Everyone who knows me is aware of my passion for efficiency. It drives me absolutely crazy when things are done in an inefficient manner. One of those inefficient things is driving a car.
Imagine how much unproductive time humanity spends in a driver's seat every day. You may say that the time is used productively, as it is used to get from point A to point B safely. I would have to disagree. If a machine can do it better and more efficiently then let the machine do it. Sure, the machine that can drive your car does not exist yet, but I believe that in the next 10-15 years, we should be able to buy cars that drive themselves.
Imagine how much time would be freed up for all those that commute to work. ABC said in a 2005 article that an average American commuter (about 200 million of them) spends about an hour and a half in a car per day. If we could free up that time by having a machine/computer drive the car, we would free up (5 days*48 weeks * 200 million commuters =) 48 billion person-hours a year! You could do a lot of creative work in 48 billion hours a year. Imagine how much more productive would a country become if you freed up that much time. Wow!
There are several reason why I believe that the day is approaching when computers will drive our cars. First, computers, cameras and other equipment that could make this a reality are getting more powerful and more inexpensive every day. Second, DARPA (the organization that developed an early version of the Internet) has been funding competitions for this kind of development (GRAND CHALLENGE). Third, even private citizens with interest in robotics have been able to have their cars drive themselves on the roads.
I look forward to the time when you can sit in your car after a long day at the office, say "Car, take me home" and start watching the latest episode of 24. :-)
1 comment:
I'd settle for a flying car in the meantime :-)
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