This article discusses the future of autonomous cars and its impact on the society in the future. The engineering community is building a future and is focused on making autonomous vehicles safe, efficient, and attractive to use. Autonomous transport of goods will allow a complete reimagination of the future of the global supply chain. AARP’s interest is important for another reason: the elderly vote; and if they want self-driving cars, lawmakers will quickly tackle some of the thorniest policy hurdles—such as regulation, local traffic laws, and insurance. The future of autonomous cars is expected to change lives in both dramatic and subtle ways, but the ways that will be most interesting are the things that are forgotten, the things that the next generation deem useless and frivolous. Google's self-driving car is a street-legal vehicle; however, autonomous golf carts might be more practical. Experts believe that the most interesting changes that will be brought by autonomous cars will be the cultural shifts.
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March 2017
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Brave New Road
Today, Engineers are Developing the Technology for Self-Driving Vehicles. Tomorrow, Those Autonomous Vehicles will Reshape our Society in Unexpected Ways.
Brian David Johnson is futurist in residence at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University in Tempe and a futurist and fellow at the consultancy Frost & Sullivan.
Mechanical Engineering. Mar 2017, 139(03): 30-35 (6 pages)
Published Online: March 1, 2017
Citation
Johnson, B. D. (March 1, 2017). "Brave New Road." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. March 2017; 139(03): 30–35. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2017-Mar-1
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