Technology is moving ahead whether we want it to or not! ?Times are changing and so are our cars… hell, pretty soon we will be ‘flying’ around in our ‘space coups’ like George Jetson!
The Jetson’s theme song had an entire generation, hell maybe two, wondering if cars would actually fly in the 21st century.
And while it seems we’re still light years away from a car launching out of your driveway, Mercedes has developed yet another concept that’s got tongues wagging.
It was just last year that Mercedes introduced their concept for the 1st ‘invisible’ car (click HERE if you missed that), and being that they’re ‘invisible’ we probably won’t see them on the road anytime soon.
And if you thought ‘invisible’ was amazing… what about a car that drives itself?
Watch video of Mercedes latest concept + details below…
I loves me a Benz…. lawd knows I do! But what’s the fun in having ‘driving’ one if you don’t actually have to ‘DRIVE’ it?
Known to car industry engineers as “autonomous,” the German car maker has huge expectations and corner the market.?Last month, a Mercedes Benz S 500 Intelligent Drive research vehicle, drove autonomously through a 100-kilometre-long route from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany.
VIDEO: Mercedes Announces S500 w/ ‘Intelligent Drive’
The navigation system in the ‘driverless’ S-Class was able to deal with some difaficult situations involving traffic lights, roundabouts, pedestrians, cyclists and trams.
Cameras and lasers built into its chassis map a 3D model of its surroundings when it is driven manually, which is fed into a computer stored in the boot.
The car can then ?remember? routes. It prompts the driver via an iPad on the dashboard to engage the autopilot and, at a touch of the screen, the car assumes control.
A laser at the front scans 164ft ahead 13 times per second for obstacles, such as pedestrians, cyclists, or other cars in an 85-degree field of view.
If it senses an obstacle, it slows and comes to a controlled stop. The driver can tap the brake pedal to regain control of the vehicle from the computer.
VIDEO: Watch this Mercedes Drive By Itself!!! No Hands!
[Sidebar: They’re about to put limo drivers outta business…. :lol:]
And if that Benz doesn’t blow your mind, scientists at Oxford University are working with Nissan in Sunderland to create ?robotcars? that can drive themselves independently using details of the road they are driving on stored in on-board software. Apparently your iPod will have master controls.
Not to be outdone, NASA signed an agreement back in 2009 with?Unimodal Systems, LLC for their ‘vision’ of what the future car will look like.
These vehicles will eventually travel up to 150 mph and move 14,000 people per hour, both locally and regionally. SkyTran will serve as a feeder system to other transit systems, such as BART and high-speed rail.
I dunno know about you, but if Mercedes pulls this one off we could all possibly be in automated cars within the next few years (and you thought your bluetooth radio was the ish!).
It’s not exactly what The Jetson’s theme predicted back in the day, but we’re getting closer!
Would you buy a Benz that drives itself? What about an iPod operated ‘robotcar’?