 06/22/2019 07:58 AM

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I hope all of you guys are fine with the idea of millions of people losing their jobs/income and becoming obsolete, only to be starving until they no longer exist... Are we supposing that all those drivers are gonna **super easily/instantly** find other opportunities in a 21st century advanced technological society?

What about other groups of workers that provide goods and services that depend on middle class income workers as customers? Think about gas stations, restaurants, mechanics, car washes, car shops, hotels and pretty much any retail stores anywhere really. Oh riiight... They're all gonna rapidly find opportunities in advanced technologies, right?

Everybody is gonna learn to code, right? Everybody is capable of doing complex and abstract mathematics, right? There's probably a market need for everybody to be coding, right?

In addition to the eradication of middle class workers which brings famine to most of the population, autonomous vehicles represent the loss of freedom of movement. Only the very privileged with a high enough social credit score will perhaps be granted a ride, and only if the technocrat controllers consider you and your destination acceptable... only if you make enough virtual ca$h from coding... Gone is the time when people can freely travel somewhere without asking digital permission. Now, you'll need to be granted permission in order to pay-by-the-mile through a big brother phone app.

But yeah, no big deal. Nothing dramatic right?

Here's a quote << Autonomous trucks could potentially operate 24 hours a day, improving delivery times, and with increased efficiency, can bring down the annual cost of logistics in the U.S. by 45% — between $85 billion and $125 billion, according to experts... >

Who is gonna have any income left to buy all those discounted goods? Oh yeah, the coders!

Here is a typical comment I've come across for years by people who I would assume have no personal vehicles, and certainly do not intend to remain in charge of their lives:

<< I see so many bad drivers on the road that I wouldn't mind the AI replacing them all! >>
I.E. I don't appreciate my neighbors driving their cars, but I much approve of Google Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia corporations driving humanity.

Well, freedom always has a cost.

With such a narrow mentally, one could wish for a comparable outcome for almost anything, such as: I've seen so many people cook badly that I wouldn't mind Big AI Corporations to be the only ones cooking.

Bottom line: Big Corporations are getting in control of everything in our lives and removing all our means and astoundingly, many persons are blindly favoring it.

#5683294 Posted on: 06/22/2019 03:31 PM

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Every. Single. Time a new technology came out, the same thing was said. I don't suppose you're starving and homeless?

Of course it'll be dramatic, but there's probably not going to be the economic collapse that you think is so assuredly going to happen. Some people will struggle, but most will adapt.

For some people, yeah, that is the case. Though I don't think anybody feels all cars should be replaced. In large bustling cities, yeah, it's very possible that nearly all transportation is automated, but for everywhere else, that's probably never going to happen. Why do things have to be at such extremes?

Being able to live another day because you weren't run over by an impaired driver isn't worth the cost? Being able to read a book or get your work done while being driven to work isn't worth the cost? Not having to own and maintain a vehicle isn't worth the cost? You can do all of that, while having the convenience of summoning one of these autonomous vehicles at any time (you can't reliably do that with a taxi or Uber/Lyft).
Although I personally like driving and would like to continue doing so, I know of plenty of people who would prefer the benefits of autonomous cars. Most people I know actually hate driving, ironically, largely because of other human drivers.

Considering you're treating everything so black and white here, I'd say it is you who is narrow-minded. Not to mention, you seem to be totally ignoring technological history.

Tell me: what car do you drive? Where to you go to pump fuel in it, and where did that fuel come from? What insurance company do you have a policy with?
Do you seriously think you're avoiding the big scary corporations?

#5683809 Posted on: 06/24/2019 02:04 PM

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I see em as a good thing my cousin was working on trucks doing deliveries all over Europe. The schedules where brutal and he over worked , the resault was him falling asleep on the wheel and the track with the trailer behind making rolls he came out with just bruises but sadly a very unfortunate man got hit by the cargo trailer and got killed on the spot , i am all in for automated tracks.

#5683815 Posted on: 06/24/2019 02:15 PM

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I hope all of you guys are fine with the idea of millions of people losing their jobs/income and becoming obsolete, only to be starving until they no longer exist... Are we supposing that all those drivers are gonna **super easily/instantly** find other opportunities in a 21st century advanced technological society?

What about other groups of workers that provide goods and services that depend on middle class income workers as customers? Think about gas stations, restaurants, mechanics, car washes, car shops, hotels and pretty much any retail stores anywhere really. Oh riiight... They're all gonna rapidly find opportunities in advanced technologies, right?

Everybody is gonna learn to code, right? Everybody is capable of doing complex and abstract mathematics, right? There's probably a market need for everybody to be coding, right?

In addition to the eradication of middle class workers which brings famine to most of the population, autonomous vehicles represent the loss of freedom of movement. Only the very privileged with a high enough social credit score will perhaps be granted a ride, and only if the technocrat controllers consider you and your destination acceptable... only if you make enough virtual ca$h from coding... Gone is the time when people can freely travel somewhere without asking digital permission. Now, you'll need to be granted permission in order to pay-by-the-mile through a big brother phone app.

But yeah, no big deal. Nothing dramatic right?

Here's a quote << Autonomous trucks could potentially operate 24 hours a day, improving delivery times, and with increased efficiency, can bring down the annual cost of logistics in the U.S. by 45% — between $85 billion and $125 billion, according to experts... >

Who is gonna have any income left to buy all those discounted goods? Oh yeah, the coders!

Here is a typical comment I've come across for years by people who I would assume have no personal vehicles, and certainly do not intend to remain in charge of their lives:

<< I see so many bad drivers on the road that I wouldn't mind the AI replacing them all! >>
I.E. I don't appreciate my neighbors driving their cars, but I much approve of Google Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia corporations driving humanity.

Well, freedom always has a cost.

With such a narrow mentally, one could wish for a comparable outcome for almost anything, such as: I've seen so many people cook badly that I wouldn't mind Big AI Corporations to be the only ones cooking.

Bottom line: Big Corporations are getting in control of everything in our lives and removing all our means and astoundingly, many persons are blindly favoring it.

While I generally do understand your concerns, and share them to some extent, individual driving won't die anyway. At least not if you can afford the insurance in the future.
Sure such a change of technology costs jobs, but so did the introduction of steam power (less labourers), anti biotics (less grave diggers), and electronics (less hand copying for instance). For what gain is always to question, sure, but without just those "revolutions" you predict, we wouldn't even be sitting here typing our posts.

And to be honest, if freedom has a cost you're willing to pay, stop using the internet. And a smartphone. And electronics. Since you yourself should know, they all take your freedom away. Move to the countryside and live off the land, this is the only way to be completely free. If you can do that I honestly salute you... I was born into this world and the only thing I can do is watch it go down with either a laugh or crying. But it goes down anyway.