Remember as a kid watching old
Sci-fi movies where there were cars that drove themselves and drivers could
coast with auto-pilot? It all seemed far off, as if pertaining to a
futuristic society. Well, some of those "futuristic" ideas may
actually be on the verge of becoming a reality - and they might be doing so a
lot sooner than you think!
Today, automakers around the globe
are currently working on various different technologies that not only include
cars without drivers, but they're taking it one step further by putting these
vehicles on the road.
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For example, Audi recently obtained
a permit from the state of California to test drive vehicles on public streets.
Other auto makers aren't far behind as Volvo and Mercedes Benz are in the
process of testing out different vehicles.
You may be surprised to learn that
some non-auto manufacturers are also racking up miles with driverless cars as
well. Google, for instance, currently has about 700,000 test miles on its own
version of cars without drivers. IBM, Intel, and Cisco Systems are also in the
game. With so many driverless explorations happening, it seems as though the
future is now.
So what are the implications of all
this? In terms of investment, it could be substantial. According to Morgan
Stanley, the benefit of autonomous cars alone for the United States economy
could be somewhere in the range of between $700 billion to $2.2 trillion per year.
In any case, driverless vehicles are certain to transform the auto industry -
and our lives - in many ways, likely by the end of this decade.
Source: Chris Bryant and Andy
Charman, “Race Is on to Build World’s First Driverless Car,” October 13, 2014.
"Some Google employees have
their self driving vehicles take them to work. These cars are a bunch of
sensors, wires, and software. This technology 'works'." - Tyler Cowen
