Posted on 01/12/2016 1:14:38 PM PST by Kaslin
The smart car is upon us and self-driving automobiles soon will be commonplace - which will be the buzz at this week's 2016 Detroit Auto Show.
In the past two or three years, you see, computer processing capacity has become powerful enough to rapidly manage and analyze massive amounts of complex data sets or "big data."
What does this mean for automobiles?
By installing incredibly intricate roadside sensor networks and additional sensors in "smart" automobiles - both of which feed continuous data, via the Internet, to a powerful collection engine - automobiles will be in constant communication with road conditions and each other.
Smart cars can be programmed to avoid crashing into roadside obstacles and each other, auto-correct if a driver strays from the road or sound an alarm if a driver shows signs he's falling asleep.
In the U.S. alone, according to Entrepreneur.com, "self-driving cars could eliminate the more than 33,000 motor-vehicle traffic deaths a year, 2.3 million injuries and billions in car damage."
Traffic jams will be significantly reduced or eliminated.
Imagine if every car sitting on the Parkway in front of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel could be safely guided through at a coordinated speed that eliminates stop-and-go driving.
How about energy savings?
"Street lamps could automatically switch off in areas with no nighttime traffic, and turn on only when road sensors detect a vehicle getting closer," reports Information Week.
It's hard for a car buff like me to imagine - I love to drive - but driverless automobiles will soon be everywhere.
"A separate study released last month by Britain's Juniper Research anticipates 25 million self-driving cars will be on the road around the world a decade from now," reports The Detroit News.
According to a Rand Corp. report, that means people who are unable to drive - the blind, disabled or people too young to get a license - will enjoy "independence, reduction in social isolation and access to essential services."
Self-driving cars have the opportunity to save the average erstwhile car owner a bundle.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the average utilization rate for a typical car owner is only about 5 percent - that means your car sits idle 95 percent of the time, a waste of money.
When you include insurance costs, fuel, wear and tear and car payments, the average person is spending thousands a year to own a car - but would spend significantly less than that if he or she paid by the mile utilizing a self-driving car fleet.
Ravi Shanker, a Morgan Stanley U.S. auto analyst, says self-driving cars could "contribute $1.3 trillion in annual savings to the U.S. economy alone," reports The Journal - which will dramatically disrupt the auto manufacturing industry.
What is happening to the automobile - as our technology is able to analyze and manage big data - is happening across every industry.
We are at the cusp of another industrial revolution, also referred to as Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution, whereby interconnections between machines, systems, assets and people will enable massive improvements in efficiency and performance.
Its scale, scope and complexity will be unlike anything humankind has yet experienced, according to Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (which will meet this month in Switzerland to discuss "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution").
Hey, America, we may be sitting on a pile of debt, but if we make some smart decisions - if we press our political class to unleash, rather than inhibit, the collective genius of our most industrious people - great times are still ahead for our country and the world.
We MAY be sitting on a pile of debt ?!?
No, Dave, I don't want to go there...
And if the car "self-drives" why would it matter if a human "driver" falls asleep? Won't these really become individual transportation pods? How depressing.
“self-driving automobiles soon will be commonplace”
And nuclear fusion is just around the corner ...
And soon you’ll have your own flying car ...
And electricity will be too cheap to meter ...
And affordable health care for all.
Yeah? I'm still waiting for unmetered Nuclear Power Plant electricity....
This will also eliminate whole categories of jobs so it is important that we import as many illegals as we can to prepare for a smaller workforce.
In the future, your car will prevent you from attending a Trump rally, for your own good, of course...
I doubt the owners will act out. In fact, I bet they are going to be targeted in traffic jams as easy-to-pass.
Undoubtedly these cars are going to leave a larger gap ahead of them than the traditional rush hour driver does. How many times will the owners get cut off by other drivers before they put the car back into manual? haha
While most of the cars manufactured in China are sold within China, exports reached 814,300 units in 2011.[4]...In 2010, both sales and production topped 18 million units, with 13.76 million passenger cars delivered, in each case the largest by any nation in history.[8] In 2014, total vehicles production in China reached 23.720 million, accounting for 26% of global automotive production.[9]
Nope. Your government implanted chip will grant you limited access to the roads or places you need to go. If you commit a crime against the state, such as being a Tea Party member, your chip will simply be deactivated and you will not be able to drive anywhere. But, that’s the least of your problems because you now won’t be able to buy or sell anything so, you know, good luck with that.
I’d be worried if the global automotive production would be 75% or more
"Dave, I see you want to drive to the Trump Rally. I cannot take you there, Dave."
"No, Dave. I cannot drive you to the Ted Cruz Rally, either. But, I will be happy to drive you to the Bernie Sanders Rally, Dave. Does your girlfriend need a ride to Planned Parenthood?"
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A few years ago a town or small city turned off lights - either to save money or to reduce light pollution (when street lights block out the stars). Many people feared it would lead to an increase in crime - criminals would gather in the dark - but in reality it reduced crime - thug types want to hang out under a street light and drink, etc.
So being without street lights in some parts of town maybe counter-intuitive but it can be a good thing.
You got it right. Say there’s a line of 10 autopilot cars nearing an exit during rush hour. None of the 10 are exiting. Here comes two manual drive cars in the left lane operated by aggressive drivers. At the same moment, both of the latter change lanes to take the exit - one in front of Car #4 and the other in front of Car #5.
How will the computer in Car #5 react in time considering Car #4 is no longer traveling at a constant speed, but has initiated a panic deceleration to avoid colliding with rear of the first aggressive lane changer? Even if you assume the computer is capable of instantaneously reacting, there’s a physical limit to deceleration - tire traction.
It’s all or nothing - either all cars are autopods or none are - at least in urban areas. Elsewise, more accidents - and more serious ones.
Might work if being in the right lane switches off auto mode - so interstate driving in rural areas could allow, sleeping, eating, looking at internet porn, etc.
Cool looking car, but since it is a Government-Made-Car (GMC), I am really not interested in buying it.
That is libtard thinking. If they want to write about a waste of money look at suburban public transportation systems where the vehicles do get worn out all day with an average seat occupancy of 5%. There's a reason for all that smoked glass.
I’ll take all the disadvantages this article bemoans, including risk of death in a vehicular accident, just to have the peace of mind knowing my car is NOT tracking and communicating my movements to unknown parties.
And made about as much sense
We are living in the future
I’ll tell you how I know
I read it in the paper
Fifteen years ago
We’re all driving rocket ships
And talking with our minds
And wearing turquoise jewelry
And standing in soup lines
We are standing in soup lines
— John Prine
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