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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."
10 bucks says NYC won't allow it unless it travels at a minimum speed of 45 mph.
It's the Mark I version of the Johnny Cab.
Promote proofreading. Don't mod up sloppy posts.
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!
that thing wouldn't last 10 minutes on the streets of LA.
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.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
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.
from the faq:
;) :P
:P There's a reason why this is debuting in wales and not nyc, eh?
"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
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"
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.
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.
...because I hear they have lots of road rage.
"Where the hell am I?"
"You're in a Johnny-Cab!"