Ford has announced it will have autonomous cars
in five years, and those cars won't always require drivers.
This plan is very different from what most car makers are working on.
Most are working on a model called "guardian angel," which means driving is optional and the
cars will step in when their drivers are in trouble, and save their butts. Granted, this is a tad like the cars on rails that they have at least Disneyland, but there is still a driver -- even though they
clearly are no longer a critical part.
Ford's approach is more like a wheeled elevator.
It comes with the announcement that the cars will be targeted at firms like Uber, and that Ford is repositioning itself as a mobile company. (By the way, Uber coincidentally started testing self-driving cars this month, but from Volvo . Oops...)
Ford's move seems fair, given that Apple, which is a mobile company, is looking at building vehicles that are basically iPads with wheels.
Now the model that Uber is driving envisions most folks using Uber rather than buying their own cars. It's consistent with a millennial trend toward not getting driver's licenses and avoiding the whole car ownership thing altogether.
So, effectively, the company that founded mass-produced cars in the U.S. has decided to make a
change and become Apple -- but with wheels. I'm sure that will work out swimmingly. I should add
that Uber, which launched with the promise that you could work for it and work your own hours is
now planning to let you become unemployed instead! Just think of all the free time you'll have to ride in Uber cars - though paying the fare could be problematic.
Source: TechNewsWorld
No comments:
Post a Comment