We are only a few years away from having cars that drive us, instead of our driving them. CNN Money recently posted an article about the topic.
In the town of Milton Keynes, just north of London, two-person, electric-powered pods will start to operate on designated pathways in 2017.
The engineering firm Arup and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge are orchestrating the project. They are receiving $2.4 million dollars from the British government towards the project.
The plan is to put 20 driver-operated pods on the road in 2015 to be tested, and then in 2017 they plan to roll out 100 fully automated vehicles. The automated pods will travel 12 miles per hour and will be guided around obstacles by sensors.
These U.K. organizations are not the only ones interested in creating automated automobiles. Nissan is planning on adding automated vehicles to its line up in 2020. Other major auto manufacturers getting into the mix include General Motors, Toyota, Audi and Volkswagen.
So the question now is not if there will be automated vehicles, but when.
Would you go along for the ride?
Tuesday, June 24, 2025