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trof

(54,255 posts)
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 06:44 PM Oct 2015

Life after human operated automobiles are obsolete.

Insurance premiums for owner operated vehicles will be prohibitive.
Traffic related deaths and injuries will plummet.

City life: Uber on steroids.

Suburban life:
You'll schedule a daily commute for the week with 'RoboCar'.
To and from work.
Time spent commuting will be credited as 'work time' since you'll be able to do your job or conduct business while enroute to your job.
If you still have to physically BE at an office.

Same for kids to school if a RoboSchoolBus doesn't serve your school district.
Teaching/learning will begin as soon as your kid boards the bus or the RoboCar.

Anywhere you need to go...shopping, medical appointments, visit friends, a night out, whatever...transportation is just a phone call/text/IM/app/email away.

Bars will see a huge increase in profits. RoboCar is the Designated Driver.

Taking a flight? You'll be pre-screened by your RoboCar ride.
No TSA.
And RoboCar entered your digital boarding pass into the system.
Just walk out to your departure gate and board.
Remember how it used to be?

What will this cost?
MUCH less than you now pay for a car, insurance, maintenance, tires, etc., etc.

Feel free to add your own ideas.
These are just a few.



40 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Life after human operated automobiles are obsolete. (Original Post) trof Oct 2015 OP
What will this cost? Fumesucker Oct 2015 #1
There will NEVER be robocars where I live. longship Oct 2015 #2
Yes, they will. MindPilot Oct 2015 #22
Girls Crash into Lake Following Bad GPS Directions KittyWampus Oct 2015 #28
Who said anything about GPS? MindPilot Oct 2015 #32
Several issues Travis_0004 Oct 2015 #35
Five years? longship Oct 2015 #30
That is my guess. I work where some of this stuff is being developed. MindPilot Oct 2015 #33
Pshaw! How silly. longship Oct 2015 #36
No TSA? lumberjack_jeff Oct 2015 #3
I think auto parking will be cool. Travis_0004 Oct 2015 #4
You will no longer own a car. trof Oct 2015 #6
Im not so sure of that Travis_0004 Oct 2015 #13
You won't have to wait. trof Oct 2015 #14
I don't have to wait now as it is. Throd Oct 2015 #15
The Royal Ahold Group (I call them royal a-holes, but that's a different post..!) that runs GIANT MADem Oct 2015 #40
No more driveways, garages, or parking lots. KamaAina Oct 2015 #5
Garages will become game rooms, workshops, whatever. trof Oct 2015 #8
Or in San Francisco, studio apartments. KamaAina Oct 2015 #11
I actually find driving my old car to be quite enjoyable. Throd Oct 2015 #7
I prefer 'freeing'. trof Oct 2015 #10
If you want to crawl inside a robot, knock yourself out. I prefer the freedom of driving the car my Throd Oct 2015 #12
This will become a hobby, and a very expensive one. trof Oct 2015 #16
Trust me, it already is an expensive hobby. Throd Oct 2015 #26
especially with the bunch of drunk folk Skittles Oct 2015 #20
"this will cost less" Skittles Oct 2015 #9
I will guarantee it will be cheaper than owner/operators. trof Oct 2015 #18
I remember when they said banking would be cheaper without tellers Skittles Oct 2015 #19
I remember "electricity too cheap to meter" MindPilot Oct 2015 #24
I've never been a big fan of driving Skittles Oct 2015 #25
OK, and nuclear power. trof Oct 2015 #29
Agreed, it time to accept the private automobile IS mass transit. MindPilot Oct 2015 #17
That's the path we've chosen in the U.S. trof Oct 2015 #21
Personal opinion only, but to me that sounds like a vision of hell. =( Shandris Oct 2015 #23
When I was a kid I was hoping the automobile age would be over by now. hunter Oct 2015 #27
Yes. The European Model. trof Oct 2015 #31
I've lived in places like that. hunter Oct 2015 #37
yes we will customise our robots olddots Oct 2015 #34
Gonna be tough going rock crawling using a self driving ORV ileus Oct 2015 #38
Hopefully after I am dead. Nt hack89 Oct 2015 #39

longship

(40,416 posts)
2. There will NEVER be robocars where I live.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 06:50 PM
Oct 2015

1. Most roads here are unpaved with no clear demarcation between road and forest, or lake or river or just some farmer's field.

2. WINTER!! Snow can be brutal even when one knows where the road goes. No robocar is going to be able to deal with winter. At least not any time soon.

 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
22. Yes, they will.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:41 PM
Oct 2015

Surveillance technology currently being developed for military drones will use radar and sonar to map the road faster and more accurately than any human ever could. It will "see" right through snow to the edges of the road and even be able to detect if the surface beneath the snow or water is safe to drive on long before you go into a sinkhole or across a washed out bridge.

We are maybe five years from that. This is going to happen.

 

KittyWampus

(55,894 posts)
28. Girls Crash into Lake Following Bad GPS Directions
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:52 PM
Oct 2015

2. Girls Crash into Lake Following Bad GPS Directions
One now from the United States, this time involving two girls who ended up driving into a lake – because their GPS and sat nav told them to! The three girls had hired an SUV and blamed a bad GPS for leading them into danger.
The girls in question survived the incident but divers were needed in order to help recover the Mercedes from the lake using a tow truck. You can watch the video below from the local news channel which covered this horrendous sat nav error.

3. Japanese Tourists Drive into the Pacific Ocean Because of Their GPS
Following on with the water based theme is this story concerns a group of Japanese tourists who had hired a car in Brisbane, Australia. Being in an unfamiliar country and driving on unknown roads is never the easiest of things, but surely they must have seen the Pacific Ocean approaching as they drove their hire car into the waves? Apparently not and despite Japan being the home of technology perhaps these guys needs a few refresher points on how to use their GPS sat nav?
One of the tourists was quoted as saying that the GPS “told us we could drive down there. It kept saying it would navigate us to a road. We got stuck… There’s lots of mud”. Quite. Watch the video below to see some hilarious footage of this classic sat nav foul-up.

4. Truck Driver Jailed Over GPS Mistake
You would think that an army veteran might have better navigational sense, but this wasn’t the case with Doug Madison in the USA. This guy had to spend Christmas behind bars after driving a chemical tanker onto country roads that were only meant to have a 10 ton weight limit.
Doug Madison told the local court sentencing him that his GPS and sat nav told him to come off Interstate 79. He was eventually locked up for 10 days and told the local news TV channel that he thought the punishment was unjustified.
5. English Woman Drives Mercedes into a River Using Sat Nav
One from the UK now, where a woman drove a £96,000 Mercedes into the River Sence (perhaps she could use some “sense”?). This was another case of a person blindly following their sat nav directions, despite there being clear road signs saying that there was a rather large body of water right up ahead.

 

Travis_0004

(5,417 posts)
35. Several issues
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 08:19 PM
Oct 2015

Yes, GPS is not perfect. I've had my GPS tell me to go the wrong way on a one way street before. I ignored the gps, and went around the block.

Also, nobody is saying driverless cars will be perfect, they just have to be better than humans. Cars will be able to see water and even recognize one way signs and will be able to handle these situations.

longship

(40,416 posts)
30. Five years?
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 08:03 PM
Oct 2015


Here?

We don't even have cable TV or broadband Internet here yet. I live in a seriously rural area. Oh, no water or natural gas lines either. We pump our own water, treat our own waste water. And I heat by fuel oil; a big truck delivers it when I run low.

So, I hope you don't mind if I stand by my first response up thread. And you are delusional if you think self-driving cars are going to be generally available anywhere in five years, let alone where I live.

 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
33. That is my guess. I work where some of this stuff is being developed.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 08:16 PM
Oct 2015

But see, that is the neat thing about a technology such as this, other than a place to put the tires, no infrastructure required.

Self-driving cars are a real viable technology now, so no delusion is required. It is a matter of refining the sensor technology and software to get reliable operation in less-than-optimal conditions.

In a few years the guy who shows up with your fuel oil, may be there just to do the pumping. The truck got there on its own.

Hey, it's almost October 21st, 2015; even the hover cars in Back to the Future still needed drivers.

longship

(40,416 posts)
36. Pshaw! How silly.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 08:21 PM
Oct 2015

Everybody knows that hovercraft are always full of eels.



I stand by my posts here.

My best to you.
 

lumberjack_jeff

(33,224 posts)
3. No TSA?
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 06:50 PM
Oct 2015

There will still be TSA, they'll just be in front of computer monitors, watching where you go, how long you stay and what you google while in the "driver's" seat.

And insurance for driver operated cars may be more expensive than those of google cars, but once all the shitty drivers are away from the wheel I don't see why insurance rates should go up.

 

Travis_0004

(5,417 posts)
4. I think auto parking will be cool.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 06:52 PM
Oct 2015

Drop me off at the door of my office, then park a mile or two away (in the city).

A lot of parking lots downtown wont be needed, since the car can drive a bit further to park(and even double park if the cars can talk to each other)

I think one car families will be a bit more common.

My car could drop me off at work and my wife could call it home if needed. It wouldnt make sense for everyday use if the commute was long but it would be nice for emergencies.

Also I hate going to the mechanic. It would be awesome to send my car there and it will come back on it own.

I could also see cars driving to pick up items. Order groceries online, your car pulls up and they load them up and send your car back home without you leaving the house. Some businesses will probably deliver more thangs as delivery cost gets cheaper.

 

Travis_0004

(5,417 posts)
13. Im not so sure of that
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:19 PM
Oct 2015

Even if its cheaper, its still a nice luxury. If I want to leave its nice to leave now, not wait for a car to arrive.

Throd

(7,208 posts)
15. I don't have to wait now as it is.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:28 PM
Oct 2015

Spur-of-the-moment might include taking my daughter to the hospital.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
40. The Royal Ahold Group (I call them royal a-holes, but that's a different post..!) that runs GIANT
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 09:36 PM
Oct 2015

and STOP AND SHOP stores already has online grocery delivery.

You go to the web page, you pick out the stuff you need, they pack it up, they deliver it, they charge you a ten buck delivery fee.

It's called PEAPOD.

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
11. Or in San Francisco, studio apartments.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:15 PM
Oct 2015

This is already standard practice in SF, though not strictly legal.

Throd

(7,208 posts)
7. I actually find driving my old car to be quite enjoyable.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:12 PM
Oct 2015

Your vision of RoboCars sounds somewhat creepy.

Throd

(7,208 posts)
12. If you want to crawl inside a robot, knock yourself out. I prefer the freedom of driving the car my
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:19 PM
Oct 2015

I have 7 cars and can think of a few more I would like to own.

trof

(54,255 posts)
16. This will become a hobby, and a very expensive one.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:32 PM
Oct 2015

Not just the cost of the cars and maintenance.
Insurance costs will skyrocket,
You will be part of a very small pool.



Throd

(7,208 posts)
26. Trust me, it already is an expensive hobby.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:47 PM
Oct 2015

Why would my insurance rates skyrocket?

I have been driving since 1983 with no accidents or moving violations.

Skittles

(152,967 posts)
9. "this will cost less"
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:13 PM
Oct 2015

don't you know they ALWAYS find a way to stiff you

I doubt the robocar service will be cheap

Skittles

(152,967 posts)
19. I remember when they said banking would be cheaper without tellers
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:38 PM
Oct 2015

and we'd use less paper because of computers

 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
24. I remember "electricity too cheap to meter"
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:44 PM
Oct 2015

So I'm not really going with the cheaper argument, but better, absolutely.

trof

(54,255 posts)
29. OK, and nuclear power.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:54 PM
Oct 2015

Bought a house in NH in the early 70s.
It was all electric, including heat.
Radiant heat.
I asked if this wasn't pretty expensive in a NH winter.

"Oh, no," the realtor said.
"The Seabrook Nuclear Plant is coming online next year. Electricity will be too cheap to meter. You'll just get a bill for 10 or 15 dollars a month."

Yeah, right.
Seabrook ran millions of dollars over contract.
We went from wood heat, to coal heat, and finally to oil heat.

But I really think this is different.
Life changing.

 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
17. Agreed, it time to accept the private automobile IS mass transit.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:34 PM
Oct 2015

I see autonomous clusters of self driving cars moving along the freeway at well into triple digit speeds.

 

Shandris

(3,447 posts)
23. Personal opinion only, but to me that sounds like a vision of hell. =(
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:44 PM
Oct 2015

If that's 'life' after cars, I think I'll take up horse breeding and the Amish lifestyle.

Okay, Mennonite. I need my foreign television.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
27. When I was a kid I was hoping the automobile age would be over by now.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 07:49 PM
Oct 2015

Sigh.

We could remodel our cities to be very nice places, a network of actual small interconnected communities where neighbors know one another, places where automobiles, self driving or not, are largely unnecessary.

trof

(54,255 posts)
31. Yes. The European Model.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 08:04 PM
Oct 2015

Small villages with at least one of everything.
A restaurant/bar, druggist, hardware, grocery, etc.
All within walking distance of your front door.
Eutopia, I know.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
37. I've lived in places like that.
Tue Oct 6, 2015, 08:44 PM
Oct 2015

Not so wonderful as a kid stirring up trouble in class one day, and then your teacher has a chat with your dad after work at the pub... Or worse, as a couple of my nieces and nephews have experienced, your mom or dad IS the teacher.

On the other hand, with a slightly larger city, one with fairly decent public transportation, it's less likely your parents and your teachers will hang out in the same establishments.

My wife and I met in Los Angeles, both freeway commuters. By some planning and greater good fortune we've managed to avoid the automobile commuter lifestyle since the mid 'eighties.



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