Autonomous vehicles coming to Downtown Bryan

6,413 Views | 47 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by KidDoc
techno-ag
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http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Self-driving-trolleys-debut-in-Downtown-Bryan-this-October--493667461.html

Quote:

The City of Bryan will introduce two electric self-driving trolleys to Downtown Bryan this October in partnership with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station...These self-driving trolleys are the first of their kind to be utilized on public rights-of-way in the Brazos Valley and, to our knowledge, only the second in the nation.


Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
halibut sinclair
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chigger
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AG
Very interesting. Hope it works out.
91_Aggie
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But can it navigate a Double-Diverging Diamond intersection!:!?!!?
techno-ag
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91_Aggie said:

But can it navigate a Double-Diverging Diamond intersection!:!?!!?
For now, the route just has them going in a big circle from the parking garage around downtown a few blocks and back. So, no double diamond interchanges as of yet.
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
Fonzie Scheme
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If it's self-driving, why does it have a steering wheel?
halibut sinclair
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Fonzie Scheme said:

If it's self-driving, why does it have a steering wheel?
The linked article states there will be a driver onboard who can take over in case of a malfunction.
Fonzie Scheme
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Ok. I was too lazy to read that. With that attitude, I should probably apply to be a "driver" for one of these robot cars.
theycallmemrtibbs
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Sure wish TEES would focus on teaching the people who manage the traffic lights how to time them correctly instead of these things.
LandscapeChick
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Rexter
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halibut sinclair said:

Fonzie Scheme said:

If it's self-driving, why does it have a steering wheel?
The linked article states there will be a driver onboard who can take over in case of a malfunction.


So they are going to pay a guy to twiddle his thumbs behind the wheel just in case .......just have him drive the damn car.
BrandoC
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Why does Bryan think downtown is worth the risk of investing in something like this? I just don't understand Bryan's downtown approach. There is not enough foot traffic on a daily basis for something like this. It has some restaurants and shops and what not but thats it. Not to mention it is surrounded by the dang ghetto.
redd38
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Rexter said:

halibut sinclair said:

Fonzie Scheme said:

If it's self-driving, why does it have a steering wheel?
The linked article states there will be a driver onboard who can take over in case of a malfunction.


So they are going to pay a guy to twiddle his thumbs behind the wheel just in case .......just have him drive the damn car.


This is that whole "teach a man to fish" thing.
techno-ag
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I suspect in time as people grow more comfortable with autonomous vehicles the spare driver will be eliminated. Eventually the route will expand. The day will come when the entire Brazos Transit District is autonomous.
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
toolshed
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Rexter said:

halibut sinclair said:

Fonzie Scheme said:

If it's self-driving, why does it have a steering wheel?
The linked article states there will be a driver onboard who can take over in case of a malfunction.


So they are going to pay a guy to twiddle his thumbs behind the wheel just in case .......just have him drive the damn car.
According to the KBTX story at 10 last night, there is not one, but TWO safety drivers, plus four passengers.

I'm sure it's all paid from grant money as it's a research project of some sort, and grant money is "free" money, so who cares...right??!
Vivificus
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techno-ag said:

91_Aggie said:

But can it navigate a Double-Diverging Diamond intersection!:!?!!?
For now, the route just has them going in a big circle from the parking garage around downtown a few blocks and back. So, no double diamond interchanges as of yet.
.

It's a pretty small loop, less than 1/2 mile, seems a bit pointless right now I can only see riding for the novelty. Probably faster to just walk where you want to go.
Viv
techno-ag
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Vivificus said:

techno-ag said:

91_Aggie said:

But can it navigate a Double-Diverging Diamond intersection!:!?!!?
For now, the route just has them going in a big circle from the parking garage around downtown a few blocks and back. So, no double diamond interchanges as of yet.
.

It's a pretty small loop, less than 1/2 mile, seems a bit pointless right now I can only see riding for the novelty. Probably faster to just walk where you want to go.
Yeah, PDF says "phase 1" or somesuch. I suspect if it goes well and they have the funding, they'll expand it.
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
halibut sinclair
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Vivificus
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Maybe a ride from Northgate to Downtown Bryan so the drunks can bar hop across town?
Viv
gopitt
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Love what is happening in downtown Bryan. Seems like every week a new establishment of some type opens. This is a great next step, even if it is for research purposes only. Talk about a downtown coming back from the dead. Amazing.
toolshed
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gopitt said:

Love what is happening in downtown Bryan. Seems like every week a new establishment of some type opens. This is a great next step, even if it is for research purposes only. Talk about a downtown coming back from the dead. Amazing.
I agree! We went and ate at Cilantro on Sunday night with some friends who hadn't been there before. When we left around 8, we drove through between Mr G's and The Village and Rx Pizza. The whole area was packed! Sunday night used to be a ghost town down there. We need to branch out and try some of the other new spots down there.
Fonzie Scheme
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I love what's happening in downtown Bryan, as well. But, Cilantro sucks caboodle.
toolshed
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Yeah, it's different. I have a couple dishes I like, but overall it's mediocre. Their salsa isn't my preference. Poblano beef fajitas with corn tortillas are good. Homemade corn tortillas, which is rare for some reason.

But we started there when Casa Rod went downhill, in my opinion. We tried Rx when they were newly opened and haven't been back, but need to try again. I preferred the style of Mr G's honestly, though that may be taboo given his eccentricities.

Need to try the others down there, there are several now, I don't even know what all is there.
bcs_tx_guy
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I don't know how these things work, but I do know that anything autonomous in this town that relies on a reliable internet connection is doomed from the start until we get said reliable internet connection.
KidDoc
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I'm sure it is mostly a research project with hopes to eliminate drivers and expand the route eventually. Sounds like a great idea hope it goes well.
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halibut sinclair
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Fonzie Scheme said:

I love what's happening in downtown Bryan, as well. But, Cilantro sucks caboodle.


Has nothing to do with this thread but Cilantro has 4.5+ stars out of hundreds of reviews on Yelp, Facebook and Google, and 4 stars on Trip Advisor. We've been a few times and enjoyed it. Statements such as yours benefit no one.
Rexter
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I've been drinkin about this...... why doesn't Bryan just build a monorail?????
EMY92
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bcs_tx_guy said:

I don't know how these things work, but I do know that anything autonomous in this town that relies on a reliable internet connection is doomed from the start until we get said reliable internet connection.
If it's connected to the university, they have a very stable and very high speed internet connection.
texasaggie04
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KidDoc said:

I'm sure it is mostly a research project with hopes to eliminate drivers and expand the route eventually. Sounds like a great idea hope it goes well.


This times a million. Of course there are safety drivers, and they're probably running tests too. Can't just roll out an autonomous vehicle yet when the general public doesn't trust it.
This is just one step towards a very different future.
Esteban du Plantier
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Rexter said:

halibut sinclair said:

Fonzie Scheme said:

If it's self-driving, why does it have a steering wheel?
The linked article states there will be a driver onboard who can take over in case of a malfunction.


So they are going to pay a guy to twiddle his thumbs behind the wheel just in case .......just have him drive the damn car.



Saw the funniest thing I've seen in a while today on reddit.

Headline: bus drivers threaten strike over driverless buses.
TxSquarebody
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techno-ag said:

I suspect in time as people grow more comfortable with autonomous vehicles the spare driver will be eliminated. Eventually the route will expand. The day will come when the entire Brazos Transit District is autonomous.
Don't hold your breath on BTD ever going autonomous; technology is scary! Hell, they don't even have cameras on the buses yet!

Bumped because it is October and nothing running in DTB yet. Haven't found any updated info either. Some on here have mentioned the short route and such. DTB presents not only pedestrian traffic issues, but vehicle issues as well. If you have ever driven the proposed loop you know that there is a high risk of cars backing out of parking spots on a narrow road. It will be fun to see how these trolleys navigate that hazard.

I'm sure the test route will expand at some point, but special federal permits are required to operate autonomous vehicles without a tether. This is what has stopped Capital Metro from entering Phase II of their testing.
Floor it until you see God
bobinator
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The high-obstacle-environment in DTB is one of the reasons it was chosen actually.
techno-ag
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TxSquarebody said:

techno-ag said:

I suspect in time as people grow more comfortable with autonomous vehicles the spare driver will be eliminated. Eventually the route will expand. The day will come when the entire Brazos Transit District is autonomous.
Don't hold your breath on BTD ever going autonomous; technology is scary! Hell, they don't even have cameras on the buses yet!

Bumped because it is October and nothing running in DTB yet. Haven't found any updated info either. Some on here have mentioned the short route and such. DTB presents not only pedestrian traffic issues, but vehicle issues as well. If you have ever driven the proposed loop you know that there is a high risk of cars backing out of parking spots on a narrow road. It will be fun to see how these trolleys navigate that hazard.

I'm sure the test route will expand at some point, but special federal permits are required to operate autonomous vehicles without a tether. This is what has stopped Capital Metro from entering Phase II of their testing.


Interesting. An article in the Batt last year said Texas allows autonomous vehicles anywhere. If they stay under 25 mph they can also go on sidewalks.

I suspect you're right that it may be a while before they ditch the human back up driver.

http://www.thebatt.com/science-technology/the-self-driving-shuttle-of-texas-a-m/article_2846c346-92c5-11e7-a012-a7e3f9db10b4.html
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
bobinator
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I'd also guess that insurance (given that this is a government-run project) is another huge reason why there has to be a safety driver.

Also, I think you'll see the program roll out in the middle of the month. They wanted to make an announcement and have information available to the public when it came up to a vote in the city council last month which is why there's been a bit of a delay between the announcement and the start of the trolley. I expect you'll see quite a few announcements from the various entities involved when they officially roll it out soon.

At least, that's what I've heard...
TxSquarebody
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https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/cap-metro-wraps-up-autonomous-bus-tests

Bryan's trolley may be tethered with buffer vehicles as well. Guess we won't know until they start running. There are a lot of little caveats when it comes to FTA and DOT regulations. Still, I'm excited to go down there and see them in action!
Floor it until you see God
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