Disney to Test Driverless Transportation

[anihilnation]

Report: Walt Disney World to test driverless shuttles

 

[Parkscope Joe]

So this has been floating around this weekend and I want to add some analysis to this (can't spell analysis without anal!)

When people hear driverless vehicles they think of Uber or Google's technology of having cars drive around property on normal roads, picking up guests as needed. People are thinking this will be a replacement for busses.

Reading how the technology works and the current implementations (and what Disney's initial testing will be, this is not a done deal) this sounds like a replacement for parking lot trams. The technology sounds like it's for closed transportation systems where there are no other cars or busses. So I think if Disney implements this system it will be to replace parking lot trams.

 

[Scott W.]

This is really only a matter of time. I'm surprised that the monorails still have drivers.

 

[fryoj]

So this has been floating around this weekend and I want to add some analysis to this (can't spell analysis without anal!)

When people hear driverless vehicles they think of Uber or Google's technology of having cars drive around property on normal roads, picking up guests as needed. People are thinking this will be a replacement for busses.

Reading how the technology works and the current implementations (and what Disney's initial testing will be, this is not a done deal) this sounds like a replacement for parking lot trams. The technology sounds like it's for closed transportation systems where there are no other cars or busses. So I think if Disney implements this system it will be to replace parking lot trams.

You are probably right, but I thought I saw somewhere it was to be for employee transport primarily.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

You are probably right, but I thought I saw somewhere it was to be for employee transport primarily.

What I read was that's the initial test and if it works it'll become guest facing. So it'll replace transit in parking lots, not busses on roads.

 

[GadgetGuru]

One of the suppliers they're looking at is Navya.

I love how Navya's video of their cars driving around Las Vegas don't even try to hide the fact that cop cars have blocked off all traffic. The roads are absolutely empty.

These things will be in parking lots exclusively. They won't be remotely street legal. Heck, they'll probably have exclusive lanes in the parking lot where people can't actually walk for these cars to drive in.

Won't it be fun when Disney is telling us all to go to Disney World to ride the new parking trams?

 

[s8film40]

What I read was that's the initial test and if it works it'll become guest facing. So it'll replace transit in parking lots, not busses on roads.

It's not currently legal on public roads without a person at least monitoring it, so this makes sense and I suppose is a good way for them to start easing into the technology.

It's only a matter of time though and all public and much of private transportation is going to move to this everywhere. The cost savings are going to be phenomenal and I think it will catch on fast.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

It's not currently legal on public roads without a person at least monitoring it, so this makes sense and I suppose is a good way for them to start easing into the technology.

It's only a matter of time though and all public and much of private transportation is going to move to this everywhere. The cost savings are going to be phenomenal and I think it will catch on fast.

I don't think it's inevitable for diverless cars to share the road with human piloted ones. It's hard enough for good drivers to get around the roads where tourists make bad driving decisions. There are still basic problems that are not being solved in how to program and implement driverless vehicles.

 

[fryoj]

I don't think it's inevitable for diverless cars to share the road with human piloted ones. It's hard enough for good drivers to get around the roads where tourists make bad driving decisions. There are still basic problems that are not being solved in how to program and implement driverless vehicles.

Granted, it's not the same as what you are talking about with sharing the roads, but I think at some point in the future there will only be driverless cars. It'll probably take another 10-20 years just to get to the point where the computers can do it right. Once they get the tech right and they can virtually eliminate accidents and fatalities due to drunk/distracted driving. People will fight it, but once you realize you can make a commute that used to take an hour because of traffic in 20-30 minutes and you can play on your phone, or tv or just sleep the whole time, they will get over it pretty quick.

 

[s8film40]

I don't think it's inevitable for diverless cars to share the road with human piloted ones. It's hard enough for good drivers to get around the roads where tourists make bad driving decisions. There are still basic problems that are not being solved in how to program and implement driverless vehicles.

Driverless cars are already sharing the road with human piloted ones. You've likely driven alongside or passed a Tesla that's already doing this. Uber has been testing this in areas as well. The only real difference is legally someone has to be in the driver seat basically watching it. I don't think this is a 10-20 year thing, I think it will be a 3-5 years before it starts to become fairly widely adopted. It all comes down to the math, we spend even on the low end $10k-$20k on a vehicle which for 90+% of the time sits being unused. If we can pay for only our usage even with a mark-up for whoever's providing this to profit the cost savings are huge. The other unfortunate side affect to this is it will likely drive the selling price of cars up. If you can go out and buy a $30k Tesla Model 3 and put it into Tesla's ride share network you can probably easily make enough to cover your monthly payment in less than a week. It doesn't take much to realize the next logical step to this is everyone's going to run out buy a car and start making money off of simply owning it. At that point I think the days of owning a car for anything less than $30k (probably more) will come to an abrupt end. It's all supply and demand.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Aren't most accidents with Disney buses because of the other drivers though?

So from a safety standpoint it's sort of a wash, but I fear not having a bus driver right there to call for help will be a problem.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

This is really only a matter of time. I'm surprised that the monorails still have drivers.

Good point.

I'm excited for this.

 

[s8film40]

Aren't most accidents with Disney buses because of the other drivers though?

So from a safety standpoint it's sort of a wash, but I fear not having a bus driver right there to call for help will be a problem.

Buses already have cameras, and they have a command center type thing where they are monitoring everything. As part of automation there will be even more cameras. In the event of an accident I would suspect the bus would send a signal that something isn't right and they can dispatch whatever is needed. In most cases when drivers are in an accident their first reaction isn't to call for help but asses the situation and sometimes theres some shock, in a driverless scenario help could actually be called faster.

 

[Scott W.]

Aren't most accidents with Disney buses because of the other drivers though?

So from a safety standpoint it's sort of a wash, but I fear not having a bus driver right there to call for help will be a problem.

Orlando certainly has its challenges when driving.

Florida drivers are the worst in America, says study | Blogs

 

[s8film40]

Orlando certainly has its challenges when driving.

Florida drivers are the worst in America, says study | Blogs

The funny thing is everyone tries to associate the bad driving to tourists, but it's most definitely the locals that are the worst. I drive quite a bit for work and the last 3 weeks I've made a point to notice how often I see certain things, not one day has gone by that I haven't seen someone pass someone on the shoulder of I-4, many of those times at a very high rate of speed. Seeing people swerve across three lanes all at once is amazingly common.

 

[Scott W.]

The funny thing is everyone tries to associate the bad driving to tourists, but it's most definitely the locals that are the worst. I drive quite a bit for work and the last 3 weeks I've made a point to notice how often I see certain things, not one day has gone by that I haven't seen someone pass someone on the shoulder of I-4, many of those times at a very high rate of speed. Seeing people swerve across three lanes all at once is amazingly common.

Stupid question but can you overtake on any side on the highway?

 

[Jonea32]

I can absolutely see this coming. On a global scale these are the exact types of jobs automation will be replacing within the next 5-10 years.

 

[s8film40]

Stupid question but can you overtake on any side on the highway?

Yes, you can. The situations I noticed there wasn't really an option to pass as all three lanes had cars so the drivers just go into the shoulder (left or right) pass and then swerve back onto the road, that is most definitely not legal but I see it every day.

 

[WAJAS]

Stupid question but can you overtake on any side on the highway?

In some states, you are not allowed to overtake someone in the far left lane. This is in theory because that person isn't going to stay in that lane as they are in fact passing someone else. The far left lane is supposed to be purely a passing lane and not a through lane in some states. Does that make any sense? lol

 

[Scott W.]

Yes, you can. The situations I noticed there wasn't really an option to pass as all three lanes had cars so the drivers just go into the shoulder (left or right) pass and then swerve back onto the road, that is most definitely not legal but I see it every day.

In some states, you are not allowed to overtake someone in the far right lane. This is in theory because that person isn't going to stay in that lane as they are in fact passing someone else. The far right lane is supposed to be purely a passing lane and not a through lane in some states. Does that make any sense? lol

That makes sense to me. In the U.K. You can only pass on the right (We drive on the opposite side of the road) so I couldn't figure out if it was the same in the US or everybody was a crazy driver.