tandempower

With all the talk about self-driving cars, shouldn't more consideration be given to the potential for applying self-driving technology to E-bikes? E-bikes are smaller and lighter than cars, so the risks of them driving autonomously are not as severe. What's more, many uses are possible that would aide car-free lifestyles. For example:

- an electric tadpole/tricycle with enough power to carry a 200lb rider could also carry 200lbs worth of cargo/groceries when driving autonomously.
- using autonomous e-bikes/trikes for grocery delivery would be more efficient at slow speeds given present advances in cooler technology.
- self-driving e-bikes could deliver themselves to people in need of a bike-share bike who otherwise wouldn't be able to make it to a bike-share dock in time for it to be convenient. If they can summon or plan for the bike to meet them where they need it when they need it, bike-sharing becomes that much more user-friendly.
- Long distance hiking/biking: some people are able to hike/bike tour without worrying about resupply as much as others. Having autonomous e-trikes to deliver supplies when hiking would make it easier to hike with less backpack weight.

Can you think of other uses for self-driving e-bikes/trikes? Do you think that it is possible to have a compact/light enough self-driving system to work with them? Do you think that people would utilize self-driving e-bikes/trikes like they would self-driving cars, i.e. as an auto-rickshaw? Do you think it's possible to design a self-driving system for two-wheeled e-bikes or would that require training-wheels or some other add-on that would defeat the efficiency of a two-wheeler to begin with?

Maybe not the most exciting example to illustrate this thread:

More promising, maybe, but no demonstration:

I-Like-To-Bike

Easy to answer.
No to all of the above.

350htrr

Self driving bikes are not on the horizon, IMO. They would also be energy guzzlers, and there just is not enough energy to run all the sensors, motors, servos in the "affordable" batteries of today...

jon c. 

Consumer resistance might be harder to overcome as passenger vehicles. I wouldn't think twice about riding in a self driving car, but there's no way I'd get on a self driving bike.

Rollfast

They could make a followup to Christine or Maximum Overdrive?

tyrion

Self driving bikes might not have the capability to blow threw stop signs like regular bikes can.

cooker

I actually think they're a good idea. They'd be very efficient for small load home delivery like a pizza, where sending a whole heavy car is overkill, However as mentioned, they would be burdened with a lot of weight in the navigational and detection systems so maybe they will only become feasible as a second generation AI vehicle once a lot of the stuff is refined and streamlined and miniaturized.

indyfabz

I can ride my bike with no handlebars. No handlebars. No handlebars.

CliffordK

I've mentioned a couple of times that I think we'll see quite a few road drones in the near future.

This may be using auto-driving vehicles. Send your car in drone mode to the grocery store to pick up your grocery order.

But, there are a lot of things that a car has for "comfort" that a drone would not need. Plus, all the crash safety stuff, not really needed. So, drones for errands could be extremely stripped down. 3 or 4 flat-free tires and a bit of cargo space, and they could be sent for quite a few errands.

I have no doubt that the grocery stores will rapidly embrace the drone technology. Perhaps also package services. Order from Amazon. Either get next day delivery service, or send your drone to the warehouse for same-day service at half the shipping cost.

noisebeam

Not road, but sidewalk drones
https://www.azcentral.com/story/mone...law/315541002/

tandempower

That thing looks too much like Moe. Wall-E looks friendlier, especially with the cooler.

tandempower

Considering that a smart phone has huge amounts of processing power and storage compared to even the most powerful desktops/towers did, I don't see what's necessitating all the bulk, unless it has to do with the laser radar guns. I would think below a certain weight/speed limit, drones could be allowed to operate using infrared cameras and passive obstacle sensing. I mean, how likely is it that a pedestrian or cyclist is going to be invisible when a self-driving tadpole trike buzzes into them at 10mph? There is a lot more time to sense objects when you're going 10mph than when going 40+mph with a vehicle that can't stop on a dime.

350htrr

Ha, Ha, , while it could work well... technically, In the "real world" I would suspect a total fail... Why.? Well now, thieves, they would be the first problem that comes to mind, and if I thought about it some more, I am sure I could think up some other reasons...

noisebeam

I think with cameras and GPS thieves would have a challenge vs reward for robbing something with unknown content.
Yeah one could sneak up on it and cover it with a RF shielding blanket then get a couple guys to lift it into the back of a truck. Then get it home, keep it shielded then crack it open and find it contains a three pack of athletic socks.

ReclusiveOne

Scale it up and you have the robot cart from the hospital scene in the 80s flick Flight of the Navigator.

350htrr

While you do have a point, thieves work on averages... LETS SAY 10 WALLETS STOLLEN... 1 has 5.00$, 1 has 10.00$, 1 has 20.00$, and so on... 1 will/could probably have a 1,000$ worth of stuff in it, or when you add it all together it could still work out to $1,000, Not bad for an evenings worth or "work"... Multiply that by 365 days, if the perp is motivated... $$$$...

tandempower

And what is the chance that some stolen item contains a location-transmitter to alert authorities to its location? You could steal a lovely electronic device only to find out it is leading the police to you and/or your buyer.

350htrr

Yes, there is a downside to stealing other peoples stuff... Unfortunately, people who steal will always think they will/can get away with it.

tandempower

Until the transmitter leads the police to them.

MikeyMK

[QUOTE=noisebeam;20252759]Not road, but sidewalk drones
https://www.azcentral.com/story/mone...law/315541002/


We have these here in Milton Keynes. It's normal to see these little robots driving about.



They're slow and hesitant, it's hard to see how they don't take all day to deliver lunch. Or whatever it is they do.

350htrr

Well now, you've got's to start somewhere... I can remember some of the things that work basically "flawlessly" today and are everywhere, seemed to have been bound for failure right from the start...

Mobile 155

Just how hard is it for even people that wouldn't steal from a neighbors porch think it would be to slam a big pole into a moving Coleman cooler and disable it? We are talking people that do come up on porches with video equipment and walk off with boxes from UPS. And a RF locating chip in every product? You buy a pair of Columbia Boots for Hiking and even if they aren't stolen they would send your location to the company? Can you see a data base like Google has with that information? Customer 2913 living in a wooden framed older home not far from Tampa Bay. That customer is now moving on a trail going north towards St. Petersburg Lot -82.64 Lat 27.7730.

I wonder if people are ready to have a transmitter in their purchased goods just yet? And if it is turned off by removing it from the box a 16 volt saws all should do the trick.

tandempower

If they can be made very small, which they probably could at this point, then they could be hidden anywhere in the product so there would be no point stealing it because you'd have to destroy it to find the bug. As for whether people are 'ready' for it, why would it bother them if it gets disabled once you receive the shipment?

cooker

Yeah, what do they do?

I-Like-To-Bike

Deliver free DVD movies from the library to creative thinkers too busy to leave their tents?