Self-Driving Cars

Uber Partners With Daimler in a Step Toward a Driverless Future – The New York Times

by dldamore

Uber Partners With Daimler in a Step Toward a Driverless Future – The New York Times:

“The ride-hailing company announced on Tuesday a partnership with Daimler, under which the German automaker plans to build autonomous vehicles that will operate on Uber’s transportation network.

The move marks the first time a major automaker will provide its own self-driving vehicles — built entirely in-house and without Uber’s help — specifically to operate on the ride-hailing company’s network.”

*Autonomous cars are coming. 

Automakers Prepare for an America That’s Over the Whole Car Thing – The New York Times

by dldamore

Automakers Prepare for an America That’s Over the Whole Car Thing – The New York Times:

“General Motors and its partner, Lyft, an Uber rival, are about to begin testing a fleet of self-driving cars ferrying passengers short distances in Detroit and other cities. Uber already has similar trials underway in Pittsburgh and has just expanded its tests to San Francisco. Next year, Delphi Automotive expects to have self-driving Audis providing rides to mass transit stations in a section of Singapore.”

(Via.)

 

*The future is coming. 

Google’s Cute Cars And The Ugly End Of Driving – BuzzFeed News

by dldamore

Google’s Cute Cars And The Ugly End Of Driving – BuzzFeed News:

“Self-driving cars — especially if they are operated as fleets and you only use one when you need it, summoning it Uber-style — would mean we could have fewer vehicles per person, less traffic congestion, less pollution, far fewer vehicles produced per year (thus lowering the environmental impact of production), and, best of all, safer streets.”

*Self-driving cars are poised to usher in massive changes to society.

Combine Uber With Driverless Cars, and Nine Out of Ten Vehicles Become Obsolete | | Betabeat

by dldamore

Combine Uber With Driverless Cars, and Nine Out of Ten Vehicles Become Obsolete | | Betabeat:

“… the system would replace about nine out of ten vehicles while “maintaining a reasonable level of service,” as measured by the time people spent waiting for a ride.”

*This could be disruptive. Could see further consolidation amongst global auto manufactures in the years and decades ahead. The actual change could be a reduction of one car in ten or it could be as far out as eliminating ninety-nine of one hundred. Technology enables new things to happen.  

Nice Self-Driving Car. But How Much Does It Cost? – Businessweek

by dldamore

Nice Self-Driving Car. But How Much Does It Cost? – Businessweek:

“According to a J.D. Power & Associates (MHFI) survey published in April, 39 percent of people would be interested in owning an autonomous car, but only 21 percent said they’d be interested if it cost them an extra $3,000.”

*The future of self-driving car is not ownership, but time sharing [opinion]. Think of a community with cars spread out and shared amongst members. Pay by the mile with time of day surcharges and discounts. Need to get to work at 8am? Well, if there is a lot of demand at that time, there will be higher prices to get people to switch their non time sensitive activities to a time with lower demand.

Imagine how this could be used as a car pooling device for people driving to the same location. People could be picked up and both parties get a better price for doing so.

Sharing points? Maybe. Perhaps a dashboard and tracker for people…

  • How many miles do I travel alone?
  • How many miles do I travel as part of a carpool?
  • Miles
  • Time
  • What times of day do I need transportation?
  • Could my costs be reduced by choosing different travel times?