XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: jclarkeusenet@cox.net   
      
   In article , rexjohns@nospam.com   
   says...   
   >   
   > "Dimensional Traveler"  wrote in message   
   > news:52e1df47$0$52764$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...   
   > > On 1/23/2014 12:31 PM, rex wrote:   
   > >>   
   > >>   
   > >> "Your Name"  wrote in message   
   > >> news:240120140855359808%YourName@YourISP.com...   
   > >>> J. Clarke wrote:   
   > >>>> In article <52e0c728$0$52806$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,   
   > >>>> dtravel@sonic.net   
   > >>>> says...   
   > >>>> > On 1/21/2014 9:49 PM, Your Name wrote:   
   > >>>> > > In article <52df5822$0$52798$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>, Dimensional   
   > >>>> > > Traveler  wrote:   
   > >>>> > >> On 1/21/2014 7:46 PM, Greg Goss wrote:   
   > >>>> > >>> "John F. Eldredge"  wrote:   
   > >>>> > >>>>   
   > >>>> > >>>> Several years back, something got royally screwed up in the   
   > >>>> Google > >>>> Maps   
   > >>>> > >>>> database.  If I recall correctly, going from one particular   
   > >>>> town > >>>> to   
   > >>>> > >>>> another in Scotland showed, correctly, a land trip of about 20   
   > >>>> > >>>> miles.   
   > >>>> > >>>> Going in the reverse direction showed a trip of several   
   > >>>> hundred > >>>> miles,   
   > >>>> > >>>> passing through three different countries and involving two   
   > >>>> > >>>> trips   
   > >>>> > >>>> across   
   > >>>> > >>>> the North Sea.   
   > >>>> > >>>   
   > >>>> > >>> I forget whether it was Google Maps, or some predecessor mapping   
   > >>>> > >>> internet program, but I was once told to turn left from one car   
   > >>>> > >>> ferry   
   > >>>> > >>> onto another near Nanaimo.   
   > >>>> > >>>   
   > >>>> > >> I once had map software on my laptop while I was entering St.   
   > >>>> Louis > >> via   
   > >>>> > >> a bridge across the Mississippi try to tell me to take a left   
   > >>>> turn > >> from   
   > >>>> > >> the divided interstate highway bridge a hundred feet up in the   
   > >>>> air > >> onto   
   > >>>> > >> the riverside jogging/bike path below.   
   > >>>> > >   
   > >>>> > > One example of NUMEROUS that prove self-driving cars simply aren't   
   > >>>> > > going to happen any time soon.   
   > >>>>   
   > >>>> If a self-driving car took its _only_ navigational information from a   
   > >>>> GPS this would be an issue.  But the Google cars take their information   
   > >>>> from a variety of sources and should not drive off of the road simply   
   > >>>> because a GPS tells them to.   
   > >>>   
   > >>> Without massive amount of expensive changes to the roading system and /   
   > >>> or a sudden, and currently immpssible, increase in the functionality of   
   > >>> "artificial intelligence", there's no way to stop the cars going the   
   > >>> wrong way down a one-way street (as one example) simply because Google   
   > >>> Maps told them to.   
   > >>   
   > >> It wouldn't be hard to ensure that google maps is always up to date   
   > >> with any road change like that,   
   >   
   > > Yes it is.   
   >   
   > No it isn't. They have to do it anyway, and they don't do that by driving   
   > the streets and entering changes, the operations that make the changes   
   > notify of changes.   
      
   When Google Maps is actually up to date and 100 percent accurate get   
   back to us.   
      
      
   > A self driving car has to be able to handle short term changes that   
   > happen when doing road maintenance and short term redirection   
   > of traffic due at major accident etc and so can handle that fine.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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