So why aren't trains automated yet? I mean, beside the inter-airport shuttles. Seems like a much more constrained set of parameters to deal with. I'd think this would be a good "first" project to tackle for an AV company, even if the economics of replacing locomotive drivers/engineers weren't super compelling. Is it an insurance thing? Because a train wreck could be much more disastrous and costly? Or is it a union thing? Others?

Almost all of the currently automated rail systems in the world have two things:

1. Full grade separation with no level crossings (often including platform edge doors along any station platforms the trains move through too)

2. Full fencing along the corridor.

Those are two things that isn’t true for almost any freight line.

Not to say it’s not possible with extremely extensive sensor and decision making systems but we’re probably not really there yet.

> So why aren't trains automated yet?

Why? The labor of a conductor is a fraction of the total cost to move the cargo, to the point it’s a rounding error.

Didn't we almost see a national rail strike 2 years ago? It seems like reducing that risk would be an incentive enough to make the transition, even if overall costs are low.

Automating the conductor job doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be anybody around to strike, I think.

This. Most of the jobs are in infrastructure and servicing (loading, maintenance etc). Those are using as much automatization as possible already.

If a freight train is unstaffed, who would brace for impact?

Anyway, labor costs to have a couple engineers aboard is much less than if the load was travelling by truck, even if the trucks have no driver in them, they're likely supervised at a ratio with more humans than it takes to operate a long freight train.

And the job creates a sense of community too.

At some point it’ll probably be automated, but yeah, what’s the point.

Lots of trains are.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_driverless_train_sys...

> beside the inter-airport shuttles

Singapore and Sydney would like a word.

Nuremberg(partially), Hamburg(partially, soon), too.

I don't know anything about this new company, but muon-catalyzed fusion is legit. Because the muon is 200 times heavier than the electron it is much closer to the nucleus, and creates a better shielding effect. The question is what it takes to make muons in an energy efficient manner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon-catalyzed_fusion

And/or application domain. Lower level programming might lean more on the math side? Wasn't the modulus operator a common complaint about fizz-buzz?

Low level requires more discipline, similar to math, that's about it.

Math doesn't require discipline though, many learn and do math without much discipline.

It surely helps. Take for example History, if I space out for whatever reason in the class and botch my examination on the Aztecs, that doesn't preclude me doing great in the classes about the Roman empire. History is like a sparse suburb, where a single house catching fire does not necessarily propagate and destroy the others. On the other side Math its like a skyscrapper, one floor build upon the other. If someone living in a lower floor botches a home renovation in his unit and damages a pillar, it risks taking down the whole building. In math if you botch a prerequisite, you'll ending messing your learning of subsequent concepts 95% of the time. So it is more unforgiving to people with problems like ADHD, that struggle to keep unbroken focus and discipline.

Sure does for me, a thousand rules to follow.

This is due to the heavy lobbying on the part of the existing automobile manufacturers combined with the fact that meeting the goals would seem to be a big disruption for the industry.

https://www.autosinnovate.org/posts/blog/repeal-gas-vehicle-...

https://www.autosinnovate.org/posts/press-release/house-repe...

See the membership here:

https://www.autosinnovate.org/about/our-members

..which includes companies like Hyundai, Kia, General Motors, Ford, Honda, etc. (which are currently the biggest players in the EV market behind Tesla in the U.S.), and of course the usual players without much headway in the EV space: Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, etc..

The ZEV sales requirements start with the 2026 model year, and steadily increase:

    Model| ZEV
    Year | sales
  -------+-------
    2026 | 35%
    2027 | 43%
    2028 | 51%
    2029 | 59%
    2030 | 68%
    2031 | 76%
    2032 | 82%
    2033 | 88%
    2034 | 94%
    2035+|100%

>but why does any federal body have this authority?

The current "Advanced Clean Cars II" is operating under a federal EPA waiver for California and 12 other states. The EPA regulates sources of pollution, which includes internal combustion automobiles. The current waiver allows California (and the other states with identical legislation) to have stricter pollution standards for cars than the rest of the U.S..

California could institute a special sales tax on internal combustion engine vehicles and raise the rate on gas taxes without federal interference.

What seems more likely, that Waymo is prioritizing pedestrian safety over cyclist safety? Or cyclists are much more likely to engage in risky behavior?

Maybe it's that cyclists are more likely to be trying to use the road and waymo is prioritising driving on the roads rather than the sidewalk?

>The best part of all this was learning that inauguration bribes have been happening for decades, generally to little fanfare.

Where can I read more about this?

That is great, thanks for the link!

I'm not surprised, but the thing here (as usual) is how unashamedly blatant it was this rime around. Mask off.

The current "Advanced Clean Cars II" is operating under a federal EPA waiver for California and 12 other states. California could institute a special sales tax on internal combustion engine vehicles and raise the rate on gas taxes without federal interference.

Seems like it would more informative to link to an issue with Waymo instead of Cruise.