[M II A II R II K]

GM's Autonomous Pod Cars Are Coming To A Megacity Near You


Read More: http://www.fastcompany.com/1770154/gms-en-v-autonomous-pod-cars-are-coming-to-a-city-near-you


GM's Electric Networked-Vehicle (EN-V) was an instant hit when it was first unveiled last year; the electric, autonomous (no steering wheel!) pod-like car is nothing if not futuristic and friendly-looking. It's like GM finally offered us the Jetsons future that we've all been waiting for. GM denies the recent rumors that it has set a production date for the EN-V, but rest assured, it's coming. We spoke to Sam Abuelsamid of GM's advanced technology communications team to get the details on when we'll all be pod-driving people.

- GM hopes to begin field trials in the next two to three years, but the vehicle probably won't go into production for about 10 to 15 years, largely because of our current lack of precise GPS capabilities. "A big part of autonomous capability comes from GPS. Our current precision is a maximum of three meters, which really isn't adequate for reliable autonomous operation," says Abuelsamid. "Over the course of the next decade or so, [they] will put up new GPS satellites to improve precision and reliability. We're hoping that gets improved, but in the interim we can still learn a lot."

- Once the EN-V is ready for production, it could be deployed in any number of places--gated communities, college campuses, and megacities, where pollution and overcrowding could be alleviated by the emissions-free pod cars. Abuelsamid also speculates that the EN-V could make an ideal addition to a car-sharing service, since users could both summon the vehicle using a smartphone app and tell the EN-V to park itself when they're finished using it.

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[Electrify]

My first thought upon seeing that (on a different site) was why not take transit or cycle?

However, I thought about it some more. Over half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, and that number is only going to grow. Because of this, the market for space consuming cars does not look too bright, and auto companies need to evolve or die. While I don't think this exact prototype is going to take off, I do think people will be using something radically different to meet their personal transportation needs.

 

[M II A II R II K]

And they'll need more flexible routing which only cars can provide at this time.

 

[Mapleson]

My first thought upon seeing that (on a different site) was why not take transit or cycle?

However, I thought about it some more. Over half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, and that number is only going to grow. Because of this, the market for space consuming cars does not look too bright, and auto companies need to evolve or die. While I don't think this exact prototype is going to take off, I do think people will be using something radically different to meet their personal transportation needs.

The market for cars is still bright, it's just the appetite for roads to operate them all is limited. Most middle-class families in underdeveloped nations aspire to vehicle ownership, which is behind Tata's $3000 Nano and the projection of a 65% increase in India's car-market.

The EN-V is based on Segway technology to increase efficiency of motion, which is a reason to use this over conventional transit or a bicycle.

And they'll need more flexible routing which only cars can provide at this time.

Ummm, the point of an autonomous car is to go anywhere an non-autonomous car can. What do you mean about flexible routing? It's not like it has to stick to a bus route.

 

[M II A II R II K]

Have it use the already existing roads and with some sidetracks to use as part of the trip, and also have pods be able to enter buildings and dock inside.

 

[Mapleson]

It'd make the morning wait for the elevator different if your "car" could drive up the elevator shaft.