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Hi, I'm Dr. Lance Ellen and welcome to my podcast series about self-driving cars.
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In this episode I'll be discussing the topic of self-driving cars going in reverse.
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If you've become interested in learning more about self-driving cars, please see my website
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www.ai-self-driving-cars.guru for further information.
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Okay, let's get started. They say that time always marches forward, does it? Right now we
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assume that time can only flow in one direction, namely going forward. Mankind has dreamt forever
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that it would be nifty if time could be reversed. Time reversibility is undoubtedly a fascinating
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topic. Shifting gears, you might be surprised to know that time reversibility has been given some
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strightened attention in the realm of computers and computing machines, doing so in a field of
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study known as reversible computing. Generally, there are two major ways to categorize
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reversible computing facets. One is a means of performing physical reversibility of
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computational activities, while the other has to do with undertaking a logical
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semblance of computational reversibility. The two categories tend to work hand in hand.
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A simple example might suffice. It seems that everyone nowadays knows that there are usually
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computer bits consisting of the binary values of zero and one. We could construct an electronic
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chip that would take as input a bit either in the state of one or the state of zero and
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produces output the so-called opposite or inversion of the bit. If the input is a one,
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then output a zero. If the input is a zero, then output a one. More commonly, this is referred to
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as an inverter or a not operation. Could you receive the output of a not operation and make
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things go in reverse, returning to what you started with? Well, it certainly seems straightforward.
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If the output was a zero, you know that the input must have been a one. If the output is a one,
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then you know that the input must have been a zero, assuming of course that the operation
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worked flawlessly. Now keep in mind that most electronic chips are not made to work in reverse.
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We've logically identified how to go in reverse, but the electronics might not be set up to allow
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reverse physical operation to occur. As such, if we want this to happen in a real-world sense,
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we might need to adapt the electronics accordingly. A reversible electronic circuit then is a circuit
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that allows for bits to flow in either direction, forward or in reverse, through the circuitry.
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There is no longer a fixed indication of what is input and what is output, since either side of the
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circuitry could be considered available for input and equally available for output. For those of
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you more interested in the software than the hardware side of things, you might enjoy knowing
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that there is a reversible computing with respect to aspects of software too. Shifting gears once
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again, there's another place that we tend to be primarily focused on going forward, entailing the
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driving of a car. It's a pretty good bet that you spend most of your time driving in a forward
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direction. Sure, you do use the reverse capability of your car from time to time,
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such as when backing out of a parking spot. Here's a twist for your day. Will AI-based
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self-driving cars reconsider the act of driving or reverse, or will the task of reverse driving
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remain as it is today? For level 4 and level 5 true self-driving cars, keep in mind there won't be a
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human driver involved in the driving task. All occupants will be passengers. The AI will be
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doing the driving. Will the AI be able to drive a self-driving car in reverse? Yes, if the AI has
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been set up to do so, and for which we can certainly reasonably expect that nearly all
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automakers and self-driving tech firms are going to put such capabilities into place.
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But there are some important caveats. First, by and large, the mainstay of the sensors on
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a self-driving car today are oriented towards going forwards, not going reverse. There is usually
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not as much century capability installed going in reverse as there is in going forward, which
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certainly makes sense since the self-driving cars presently would be used going forward versus going
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backward. Second, this means that even if the AI has been programmed or otherwise established to
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drive in reverse, is doing so in a less than optimal way than it can driving forwards. And,
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furthermore, this is potentially a legal liability issue that might ultimately rear its ugly head.
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If a self-driving car while going reverse runs into someone, you can be sure that lawyers are going
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to be asking pointed questions about how the reverse driving capabilities were designed and
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implemented. Now, you might be tempted to assert, well, human drivers are relatively poor at driving
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in reverse. Therefore, if the AI is similarly insufficient at driving in reverse, there were no
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worse off than we are with human drivers. But I doubt that that logic will prevail. The public is
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likely to have higher expectations about the AI driving systems, and especially so when going in
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reverse. Another consideration to contemplate about cars is the design and construction of most
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conventional cars are entirely oriented towards forward driving. You cannot drive in reverse,
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really, for any prolonged period of time, nor the same heightened speeds and fluidity as you can
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when driving forwards, at least in most cars. This is not simply due to the human driver,
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but also due to how the reverse driving mechanisms are devised.
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Here's a mind bender for you. The AI doesn't care that there's a so-called forward and so-called
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backward are going to reverse. It can be crafted and drive in either direction.
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As such, some question, why do we even need to use a conventional car design for the use in
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creating self-driving cars? Sure, it's easier to do things that way, since such car designs already
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exist. But perhaps we ought to be reconsidering that a conventional car oriented towards a
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forward driving role, and instead allow for an equal capability of self-driving cars to go in
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reverse as well as it goes when proceeding forwards. Now some listeners might realize I've
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discussed this topic previously, including pointing out that Zooks has consistently been a has had
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consistently a core goal of attaining self-driving cars that can equally proceed both forward
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and in reverse. There's much debate about self-driving cars going forwards versus going
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in reverse, though. For example, if this suggests that the sensory devices need to be doubled up
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to allow for reverse driving, perhaps that added cost is unwarranted. On the other hand,
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given the potential liability exposure, this could be considered a must in that light. Also,
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some worry that since our driving world, as it exists today, is shaped around human drivers
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driving principally forward, perhaps it's unsafe to have self-driving cars that can routinely
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drive in reverse if they wish to do so. So which is it? Does driving in reverse for self-driving
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cars seem revolutionary or simply evolutionary? It's an open question. Meanwhile, please make
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sure to look carefully when driving in reverse, and perhaps keep your eyes open for self-driving
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cars coming down your neighborhood streets while in reverse. Don't worry, it won't be an optical
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illusion. It'll be the real thing. Well, thanks for listening. Again, I'm Dr. Lancel. I hope that
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you found today's episode informative. If you're interested in learning more about self-driving
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cars, see my website, www.ai-self-driving-cars.guru, for further information.
