MPH
Artificial Intelligence and robotics combine as companies push to be first with self-driving automobiles. Toyota recently announced it is investing $2.8 billion into establishing an autonomous car company. Google, Ford, Tesla, Uber, GM, and many others are racing to get their version of self-driving vehicles on the streets. Tesla and Google are striving to have their cars up and running this year. Mercedes Benz stated it will have a fully autonomous truck ready by 2020. The age of technology is moving ahead at 65 MPH on the highway and 30 MPH in the city.
Those old enough to remember the introduction of the first cell phones will recall how seamlessly the technology was accepted. Today no one thinks of the smart phone as a technological miracle, and in 15 years it will be the same with the self-driving car. However, there is going to be a revolution as transportation loses its luster as a status symbol, and the economic and convenience factors play a growing role. For example, when you buy a car you have to use gas, you need to maintain it, and you may want to buy new tires or upgrade the stereo. There will be a tsunami of change for everyone: the automaker, the oil companies, the mechanics and all the people who are employed in related companies. Millions of people will be affected by these changes, and only time will tell whether or not it will enhance our lives and how it may send shock waves through our economic structure. Technology is wild – it can be unpredictable and fantastic.
