Similarly, rather than trying to build a vehicle that can navigate roadworks(a notoriously difficult problem, given in consistent signage), Drive.ai has arranged for the city authorities to tell it where any roadworks are each day, so that its vehicles can avoid them. The company has also liaised with emergency services (another potential source of confusion for autonomous vehicles) and held a series of town-hall meetings to answer questions from locals.
类似的,相较于研发可以在道路维修时可以正常通行的汽车(鉴于各种不停出现的标志,这是个广为人知的难题),Drive.ai 获得政府机关的授权可以了解每天道路施工的具体情形,这样他们的汽车便可以避开这些路段。公司同时和应急服务机构建立联系(一个可能会让人们质疑自动驾驶的问题)以及在城镇大厅举办一系列见面会来回答公众的问题。
Drive.ai will limit the service to daylight hours, which makes things simpler and safer. Each vehicle will initially have a safety driver, who will shift to a passenger seat if all goes well. If a van gets confused it can stop and call for help: a remote supervisor then advises it how to proceed (rather than driving the vehicle remotely, which would not be safe,says Mr Ng).
考虑到安全性和难度,Drive.ai 公司仅限于白天提供服务。在最开始阶段每辆汽车都会配备一名安全驾驶员,在一切正常后安全驾驶员将做到乘客的位置上。如果汽车在行使时发生无法做出选择的情形将停止前行,并申请帮助,一名远程管理员将提供前行的建议。(而不是直接远程驾驶,鉴于安全因素,Mr Ng如此表示)。
It might sound as though Drive.ai is cheating,by simplifying the problem in so many ways. But the end result is still a useful service; letting workers visit the retail park for lunch without having to worry about driving or parking.And it provides a foundation from which to expand the service in future,in Frisco and else where.
这听起来或许会让人觉得Drive.ai 公司在作弊,因为他们以各种方式简化了大量的问题。但是从结果而言这仍然是一项有益的服务;工人可以通过这些汽车前往商业中心吃中饭而不用担心开车或者停车的问题。并且他为未来在 Frisco 或者其他地方扩展这项服务打下了基础。
Drive.ai plans to license its technology to others, and has struck a deal with Lyft,a ride-hailing firm,to operate vehicles in and around SanFrancisco.“I think the autonomous-vehicle industry should be up front about recognising the limitations of today’s technology,” says Mr Ng. It is surely better to find pragmatic ways to work around those limitations than pretend they do not exist or promise that solving them will be easy.
Drive.ai 计划将这些技术授权给其他公司,并已经和一家名为 Lyft 的约车平台达成协议,将在旧金山以及附近开展服务。Mr Ng 表示“我认为自动驾驶产业应当预先接受目前技术的限制”。在目前技术条件的限制情况下发展切实的自动驾驶技术总比假装这些问题不存在或者认为能轻易地解决这些问题来得好。