I have an AP-2 model S that I got last May, and have lived through the evolution of AP-2 from the era when it would immediately make everyone in the car nervous, to the current state of affairs (17.44 for me) where after some period of time it makes my wife nervous. Of course, full disclosure, she is nervous when I drive too.
I think some lane placement improvements, mimicking human drivers, would make a big difference in acceptance. I notice two big things:
1) On turns, human drivers move modestly towards the inside of the lane, and they move more the sharper the curve. AP-2 does not. The result is that even though the car is tracking the center of the lane, there is an impression that it might not continue to hold the curve properly. It feels in peril of drifting past the outside of the lane, and this does not inspire confidence. This is probably simple to address since it is so specific.
2) When there is a massive vehicle in the next lane, human drivers adjust lane position away from it. Once again, failing to do so creates tension in the people in the car. It may even go so far as to seem like the car is 'lusting' for the truck, even though it may be dead-center in the lane. This might be a little less simple to address.
There are undoubtedly other little things like this that would improve how it 'feels' to use AP. And there are probably secondary issues. For example, if the driving gets confident enough that people stop paying as much attention, safety might actually be worse (although I am not at all sure if this is true.)
Comments? Have you noticed other little behavioral tweaks that would improve the experience?
I think some lane placement improvements, mimicking human drivers, would make a big difference in acceptance. I notice two big things:
1) On turns, human drivers move modestly towards the inside of the lane, and they move more the sharper the curve. AP-2 does not. The result is that even though the car is tracking the center of the lane, there is an impression that it might not continue to hold the curve properly. It feels in peril of drifting past the outside of the lane, and this does not inspire confidence. This is probably simple to address since it is so specific.
2) When there is a massive vehicle in the next lane, human drivers adjust lane position away from it. Once again, failing to do so creates tension in the people in the car. It may even go so far as to seem like the car is 'lusting' for the truck, even though it may be dead-center in the lane. This might be a little less simple to address.
There are undoubtedly other little things like this that would improve how it 'feels' to use AP. And there are probably secondary issues. For example, if the driving gets confident enough that people stop paying as much attention, safety might actually be worse (although I am not at all sure if this is true.)
Comments? Have you noticed other little behavioral tweaks that would improve the experience?
