A self-driving car that can't react appropriately to the world as it is is not a self-driving car, it's a fantasy. The world cannot adapt to the needs of current self-driving car tech, there are just too many moving parts that would need to change. It's up to the self-driving cars to adapt to the world as it is, and if they can't do that then they're not ready.
When I realized how stupid this was, we got rid of the Roomba and used the vacuum again.
Several houses later, several generations of Roomba later, and hard floors, Roomba mostly works well. I infrequently need to tear it down to cut out hair and other stuck debris.
We should not expect first responders to adapt to and accept shortcomings of autonomous vehicles. If they endanger lives in novel ways that were never an issue before, they need to be deployed in areas where they won’t encounter those issues and/or be updated to recognize existing signals (tap, lights, traffic signal preemption devices, people telling them to move or go a different way, etc.).
If I can’t opt out of having a driverless car on my street I want to be absolutely positive it poses no higher risk to my family and neighbors than to other drivers without needing to remember to perform robot maintenance first.
The whole point of a self-driving car is that it’s supposed to do what a human driver does. Why can’t it just… avoid emergency vehicles?
And let me be super straightforward here: if a radio technician needs to be on emergency vehicle at all times, it better be that his salary comes out of self driving licenses fees and not my taxes.
If you have not looked at a fire engine or ambulance lately, you would be a little surprised at how much technology they bristle with. The last time I called 9-1-1, they showed up with an EKG, and all the other machines to monitor vital signs. In fact, there are services now that advertise they will bring a fully-functional Emergency Department to the comfort of your own home.
Yeah, who wants to mess with ancillary tech that isn't part of the emergency. Nobody, but a transponder is fairly dumb. You press a button on it and it starts. Transponders don't have a mic, they don't have a frequency dial, they are just gonna send out your ID code until you shut it down again. It will be the least of worries for the first responders, especially if they will be safe from errant SDCs.
The devices you listed were chosen by emergency services to make them more efficient at their primary purpose. Beacons have nothing to do with improving their ability to do their job and are just an additional burden.
you need some form of authentication on it. needs to be impossible or at least very hard to spoof.
and now your device is not so dumb anymore.
It’s not a good answer - driverless tech just simply isn’t ready.