I find the concept of autonomous vehicles fascinating and a little scary. Here are a few of my thoughts for discussion.
Once the technology is perfected, it will likely soon become on option on certain new cars (albeit likely an expensive one). I don’t know the stats but accidents caused by operator error have got to be the vast majority. These potentially will be eliminated in autonomous vehicles. How long after that will human operators remain an option?
As vehicles adapt to the new tech, how will vehicle design change? Auto-only design seems inevitable. Will windshields and forward facing seats disappear? As accidents decline will vehicle design be optimized more toward efficiency with less focus on accident protection?
Will personal vehicle ownership decline when you schedule a pickup and ride to work from a cell phone app? Think about it. The car drops you off and goes about other business before it or another returns to take you home.
The hassle of downtown parking could disappear. After dropping you off the car could circle the block or park itself remotely and return on cue.
This one occurred to me recently when a new feature of my google maps app suggested a shorter route. How long before traffic patterns are completely controlled by Google? Traffic congestion could be created or alleviated by some central control system. Oh, and there will be complete traceability of your route EVERYWHERE you go!
The idea of sipping a beer and reading a book as the car takes me safely and expeditiously to my destination has immense appeal. But so does piloting my sports car a little fast down a twisty road with the top down.
What are your thoughts on this?
Once the technology is perfected, it will likely soon become on option on certain new cars (albeit likely an expensive one). I don’t know the stats but accidents caused by operator error have got to be the vast majority. These potentially will be eliminated in autonomous vehicles. How long after that will human operators remain an option?
As vehicles adapt to the new tech, how will vehicle design change? Auto-only design seems inevitable. Will windshields and forward facing seats disappear? As accidents decline will vehicle design be optimized more toward efficiency with less focus on accident protection?
Will personal vehicle ownership decline when you schedule a pickup and ride to work from a cell phone app? Think about it. The car drops you off and goes about other business before it or another returns to take you home.
The hassle of downtown parking could disappear. After dropping you off the car could circle the block or park itself remotely and return on cue.
This one occurred to me recently when a new feature of my google maps app suggested a shorter route. How long before traffic patterns are completely controlled by Google? Traffic congestion could be created or alleviated by some central control system. Oh, and there will be complete traceability of your route EVERYWHERE you go!
The idea of sipping a beer and reading a book as the car takes me safely and expeditiously to my destination has immense appeal. But so does piloting my sports car a little fast down a twisty road with the top down.
What are your thoughts on this?
