[ale] Mass Transit Solutions?
runman
runman at speedfactory.net
Tue Jun 20 19:54:44 EDT 2006
A lot of bikes are not made of metal except for the handlebars and wheels,
and even then a some wheels are not made of metal either.
-----Original Message-----
From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of James P.
To: ale at ale.org
Kinney III
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 11:33 AM
To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [ale] Mass Transit Solutions?
On Tue, 2006-06-20 at 11:11 -0400, Charles Shapiro wrote:
> Uh... And trackable by Law Enforcement Authorities. I'm _really_ not
> sure about that. Part of the great thing about being outside an auto
> is that my civil rights are preserved. I don't have to identify myself
> to a policeman; a driver must display ID at all times. And what
> happens when I'm on foot? Must I wear a special badge just to walk
> around, lest I be run over? Foo. I already have to carry a badge for
> work. One's enough.
To be honest, the only viable solution is a ramp up to a $10/gallon gas tax
with all the $$ going to construct a viable mass transit system that
everyone will WANT to use all the time because it better and faster than any
alternative. The politicos and robber/barons at the top of socioeconomic
pecking order will then just get bigger SUVs as the fuel cost is not an
issue to them.
As for the RFID tag, that was a bait. Sorry. IR sensors are very reliable
and can "see" a human with no problem. Especially one building up a sweat on
a bike! The only issue with IR for humans is at temps between 94F and 100F
bodies are background noise. Bikes are easy to detect with metal detectors
short range. Long range is too imprecise.
Visible light image analysis for spatial proximity and relative motion is
the best choice for detection of pedestrians and cyclists (and other
road-crossing critters). It is, however, rather cpu intensive. I suspect
that some specialized modifications to 3D game applications could be used to
construct a virtual model for sensor warnings is a short route to
functionality on this.
>
> I personally myself think that mass transit offers far safer and
> simpler solutions to this problem. But of course gas has to get to
> $3.50 a gallon to convince the SUV drivers that they'll have to rub
> elbows with peasants.
>
> -- CHS
> (Who might be a peasant himself)
>
> On 6/20/06, James P. Kinney III <jkinney at localnetsolutions.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 2006-06-20 at 09:49 -0400, Charles Shapiro wrote:
> > Uh, as a mostly pedestrian and bicyclist this scares me to
> death.
> >
> > It's dangerous enough out there with the drunks and the
> SUVs. Add
> > trying to cross a street where a minor sensor failure can
> kill you
> > into the mix and it'll become pretty much impossible to move
> around
> > the city EXCEPT in an automobile.
> >
> > -- CHS
>
> So I guess the specs should include redundant sensors data.
> Each vehicle
> has its own set at the data is shared between nearby vehicles.
>
> Of course an RFID on the bike makes it quite visible as well.
> >
> >
> > On 6/16/06, James P. Kinney III
> <jkinney at localnetsolutions.com> wrote:
> > So the big questions I have to pose is:
> >
> > What can be done about it that is financially
> feasible,
> > politically
> > possible and technically available?
> >
> > Of course I have some thoughts on this. :)
> >
> > We already have an extensive network of asphalt.
> Neighborhood
> > associations have enough clout to kill off a rail
> line in the
> > areas
> > where it is needed (Why has the Tucker Marta spur
> never been
> > built?).
> > The Grand Darpa Challenge has demonstrated we
> currently posses
> > the
> > technical ability to auto-navigate a car through
> some of the
> > worst
> > terrain.
> >
> > Is it feasible to have current cars retro-fitted
> with self-nav
> > as an
> > intermediate step to a purpose built light vehicle
> with
> > self-nav
> > designed in?
> >
> > There are social issues with peoples current choice
> of cars
> > that can't
> > be addressed with technology (Why do so many little,
> tiny
> > women drive
> > gigantic 3 ton monsters like Chevy Suburbans north
> of I-20?).
> >
> > My thinking on the self-nav is it could allow a
> smoother
> > traffic flow
> > process that would be safer and much more fuel
> efficient. Ad
> > 60% of the
> > work done by the engine is to simply move the air
> out of the
> > way,
> > self-nav would allow cars to safely tail-gate
> literally
> > bumper-to-bumper
> > and thus greatly reduce wind drag on the entire
> mini-train.
> >
> > A second factor in this (long range proposal) would
> be a super
> > light
> > weight, single commuter vehicle. Much of the mass of
> the
> > current vehicle
> > design is involve in the safety of the passengers.
> Let's face
> > it, cars
> > crash because drivers make mistakes. If the crash
> likelihood
> > is reduced
> > by removing as much of the human error as
> engineering
> > possible, the
> > overall mass of the car can be reduced dramatically
> with
> > tremendous
> > efficiency results. Likewise, the reduction in size
> increases
> > the number
> > of these vehicles that can be on the roads at any
> given time
> > (which
> > extends the useful lifetime of the existing road
> size and also
> > reduces
> > maintenance as the vehicles are lighter and thus
> don't produce
> > the wear
> > on the roadway that the heavier ones do.)
> >
> > Of course, the nav systems would have to be fully
> open source
> > to ensure
> > that the travel details of any one person are not
> used
> > nefariously. In
> > fact, the entire traffic control system should be
> fully open
> > source to
> > engender an enhanced trust of the system by the
> population at
> > large.
> > Having a talking guvment head telling me "Of course
> it's safe
> > and
> > secure" is rather pointless. Having 40-50 research
> engineers
> > jointly say
> > it is means much more.
> >
> > More?
> >
> > On Fri, 2006-06-16 at 09:08 -0400, William Bagwell
> wrote:
> > > Catch up? The idiots should never have *abandoned*
> in the
> > 50s what had
> > > existed in the 1930s! A bit before my time so I'm
> not
> > exactly sure when
> > > they were first built, but depression era trolley
> lines ran
> > as far as
> > > Marietta to the north and Stone Mountain to the
> east.
> > (Probably others
> > > too.) Cheap, simple rail trolleys that cost a
> nickel to
> > ride... Or so I
> > > have been told, I only remember the rotting
> stations as a
> > small child.
> > >
> > > Lingering bitterness over Atlanta killing the
> trolley, was a
> > primary reason
> > > why Cobb county rejected joining Marta when it was
> first
> > proposed back in
> > > the late 60s or early 70s.
> > --
> > James P. Kinney III \Changing the mobile
> computing
> > world/
> > CEO & Director of Engineering \ one Linux
> > user /
> > Local Net Solutions,LLC \ at a
> > time. /
> >
> 770-493-8244 \.___________________________./
> > http://www.localnetsolutions.com
> >
> > GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III ( M.S .
> Physics)
> > <jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
> > Fingerprint = 3C9E 6366 54FC A3FE BA4D 0659 6190
> ADC3 829C
> > 6CA7
> >
> >
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> >
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> --
> James P. Kinney III \Changing the mobile computing
> world/
> CEO & Director of Engineering \ one Linux
> user /
> Local Net Solutions,LLC \ at a
> time. /
> 770-493-8244 \.___________________________./
> http://www.localnetsolutions.com
>
> GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S . Physics)
> <jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
> Fingerprint = 3C9E 6366 54FC A3FE BA4D 0659 6190 ADC3 829C
> 6CA7
>
>
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>
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--
James P. Kinney III \Changing the mobile computing world/
CEO & Director of Engineering \ one Linux user /
Local Net Solutions,LLC \ at a time. /
770-493-8244 \.___________________________./
http://www.localnetsolutions.com
GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S. Physics)
<jkinney at localnetsolutions.com> Fingerprint = 3C9E 6366 54FC A3FE BA4D 0659
6190 ADC3 829C 6CA7
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