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Will Robot Cars Need Windows?

Posted by timothy on from the they-can-dream-without-them dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The Atlantic has an article asking whether autonomous cars need windows. If there's no driver, will the passengers want to look outside? In the summer, will anyone want to endure the relentless heat from the sun? The robot cars offer us a great opportunity to rethink the platform which is largely devoted to supporting the driver. But if a computer is in charge and it sees with dozens of cameras ringing the car, what else can we change? What else don't we need? What can improve?

6 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. carsickness by blindbat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People who get car sick need windows. Nuff said.

    1. Re:carsickness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also claustrophobia.

      There is a reason why trains, even underground trains, have windows.

    2. Re:carsickness by JourneymanMereel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      People who get car sick need windows. Nuff said.

      Pretty much. Did passenger cars in trains need windows? Do airplanes need windows? Do houses need windows?

      Obviously the windows in today's cars need to provide a LOT of visibility so the driver can see as much as possible. But taking away a driver's need to see doesn't take a way the need for windows.

      I honestly can't believe this is even a question.

      --
      Life has many choices. Eternity has two. What's yours?
  2. Drive-throughs by mrchaotica · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are plenty of reasons (beyond merely operating the vehicle) to need windows:

    • Carsickness, as you mentioned
    • Being able to use drive-through windows
    • Ventilation
    • Scenery (which is better with an autonomous car, because the person who would otherwise be driving can enjoy it too!)
    • Carrying stuff that sticks out a little
    • Being able to yell at the idiot driver of the (non-autonomous) car in the lane next to you
    • And finally, driving, when going off-road or other situations in which the autopilot fails or can't be used (I assume any autonomous car is going to end up having manual backup controls, at least for the foreseeable future)
    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    1. Re:Drive-throughs by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In aircraft, windows for passengers add a lot of expense and structural weakness. Yet aircraft still have them. Passengers don't want to feel boxed in, and just want to enjoy the view. For SDCs, windows will be necessary for quite a while in case the driver needs/wants to take over.

  3. Re:Back seats have windows in the door by neilo_1701D · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Technically, the driver of a car never uses the windows in the door of the back seats.

    I really don't want to be on the same road as you when you change lanes on the non-driving side...