Post by El CastorPost by islanderPost by rumpelstiltskinPost by islanderOne of the advantages of being in a university is the great kids that
you get to meet and work with. Here is Astro Teller, one of my students
of whom I am very proud.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/artificial-intelligence/astro-teller-captain-of-moonshots-at-x
Sounds like a very astute guy!
He was, and probably still is, a bit of a character. We had some great
conversations about his grandfather, Edward Teller.
I cannot take any credit for his success, but I really miss working with
these bright kids!
Very interesting guy. AI is a fascinating subject. Personally, I can't
wait for the self driving car. I don't suffer from this, but I see
many people my age, or a bit older, getting afraid to drive. I'm not a
Cadillac buyer (yuck), but they have begun shipping a model with the
ability to drive hands free on the freeway. In addition to automated
braking, and related safety tech, Honda offers traffic sign
recognition. Won't be long.
I participated in the development of a transportation program for
seniors and the disabled on the island last year. One of the articles
that I ran across, while dated, is revealing.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447231/
[citing this article in our business plan] The importance of the
question of when to stop driving is receiving more attention from the
public health community as an increasing number of baby boomers reach
that decision. One of the more comprehensive articles, although slightly
dated, provides useful statistics. In particular, this study of US
drivers concludes that drivers aged 70 to 74 had a driving life
expectancy of approximately 11 years, men driving longer than women.
While 88% of men in their early 70s continue to drive, this declines
rapidly to 55% of those aged 85 or older. For women, 70% continue to
drive in their early 70s, declining to 22% for those aged 85 and above.
Overall, 82% of men over 70 continue to drive and 55% of women.
We concluded that transportation is the major factor in the ability of
seniors to continue to live independently in their own homes, especially
in a rural community like ours. We also concluded the obvious that
there were a lot of drivers still on the road who should have hung up
their keys.
As an aside, the guy who led this project is a big fan of self-driving
cars and expects them to be a viable solution for us within 10 years.
He contends that self-driving cars should be easier to design for rural
roads. If my own experience is any indication, he may be right. I find
it much more difficult to drive on the mainland.