Pondering Self-Driving Cars
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 6/19/2017 1:00:00 AM
Self-Driving Cars are no longer science fiction. Here's a few things to think about.
When I first heard that Google was working on self-driving cars, I thought it was nothing more than an experiment. After all, who would trust a computer to drive them from place to place? As it turns out, they were not only serious, but just about every technology and car company is rushing to get their self-driving cars to market within the next couple of years. Clearly, Self-Driving cars are more than an experiment.
As I write this in June of 2017, every major car maker has at least SOME self-driving capabilities in their latest models. At the low end, cars today can warn you of obstacles or unsafe driving and in many cases they're programmed to automatically apply the brakes or even take control of the wheel and gas pedal to avoid an accident.
Taken to the next level, every new Tesla sold today has the hardware needed to become totally autonomous and just about every other car maker has plans to do likewise in the immediate future. Volvo has even made a commitment to add autonomous driving to EVERY model by 2020.
As more care become self-driving, I can't help but wonder about a few things. For example, if the trend continues, will drivers licenses become obsolete? After all, even a blind person will be able to own a car, and it's entirely possible that children may use them to get back and forth to school, or a trip to the movies.
The fact is, self-driving cars are safe, very safe. In fact, studies have shown them to be far safer than human drivers, which make you wonder if we will eventually reach a time when cars will no longer have steering wheels and it may even become ILEGAL for humans to drive a car.
When that happens (not if), it also makes you wonder what other regulations will change. For example, will we need traffic police? After all, nobody is driving the car itself. Who would they give the ticket to? Or what about other details like windshield wipers? Will we still need them? I'm sure the computer doesn't need them; in fact it probably doesn't even need headlights to see at night.
Whatever the future has in store, I'm looking forward to it. I drive about 30,000 miles a year, and I think I'd rather use that time to read or take a nap.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
(Reply N/A) (Edit Topic N/A)
(Like Topic N/A) [0 ] 5420 Views
Related Posts
Automotiv(1)Cars(46)Driving(27)Self-Driving Cars(3)Technology(90)
Top 25 Posts
* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.
In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.
The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.
For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.
- Joe
Idea of the Day!
on...