Seriously – What’s with Silicon Valley’s Hard On for Self-Driving Cars?
Elon Musk keeps promising that the fully autonomous car is just days weeks months years away. Now Apple wants to build a fully autonomous electric car by 2024.
I mean, is there some research somewhere that says Americans are clamoring for self-driving cars? Am I just being an old fart and all the kids want self driving cars so they can take their Tik-Tok selfies and play Call of Duty while eating their avocado toast and drinking their soy bubble tea?
The long-rumored, long-dead Apple car may soon be resurrected. Apple is reportedly talking to auto manufacturers about building a fully autonomous electric car as soon as 2024. As is typical of Apple’s projects, we’re still short on verified facts.
The latest rumors, courtesy of CNBC, had Apple and Hyundai “close to finalizing” a deal to build the cars at a Kia plant in Georgia. They would be Apple’s own brand of cars, and the partnership would give Apple a factory ready to start building cars by 2024, rather than requiring the company to take a considerably longer time (and more money) to build one from the ground up. This built on Hyundai’s January statement that it was in talks with Apple — a statement that the notoriously secretive Apple reportedly did not appreciate.
I don’t believe the AI can be made good enough to deal with all the crazy local road configurations and poor signage. I think self-driving cars should be allowed only on limited-access roads pre-wired for them with built-in transponders and sensors. If the car strays off a certified wired road, it should pull over and stop. In that sense self-driving cars would be more like trains running on tracks, and might make sense for long haul routes or regular short hauls.
Fine. I-95 from DC to Jacksonville FL. You can take a nap, but is that enough of a benefit? I just don’t get it.
There is no benefit large enough to compensate for having to go to Jacksonville
nailed it. lol
I think the main appeal is to corporations who employ lots of drivers and hope to get rid of labor cost.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/2020/11/23/st-pete-launches-driverless-shuttle-along-bayshore-drive/
The car is just the vehicle (sorry) for offering ride services to the public without having to deal with those pesky drivers and their need to earn a living wage from doing the work. As well as insuring against the danger humans pose to other humans (whether driver-on-passenger or passenger-on-driver). They’re not going to make money from selling these cars, but from using these cars to sell rides, which we all are clamoring for, apparently. To whomever comes up with the car first go the spoils.
It’s true. Taking “humanity” out of the commute would almost certainly make it more safe and efficient. Hell, American companies might even be able to add another hour onto the standard work day!
The author is clearly not blind.
This is literally the first time I’ve heard anyone suggest accessibility as a pre-text.
I would neverrrrr get in a self driven car nor do i think a blind person should be put in the drivers seat of one if they cant correct a malfunction.
Some of the highest tech computers still crash. One going 75 on I95? Stupidest idea ever from rich idiots
exactly
I too am flummoxed by this interest in self driving cars. I don’t see a reasonably attainable endpoint that makes the initial outlay versus eventual profit sustainable from a corporate books perspective. It almost needs government involvement to develop national standards up front so we don’t end up in a format war of competing standards. Hah, yeah, who am I kidding. .
FWIW, several early self driving cars did not have any controls that a human driver could grab to heroically save the day when it all goes to shit. Why you may ask? Because, aside from specially trained folks like pilots, when humans insert themselves into panic situations they generally make things worse than just allowing the automation to take care of things. Kinda like the mythos of carrying a gun for self protection; by the time you realize you’re in the shit, it’s too late to do much more than just hope it all comes out alright.