On 29-Jun-06, at 4:57 PM, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh wrote:
it is more complicated to build flying cars that automatically
avoid each other than it is to build cars on the road that avoid
each other.
I disagree. It is easier to build collision avoidance if you have
freedom of
movement for each entity in 3D rather than in (slightly over) 1D.
To see this intuitively, imagine a collision avoidance system for roads.
Now use the same system for flying cars, but now they can also hop over
each other or "switch lanes" vertically (rather than just
horizontally) if space
/ speed profiles require it. Makes it easier. Using full 3D movement
makes
it easier still.
Same reason why multi-layer printed circuit boards are easier to design
than single-layer ones, and can also implement circuits that are
impossible
on single-layer boards. (Just as on 1D roads, many configurations of
traffic will make collision avoidance impossible).
#!
