12-21-2017, 09:19 AM
(12-20-2017, 11:48 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: As for the driverless trucks? Well, not sure that can be as easily achieved as dreamed or we would have had unmanned locomotives years ago. In my lifetime, there will always be a need to have that truck manned even if it’s self driven.
There are already unmanned locomotives in Australia with a belief they will be in the states in 5 or so years. Part of the issues is regulations often times lag behind innovation, and things like unions can also slow the adoption of new technologies. Not sure how old you are, but there are startups already that are moving the direction of making the "driver" somewhat obsolete. For instance one is turning the trucks into robots that drive the highway's themselves then a guy in a control room drives them when they get off the freeway. This allows one guy to drive up to 30 trucks during an 8 hour shift.
When it comes to technology using words like "always" and "never" aren't good ideas because technology moves fast, and if there is a reason to do it people will find ways to do it. Automation of transportation is a big deal as the amount of deaths an injuries related to human error are too high to ignore. They are already testing self driving buses in areas around the U.S. that have no human involvement.
