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by keehun 3888 days ago
I've always wondered how autonomous cars would handle the first and last quarter mile of the journey. I'm talking specifically like portions of the trip like the driveway, getting out of the parking ramp, or navigating small alleyways where the car could be parked (where GPS could be weak in the city). Things like even knowing which entrance to go to. Will fully autonomous will ever be able to take us from A to B 100%? Will humans always take over the last tiny bit where the maps aren't detailed and to park? Humans love to drive around the lot to park at exactly the "perfect" spot. Cars can parallel park now, but how will cars decide where to park exactly? Will we ever be able to have the car take us through the drive-thru?

I personally think autopilot-like auto-cruise just on the highway and more established local roads would be good enough. The convenience afforded by having the robot take us from A to B parked to parked may not be worth the insane price it must have on its tag to get there.
2 comments
c22 3888 days ago
The car can drop you off at your destination and then go park wherever it's convenient. It can take as long as it wants since you're no longer waiting on it, so it doesn't have to worry about navigating "unparkable" areas. It could go to a networked garage where the cars stack side by side without space even for the doors to open. If your visit is short it could just drive around the block a few times. Alternatively, it could go pick up another passenger.
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jaggederest 3888 days ago
> I'm talking specifically like portions of the trip like the driveway, getting out of the parking ramp, or navigating small alleyways where the car could be parked (where GPS could be weak in the city)

Relatively simple from a conceptual point of view: a human drives it the first time, and later times use sensors to apply basic rules and the original 'instructions' learned from driving it manually the first time.

Extend this to a network of cars sharing route information, and only a small sampling of the population ever needs to drive any given route manually.

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