Autonomous driving technology has been growing rapidly in recent years and Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi are teaming up to try and be the leader in drive-less taxis according to announcements they made Friday. The companies are planning on launching 12 new all electric vehicles by 2022. They set the goal of making the range of these electric cars at 373 miles which is comparable to Tesla's highest range car. They are also implementing a quick charge where a 15 minute charge will give you a range of 143 miles which is very impressive since cars today with a quick charge can only go 60 miles. The companies laid out a timetable for the various releases with the first coming next year in the form of a vehicle that could be used on the highway that is highly autonomous but requires a human to still pay attention which is very similar to Tesla's autopilot. The trio of companies outsold Volkswagen in the first 6 months of the year to become the "worlds largest seller of automobiles".
I think there are many positives to an increased number of autonomous vehicles being introduced but it will be interesting to see how they actually react when put into real situations with human error around them. I think it will still be a long time before autonomous vehicles become a normality but I believe fully electric vehicles will be common very soon. With ranges of almost 400 miles it makes these vehicles a lot more sensible. While they become more common the number of charging stations will increase as well and it will be interesting to see what affect it will have on Gas prices.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/15/technology/renault-nissan-mitsubishi-alliance-electric-self-driving-cars/index.html?iid=SF_LN
I think there's a huge amount of profit that could be made in this industry. The driverless taxis would wipe out the taxi industry and separate a lot of people from their jobs. But there's also a big chance of loss that too could happen to this idea. Because the cars have to be able to get top rankings in a safety as well as their new computer systems for people to trust the new product. How will they react to other humans driving? Also if something tragic does happen. I believe that it will wipe out the chance of the launch of the cars because it will diminish the consumer's trust in the product, which will cause sales to plummet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Camille that in order for people to buy into the cars they will have to be able to have be top ranking in safety. I think one big question in this situation is what will the car base its decision on in a lose-lose situation. For instance, if there is a situation where no matter what movement is made, the car is going to get hit, either on the driver side or the passenger side. How will it make the decision to which side will get hit if there are two people in the car? If the car company is able to make it so that the owners of the cars are able to pick preferences in certain situations it might make people more comfortable, but I think this will still be a con that will be a huge decision in buying the car. Furthermore, I think the preferences won't be able to cover every situation. For example, a customer puts in a preference to hit the driver side every time, but maybe there is a truck going at the driver side and only a bike coming from the passenger side. I would think most would want the bike to hit the car because it is less damage to the car and the passengers inside the car. Will the car be able to recognize that and change in time? In my opinion, I would rather be behind the wheel and in control of the car, that way I can make the decision of what is best for myself and the people in the car, rather than relying on a program to decide for me.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the comments above are extremely fair. Obviously in an industry like this is waiting to be blown of the charts. Companies like Tesla have reliable and 'fair' mileage, features and more. But once a company, or maybe the Trio of companies can make a major breakthrough, they will see the benefits. I agree with you Aunders that it will be interesting to see how autonomous cars react and how safe they are around humans. On a more personal note, I am weary of the idea solely because I think I'd trust most humans driving than a robot. Once this technology breaks through we will see a dramatic drop in prices because of the competition amongst all of the different automobile companies.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement regarding the time table of the fully autonomous vehicles. I believe it will be a very long time before these can be trusted by society in terms of their safety and reliability in a real driving setting. I think the fully electric car will be the next boom in the market as you stated. It should have a significant impact on the United States' GDP, as oil refinement is responsible for a sizable portion of our production. It will be interesting to see what will replace this factor of the economy.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that these autonomous vehicles will take jobs out of the oil industry? Although these vehicles may be relatively new to the market, I believe they will be popular when they are released. The energy efficiency of these cars could be enticing for consumers in the south (after the recent hurricane floodings) and could give these three companies a springboard for selling these vehicles. It will be interesting to see if consumers are willing to purchase vehicles with only a number of charging stations available.
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