Drones are making deliveries.

hmm

so apparently google says its cars are safe, but i don't see an unbiased outside source confirming their reliability in a real-life scenario

so i'm still dubious. just because one economics professor says that they are safe doesn't mean they are
 
Well, nobody really gives automated cars a chance to show its results, so at this rate, we'll never know.

Wikipedia has a page on it. Not a source, but a good page for the basic information.

HowStuffWorks has an article about it.

And here's an article about more stuff that should be considered from driverless cars.
http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/09/we-need-to-think-about-the-infrastructure-for-autonomous-cars-too/

I want to see how driverless cars work in person, but I'm still excited that they might be an everyday reality in my lifetime.
 
it's not that i'm not willing to give them a chance, but i'm definitely going to need to see examples of where the computer was able to overcome difficulties unforeseeable by the development team

and there's no way i'm ever going to buy a car that doesn't have a manual control as backup in case the computer fails for whatever reason
 
Dr. Javelin said:
it's not that i'm not willing to give them a chance, but i'm definitely going to need to see examples of where the computer was able to overcome difficulties unforeseeable by the development team

and there's no way i'm ever going to buy a car that doesn't have a manual control as backup in case the computer fails for whatever reason


As for that last sentence, automated cars are likely to have that system as a failsafe measure. Besides, one disadvantage of these cars is that people have less skill and experience to drive a car since the car may be doing most of the driving if all is well.
 
Mario's Drunken Holiday Special said:
Dr. Javelin said:
it's not that i'm not willing to give them a chance, but i'm definitely going to need to see examples of where the computer was able to overcome difficulties unforeseeable by the development team

and there's no way i'm ever going to buy a car that doesn't have a manual control as backup in case the computer fails for whatever reason


As for that last sentence, automated cars are likely to have that system as a failsafe measure. Besides, one disadvantage of these cars is that people have less skill and experience to drive a car since the car may be doing most of the driving if all is well.
There are good things about it, like it would eliminate DWIs. But they had better be 100% reliable, because the FIRST TIME there is a malfunction and someone dies, all hell will break loose. Computers do malfunction, all mechanical devices are subject to failure. The same can be said for a car as is, but at least then people can feel liketthey had control.
 
The first time they malfunction, the media can and WILL overreact to it, despite statistics showing that human errors are the biggest cause of car crashes. That's the downside. When it comes to safety, think airplane crashes.
 
Mario's Drunken Holiday Special said:
The first time they malfunction, the media can and WILL overreact to it, despite statistics
wait

you actually believe every statistic you hear?

everyone knows that it's incredibly easy to skew statistics to prove your point
 
Dr. Javelin said:
couldn't they just steal the drone then?

and how would they open it?

having a stolen drone with stolen loot inside is somewhat useless if you don't know what the loot is, let alone able to access it.
 
Dr. Javelin said:
Mario's Drunken Holiday Special said:
The first time they malfunction, the media can and WILL overreact to it, despite statistics
wait

you actually believe every statistic you hear?

everyone knows that it's incredibly easy to skew statistics to prove your point
stop with the red herring