Electric ribs in 2040?

[Poly]

To answer the OP, I think it will take a long time for the OB industry to catch up, because the market (esp the big money!) is largely driven by the US fishing sector.

However, I think the announcement does raise some interesting questions:
- will e-cars have the same towing capacity?
- will e-cars suffer more from salt water exposure?
- will a likely trend in the same timescale, of driverless cars also lead to the predicted shift away from actual car ownership and summoning the car you need by app, support trailers?

[neil.mccrirrick]

So uber über then car on demand [emoji1]

[Red Fox]

Originally Posted by Poly

- will a likely trend in the same timescale, of driverless cars ...

Oh no ... not driverless e-ribs... I never thought of that!

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Poly

To answer the OP, I think it will take a long time for the OB industry to catch up, because the market (esp the big money!) is largely driven by the US fishing sector.

However, I think the announcement does raise some interesting questions:
- will e-cars have the same towing capacity?
- will e-cars suffer more from salt water exposure?
- will a likely trend in the same timescale, of driverless cars also lead to the predicted shift away from actual car ownership and summoning the car you need by app, support trailers?

I'd like to see a Driverless car reverse a 7m RIB and Trailer down a Dogleg Slip..

As long as it wasn't MINE!

Driverless Bloody Cars?? What's that all about anyway?
With so many more pressing and salient problems threatening the future of the Planet...
......With the advent of A.I & V.R how's about no Human input/interaction at all??..... surly BLISS beckons!!!

In the meantime ...give me The Freedom afforded by a Good RIB ...Natures amazing Scenery!
and Human like minded Great Company!...now that's worth a

[simonl]

Driverless cars will work well with trailers, certainly going fowards. I'm not afraid of the idea of going to bed in a car & waking up at your destination. Pootling along at maximum efficiency. As for reversing it's a very simple model that can be readily computerized, as long as you're prepared to put the sensors on the trailer so the car knows where the trailer is & where it wants to go. I've been reversing trailers since I was maybe 10 yr old & I think I'm pretty good at it, but I have no doubt that a decent algorithm would make me look like a hopeless caravan grandad.

Self driving SMALL & FAST boats? Too many variables to see it in my lifetime I reckon. You're safe on that front.

[Poly]

Maxi, auto park seems to work pretty well you might be surprised how well a driverless car can cope with a trailer on a dogleg. The issue will of course be the clueless parents who let their kids wander behind the trailer!

I'm not sure driverless cars are as daft as you think - you are far more likely to die in a road accident caused by human error than be murdered or killed by terrorists and nobody would hesitate if there was an easy cure for those!

[Last Tango]

Originally Posted by Poly

I'm not sure driverless cars are as daft as you think -

Not so much daft as just utterly pointless.

I would certainly rather drive myself than be "driven" by a machine and that's after a career averaging up to 65,000 mls a year.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Poly

Maxi, auto park seems to work pretty well you might be surprised how well a driverless car can cope with a trailer on a dogleg. The issue will of course be the clueless parents who let their kids wander behind the trailer!

I'm not sure driverless cars are as daft as you think - you are far more likely to die in a road accident caused by human error than be murdered or killed by terrorists and nobody would hesitate if there was an easy cure for those!

I always like to advocate and practise independent thought and not to ALAWYS follow the popular consensus
... to think automation and computerised controlled algorithms will or could eliminate all Fatal road accidents including mechanical breakdowns/malfunctioning Tyre road condition failures ect not to mention Hacking,with many millions of road journeys a day...is in my view somewhat naïve.
They certainly haven't nailed all the safety concerns yet ..even with the relatively minuscule number of controlled trials.

With the Decades old Airline industry at the forefront of technology and safety protocol evolution since inception ...AND PROFESSIONALY trained technical staff performing countless checks and procedures...and many layers of control...computerised and Human..we have yet to eliminate Airliner disasters in flight or ..on the ground.
IMO Technology for technology's sake is a slippery slope..although some think ( usually for profit/control or both)we should where EVER possible put IT in control of every aspect of our existence ...For me I don't.

With things like A.I ..V.R. Nano Tehnology..Genetic engineering/modification/profileing...Facial recognition algorithms...All making great strides,We as a species stand at a cross roads and only time will tell if these tools will be used for control...good or ill...
One thing IS for sure!...
The capacity of Human nature to change IS a Hell of a lot Slower to evolve than the pace our present and future technologies!..AND our capabilities to put the Genie back in the Bottle

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Last Tango

Not so much daft as just utterly pointless.

I would certainly rather drive myself than be "driven" by a machine and that's after a career averaging up to 65,000 mls a year.

[Xk59D]

with a daily commute of 70 miles and a leccy car fan i'd be up for this in a heart beat fall out shower into car and get another hours kip on way to work....yes please!

funnily enough, i was called today about a week test drive in a leccy car.....ummmm

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Xk59D

with a daily commute of 70 miles and a leccy car fan i'd be up for this in a heart beat fall out shower into car and get another hours kip on way to work....yes please!

funnily enough, i was called today about a week test drive in a leccy car.....ummmm

Hey....with enough tech you may not even have to fall out you're Bed..
..let alone the shower!

[Poly]

Maxi, I don't think I claimed you could prevent all accidents, but you can probably stop a huge proportion of them. I dare save even a high speed blow out, which most of us will never have experienced so are 'winging it on how to react' if it does happen. A computer can be trained with the "experience" of all the previous incidents and so probably become safer over time.

The hardest part of vehicle automation is dealing with human beings not in automated vehicles doing unexpected things. One of the first places we will see the technology being introduced is your favourite HGV industry, perhaps only on motorways to start with - there are efficiencies to gain from road trains perhaps only with a human being in the lead vehicle. That could help with congestion for human drivers too as it should cut down on the number of hgvs on limiters trying to squeeze past each other.

Far from standing out from the crowd, I think you are probably very much in the norm for men of your age, who probably believe they are all better than average drivers too. In 23 yrs time you might be approaching license expiry time anyway so you might not get a choice !

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Poly

Maxi, I don't think I claimed you could prevent all accidents, but you can probably stop a huge proportion of them. I dare save even a high speed blow out, which most of us will never have experienced so are 'winging it on how to react' if it does happen. A computer can be trained with the "experience" of all the previous incidents and so probably become safer over time.

The hardest part of vehicle automation is dealing with human beings not in automated vehicles doing unexpected things. One of the first places we will see the technology being introduced is your favourite HGV industry, perhaps only on motorways to start with - there are efficiencies to gain from road trains perhaps only with a human being in the lead vehicle. That could help with congestion for human drivers too as it should cut down on the number of hgvs on limiters trying to squeeze past each other.

Far from standing out from the crowd, I think you are probably very much in the norm for men of your age, who probably believe they are all better than average drivers too. In 23 yrs time you might be approaching license expiry time anyway so you might not get a choice !

As a matter of fact I don't think I'm a good driver....(VERY few are!)
I do however have some experience ..at my age!...and I've learned over the years not to fall for or swallow Corporate..Government..or Sales and Tech B.S!...it wasn't long ago we were told Diesel power was the way to go!...now it's all reminiscent of a certain book written on Jura..
NOT only as of today there is No longer a decades long conflict...there NEVER WAS!
Part if me hopes The Driverless Car thing (although I think it's Bollox!..Like a good many other things "planned")..does take off!..something else tells me there will be plenty of other more pressing Priorities for the money and resources in the not too distant future...
Time will tell eh.

[lakelandterrier]

I 'd welcome the technology that would allow me to run my vehicles without polluting emissions....so far electricity can't power anything above 10t, and these vehicles have a short range and are very expensive
The cost of the infrastructure needed to provide the power and charging for a commercial fleet is huge.
In addition commerical fleets to be economic need to be operating 24hr, so can't afford hours of down time charging.
Lots of practical issues to be considered, but there are worse aims.

Not sure how it affects marine engines probably no one's thought about that yet.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Poly

To answer the OP, I think it will take a long time for the OB industry to catch up, because the market (esp the big money!) is largely driven by the US fishing sector.

However, I think the announcement does raise some interesting questions:
- will e-cars have the same towing capacity?
- will e-cars suffer more from salt water exposure?
- will a likely trend in the same timescale, of driverless cars also lead to the predicted shift away from actual car ownership and summoning the car you need by app, support trailers?

Interesting points Poly.

My wife has just bought a BMW i3 REx. Damn thing is seriously addictive to drive.

- will e-cars have the same towing capacity?

I can't see why not. Part of the problem is the manufacturers want to keep the vehicle weight down. The BMW has 170bhp, but only has a kerb weight of 1,315 kg. Plenty videos online of Tesla S an X models hauling. Range decreases as you'd expect, but interesting results.

- will e-cars suffer more from salt water exposure?

The BMW has a carbon fibre shell, and panels are made from Thermoplastic ABS. The REx has a range-extending engine with the usual metal parts, so I'd have thought corrosion would be pretty minimal.

- will a likely trend in the same timescale, of driverless cars also lead to the predicted shift away from actual car ownership and summoning the car you need by app, support trailers?

Hard to say. If it does it won't be led in this country as we're still obsessed with purchasing, but certainly for people who live in major cities, then the move will be to rent vehicles for journeys.

Once you get to the slipway - that's when the fun starts. I launched out of Ullapool earlier in the week and that slipway isn't for the faint hearted as you need to unhitch as there isn't enough room to manoeuvre properly. With drivers in the future relying on driverless cars - I can imagine Youtube in the future will be filled with mishaps when they actually come to launching and retrieving!

[willk]

2040 guys!

Half of you low ground UK lads will be able to keep the boat afloat in your back garden.

[beamishken]

I doubt driverless cars will be able to eliminate a great number of accidents I'd imagine the numbers they avoid will be replaced by those they cause via sensor faults electrical glitches and software issues
Whilst mechanically modern cars are ultra reliable compared to 30 or 40 years ago electrically they are a different story.
Once you start mass producing tech and trying to make it affordable then reliability starts to suffer

[Poly]

Originally Posted by beamishken

...I'd imagine the numbers they avoid will be replaced by those they cause via sensor faults electrical glitches and software issues ...

No I think you'll see loads of them stuck at the side of the road in "safety shutdown mode". And their useful life may be shorter than today as rather than ignore the fact the sensor is goosed like we do on a 10yr old car - it will probably insists it needs to go on a flatbed!

[Maximus]

P

Originally Posted by Poly

No I think you'll see loads of them stuck at the side of the road in "safety shutdown mode". And their useful life may be shorter than today as rather than ignore the fact the sensor is goosed like we do on a 10yr old car - it will probably insists it needs to go on a flatbed!

Indeed
If you read some of the ideas/plans for Driverless car infrastructure/usage in London and other big City's...(The metropolitan areas are a vastly different Canvass than the Country as a whole)
One they're talking about a "Boris Bike" system where the City dwelling public pay for use/journey and don't need to actually own a Car of any description...which SOUNDS it may have many positive points...
If ofcourse you are identifiable..affluent and credit worthy enough to take advantage of the scheme..different Stiory if the Computer says "No"
Yet ANOTHER soft Target for mischief making Hackers too

[Poly]

Maxi, not many people buying cars who won't satisfy the tests! I already use cars in Edinburgh on exactly the basis You describe (we own one car but when we both need a car I get one from the city car club* on an ad hoc basis, I can't recall what checks there were to joint but 1. It was quick, 2. They let me in, 3. There was certainly very little paperwork and we moved house just before i joined so the standards can't be that tough!

* now owned by Enterprise and has a presence in many major cities in the UK.

The downside is I need to go to the car, rather than the car come to me. In the city centre its unusual I would need to walk more than a mile to get a car even without prebooking. The other downside is none of those cars come with tow bars!