@Jacob, I totally agree with you that this might not work in dynamic traffic neverthless its a good beginning. I think we will need lot more powerful processors to make these pods adjust to dynamic traffic.
Jennifer, auto pilot vehicles are fine, where the traffic system is static. I think it’s not feasible in dynamic traffic situations, where the system may fail to think like a driver. Such vehicles are always moving in a pre determined path.
What kind of testing and evaluations are required before these novel vehicles are introduced? What is human touch in this type of self-driving pods and what is its aceeptance level by senior citizens?
You know what they should do (although it's sort of far-fetched btu weirder things have stuck), if you go to San Francisco, you will see the trolleys and street cars. They are 'controlled' by the magnetic connections to the vehicle. Meybe the 'start' of self-driving passenger cars could be the same.. but with broader ranges of movement. Who knows, this might help reduce accidents since 'the people' are taken out of the equation.
Good points, DennisQ, and great article Jennifer. I agree with DennisQ that it may be a long time before we see this type of transportation fully implemented, however I believe we will start to see more of these sooner than you think. There may be some cities and areas that are difficult to implement this type of transportation, but I think they will start to be used in areas that can accomodate them, and sections of cities that can support them. It may not mean that most of the population of a city can use them soon, but over time they may start to take over conventional transportation.
Interesting stuff, Jennifer! And yes, I was reminded of The Jetsons as well...
I watched one of the videos and it did indeed seem pretty cool... the thing is, while I do believe that we currently have the technology to do things like this and Google's self-driving cars... the big hurdle here is upgrading infrastructure to accommodate these changes.
I live in NYC, for example. The transportation infrastructure here in some ways hasn't changed in over 100 years. In fact, if I took a time machine back 100 years (well... 94 years, to be exact), I could still get to work essentially in exactly the same way and just about as fast.
It's really hard to displace these old-fashioned means of transportation. There are exceptions (such as airports) to this rule, but across much of America I'm afraid that our means of getting around on a daily basis won't change much in the next 100 years: none of us will ever commute to work George Jetson-style, I'm afraid.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
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Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
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Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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