Part 25 - Back to the future Part 2 - Roads, we don't need roads

A short one this time due to the fact that there isn't a lot happening at the moment.

Actually, there is a lot happening but it's diverse. We are at a point where different companies are still investigating different things. When the rubber actually hits the road we will see an acceleration when companies see what others are doing, what is being accepted and then incorporate other peoples technologies into their own.

That's the point where standardisation occurs.

Once everyone's on the same page, economy of scale kicks in big time and uptake accelerates as costs drop. At least that's my theory...

Given the bad press Tesla has received with people using driver assist technology as fully autonomous, it was interesting to see Elon Musk announcing that all Teslas now being produced have fully autonomous hardware installed.

The exact quote
"We are excited to announce that, as of today, all Tesla vehicles produced in our factory – including Model 3 – will have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver. Eight surround cameras provide 360 degree visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system. A forward-facing radar with enhanced processing provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength, capable of seeing through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead."

This is obviously a great step forward and a recognition that you can't rely on a single technology but need overlapping sensors to cater for all contingencies.

This obviously adds to the cost but we are talking about lives here so price is (or should be) a secondary consideration.

On the other hand will this increase peoples expectations and rely on the tech even more before it's ready?

Time will tell.

Yesterday saw a truck in Colorado make a delivery of beer using an autonomous system.
Admittedly it was only on the highway stretches, not in urban traffic and had special permission to do so.
Having said that, one of my favourite expressions is that once the technology is out there and can be used, it will be.
You can't turn the clock back, no matter how much Islamic extremists or some current high profile politicians want to, once it's out there, it's out there so get used to it becoming more common.

On the same theme, McKinsey and company have released a report that suggests that a third of long haul trucks will be not have a need for a full time driver by 2025 due to the increased use of technology.

Autonomous personal aircraft are in the news again with the Airbus group developing a new single seat, battery powered 4 rotor personal aircraft about the size of a car. Air taxi anyone?

Of course Ehang industries has prototypes undergoing testing already but the more the merrier as any competition generates development and growth.

Stay tuned...