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Comment by kempbellt | Hacker News Reader

Even lower-level automation for highway driving would be super useful.

I would appreciate a simple "keep-distance-wrt-speed" function for bumper-to-bumper situations. Where worst case scenario, you rear-end a car at relatively low speeds.

I'd happily keep control over steering in this situation and just keep my foot over the brake, though lane-keep assist would probably be handy here as well. A couple radar sensors/cameras/or lidar sensors would probably be enough for basic functionality.

Disable if the steering-wheel is turned more than X degrees - maybe 20 or 25?. Disable if speed goes over X speed - maybe 15mph? Most cruise controls require a minimum speed (like 25mph) to activate.

Trying to do full driving automation, especially in a city like Seattle, is like diving into the ocean to learn how to swim.

As cool as that sounds, I'd trust incremental automation advancements much more.

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I would appreciate a simple "keep-distance-wrt-speed" function for bumper-to-bumper situations.

This has been widespread for at least a decade. I'm not even aware of a mainstream auto brand that doesn't offer adaptive cruise control at this point. Every one I've used works in stop and go traffic.

The other features you want are exactly what Tesla has basically perfected in their autopilot system, and work almost exactly as you describe (not the FSD, just the standard autopilot).

> This has been widespread for at least a decade.

I can't say that my experience agrees with this. Maybe some higher-end vehicles had it a decade ago, but it seems to be getting more popular over the past 5 years or so. I still don't see it offered on lower priced vehicles where basic cruise functionality is there, but I doubt ever will be a part of "entry level" considering the tech required.

None of the vehicles my family owns have a "stop-and-go" cruise control function - all newer than 10 years. ACC at higher speeds is available on one, but it will not auto-resume if the vehicle stops.

In this same vein cars with automated parallel/back-in-angle parking.

I think an even more 'sensor fusion' approach needs to be adopted. I think the roads need to be 'smart' or at least 'vocal'. Markers of some kind placed in the roadway to hint cars about things like speed limit, lane edge, etc. Anything that would be put on a sign that matters should be broadcast by the road locally.

Combine that with cameras/lidar/whatever for distance keeping and transient obstacle detection. Then network all the cars cooperatively to minimize further the impacts of things like traffic jams or accident re-routing. Perfect zipper merges around debris in the roadway.

Once a road is fully outfitted with the marker system, then and only then would I be comfortable with a 'full autopilot' style system. Start with the freeway/highway system, get the logistics industry on board with special lanes dedicated to them and it becomes essentially a train where any given car can just detach itself to make it's drop off.

Also, what could possibly save the most lives: simply ML the hell out of people’s faces to notice when they are getting sleepy. That’s almost trivial and should be mandatory in a few years.

A more advanced problem would be safely stopping in case the driver falls asleep/looses consciousness, eg. on a highway. that short amount of self-driving is less error-prone than the alternative.

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