Originally Posted by
staplefordheli
Whilst automation can vastly improve safety in any form of transportation. In an unsterile environ such as roads most current railways and passenger carrying flight, this is never going to be fulfilled by current technologies. The human eye and mind are simply far to complex to replace.
Before you made this post, did you consider for a moment 5 minutes of googling?
If you had bothered, you would have found a host of fully autonomous railways worldwide for decades.
You would also have very quickly found the large number of autonomous cars currently on our roads or in trials from serious manufacturers. These have invested billions in the technology, and they are companies that don't mess around. If they think they can do it, then unless you are astonishingly knowledgable in the field, you're a brave man to bet against them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol3g7i64RAI
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ng-driver.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZxZC0lgOlc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdSR...ature=youtu.be
http://www.cnet.com/news/mercedes-be...f-driving-car/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_driverless_car
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/elo...ess-2015-07-31
Various serious players in the military aviation scene are working very hard to field autonomous military aircraft. The challenges of military aircraft are an order of magnitude higher than passenger carrying flight.
BAe are however flying a trial passenger aircraft.
The human eye is amazing, but is not in the same ballpark as the wealth of sensors available to a computer. EO/IR radar LIDAR etc etc. They can see in IMC.
More importantly, it will actually be looking every moment of the flight, rather than reading the paper like a human pilot. If Airliner manufacturers intended or relied on the pilot to be looking out, then the would put them in a cockpit with decent vis like a fighter.