Swarming Autonomous Pods | Fully Charged

Helen Czerski was invited by Warwick University to attend their launch of their Swarming Autonomous Pods. An interesting development by WMG as they believe these pods will be vital to the mobility of people around designated cities and towns.
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[@garethnoble11]

Hey guys you've got a repeat in there.

[@vyedma]

TTP

[@zapfanzapfan]

Repeat for clarity? :-)

[@rogerfinch7651]

Gareth Noble yup, just noticed that too..

[@MrGonzonator]

3:39 and 8:52

[@ds2000]

There's a glitch

[@garethnoble11]

Nice one, Helen. Its good they're talking to people. I get the impression that this is a solution still looking for a problem. They didn't yet make clear why benefits that were described require swarm behaviour. Mobility for all and reduced redundancy might be achievable via autonomy, surely.

[@GreenJimll]

DAVE: Open the pod bay doors, Hal. HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.

[@Y2Kvids]

HAL: I am late for office . HAL dies , made into AI . Carries this buggy error.

[@ChrisBWelch]

These are a fantastic innovation and as a wheelchair user and assistance dog owner I am excited to see these in the real world! So many taxi drivers illegally refuse to take a wheelchair user, it's illegal but it happens. As for assistance dogs, well the same issue is faced by all of us. These are an essential answer to a well known problem faced by the disabled community that able bodied people disregard far too often. Make it happen please!

[@priceburnett]

No video of riding in the vehicle?

[@gregsullivanha]

At 5:49 the slip comes, “‘how humans....how people...like me a human man”. I welcome our non organic overlords.

[@Dudleymiddleton]

Network topologies can combine - the hub system connecting all in one swarm, combined with each pod interconnected separately - (don't know fully what I'm on about) - but each pod is registered to the hub and each pod will also have a list of all the other pods to communicate with. I guess like peer to peer/ad hoc network combined with a local hub network for each precinct or sector or whatever - then hubs from other areas also in a bigger networks? Interesting stuff! Very professionally presented by Helen, great video!

[@patrick247two]

Perfect for factories. Huge retirement homes could be connected end to end. Inside huge malls. Think about now these machines will change streets, rather than the vehicle fitting the streets.

[@cjeam9199]

No. Streets should be built to serve people, not a vehicle. We’ve learnt from 70 years of mistakes what happens when you build streets for vehicles and it’s led us to the terrible mess we have now.

[@bimblinghill]

@@cjeam9199 But that's the point, right? Vehicles like this could be part of the solution to reclaim our towns for people. Imagine banning all heavy vehicles from town centres and doubling the pavements, leaving a few narrow lanes for low-speed small-footprint vehicles like this (& cycles). People with mobility impairment are not excluded and businesses can resupply.

[@bimblinghill]

And no parked cars in town!

[@patrick247two]

@M J Smith Example: The Villages retirement community in Florida has a name that belies its proportions. The 40-square-mile area features 750 miles of road, three separate downtowns, and a population of 125,000 senior citizens-nearly double the population of Palo Alto, California. In 2013 and ’14, the US Census ranked it the fastest-growing American city.

[@anotheracademicwithhornrim3247]

Sounds dystopian

[@EpicWinz]

“You’re in a Johnny Cab...”

[@paulgray1318]

ROFLM 3 shells out.

[@joshwallis9366]

WMG is an amazing place to work! If anyone is interested and eligible applications are open right now to join the Graduate Development Programme in September 2020! You can choose to apply for either the Connected and Autonomous Vehicles pathway (CAV) or the Energy Innovation Pathway which is what I'm currently doing!

[@Jannikheu]

That’s awesome - because I hate walking! I want a swarm of these to bring me to my front door and then a smaller pod in my house to drive me around. And an even smaller pod for my cat because she hates walking, too.

[@toronado455]

LMAO☺☺☺☺☺

[@eucryan]

Great job Helen. The tech and Idea are amazing. Affordability will be the key.

[@matthewlemon]

These are so much more advanced than my Tesla and they only do a short distance. I think that personally owned EV's that are fully self driving (safely) are a while off yet. Much as I'd like to say that I don't want this type of thing, if I could get in one and do the 20K to work in the morning whilst reading the paper or 'working' it would be amazing. Think of the traffic benefits if all cars like this communicated, the reduction in traffic jams due to adjusting speed, rerouting algorithms and of course the increased safety for more vulnerable road users, cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists etc. However, the Tesla stays with me for the roadtrips and just for fun :) Thanks @Helen for another great video......

[@ferryengr]

Great! At 2:38 and 10:20, the animation shows the "caterpillar" trains of pods taking over the sidewalk - pushing the pedestrians off to the side to walk through the landscaping. Has no one in the autonomous driving world heard of Complete Streets? One of the most important things bicyclists (and pedestrians) look for is to make eye contact with the drivers of vehicles. To ensure they have been seen (i.e., detected) and get a sense of what the driver might do. The pods do not appear to provide this necessary function to those walking or cycling around them.

[@nitramluap]

Absolutely agree. As someone who rides a bicycle for all the trips (and more) that these silly pods are designed for, I cannot wait to cause them all to halt by blocking them - although just watch, they’ll make it a CRIME to do so. Welcome to the dystopian future.

[@RoyPounsford]

Well presented Helen, nice and clear.

[@roidroid]

Could be handy for train stations, a fleet of these can autonomously go out into local streets to bring commuters to the station. Maybe it's just me but they seem a bit too big tho, I'd like to see them smaller so they can be cheaper & easier to warehouse when not in use (or transport them all in-bulk, perhaps by putting them onto the train itself). But then again, i guess they're designed to be used 24/7 and never need to stop/park anywhere longterm.

[@nc3826]

train stations, trolley or bus stops, or any from of mass transit could be in improved...

[@nc3826]

train stations, trolley or bus stops, or any from of mass transit could be improved... and it more about the concept in general being a good idea.... since I have many doubts about how they depend on a closed network for them to function...

[@humanperson5134]

This is the best idea yet. Needs wheelchair ramp and the ability to be the only person in the pod, with your dog. I wouldn't buy another car if this existed and I could tell it to go about 100 miles.

[@dr-k1667]

they have made sure that it will be able to allow for wheelchairs. They covered working directly with handicapped people and what they need in the beginning of video.

[@works4me856]

I love it. A swarm of autonomous vehicles is the future.

[@deanfielding4411]

One major benefit I see if for security and safety for vulnerable people. I would feel much safer in one of those on a night out than a taxi

[@greengrubwoodentoysaustral8452]

Another great episode :)

[@edwardjohnson7059]

Thats a lot of money, infrastructure etc to take people very small distances, at walking pace where they could simply just walk.

[@previouslyachimp]

True, but as was mentioned, many disabled people cannot walk even short distances so there is a desire for something to address their needs.

[@dewiz9596]

previouslyachimp : My thinking exactly. And there are different kinds of disabilities. I can ride a bicycle 100 miles in a day, but walking even 1/2 kilometer can be painful.

[@aviflax]

This is just an early tech demo, a proof of concept. They’ll get faster.

[@rosen9425]

Cutting short journey emissions is important. I will not walk or cycle in minus degrees anything. I also don't like kicking the old I.C.E to life unnecessarily either, but in need it will of course happen. I'm not trading my time for the sake of environmentalism, which is why I own my personal transportation device.

[@antecale4619]

Also there is more and more lazy people who will order a Uber for short distances, so instead of Uber or anything else similar there is this little thing...

[@Torrox4]

Great for the elderly and people with disabilities to give freedom where they currently have none, for example Rural areas with very poor public travel services. Great for short trips / commutes or travel from town / city location to location. Id never want to lose the opportunity to drive, but these make great sense for other short distance uses. 👍

[@garys639]

Hope they go faster than walking pace. Look as if they were desinged for "B Ark" passengers.

[@paulgray1318]

It's full circle, first cars had to have somebody in front of them walking with a flag to warn people. These have a large flashing light to warn people not to walk into them.

[@calorus]

Beware the cleanliness of your Telephone Handset.

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Where's my rubber duckie?

[@VeeFour]

This is a very B Ark project. I can visualise the commitee meeting, the very air saturated with buzz words.

[@JeanLoupRSmith]

They have a really low chassis, I wonder how they would cope with all the potholes on the roads. Or are roads in Milton Keynes so pristine that it's not usually an issue?

[@Jannikheu]

Jean-Loup Rebours-Smith I‘m sure they have sensors to measure the pot hole depth and then adjust the suspension to EXACTLY the depth of the pot hole for each wheel.

[@JeanLoupRSmith]

@@Jannikheu If that's so they should issue a request for repair to the local council every time they detect one

[@Popupkiller]

These are basicaly prototypes. Pretty sure they would redesign them before full release.

[@Jannikheu]

@@JeanLoupRSmith that's a neat idea. My first comment was actually meant ironically because I don't see the value of these things for personal transport. But maybe it is something for transporting goods. But then you still need a person or a robot that grabs the correct package and puts it at the doorstep. So, overall I'm not a huge fan.

[@chooseyourownadventure8361]

They would run on the paths. Which I see as an issue. Cycles aren't allowed on paths after 12 years old...so why are these allowed?

[@chrismuk99]

What a nice new game for bored teenagers in city centres. Let's see how many times we can walk in front of a pod to make it stop before someone gets out to rant.

[@dmomcilovic9185]

Sharing is caring.... not sure our society is ready.

[@JRMCNEA]

Not ready? Our society has been guided to unabashed individualism and selfish mindsets for almost 200 years. Don't get as much as you need. Get as much as you can. Which resulted in 60% of the world's population fighting over about 10% of the resources, while 1% tries to figure out how their 10% fell into the hands of the lower 60% of the population. Sharing is caring. But Capitalism is king.

[@dr-k1667]

We are going to have to get ready because doing as we have been will make sure we won't have much of a future for long.

[@buzzofftoxicblog791]

Fantastic thanks Fully Charged 😊🌏 20 years ago thought how cars could transmit information receive information for safety 😀#buzzofftoxic

[@Wookey.]

Almost all 5-minute car drives are better transferred to bikes or e-bikes than pods. Pods are useful for a few people that really can't bike and when the weather is particularly bad, or you have no idea where you are going, but mostly we should just make cycling nice and bikes available when you arrive at the rail/bus station. Cheaper, quicker, healthier, much lower embodied energy. I presume they could be made to go faster than this demo otherwise it really is barely quicker than walking and _much_ slower than cycling. Hopefully the swarming algorithms are useful for public transport more generally, but I'm not convinced about these pods.

[@mr8I7]

What happened to the ones in Milton Keynes? Seems like it’s been dragging on for years but nothing seems to have changed.

[@drewid88]

see 2:44

[@MrGonzonator]

This is Milton Keynes

[@Aerostealth]

Sometimes there are problems people have that they don't perceive as problems in the first place. This is how EV came about in the first place.

[@paulgray1318]

Which is kinda ironic as the first ever cars were.....Electric.

[@SHOdown13]

I could see where these would work in large senior villages in the southern US. They're slower than a golf cart unfortunately but eventually the tech will improve and the speed will increase. National Parks, high tourist destinations like Disney in Orlando fl, school districts that have kids walking upwards of 2 miles to get to/from schools because the buses are used for further / longer rural routes would benefit from this system as long as the pods can increase their speed to keep up with traffic under, say 50 mph.

[@nitramluap]

Um... ride bicycles. Low tech, get some exercise. What is wrong with people??

[@garyallsopp6369]

@@nitramluap Shitty weather

[@SHOdown13]

@@nitramluap not everyone wants to or knows how to ride a bike, in the heat to go to a clubhouse or the market.

[@davidprice875]

My autistic son would not be able to drive a vehicle himself and decided he needed a robot armchair that could take him anywhere he needed to go or anyone who cannot control a vehicle. At the moment he needs another person to drive him so he'd love this and yes it is solving a real problem.

[@vk6xre]

How does the pod know where you want to go? What happens if two people get in a pod and one wants to go north and the other south? I feel this is a complex technical solution looking for a problem.

[@dogbreath6974]

@vk6xre The pod will split in two and one part will go north the other south.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

so.... What is the advantage of swarming??? I understand Point to point, and it may sometimes happen to be near another vehicle, but should it go out of the way to get in a moving line with other vehicles? Not going fast enough for drafting.. What is the point?

[@richardburnett3757]

All hail the self driving caravan and stress free holidays!

[@fuccasound3897]

They remind me of the 'War Machines', from Dr Who series back in the Hartnell days, they were controlled by Wotan, from the Post Office Tower....

[@althomas7937]

Bring it on. Auto-taxis. Auto delivery. Energy efficient, and, once we can get rid of human drivers, ultra-safe.

[@dapman2007]

Excellent. thank you.

[@KieranMullen]

They should have small locked cabinets that will go to houses for deliveries.

[@themiltonguy4530]

I LOVE the FullyCharged!

[@Jannikheu]

When watching this video I had the feeling that Helen is constantly trying her best understanding what the whole point of this technology should be.

[@jezlawrence720]

I think she was struggling to get the people she was interviewing to answer what she was getting at tbh. Giving them a line to riff on that people with very basic understanding might grasp basically - which is more a criticism of them than her, given that they kept on stressing accessibility benefits. Part of accessibility is keeping things simple and relatable, I think the presenter was trying to steer them that way, which is to her credit in my view.

[@alfiebengal]

These could be the answer to our troubled high streets. Build effing great car parks outside towns and use these to shuttle people into the town itself perhaps.

[@rey4466]

Good video! So much better this presenter

[@deanfielding4411]

Did I miss it or was there no footage of travelling inside one???

[@terjesorheim]

Love that kind of reseach :)

[@fredfredrickson5436]

Swarm's marketing buzz-phrase: "The easiest way to hack it is to stand in front of it."

[@andymccabe6712]

So a bit like stepping out in front of a bus then?!..... only less risky.....

[@SuperFuzzmonkey]

I can imagine a bunch of piss heads standing in front of these things after a few beers 😂

[@dragade101]

Q:Can they be hacked? A:Ignores Question...... ^ idk mate. IDK...

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

If autonomous cars could communicate with each other, traffic jams would be eliminated because there would be no need to even have stop lights: They could easily weave in and out between each other without stopping and with no (or very little) chance of hitting one another. And emergency vehicles could easily get through any situation because the cars would automatically get out of the vehicle's way. Of course, this only works if ALL of the vehicles are in on it.

[@jonotaylor5011]

Most people could just walk. Very slow and lots of waiting around. I guess we have to start somewhere.

[@BronyumHexofloride]

its ideal for people like me who A: dont have a car and B: need to carry cargo (weekly grocery shopping trip) and C: have poor or limited mobility

[@RedBatteryHead]

Well, at that speed, just walk.

[@TKevinBlanc]

I hope this is early demo speed.

[@garyallsopp6369]

In the rain?

[@ChrisBWelch]

And when you can't walk? #ThinkDisability #ThinkAccessibility

[@Y2Kvids]

Or sit?

[@RedBatteryHead]

@@ChrisBWelch how do you get in when disabled?

[@paulriggs42]

Can we have Johnny back please..... it’s nice to have a motoring enthusiast presenting.....

[@melodysouljahrootsdubpress5539]

For me, the presenter talking about whether the technology is relevant is a good point regarding this avenue. I couldn't really see anything that wasn't readily achievable with present systems other than size and the fact it caters for small groups of people. Our traditional bus combined with cutting edge automation and zero emitions, I feel, is a much under developed concept. What seems to hinder it, and what these pods pander to, is the fact that people are beginning to dislike travelling with others they don't know, which is perhaps a hangover of individualism. I personally would very much dislike slow speed large pavement using pods.

[@KuraIthys]

You're forgetting that there are people that genuinely struggle to walk short distances that are currently relying on taxis, because general public transport is barely usable in isolation for them. Plus it's not all about passenger transportation. Personally my biggest logistical headache with using public transport rather than a private vehicle (aside from a degree of laziness, and well, the fact I currently live somewhere that doesn't really have any public transport) is dealing with luggage. And I'm not talking a backpack or a few shopping bags... What happens if I try and buy a TV? Or furniture? Or anything remotely bulky? Or am I supposed to leave that to extremely expensive courier services? And what of the infrastructure for doing these deliveries, even if that is how to resolve it? the last mile problem is always the most difficult, regardless of the system. And I've run into more than a few public transport systems that make life very difficult because of where the stops are, and what the schedules look like. It's all well and good to say conventional buses solve the problem already, but when you have to walk a considerable distance to a bus stop then wait 30-60 minutes for anything to show up, change buses 3-4 times and wait every time... It gets tedious. And that's the reality of what traditional public transport looks like in some places... Something that takes extensive prior planning to do anything at all with will always be problematic for people...

[@nc3826]

Your mistaken Sir..... Since it's designed to be used in conjunction with mass transit...as a last mile solution...

[@dewiz9596]

Mass Public Transportation is a great way to catch whatever the current disease might be. Smaller is better in this case.

[@nc3826]

smart stay in your cave and be safe....

[@maark8496]

She is the worst presenter 1 out of 10

[@GreenJimll]

"...we still have to queue and its cold." Hmm, that's a major selling point of private cars and problem with public transport mentioned in the first few minutes of the video.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Well, they're queueing for a very limited demonstration with a limited number of "pods". Most of the time this would not be much of a factor. But in a private car, sure, you don't have to queue to get _IN_ the car, but you almost certainly will be queueing once you start _driving_ the car (stop lights, traffic jams, etc).

[@MrCubansurfer]

I guess this pod works great in cities like NY, Chicago, London definitely not in LA, Houston, etc. But hey, it’s a step in the right direction...

[@jdudleyh]

You have a clip that is repeated. The part where he explains the sensors on the vehicle vs the routing done at the fleet.

[@MrGonzonator]

3:39 and 8:52

[@bogus1st]

great fun for kids when they're off shool " come on lets see how many we can stand infront of"

[@BronyumHexofloride]

those devils in uniform will either do that or abuse the system by using them as their own little party buses

[@unextro]

3:40 8:52 🤔

[@TheEnimabandit]

They look cool but I really dont see the thing they are trying to resolve. What does the concept of a swarm.do for you. Would it.not be as good if it wasn't in a swarm

[@sinquup]

The point of the swarm is to avoid congestion. Rather than taking the shortest route, they will take a route that is efficient for the whole network and prevents traffic jams. A swarm is not just a handful of vehicles linked, it’s every vehicle in the network.

[@freddiefox.]

They didn't go into great detail about the swarming, but I got the impression it was something to do with location and route information sharing between pods. Pods can leave one group and join another. In essence the groups seem to be a dynamic information network, though it wasn't made clear what greater purpose this would serve. I've often thought a similar approach could work with the existing traffic network, if cars communicated with each other, and a central computer, in real time, that oversaw traffic within its zone. Vehicles could then be rerouted to avoid congestion from heavy traffic, or accidents. If cyclists and horse riders wore transponders, other road traffic could be warned of their presence in advance, so be ready to slow down, or take an alternative route if they preferred.

[@TheEnimabandit]

@@sinquup apps like google maps has live traffic updates that even now help to circumnavigate congestion so again I'm struggling to understand what makes these things special? I think they are col in a kinda ugly way but i just don't see what the bring that is new!

[@Jimthehumanoid]

7:53 Electrician: How many plug sockets do you need? University: All of them.

[@Popupkiller]

-Can it be hacked? -You can stand in front of it. That would probably be the easiest way Didn't really answer the question. Could it be hacked, and made to drive somewhere else?

[@Mavthemeat]

they always say that we need these autonomous pods to share around and stop us from buying our own cars at the expense of the environment. But don't we already have this service, a taxi.

[@nonyanks2510]

Oh, the hackers could have a heyday with them, the possibilities of havoc are endless, runaway pods, invasion of pods, pods doors won't let you in or out, massive pod migration, pods blocking intersection or the Lemming Syndrome where one pod follows the others over a cliff, but the best is when the off button doesn't work fro headquarters, and I'm sober!

[@finvka1]

Shared driving (car share) in Finland is pretty much gone now. The reason is simple; a few idiots easily ruin the share experience for the others. It's astronomically rare to find a group of people, who share the same enthusiasm for keeping shared property in top condition. It just doesn't work. Same way as communism in it's purest form would be the ideal society, but show me one that has actually worked. There is always at least one, who wants to benefit more from the shared property and wealth. It just doesn't work. Plain and simple. If you can find a shared car service anywhere in the world, where after two or three yrs none of the users have abused the car in any way, my hat's off to you.

[@freddiefox.]

Maybe you would have to sign up to an account and can only unlock and access a pod with an app that identifies you. Maybe the pod has internal security cameras sending encrypted data to the cloud, held for a limited period. Offenders could be made to pay for damage and/or be banned from using the service, either temporarily or permanently.

[@finvka1]

@@freddiefox. I was referring to her comments about having two metal boxes sitting idle most of the time outside the house, why not share them? Sharing your car with some neighbours etc is and always has been a bad idea...

[@finvka1]

@@freddiefox. If the car service was operated by a third party (commercial), and all cars were serviced and cleaned by them, maybe. If there was a tracking system that also records the WAY everyone drives the vehicle. If it also charges by the way you consume the car (hard driving). I doubt this will work in my life time. Also you have to remember that most of the computer hackers are under age... So it is highly likely, that kids and adults will find ways to bypass the supervision. Meaning that someone will use the vehicle with identity theft etc

[@freddiefox.]

​@@finvka1 The solution to that is not to own private cars in large, densely populated cities. This already happens to some extent, either by making it uneconomically expensive to do so (unless your are very wealthy), or simply having no, or very limited, parking space available. What the video shows is a sort of hybrid personal-public transport option, similar to a personal taxicab, but self-driving, and for short journeys - though they didn't indicated how far they envisaged the average journey would be. It's not a solution for everywhere, and might be just one option in a mix of solutions, or not be adopted at all. It's a university technical research project, so it remains to be seen if and how any of their work is commercialised.

[@Ozgrade3]

Fully autonomous vehicles are 200 years away...if ever!

[@lghammer778]

Absolutely lovely, I could see this being very beneficial in towns like the one I live in. Elderly & disabled friendly 👍

[@slartybartfarst9737]

Pub pods!

[@paulkonye8380]

Go to the Netherlands. They have this great technology for travelling short distances called a bicycle. And there are 'swarms' of them.

[@jep1912]

Haha.... spot on! And they're certainly not an obese lot. Christ, why do we always have to invent at the cost of true independent mobility ie. using our bloody limbs. We should all, by now, be accountable for staying fit and strong and healthy... and able to walk a few miinutes down the road for shopping or a similar errand. We are not America.

[@flinx]

Not every city is conducive to being remade bike-centric.

[@weetikissa]

flinx Lack of space sure isn't a problem.

[@flinx]

@@weetikissa Yep. Lack of density is.

[@mr8I7]

I don’t want my own bicycle, I have no space for one and they cost far too much to rent (£6 for half an hour).

[@Sifizero]

my only concern is network vulnerability and CVE with comms

[@watcher24601]

They talk about transport for everyone, but they also only go short distances for the last mile. Great for cities which already have buses and taxis for the last mile. What about rural areas where the last mile is more like 10 miles between bus stops?

[@JoshHCK]

These vehicles need to look the part, they need a redesign, into a more iconically British look, presently they look at home in Tokyo, give them a more formal sophisticated appearance, maybe in gloss black with chrome trim, something you’d want to be seen arriving any where in.

[@AdamKimball]

like the old dark wood with gold lettering train cars.

[@morosis82]

Make them look like Black Cab pods. I would totally ride in those :)

[@JoshHCK]

All depends how iconic they want to become, going as far back as to resemble a stage coach, that used to be so popular in Victorian London, but introduce it back into the streets of a more modern, larger and established London

[@JoshHCK]

@@morosis82 Exactly, imagine these being everywhere in London, the black cab style is perfect, it keeps London's formal and working atmosphere.

[@jep1912]

What? Like a black cab (or Rolls Royce Cullinan Black Badge)?

[@jep1912]

Praise the Lord, it's a UK review.

[@VincentFischer]

More Johnny please

[@krusher74]

he's gone, look for his channel "car pervert"

[@VincentFischer]

@@krusher74 what really? *unsubscribed*

[@krusher74]

@@VincentFischer kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmeqXmaVdsaml9E

[@VincentFischer]

@@krusher74 You kidding me? I'm watching the exact video right now

[@RWBHere]

So, in essence, these will make all urban bus drivers redundant. They will not be happy. Helen queuing emphasises the fact that most people don't want to wait for a slow vehicle which only takes them to within about a mile of where they want to be. No change there then. And has anyone considered and addressed the vandalism which these vehicles will suffer?

[@kuhnology8803]

I love the ideas, I wish politically we were motivated to invest in people mover systems for the future of people, in a carbon negative way.

[@patrickmckowen2999]

I love the potential of this tech Cheers

[@JRMCNEA]

If you don't have a surplus you have scarcity. That is why people buy cars and sit them on the streets. When I need to be somewhere Public transit doesn't care. Public transit runs on it's own time frame. And is more often than not behind on it. The idea of time sharing cars is on it's face a good idea. But in practice is impractical. Take these rental bikes for example. There are way more on the streets than people need. And there is a whole infrastructure built around maintaining and shuffling bikes around from overloaded areas to short supply areas. But when it comes to cars, the social system has never been adjusted to accommodate the shortfalls of the transit system. At least in America. Especially in low income area. Showing up early for work is a waste of time. Because you can't start. And showing up late may cost you your job you need to feed your families. And the system is based on loads rather than intensives. Cities and states don't increase the public transit to encourage people to drive less. They raise the price of fuel stickers and fines. They raise the price of parking. This does not work for people who require service. For example: California has high water prices. But people cant not use water. We need it to clean cook and drink. And California didn't say. Ok we will build 30 desalination plants to turn ocean water into potable water. They implemented fines. for "overuse". So people in the desert with a lot of money pays the fine for lush artificially planted grass and swimming pools. And Poor people ration their water. The U'S. alone has about 5 dried up naturally desalination aquifers that were blocked up due to construction and our lack of understanding of the way water feeds in and out of the fresh water table. And we would much rather spend money building and blowing up bombs than repairing our environment. Mostly because of this asinine fear of population explosion. The idea that if we fix problems too well, the human population will explode. The myth of the human population being to large while we allow a few hundred people destroy our biosphere needs to be put to rest. And before we can do that, we need to utilize resources we have in abundance rather than fighting over rare ones. Like 1000 Autonomous cars for 20,000 people... @4:30 proves my point. Things are built and the user's comfort or access is secondary to the reason things are done. Don't care if people enjoy it. But we have to protect our sensors.

[@nitramluap]

I cannot wait to block these things on bikeways. It’s going to be fun.

[@SuperFuzzmonkey]

😂 you could probably push them over as well

[@tonyblighe5696]

Forgive me if I missed something but can I get in one of these and go somewhere today or is it still in testing stage? Great presentation as always.

[@MarcCoteMusic]

The idea of these small autonomous vehicles is great. The reality might not be so wonderful - for many reasons. From the mundane... some people might be slobs, and dirty up a vehicle for the next passenger - carelessly or deliberately. Or they might be smelly... bad enough in a large bus, but awful in a small vehicle - and yes, lots of people actually smell terrible... and I include women wearing litres of perfume in that category. The biggest worry in a shared vehicle would likely be crime. Imagine a pod stops to pick you up and there are already on or two people on board... and maybe they look a bit dodgy... would you get in? On a conventional bus you would have a driver and the other passengers who, hopefully, would step in to help someone in distress. In a utopian society these would be great, but unfortunately our society is very far from perfect.

[@JohnSmith-gb3fr]

I could see these all over London in the future.

[@daciamcv1026]

how good are they at going up hills if they are not very limited usage

[@jeffreyoneill4082]

not sure how viable they would be at the extremely low speeds they were travelling at. if the weather is nice would you want to sit in a small pod that takes just as long to walk, possibly longer if it's not going them ost direct route? The size is also a bit small, unless they plan to have larger versions as well. If you get 40 people coming off a station you'd need maybe 20 pods to get people home.

[@jeremy1548]

Good job Helen - asking the right questions. Couple of questions: - the pods presumably have to know where you want to go before you get on to them? How does that happen? - the WMG chap that said you build enough because you know how many people we want to take... No you don't! That's the whole point - the number of people waiting at a bus stop for this at a certain time is stochastic and unknown. That's what makes bus, ebike, train provision hard.

[@del7538]

"We need to understand how the humans ....how people interact and behave with it" - Aliens confirmed.

[@motorcyclemadness6006]

del 75 he said interact and Interface on one occasion...the day i have to interface will be the day go and live in the mountains 😜

[@triggerking135]

Wow, the guy around the 12 min mark with the red tie seems proper untrustworthy. Reminds me of Theresa May. He's clearly had some PR training but not enough. He smiled when speaking of the road deaths in the UK. He loco.

[@johnbray3143]

Surging, loud background music distracting and makes it hard to hear parts

[@krishna7862]

why cant short distance travel be replaced with bicycles which is already exisiting in City like London. One Person A chooses a Pod does he share the Pod with some random unknown Person B heading in the same direction. There are pros and Cons of this Idea. DO clarify

[@karlanthony6715]

This is slower than a mobility scooter, slower than an able bodied person can walk. Nice technology but not sure what problem this is solving. I could be wrong

[@stairwaves]

WALL-E

[@nc3826]

Until they outlaw cars, in major cities that tend move slower than a mobility scooter....this type of transit will fulfill a need for "last mile" transit especially for the disabled...

[@moejoe5762]

The shame of riding in one, what garbage

[@andregardnerjimenez3156]

What about people with mobility issues? The elderly? It could help last mile transportation for tourists in bigger cities too. I think that while a bike would be more useful to me personally, having this sort of thing boost public transport infrastructure could be immensely useful.

[@nc3826]

NP, since they are not designed for trolling snobs... "what garbage"

[@docgspot]

Theirs only one thing that ive not seen in any pods etc over the years. Front airbags for passengers. Whiplash etc could be an issue in an accident. Im sure ideas will be put in place before mass production mind you. Just as the same issue exists for buses etc now

[@olivermurphy4623]

Hi fully charged team. I'm currently looking at buying my 1st EV. I'm looking at either the 64kW Kona or E-niro. Both of which would stretch me financially. Many naysayers tell me that the batteries don't last and will have to replaced after a few years at a high cost. Is there any data available about how true this actually is? A big fan from Ireland 😀

[@garyallsopp6369]

There's plenty of data based on the last 10 years of EVs. They will last at least as long as an engine in an ICE car, even then they will still function, just gradually reducing in range - check out Myth busting videos on this channel & Fully Charged Regen podcast channel & EVMan's channel too. Batteries are guaranteed for at least 8 years anyway. Kona & e-Niro are brilliant but depending just how stretched check out Tesla 3 - Not a massive amount extra cash for a lot more car, lower depreciation too.

[@markifi]

I love Fully Charged

[@snowstrobe]

Cool. Now put them underground with induction charging, and we'll have an urban public transport system worth its salt.

[@leander1095]

So basically a Subway?

[@snowstrobe]

@M J Smith Nope, this would be much better than the tube (assuming it went at a decent speed)

[@snowstrobe]

@@leander1095 Yeah, but if it is autonomous pods that go 24 hours, then a hundred times better than what we have now.

[@dixonsindorset]

Slight issue with the exorbitant cost of tunneling. Who's going to pay for that?

[@braveheart196]

Always doing a good job without expecting a tip

[@francisboyle1739]

Who is "Driver Les"? Is he hiding under the floor? Do these people have any idea what they're doing? (If you have no idea what I'm on about have a look at around the 13 minute mark.)

[@arthuropod3771]

Interesting video. There's a 25 second section at 3.40 which is repeated at 8.55 though

[@andymccabe6712]

This is nerd to the next level isn't it....?!

[@MrGonzonator]

@@andymccabe6712 I can't believe the editor didn't catch that, so many people have noticed it.

[@triggerking135]

Yeah not sure about this. Maybe at Theme Parks, massive malls and car parks of giant car parks at company owned sites such as Google HQ? I.e. Private property. But not on public pavement (sidewalk for the US).

[@oceanfroggie]

Very interesting but walking looks faster. Not sure if it is just very clever engineers building a really clever technological solution to a problem that may not actually exist? e-Bikes that you can collect anywhere and drop off anywhere may offer more usable versatility for cities.

[@andymccabe6712]

You seem to have missed one of the central points of the film - walking is quicker for people with full mobility! Also, who wants to carry a load of shopping on a bike....?!!

[@anaam3875]

Hello small capital oxygen science lady, Some more info* on AdBlue for you • When the oven is on, it will cool again when I turn off the car. • It's ~400°C, not insulated. • It won't detect pedestrains, cyclists, parked cars, dry high grass, (maybe scoot mobiles,) aircraft engines, when it expels the accumulated stored stuff. (Did I pronounce 'stuff' correctly?) (Could do with an IR camera though; a back camera isn't even mandatory in the lands of EU, 'Electricity for U'.) • I have to figure out how to shove the stuff out beforehand. • I have no quick access 'do not expel' button. • It's called 'regeneration'. '(DPF) regeneration (lock)'. • An electric motor, diesel generated electricity or not, is more efficient. Of course I only go there for a reason. Normally I avoid streets with patio heaterless outdoor cafés and parked cars. *Please do verify with the good folks at MB (Actros) or the traffic school instructor. Let's see, what else. 'Engine speed increase', 'HC burn-off', I can't find 'HC burn-off, but I figure it's hot. Back to 'Regeneration [Diesel particle filter]' ('BlueTec® exhaust gas aftertreatment') There is a 'manual regeneration' option though, where you can park not next to high grass (grass smoking weed), or a car (with matching black tires), start the correct car, don't ref it yourself, and wait for the oven to get to temperature, and 'the engine oil and coolant temperature are sufficiently high' (close enough), before pressing the button (if available), or press that button (option) via the menu right key. (The right key. Never mind.) (Then do not walk past the exhaust.) Let's have it do it's thing. In the menu it's: 'Systems' (looped 6th of 6, 5th of 5, OK, says so 'DPF regeneration' (1st of 7), right: 'Note Requirements for manual regeneration have not been fulfilled. Please observe the Operating Instructions.' Oh snap, it doesn't work because the 'regeneration block' (the green indicator) was already engaged. (Probably.) (Can be turned off with 'DPF regen(eretion) lock' (2nd of 7, right). Still, AdBlue captures some of the toxic fumes. go clean environment. (Go microbes, death department.) (That's my hobby by the way. Kind of compulsory, useful stuff I scientifically hope.) (Do check out nature.) (Now with the discount dizzy week it's a great bargain, can't be too sure if the success is extended into next week.) (Anyway 'The system [should also be] running trouble free.' I think that's a burn.)

[@anaam3875]

Who open sources what the car is made of, if it's not obvious?

[@anaam3875]

I did write this before watching this episode. It's not a disqualifier, just an opportunity to write the science lady. In the video, I also would like to see what the pods are seeing (with their sensors). Should definitively be hackable; for many programmers that's programming, hacking, modifying the code, and then submit it to be severely scrutinized. If hackable means cracking something in a sinister (bad) way, then that should also be reviewed for its usefulness. Thanks science lady for your bright insights. (And knowledge.) Happy to look forward to your scrutiny. It'll come to you naturally. (I know physics; that's force right?) (I look forward to your diplomacy.) (Indeed, opportunities will come.)

[@anaam3875]

Also just looked up 'scrutiny' in the dictionary; I thought it was more severe. Good thing I wrote 'severely' then. You may use or ignore the AdBlue stuff for a future episode. I would agree that fuel combustion engines would maybe help aircraft to transition to no fuel no combustion engines, and drop those scrap metal on the mountain tops again. With a dash of white ultra capsules, looking forward to it. (OK I didn't see that coming.) Be glad if you're able to see and give back feedback, you're welcome.

[@anaam3875]

Or a 'hold your fire' button, to prevent the AdBlue garglebox to sneeze. If I understand correctly, (after clicking on a video where the car might be non-ICE, still watched it seeing the grill,) an airplane would take advantage to have an electricity generator because of the 'mere' three cylinder ICE (engine). Normally 'requiring' a V8. Still, I don't get the direct mechanical "feedback" from the tires to the IC Engine (seems highly inefficient) where it could be a power generator (or engine-generating electricity). The video in question is a fuel/e hybrid Koenigsegg Gemera, which might help get airplanes and forests on their way up and maybe down as well (to land or in case of fire): FIRST LOOK | Koenigsegg Gemera: the 1,700bhp four-seat ‘Mega GT’ | Top Gear kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2a5f2CDfpagkKM (The main argument I got is sound and weight, with the obvious disadvantage of tosh out treebreath everywhere with only the car leaving.) (Maybe care about the environment first, maybe Koenigsegg does just that, then I'm sure there will be a margin or buffer to finalize these cars. I understand and think there is a genuine fondness of the combustion engine, but I'm all switched through (or out) to get the airplanes of the ground. With three cylinder engines maybe, but at least with the props on electric motors, and a forklift to eventually take the engine out.)

[@anaam3875]

Maybe the design of the Swarming Autonomous Pods is overdone, if that magically would improve the programming, which might not match reality. Probably 'less is more' applies here as well, and if everything is designed for a reason, being ahead of events because you've figured it out, I think it can't go wrong. Otherwise it dates very fast looking back at my favorite Star Trek series; TNG (Captain Picard) and Voyager (Captain Kate). (Very impressive acting if you ask me, please see #ImpressiveActingAccordingToAParticularNaam.)

[@nicholasroberts6954]

'Spose the taxi version will have the equivalent of a "For Hire" sign. When its parked-up at the roadside, having a re-charge, will the sign sport "Swarm off" ?

[@Creepy-Girl]

I thought they were cleaning bots at first xD But I guess they could do that as well using the same tech.

[@paulgray1318]

Large rotary brush on the front - tada, thought shared.

[@Buzzhumma]

Creepy Girl yeah at the same time as shuttling peeps around !