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ULTra Robo-Taxi

irksome writes: "Found a link on msnbc about a driver-less taxi pod. According to the article, the vehicle has begun road tests in the city of Cardiff, Wales. The pod, known as ULTra (Urban Light Transport) could make driver-free transport a reality and not just the stuff of futuristic fantasy."

13 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. NYC by SilentChris · · Score: 4, Funny

    10 bucks says NYC won't allow it unless it travels at a minimum speed of 45 mph.

  2. Oh no by Nick+Number · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's the Mark I version of the Johnny Cab.

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  3. Impressive by mosch · · Score: 4, Funny
    Wow, a maximum of 25MPH. This thing could change everything. It could be bigger than the Segway!

    And instead of running on inconvenient roads, you just need to build a special 1.5 meter track to your destination. My, this IS cheaper and easier than driving!

    1. Re:Impressive by Ooblek · · Score: 4, Funny
      Actually, I don't know if that is the bad part. A smartcard has to be programmed that tells it the destination. People can't program VCRs....

      And the camera at every stop "to increase passenger safety." Well, I remember these western movies where people in this thing called a stagecoach that moved at about 25mph would get stopped by these bad guys on horses. Just find a place where the pod goes out of sight from the road, put your jacket over the rails (auto-stop if it detects something in the track!), and wait for the prey.

  4. there must not be any vandals in whales... by Narcocide · · Score: 4, Funny

    that thing wouldn't last 10 minutes on the streets of LA.

  5. Has to drive better than the locals by linzeal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Welsh drivers are some of the worst in the world especially when considering the prodigious amount of alchohol in they consume. I doubt that even their livestock could pass a dui.

  6. Although... by xfs · · Score: 4, Funny

    For atmosphere, an indian with a turban will be placed in every pod. He/she will be payed to ask random things in a deep foreign accent, and yell at you when you ask him what he/she said.

  7. gangway! by pangloss · · Score: 5, Funny

    from the faq:
    "We also plan a detection system that will automatically stop the vehicle if there is an obstacle in the guideway."

    Oh that's a nice feature to plan for ;)
    I suppose the original plan was to add big nerf-style bumpers instead so that at 25mph the unobservant kiddies would just bounce off gently :P

    heh, i just noticed this one:
    "What about vandalism?
    We hope that the system will be a source of pride to the community it serves so that vandalism incidents will be limited."

    In _some_ communities, *vandalism* is a source of pride, so "vandalism incidents will be frequent, persistent and guaranteed" :P There's a reason why this is debuting in wales and not nyc, eh?

  8. Electric Eye... by rufusdufus · · Score: 5, Funny

    I met a guy at CMU working on vision technology for Mercedes. Ostensibly, the technology would identify pedestrians and make a warning sound.

    It sort of worked too, at least from video tapes from a car driving down the street. It could identify human shape and draw a little box around it.

    The guy seemed a little distressed when I pointed out to him that his technology looked a LOT more useful as a robotic machine-gun targetting system.

    Funny how people can fool themselves.

  9. But... by sean23007 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will the driver-less cabs understand the line: "Follow that car!"

    If not, the private investigator business is going to get much more difficult... :)

    --

    Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
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  11. Just don't get these things mad... by I+Want+GNU! · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...because I hear they have lots of road rage.

  12. Driver-less? by TClevenger · · Score: 2, Funny


    "Where the hell am I?"

    "You're in a Johnny-Cab!"