[krisoft]

I work at a self-driving car company and we observed a similar problem when we did some off-road testing on dirt tracks. The cars were too precise and they were cutting deep ruts into the soil. We too solved it by adding a pseudo-random offset to the track.

[mikepurvis]

I believe Google Maps adds a bit of a rng in which route it will recommend when two otherwise similar in distance/time. Obviously the traffic input also affects this, but that's a slower feedback mechanism; better to distribute the cars all leaving the airport for downtown across the 2-3 possible routes upfront rather than dumping them all onto route A until it's a jam and then all onto route B until it's a jam, etc.

[psunavy03]

I'm sure Google Maps has had to put their thumb on the scale in numerous instances. I recall reading articles about it "discovering" more optimal routes between Point A and Point B only to find things like the new "optimal" route being down a neighborhood street, and then the locals started squawking.

[bigiain]

Annealing.

[bobthepanda]

Before the current wave of automation there was a previous technology to automate buses using optical sensing and lines in the road which had the same issue.

[namibj]

If you want rails: build rails.

[bdamm]

There are entire subway systems built with tire-on-concrete where the trains ride precisely the same routes down to the millimeter. Montreal’s is a famous one. These systems are not as efficient as rail, but they are quieter and gentler than the typical subway.

[bobthepanda]

The problem is that the optical guided bus was built with the intention of reducing cost, since painting lines is a lot cheaper than building rails.

The moment you have to build rail-like things you lose most of the cost advantages.

[namibj]

That's still rail. It's just not steel-on-steel.

Otherwise you'd have to seriously limit what systems you call "monorail".