Hey, what's the latest news about driverless cars? About a year ago, these were the latest photos.
Making cars, selling 'em is four times bigger than the smart phone industry. Whoever creates the driverless car that wins the market race will win a HUGE jackpot.
Google has a "Lab X" and is zooming ahead, pouring millions into autonomous cars. So is Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, and Ford, while Apple is mile-a-minute speeding into the iCar. Rumors say they're buying "Tesla" -- another big time, innovative car maker.
California already has rules for self-driving cars. In the San Francisco area, Google cars, having been tested on 700,000 miles, now watch for pedestrians as well as human drivers.
What's ahead for you and me? A fair amount of promotional jabber, that's for sure, but no dates yet, about when we will see them. It could be a decade, even two decades away.
I don't think we'll be buying them. We'll phone some company that provides them -- subscribe on a monthly or annual fee basis. There won't be taxi's. A car will appear at your door; a chip in it will make sure it lets you know when it's arrived. More than likely, there won't be chauffeurs anymore, or any kind of driver jobs. They'll go the way of postmen and elevator operators.
Remember, our society is aging. A couple of decades from now, more than 20 percent of us will be over 65. Yay -- traveling will be safer when us elderly folks get around in cars that drive themselves. Driving might be like riding a horse -- just something rich people do for fun on weekends.
What will a driverless car look like?
There's no reason for them to look like today’s cars. Most trips will involve taking one person a short distance, so if Google wins it will look more or less like this.
iCar
Whoopee Wow!
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3 comments:
There was a very funny column in the Wall Street Journal that envisioned how the transition to driverless cars would (not) work in NYC. Because the cars always stick strictly to the speed limit and are the equivalent of very timid drivers, they would never be able to make a left turn in traffic, or a right turn when there are a lot of pedestrians.
These would be a godsend to those of us who don't--and have never--been able to see well enough to drive! It might not happen soon enough for it to help me very much, but I have a 31 year old, nearly totally blind, daughter who would benefit from this greatly. Thanks for the update on these cars, Em!
I've missed chatting with you, but haven't been online much in recent months. I hope all is well. Love to you and John! <3
Fantastic article Em...by the time these make the market I'll need a driverless wheelchair....Ha!
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