On a university resignation and more
Today, readers comment on an Adelaide uni merger critic bowing out, supermarket produce sales, and flying taxis.
Commenting on the story: Why I’m resigning as a University of Adelaide Adjunct Professor
I totally agree with Professor Hanmer.
I have expressed my opposition on numerous occasions, in line with Prof Hanmer’s objections and the likely negative student experience as a ‘number’ in a mega-university which will even lack lectures. – Robert Warn
Commenting on the story: Farmers slam supermarket code of conduct ‘loopholes’
Produce agents in city markets would phone farmers and say the produce arrived in poor quality and they could only pay this much per case. Some farmers would fly to the markets uninvited and there would be the fruit at its quality best.
Pay the farmer a reduced price and pocket the difference and they wouldn’t know. Then the major retailers just bypassed the markets but treated the farmers equally poorly . Farmers deserve better. – Bruce Pott
Commenting on the story: Flying taxis prepare for local liftoff
There are a number of issues that have to be dealt with before aerial taxis and, especially private aerial vehicles, can become a reality.
The first is the reliability of remotely monitored autonomous flight, remembering that autonomous motor vehicles, like Tesla, continue to have accidents. One weak link is a telemetry network with sufficient redundancy to be 100% reliable. That requires a lot of spectrum space, in an already crowded electromagnetic spectrum.
The second is minimum separation distances, collision avoidance and traffic patterning especially in terminal areas like cities. Vehicles travelling at 120 km/h are travelling almost 35 metres a second or, if on reciprocal headings, have a closing speed of 240 km/h. Spatial sensing and conflict resolution by remote terrestrial computing will need to be extremely fast (ie. very low latency) and metre accurate.
Another issue is integration with existing air traffic. One solution could be restricting operation of these vehicles to 1000 feet ASL or 500 AGL whichever is the lowest. But that would have to be policed and would exacerbate the problems of separation, issue 2. And then, the idea has to be sold to insurance companies, among the most conservative organisations in the business world.
All these need to be addressed and resolved. The engineering is simple by comparison. And then there is the cost including the cost of establishing and maintaining the complex communication infrastructure.
This is, at least, an acknowledgment that these are issues but don’t hold your breath waiting for an upper uber. – Vincent O’Donnell