Comment on Are flying cars finally here?
Engywuck@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I didn’t t read the article (of course), but I hope flying cars aren’t anywhere near to be available to consumers. Many drivers are barely able to drive correctly withouth killing themselves (and/or anybody else) on a 1D path drawn on a 2D surface. IMHO, giving anyone the possibility to “drive” in a 3D space is a recipe for disaster.
Every time someone mentions flying cars this is the only thought that matters to me.
“yes let’s add a THIRD dimension for people to be idiots in”
There’s no way you could get me into a flying car until they’ve been around for decades with a safety record better than commercial airlines.
Standing ovation
The thing is, driving a flying car isn’t going to be like driving a ground car. It’ll be like flying an autonomous drone, like a DJI drone. You tell it to take off, and it takes off and hovers. You tell it to go up, and it goes up, and then stayed at the height it stopped at. There is an auto-land feature, and an auto “Return To Home” feature. The driver (pilot) doesn’t have to balance the vehicle, or deal with complex controls, or compensate for wind, because those are all handled by software that interfaces with the flight controller, GPS, and other hardware. It’s similar to using an Xbox controller, and it’s way, way easier than autonomous ground cars.
I’m not saying there aren’t significant risks, but piloting the vehicle is probably one of the least concerning problems.
Imagine having to work out self driving in 3D traffic though. I guess at least you won’t have pedestrians, mostly.
Obstacle identification and avoidance, and route planning in a dynamic environment are some of the biggest challenges with autonomous ground cars. In the sky, you don’t have bicyclists and delivery truck drivers stopped in the lane, and stuff like that. Even DJI drones can fly around trees and buildings. Again though, it’s not that there’s no risk, but the problems aren’t nearly as difficult to solve.
Aren’t other flying cars going to be the dynamic part of the environment? Is what I’m asking
That’s actually an interesting take.
There is absolutely no way we’re anywhere close to fully autonomous self flying cars. So far there hasn’t been a real successful self driving car either, just buggy demos that corporations claimed worked. Flying cars would have to have special training and much much much much much (x20 more) regulation. I don’t trust over half the dumb shits in a 4 wheeled car. And my job requires me to drive all over the state. I have to avoid dying in a wreck at least 2-3 times a week from cars, trucks, SUVs, and semis. I DO NOT want those idiots flying anywhere near me or around me because they will cause deaths due to their indifference. I can’t just slam on the brakes and stop due to an impatient retard in the air. I don’t want 20 year old zoomers looking at tiktok while sharing airspace with me. Flying cars are a pipe dream and it’s mostly because people are stupid and can’t control themselves and believe they’ll die if they don’t beat that car by 0.002 seconds.
JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
The ones I’ve seen have usually been predicated on being fully autopilot. Which is why I doubt it’ll take off, given how skiddish the FAA is about not having pilots.