Tag: self driving

Categories
Car Technology

Drive Yourself!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about self driving cars – and how GM have invested heavily into them (in the US) and how they reminded me of the pods they have at Terminal 5 Heathrow parking.

I honestly do think – self driving cars will be the norm and will be coming very soon. What does that mean for you and me….?

Well… for the congested towns and city centres – it’ll be great. I don’t think they’ll be everywhere, because those who live in villages and outside the main cities… they’ll need their cars to get them places. But even then… most of those cars, will be able to self drive… through their connectivity (which I spoke about on Monday) and through the number of sensors they’ll have!

Waymo is a self driving car that’s currently being tested…

Do we need self driving cars, Bal?

Technically, no. But like everything – there’s so many positives to having this technology.

  1. Safety. All the self driving cars that have been tested to date have been safer and less likely to be involved in an incident compared to a human behind the wheel. This is because, of the number of sensors that are able to pick up things and predict what could happen. Rather than having 2 eyes on the road… you have many many more!
  2. Cost. This does depend on the amount you use a car – but honestly, if it’s able to take you somewhere you want to go without you being behind the wheel (and they’re self driving), it’ll find the most economical way to get you there – that’s both, using the maps/sat nav but also speed/efficiency driving behaviours!

Tesla have the self driving feature.

Many other manufacturers have various forms of technology to aid the driver… but remember, no matter what feature you have, until we have the true self driving car – please do not attempt to read a book at the wheel…

Categories
Transportation Technology

Self Driving Cruising…

Last week, I had to take a flight from Heathrow. I usually park at T5 Pod Parking. It’s quick, easy, simple and I like it.

I have often thought – why aren’t these little bad boy pods on the streets?

So, for those who don’t know… these pods are self driving (obviously programmed for the track they have to take), no humans required, electric (saving a lot of tonnes of fuel that buses would have taken to do the same journey!) and quiet – I mean, I can sit there and do a few emails for those few minutes journey.

Back to my question – I did wonder, why aren’t they on the streets? – I’m sure someone like GM (General Motors), Ford or Toyota would do something with their self driving technology and put it into a pod like this. Where’s Tesla….?! – Here’s an idea for you Tesla!

Oh… hold the press. Someone is working on them and they’ll be coming sooner than we thought!

Cruise – the company, with GM… have designed, built and piloted a self driving pod/vehicle called the Cruise Origin!

So – they say, “When we got rid of all that human-driver stuff, we traded it for something precious: space.

The Cruise Origin looks big. But in fact, it’s no bigger than your average car. It’s just more efficient, making full use of the space it takes up on the road.

The doors don’t hinge outward. They slide open, so bikers are safer.

The entry is low to the ground, and three times larger than that of an average car — wide enough to make room for one person to step in while another person steps out.

Every seat is extra-legroom. And they all face each other, so you can have a conversation with family or friends.”

Very similar to the T5 Pod!

Personally, I think this is awesome!

It’s also, quite safe….

“When human beings drive, we rely on our eyes and ears. But even in simple suburban environments, with 20/20 vision and perfect hearing, we can only look in one direction, and we can only see and hear so much.

The Cruise Origin is powered by a brand-new, all-electric platform built by General Motors. It’s got what’s called redundancy, meaning there are no single points of failure across sensing, compute, networking, or power — because there’s no backup human driver.

Its multi-layered sensor suite is designed to keep track of multiple people and objects — even if they’re far away, in pitch-black, or hidden by rain or fog.”

Cruise Origin is currently in San Fran being tested 24/7 by the Cruise employees…. but they’ll start to invite members of the public and then look to roll it out around the States and me personally…. I can’t wait till it hits the UK!

That’s right – one of these on your street…very soon!

Categories
Uncategorized

Toyota & Uber… Could be quite Super!

Yesterday, it was announced that Toyota would invest $500m into Uber.

Was does this mean?

Well, firstly… It means, Uber is now estimated to be worth around $72bn. Quite a jump from the recent valuation of $62bn.

Secondly, It means… Toyota are certain this is the future because they also invested $1bn in Grab (Uber equivalent/competitor/rival in South Asia).

Thirdly, It means.. self-driving cars will be on your roads sooner than we think.

Yes there have been problems, especially when one of Uber’s self-driving SUV’s killed a pedestrian in Arizona, USA. You could call that a big problem.

Uber have been investing… but, being honest, it’s been a struggle for them. Expensive lawsuits… the fatal accident… etc… and sometimes, what you need is, someone to come along – to confirm what you’re doing is right… to ensure you keep going… keep experimenting.

Toyota is doing that. They know that car ownership will be a thing of the past. We can see trends of that in certain cities… where it’s easier, cheaper and quicker to use the train/underground/subway… or even a bike. Why own a car? – there’s so much expense that goes with it… the insurance, road tax, MOT, etc…

It’s very much similar to the ‘Estate Agent’ industry. They’re going through a massive shake-up. Country-wide, who own 50 Estate Agent brands and employ over 8,000 people, have about £200m debt and yesterday had to raise £140m ’emergency funds’ – which they did, with the help of their board.

Go back 3 years… and look how their share price has tumbled….

Why? well… On-line estate agencies have become more popular and more and more people are using them. They’re less and less going to the high street. Countrywide own all the high street estate agents.

Technology is enabling customers to do things quicker and easier.

Toyota know this. They know self-driving technology will, one day, be the norm. We’ll have self-driving cars. There’ll be phases of it… as the technology gets better and better. People won’t want to own cars. They’ll just summon a vehicle to them… use it to get from Point A to Point B.

We kind of do that with taxi’s, right? Summon them to pick us up from Point A and take us to Point B.

Uber made it easier via an App.

Toyota know a thing or two about cars.

Combine the two together…

It’s all about collaboration.