Category Archives: autonomous cars

autonomous cars, cars, foresight, living room, transportation

The Best and Most Frivolous Car Tech Is Going Straight to EVs

From regenerative braking to the quiet hum of battery-powered cruising, electric vehicles are upending many a fundamental when it comes to the traditional driving experience. Slide into the cockpit of a contemporary EV, though, and you’ll notice another bit of hardware getting an unexpected rethink: the humble interior light.

Gone is the jaundiced bulb that blinks on when a car door is opened, the one your parents warned had to stay off while the vehicle was in motion. In its stead? A veritable LED disco. Today the interior of nearly every battery-powered car is veined with lights in the dashboard, door frames, foot wells and ceiling.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-13/electric-vehicles-are-getting-all-the-best-car-tech?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-climate&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=climate&utm_medium=social
autonomous cars, cars, cities, foresight, society, urban planning

Why 2023 was the year of the e-bike and not the self-driving car

Compared to self-driving cars, and just about any other mobility mode, e-bikes have flourished in 2023, posting strong sales despite a slowdown in the overall bike industry. Many governments now provide a tailwind, with states and cities launching new rebate programs, opening parks to e-bike riders, and even establishing “e-bike libraries” where curious residents can try one out.

If 2023’s trendline continues, the humble e-bike, not the flashy self-driving car, will be poised to reconfigure American transportation.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90994141/why-2023-was-the-year-of-the-e-bike-and-not-the-self-driving-car
autonomous cars, cars, cities, ethics, transportation, urban planning

Commentary: The Promise and Folly of Self-Driving Cars

A debate over self-driving cars has reached a fever pitch in San Francisco. Companies like Cruise (a subsidiary of General Motors) and Waymo (a subsidiary of Alphabet/Google), under mounting pressure to commercialize their decades of research & development into autonomous vehicles, have been pushing hard to expand self-driving taxi services in the city. At the same time, city officials are sounding the alarm about how their cars are disrupting essential services including public transit and emergency vehicles. Grassroots advocates from all sides have also jumped into the fray, engaging in everything from online tech boosterism to guerrilla tactics to disable vehicles on sight.

https://sf.streetsblog.org/2023/09/14/commentary-the-promise-and-folly-of-self-driving-cars
autonomous cars, cars, cities, transportation, urban planning

The Automation Of Public Transport Is Underway

There has been a lot of hype around autonomous driving in recent years, with several autonomous passenger vehicles being tested across cities worldwide. But when it comes to public transport, it appears to be lagging behind cars in terms of automation. And with the announcement of the launch of the U.K.’s first autonomous bus route, the question arises – why isn’t there more autonomous transportation in cities around the world?

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Automation-Of-Public-Transport-Is-Underway.html
autonomous cars, cars, cities, urban planning

Why Do Many Self-Driving Cars Look Like Toasters on Wheels?

As progress slows toward putting self-driving cars on the road, it’s looking like the vehicles may first be put to use schlepping things rather than people. Packages, after all, don’t complain when the robot takes the longer way around because it’s uncomfortable making left turns across traffic. The nice thing is that both people and packages can comfortably fit into cubes. Zoox, despite its new Amazonian overlords, insists that it’s still focused on robotaxis, though Levinson says “a lot of things are possible with our platform.”

https://www-wired-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-look-toasters-wheels/amp